Il Mannarino Modena — Restaurant in Modena

i love this concept— picking your meat from the butcher at the desk and then sitting down and sharing a bunch of newly prepared meat dishes! the staff are really good at explaining and were extremely friendly. however, when we went they were very clearly understaffed and it took ages to get our order. we did get compensated with some digestifs but still, they needed more assistance.

additionally, another minus was that the house red wine was ice cold, so not so tasty until the end of the meal when it had been tempered. but now to the amazing food:

i loved my tartare, very well flavoured and finely chopped. probably the best one i’ve had in Italy so far. really solid, the only thing missing was some mustard on the side.

the lamb intestines were lovely, reminiscent of eating just heart or liver, but it might even be tastier mixed together and prettily wrapped in bacon.

the pork bits were nice, especially the one in black seasoning and the spicy one. good as a starter snack!

the florentine steak was cooked to perfection, and so juicy… beautifully red by the marrow and it melted in my mouth. i loved both sides of it.

i was also delighted with the desserts, the tiramisu is heavy on the mascarpone which i adore! seriously, it’s one of the best i’ve had in Italy! the biscuit is also properly soaked and the portion is big. very nice!

strawberry ice cream was good, nothing remarkable.

chocolate cake however was also delicious, with a rich ganache and more dry brownie-like bottom. it’s served with cream too which balances the richness.

thank you for a very nice...

We had a great meal at this butcher’s and restaurant at the same time. They have an interesting concept in which you first choose what you want to eat from the butcher’s and then you are taken to a table. Butcher Marte was the one to help us understand the concept and decide what cuts to get, we had a very pleasant interaction with him, smiling and helpful! The other waiter that served us at the table was very nice as well. They have outdoor seating as well, we chose to stay inside. The decor and atmosphere of the restaurant is nice as well, with personalized glasses, olive oil and cutlery stands, they were very attentive to details. We were brought bread and some ground meat bruschetta from the house, which was again, very nice of them. Then, the meal itself was great: tasty and juicy meat, crunchy snitzel and delicious sausage. The sides were also wonderful: oven baked potatoes that were crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle, with a decent amount of rosemary and grilled vegetables - still firm and flavorful. My husband also had a beef carpaccio which he also fully enjoyed. We did not feel the need for sauces on the meat, I don’t know if they had any. We did not get dessert as we went for gelato afterwards, but I saw at another table that if you got cannoli, you had to stuff them yourself and dip the sides in pistachio/chocolate chips - nice idea. I fully recommend going for a meal at Mannarino’s, the food is great, the staff is amazing and the price - very decent for what you get! They are also...

A cena con amici, entrambi con bambini, abbiamo la fortuna di entrare ad un buon orario e col locale praticamente ancora vuoto. Si tratta di un dettaglio di non poco conto poiché la formula di ordinazione proposta, ovvero scelta a banco di cibo, contorni e bevande, può richiedere diverso tempo specialmente alle prime occasioni data l’offerta di carni per le quali "anche l'occhio vuole la sua parte" (almeno per me, oltre a voler sapere la pezzatura per non voler sprecare cibo e soldi ordinando troppo). Considerando circa un paio di minuti a testa per l'ordine, tra lo scegliere ed il comunicare, capite bene che è facile che si possa creare coda dato anche lo spazio esiguo dell'ingresso (e la coppia dietro a noi ha palesemente sbuffato per l'attesa). Non sta a me giudicare la scelta e solo il tempo darà ragione o torto, diciamo che a mio avviso potrebbe rivelarsi rischioso specie durante la stagione fredda.

Ad ogni modo: veniamo fatti accomodare ad un tavolo un pò piccolo per 6 persone, considerando che ogni cosa ordinata è stata servita singolarmente col risultato di avere diversi piatti sul tavolo in simultanea e la cameriera che costantemente passava per chiedere se poteva portare via qualcosa.

Per quanto riguarda il cibo, personalmente ho preso bombette piccanti (piccante non pervenuto), una bombetta alla mortadella, diaframma (tenero ma eccessivamente cotto all'esterno col risultato di sapere di bruciato, ne ho mangiati di migliori) e caponatina. Ho assaggiato gli arrosticini di mia figlia ed il caciocavallo fuso. Mia moglie ha preso l'agnello, i torcinelli e le bombette classiche. Da emiliano sposato con una pugliese posso dire che le bombette non hanno trovato i miei favori, per il resto cibo discreto ma non da gridare al miracolo come ho letto in altre recensioni. Conto giusto per la quantità di roba ordinata, forse un pò in eccesso sui prezzi di alcune portate (vedi il caciocavallo piuttosto che le birre) ma nel complesso allineato a ciò che attualmente si spende per una cena a base carne.

Locale rinnovato (è l'ex Bottega 39), spazio sui tavoli forse poco funzionale per la formula scelta (penso all'alzatina su cui son stati serviti diaframma ed arrosticini, costringendo un commensale a rinunciare letteralmente ad 1/3 dello spazio a disposizione a capotavola).

Ci ritornerei? Personalmente non penso e la possibilità di dover fronteggiare code all'ingresso e relativa attesa, avendo una bambina di 4 anni, potrebbe essere un forte deterrente rispetto ad altri locali a...