Gusto Italian - Manchester — Restaurant in Manchester

Update: since they replied on here, we got in touch and they invited us back over. My friends were a bit skeptical but actually really enjoyed their meal. The quality of food was so different from Christmas, they said that they have changed their mind about Gusto and would consider going back with their partners.

Summary: When me and two of my friends went for festive lunch in December, we were served the worst Christmas lunch we have ever had.

We wrote to say how disappointed we were afterwards on 15th December and they never even responded.

Photo: the main dish in the photo is untouched. It came like this.

Details: For the last 20 years, me and my uni friends have festive lunch every year in December. I’m in charge of finding restaurants that serve Christmas lunch that’s reasonable and tasty. This year, I chose Gusto because I’ve been here before and they have been okay.

Two of my friends had starter. Chicken pate and mushroom bruschetta. Both bread was so stale, they couldn’t chew them. I tried both and we even struggled to tear it because it was that stale.

We all ordered turkey for the main. The carrots were completely raw and we got the tiniest amount of gravy. When I asked if they had more gravy, the waiter said yes sure, and brought us a small pot of extra gravy. When we went to pay, we found that they charged us £2 extra and we weren’t even told that would cost extra.

To make this worse, when we booked, the menu they had online said £31.95 for three courses (2024 price) yet when we got to the restaurant, the same menu had increased yo £38.95.

My friends are normally not the type to complain but they asked me to write in to say how disappointed they were. I wrote to them on 15th December and they never even replied.

I was already disappointed in the whole experience but their service was normally pretty good so I expected to hear back at least so I was even more disappointed.

This put us so bad that we probably won’t go here again. Like I said, their Italian food is normally ok but there are plenty of other Italian restaurants that serve better quality...

Grab yourself a Sunday Lunch at Gusto

Enter to classical music in a fancy restaurant, and you find yourself in Gusto Manchester. Once again, it’s one of those places that don’t look like much from the outside but it’s massive and really nicely done on the inside - kinda like a Tardis. Their Sunday lunch offering (served until 6pm) is quite reasonable with £20 for a 2-course meal if you’re having meat or £20 for a 3-course meal for the Vegetarian/ Vegan options.

We had ourselves 3 courses with the beginnings of; Gusto Dough Petals (vg) - We did wonder why they were called petals and now we know why. It’s a Gusto special and rightly so with an Italian twist in the dough. This was the better starter of the two Cheese Gnudi with aged Balsamic & Beetroot (v) - This was so pretty, and very instagrammable :) Technically they are fancy cheese balls, but may be a little too much for a single person as the goats cheese make it a little heavier. A good starter if you’re sharing with others

The beetroot was the winner in both of the mains, and these were very filling - so you might want to pace yourselves because you may not make it to the third course. The mains were; Rainbow Vegetable Parcel (v) - A good variety of veg, albeit a little plain. This would have been so much better if there was some kind of seasoning to enhance the veg Oven Roasted Cauliflower Steak (vg) - This had a variety of flavours, with the beetroot adding that extra kick. It would have been nicer if it was a little softer and maybe needed a little more roasting

With the sweet endings of; Vegan Chocolate & Orange Tart (vg) - Dark chocolate with orange, so smooth and rich. The raspberry provided a fruity hit and the orange isn’t strong - a very nice ending Warm Chocolate & Hazelnut Brownie (v) - Who says no to a warm brownie with melting ice cream. There were pieces of hazelnut and yes, we finished all of our desserts very quickly

The starters and desserts were good at Gusto

Recommended for: Fancy, Dough Petals, Italian Service: High Price: ££ Halal:...

First time eating at a Gusto. I'm vegetarian and tried the vegan steak, which was pretty good. I wish it was a bit wetter/ had more sauce to the dish. However, all of it was delicious and well cooked. I'm not a mushroom person. However, all eaten together, they were manageable. My partner had the meat steak, which they also enjoyed, as they don't like cheese, we had to order a side of fries for them, and I ate their potatoe gratin, which was delicious! Looking online, it seems that there is sometimes a rump option on the menu that comes with fries that he would've preferred. Regardless, we enjoyed all the food we ate. The tomato dough petals for starters were delicious, and I would've loved a cheese version of them and more in the portion. I probably wouldn't have the hummus option again as the bread was weird thin crackers and didn't really see what was Italian about the dish. All the cocktails we had were perfect, and we would happily go back just for them. There did seem to be an issue with them not having cream and chocolate sauce for some of the drinks/ desserts, which wasn't acknowledged, particularly, but again overall this didn't remove too much from the overall taste and experience. Some tables looked quite dark, so bare this in mind if you have vision issues. Although we spent a lot (£150 for 3 courses + alcohol for two) you could definitely just have water and a nice pizza! We both were super surprised by how nice everything tasted and would love to try their other items another time. Staff were nice. However, service was a bit slow at times for a clearly quiet Sunday, and they did initially forget my partners fries that we ordered specifically because they disliked the potato gratin part of their steak dish. Cute Christmasy decor and friendly staff who were more than happy to make...