Jamie Faulkner SoLIta (short for South of Little Italy) brings the bar and grill concept to the Northern Quarter for the first time. The idea is to serve comforting, homely food in a New York-Italian vein, or what owner Dom Sotgiu calls âposh, kidâs foodâ.
The menu is a carnivoreâs dream. Even the ice cream, made by Cabrelliâs, comes with bacon candy. Nibbles come in the form of fried chicken skin, a lighter alternative to pork scratchings; starters include bacon jam on sourdough, deep-fried cod balls, and the pulled-pork sundae (£5.50), which is sure to become a favourite among customers.
For the main courses, Dom has chosen some of the cheaper, tastier cuts and made them shine with the help of the Inka charcoal oven, which produces results that rival the best outdoor barbecue. The Short-ribs, aka Jacobâs Ladder, are slow-cooked for two days before being finished in the Inka, a recipe for deliciously tasty meat. A hanger steak (the tail end of the sirloin), notoriously difficult to cook, is a steal at £14.90.
Standout cooking
Other standout dishes include the behemoth deep-fried mac ânâ cheese burger, which has to be seen to be believed (see picture, £9.50) and the sumptuous beef and bone marrow burgers on a perfectly light, yet sturdy demi-brioche bun (£8.90). Even the side salad and chargrilled vegetables are brimming with flavour.
Desserts come in the form of âdeep-fried cokeâ (coke-flavoured churros, £4.90), cheesecake, and the astounding chargrilled pineapple, soaked in aged Havana Club and molasses, with coconut ice cream. Dom has also been Louis Vuitton handbags lucky to get hold of some fine baristas: someone has taste in beer and wine. SoLIta is located in the Margolis Building on Turner Street, previous home of Sole. We think itâs likely to win diners over with a unique take on the bar and grill.
SoLIta, 37 Turner Street, Northern Quarter, M4 1DW. Tel: 0161 839 5600 www.solita.co.uk