Calling all Italian Foodies! Christmas has come early with Carluccio’s Festive Menu – here’s everything you need to know…

The run up to Christmas is here and there’s no better way to get into the festive spirit than carbing it up and enjoying Carluccios Menu Festivo with three courses for 20.95.
The authentic Italian provides dishes for everyone, from lasagna lovers to vegetarians… their festive menu has been designed to give us all a taste of Italy during the winter month. Sounds good right?

Carluccios invited some VIVA girls to give the festive menu a try, here’s what we thought…

Tara: I’ll take some stand up Italian grub over a roast dinner any day – so couldn’t wait to see what Carluccios was offering on their ‘Festive Menu’. To start I had the Antipasti, which included baked ricotta with Sardinian flat bread, salami, prosciutto, popocini peppers, balsamic onions and green beans. The starter was perfect to get my taste buds going, the meats were so fresh and rich in flavor. It also wasn’t too filling so I had room for my main!
I then had (for the first time ever) Lobster & Crab Lasagna, which had crayfish with layers of spinach and tomato sauce. Having top quality seafood with a tasty Italian is a match made in heaven! It was an interesting concoction – the tomato sauce was literally bursting with flavours, I have to say, it was superb.
To finalize the meal, I decided to go for Carluccio’s award winning Panettone from the deli, drizzled with syrup and ice cream. The dessert made me feel like I was sat in a little café in the middle of Rome during the summer (was taken back to reality by the thunder battering the skies above Manchester!!)

Overall, Italian is my all time favorite cuisine and Carluccio’s never fail to disappoint! 5/5 from me.

Lauren: As a vegetarian I’m always interested to see how restaurants can cater to my requirements but still keep it tasty and exciting. To start I had Crostini al Funghi, which is warm mushrooms served with kale, chilli and garlic toasted ciabatta. As someone who doesn’t love mushrooms, I was pleasantly surprised and thought the chilli gave it that extra kick!
I then opted for a roasted butternut squash (yum!) served with vegetables and goats cheese, drizzled in pesto and bread crumbs. I’d never tasted anything like this, I will definitely return before Christmas to have it again! The home-made style pesto gave it that Italian twist. It was really flavorsome, even meat-eating Tara enjoyed a bite!
For dessert I went for some chocolate torte served with raspberry coulis and icing sugar. This dish was very rich and not something you could eat loads of, but the raspberry complimented the chocolate beautifully!

Overall it’s clear that Carluccio’s have gone to a lot of thought to create some tasty options for their vegetarian customers. 4.5/5!

Gift Idea Alert!
Carluccios are also offering a unique gift idea, letting you fill up Christmas boxes of their products to send to loved ones. Items include luxurious oils, sauces, wines, pasta and chocolates. They offer a huge range that you can hand pick once you’ve finished dinner! This is bound to delight any Italian food lovers in your life!

You can create gift boxes online or in store, take a look here.

Information: 
Website: www.carluccios.com
Spinningfields contact number: Hardman Square, 1 Hardman St, Manchester M3 3EB
Spinningfields address: 0161 839 0623