Restaurant Review: Sugo Pasta Kitchen

You’d think after last month and the Italian Awards, that I’d maybe eaten enough Italian food for a couple of months.

It appears, however, my love of good pasta knows no bounds and, in a week where research from Citalia (infographic below) suggested that as a nation we are in love with Italian food, who was I to break the stereotype?

Which is why Sunday found me, not only wandering around the newly crowned Best Market in the Observer Food Awards but, more importantly, sequestered inside the nearby Sugo Pasta Kitchen, with a chef or two (or three actually), and two fellow food enthusiasts (we like eating).

On the first really chilly day we’d experienced so far this autumn and, after an early run, I was starving, the warmth of the restaurant envelopes you, and it’s not just from the open kitchen. The welcome of the staff and the relaxed atmosphere too – it’s a small space, simply furnished with clean tiled walls and solid wood tables and chairs. 

It’s a place that lets the food and drink speak for itself. 

The menu offerings are chalked onto the boards – from the starters to the mains, dessert options (from Gingers Comfort Emporium) and a great selection of wines by the glass and bottle. 

Though a red would have been an obvious choice for such a chill day, I was pleased to see alongside the ubiquitous Prosecco on the menu, a Falanghina – a richer, less fizzy and to my mind, less harsh frizzante wine. The best of both worlds, a satisfying fizz on the palate, and a richer, more complex wine, ideally suited to the menu on the board. 

I admit, starter wise I was torn. The artichoke hearts were tempting, but so were the fresh prawns with chilli and garlic, which eventually won out. 

A generous amount of sweet, well cooked shell-on prawns lay comfortably on their bed of soft warm sourdough which expertly soaked up the juices from the shellfish. It took me so long to ensure every drop of that rich broth was absorbed by the bread, and in turn me, that the entire table had finished before me. 

Mr GFB opted for the bruschetta – ricotta cheese and chilli and ginger marmalade on top of the same sourdough as in my dish. A satisfying combination of cool soft ricotta with soft warm spice. 

For main, I went as simple as possible. At Sugo the pasta is cooked to order, so remains deliciously al dente (something that some places get very very wrong). You want that little bit of bite, that takes it away from chewy, but gives it that ‘snap’ in the middle were you to pull a piece of spaghetti in two. 

No bigger test for me than Spaghetti Aglio Olio e Peperancino – spaghetti tossed with garlic, chilli and peppers in olive oil. All the flavour, all the simplicity. So easy to get wrong. 

It was delicious. A generous portion, the flavours warmed the taste buds, the garlic wa
s strong, but not astringent, the chilli gentle, the pepper soft and sweet. 

Mr GFB was now heading for the prawns, with his main – with mussels, garlic chilli and lemon with pennoni – short fat tubes of pasta. 

More soft warm Puglia flavours, more sweet seafood, the entire table fell almost silent as we ate happily and greedily, even the simple accompanying salad fallen upon with gusto. 

What the guys at Sugo have created is delightful – a seasonal Italian kitchen in the middle of Altrincham. Unexpected, well crafted, warm, welcoming and it uses the best of local suppliers wherever possible – Gingers Comfort Emporium, Manchester Veg People, Reserve Wines. 

It’s no wonder people are filling my social media feed with love for it.

Now boys, hurry up and get this week’s rest and recuperation over and done with. I want to come back in and eat again…