Native Italian Sara Gündogan, who is married to City midfielder Ilkay Gündogan, has claimed that there are no decent restaurants in Manchester. The TV presenter and model posted her comment as a reply to a question on instagram asking her to name her ‘Favourite restaurant in Manchester?’
‘Sorry I’m sad to be honest but nothing,’ she replied. ‘I tired (sic) so bad to find a good restaurant but .. Horrible food everywhere can’t find a real Italian or good sushi or just fresh food .. everything just frozen. Restaurants here are focus on making money with drinks and shot like night clubs not quality food. Maybe in London but in Manchester nothing.’
She then added a ‘hands in prayer’ emoji and ended with ‘I’m sorry.’
Her apology might have been an insincere add-on at the time, but she might now be wishing she hasn’t stirred up such a wasps’ nest. Her comments have caused a furore, making national headlines and causing many to rush to the defence of Manchester’s food and drink establishments.
Simon Martin, chef patron of Manchester’s only Michelin starred restaurant Mana, was drawn into the argument, telling The Sun: “The idea that restaurants here only serve frozen food is obviously preposterous. In addition, the restaurant industry is far too difficult a trade to warrant only doing it for money.”
However, I went to Mana recently and they did in fact serve some frozen food. Except it was a refined version of kakigōri, the Japanese shaved ice dessert with rose, sorrel and matcha and was part of an exquisite tasting menu which included a Louët-Feisser oyster with a frozen (again) wasabi and dill dressing. We were also served A5 Wagyu beef, Sladesdown duck hung over burning grape vines, king scallops and Scottish langoustine. Hardly what can be described as ‘horrible.’
She mentions money. Oh that grubby stuff. Do we reckon Gündogan is simply playing for the joy of the game as opposed to his £7.28M annual salary? And when staff, electricity companies, landlords, contractors, and suppliers start to accept ‘grateful thanks’ instead of hard cash for services rendered, maybe restaurant owners and chefs can do their average 60 hour working week for fun…
There’s no doubt that Manchester has its fair share of the kind of ‘shot like night clubs’ she describes (we’re looking at the likes of SakkuSamba and the thankfully closed Boujee here.) And The Ivy in Spinningfields might be one of the best places to take a loo mirror selfie, but the food is mostly mass produced in a central unit and brought in.
However, is it really fair to say there are no good restaurants in Manchester?
It’s likely that Gündogan’s boss, Pep Guardiola is going to want a quiet word as he has a hearty stake in Tast, the Catalan restaurant on King Street, whose exec chef is none other than Paco Perez whose restaurants have five Michelin stars to their name, or is it six? Or maybe even seven?
Excellent Italian-run restaurants in Manchester include independents such as Salvi’s, The Pasta Factory on Shude Hill and Sugo in Ancoats. There’s also the highly regarded Alpine-inspired restaurant The Spärrows, making hand made pasta and dumplings in an archway restaurant in Redbank.
Mrs Gündogan clearly has her head stuck in the freezer cabinet at Iceland because the only frozen food she’s likely to find at the likes of San Carlo is the ice cream they make from scratch. Salvi’s has just opened a new restaurant and deli at the luxury Deansgate Square, and if Sara isn’t in the mood for that, she could pop next door to Japanese izakaya and cocktail bar Kitten.
Manchester city centre is soon to be awash with Asian restaurants where she can stuff enough high-end sushi inside her until her Agent Provocateur’s start to chafe. Musu will be taking over the former Randall & Aubin site on Bridge Street in November, and Peter Street Kitchen has been serving contemporary Japanese and Mexican small plates, robata grills and omakase menus since 2018. She might even like to try the excellent Japanese-owned Yuzu on Faulkner Street, or give Terry Huang, creator of award-winning Manchester restaurant Umezushi a ring.
Let’s hope Gündogan doesn’t get transferred before Gordon Ramsay brings his Lucky Cat brand to Manchester, or Japanese Peruvian concept Chotto Matte occupies the rooftop of Gary Neville’s St Michael’s development in Summer 2024.
But, for arguments sake, let’s remember that Sara is Italian. Sipping an Aperol Spritz huddled inside a bubble coat amidst some Northern Quarter graffiti to the sounds of mid-day karaoke wafting over from The Millstone is hardly the same as drinking it in a little ancient square overlooking the vine studded Tuscan hillside.
Maybe it’s not really the food she’s got an issue with. Maybe she’s simply homesick and is surrounded by friends who care more about getting the right angle for paparazzi shots than they do about good food. Bet we could change her mind after a night or two on the town.
