San Carlo, the award-winning family-run Italian restaurant group, has launched its much-anticipated summer menus for 2025. Now available at all 25 of its UK restaurants, the new dishes bring together seasonal produce, premium meats, and the freshest seafood—hallmarks of San Carlo’s signature approach to elegant Italian dining.
The menus vary slightly depending on the location. At the flagship restaurants, including those in Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Fiorentina in Hale, Alderley Edge, Bristol, Leeds, and the iconic Flying Pizza, the focus is on refined antipasti and secondi. These additions celebrate seasonal freshness while remaining rooted in traditional Italian flavours.
Starters are light yet full of character. Dishes include creamy burrata from Puglia served with rustic panzanella, a delicately balanced crab salad with fennel and radish, and a seafood medley of squid, prawn, scallops, and scampi finished with a citrusy yuzu dressing. Main courses feature a veal chop topped with Italian black truffle, an orzo risotto with pumpkin and sausage, and a standout tagliolini crab pasta made with handpicked crab, tomato, saffron, and a touch of cream. This dish, in particular, is ideal for a summer evening on one of San Carlo’s outdoor terraces.
At the group’s Cicchetti restaurants, including sites in Piccadilly, Covent Garden, and Fumo, the summer menu reflects the Venetian tradition of small-plate dining. Guests are encouraged to order a variety of dishes to share or enjoy at their own pace. The new selection leans into bold, seasonal flavours, with pasta dishes such as frittata with courgette and mint, trofie with pesto and stracciatella, rigatoni with Calabrian ’nduja and ricotta salata, and delicate mezzelune filled with crab, cherry tomato, and chives.
Seafood remains a highlight across the Cicchetti menu. Options include octopus and broad bean salad with yuzu, crab cakes with smoked salmon and avocado mayonnaise, and monkfish wrapped in Parma ham served with fennel, asparagus, and pistachio. For meat lovers, the sliced veal chop with Italian dressing offers punchy flavour, while the Tarrallo—a rustic filled pizza dough with either prosciutto and cheese or grilled Mediterranean vegetables—provides a hearty, satisfying addition.
San Carlo’s story began in 1992 on Temple Street in Birmingham, when Sicilian-born Carlo Distefano opened the first restaurant. More than 30 years later, the group has grown into a £100 million hospitality business. It remains proudly family-run, with two generations of the Distefano family now shaping its future. The restaurants continue to attract families, food lovers, and celebrities alike, offering a consistent blend of Italian hospitality, style, and substance.
Marcello Distefano, Managing Director of the San Carlo Group, said:
“This summer, we have crafted a menu that celebrates the very best of the season. From the freshest seafood to premium cuts and bold, sun-drenched flavours, it is a true taste of Italian summer, the San Carlo way.”
