15 Years in Manchester for Bella Italia!

2016 sees Bella Italia's 15th year of trading in Manchester. They'll start the year with a fully refreshed portfolio of sites (as 2015 saw the completion of a refurbishment programme) and a menu re-launch across all three city centre restaurants. The group currently employs close to 100 members of staff across Manchester.

Bella Italia arrived in Manchester in 2001 with their restaurant on Deansgate, and has since expanded their city centre portfolio to three restaurants with popular sites on Piccadilly and in the Arndale centre.

All three of the venues have undergone refurbishment and development over the last two years with a total of £500K spent in Manchester by the company. Each of the restaurants now boast Bella's new trademark bright, colourful interior style and are individually designed to reflect the vibrant and vivacious sights and sounds of Italy. Features include fun wall murals, vintage Italian artwork, big bold light fittings and even a gelato cart in The Arndale.

Then there's the food... Bella Italia has been hard at work over the last few years, cultivating a whole new set of authentic Italian producers, many of which are family run, and all of them passionate about their craft. The result is a fabulous new menu that is brimming with flavour.

Executive Chef Vittorio Lettieri and the Bella team have gathered some of the most famous and fabulous Italian ingredients, sourced from across Italy to ensure every dish oozes real Italian authenticity from first mouthful to last morsel.

One such ingredient is pasta and that comes from The Agnesi family… the oldest pasta maker in Italy. They have been making pasta since 1824 in Oneglia in Northern Italy.

Another is their Southern Italian cured meat. These come from the San Vincenzo family in Calabria, who produce some of the world's finest cured meats. The N'duja sausage on Bella's menu is one of the signature products produced by San Vincenzo; it's a local delicacy that uses both local meat and local Calabrian chillies to give the fiery flavour and colour.

Other 'Bella Family' suppliers include:

• Fontana Family - The Northern style cured and baked meats are from the Fontana family in the north of Italy – an Italian charcuterie started by Mr Ermes in 1959.
• Dolce Cilento - The Limoncello that adds a twist to Bella dishes is based in the heart of the Cilento National Park near the Amalfi coast.
• 'Gelateria Callipo' – Based in Pizzo known as the 'Home of Gelato'. This family has been making real Italian gelato in the area for 100 years!

Some highlights from Bella's latest menu collection include…

• Two different Antipasto boards; one with light and herby meats sourced from the north of Italy, and one with deep flavoursome salami sourced from Calabria in the south.
• Bella Italia's new 'Ripiena' (Italian for 'filled') pizza, has a crust oozing real mozzarella and garlic butter.
• Pasta Formaggi - Cute heart-shaped pasta parcels with four cheeses in a basil pesto sauce and topped with semi-dried Pachino tomatoes.
• A slow-cooked and succulent Lamb Shank in a garlic, red wine & rosemary sauce, served with mashed potatoes and green beans.
• The truly indulgent Limoncello Meringue Pie.
• A new range of mouth-watering 'lighter' dishes under 300 calories – perfect for January!

Nick White, Managing Director, commented:

“Manchester is an incredibly important city for us. We've been trading here now 15 years and in that time have become an established part of the dining out scene in Manchester. Now that our refurbishment investment is complete, we're looking forward to welcoming more locals and visitors to the city than ever – here's to the next 15 years!”

ENDS