Review: Mangiando Calabro, Sale
Mangiando Calabro has the kind of charm you can’t really manufacture. It’s small, warm and quietly confident – the sort of place you walk into and immediately feel like you’ve found a little local gem.
Salvatore and Manuela at Mangiando Calabro
Opened on Cross Street in October last year, it’s owned and run by Salvatore and Manuela (who some of you might recognise from trading at the Makers Market in recent years) and it’s very clear from the moment you sit down that this isn’t just “Italian food” in the generic sense. This is Calabria – their home region – on a plate, served with pride and genuine excitement. With nine tables, it’s intimate enough for a cosy dinner, but would still work well for a proper catch-up with friends. The atmosphere is relaxed and unhurried.
Mangiando Calabro is not only a restaurant; it’s also a deli-style shop, with shelves of ingredients you can take home, including cured meats, cheeses, pasta and sauces, so even if you pop in for lunch, you’ll likely leave with something tucked under your arm for later.
Lunch is an easy sell here. The focaccia sandwiches are genuinely huge and for the price and quality, they feel like a no-brainer if you fancy lunch out but still want it to feel like a treat. The ‘Muntagna’ focaccia (£7.50) is a great example: packed with lonza (cured pork tenderloin), wild rocket, porcini mushroom pâté, pecorino cheese and mixed mushrooms, it’s rich and earthy without being heavy and it tastes like someone’s really thought about how every layer is going to work together. It’s not a throw-together sandwich; it’s properly made, properly filled and you can taste that it’s built around quality ingredients.
Evenings (Thursday to Saturday, serving until 9.30pm) are where the Calabrian passion really comes through. The menu features a strong selection of pasta dishes; the Fileja Ca N’duja (£13) is exactly what you hope it’ll be: spicy, warming, glossy with sauce, with that punchy Calabrian N’duja heat balanced by the saltiness of pecorino. It’s a dish that feels simple in a confident way; it’s not trying to impress with gimmicks, it just delivers what it promises. The Tagliatelle Da Muntagna (£16) leans into hearty comfort, featuring beef mince, mushrooms and pecorino that come together in a satisfying, generous bowl of pasta.
Starters are where you can really have some fun, especially if you’re sharing. The Tagliere Mangiando Calabro (£36) – a large spread of Calabrian vegetarian pâté, pickles, cheeses, cured meats, a pork N'duja pot, a beans pot and plenty of focaccia – is a brilliant way to start and it’s also where one of the most memorable touches comes in: the terracotta N'duja warmer. Warm the N'duja and it turns soft and spreadable, becoming a rich, spicy, smoky paste that melts into the focaccia. It’s a proper “oh wow” moment and it shows the care behind what they’re doing. Alongside that, the Arancinu N'duja (£5) hits the spot – crisp outside, comforting inside, with mozzarella and tomato cutting through the heat – and the Pipi e Patati Calabrisi (£8), a dish of Calabrian peppers and potatoes, brings a lovely punch of spice that wakes everything up.
The best thing about eating here is how clearly it transports you. A meal at Mangiando Calabro really does allow you to taste the flavours of Calabria, from the spice and richness of N'duja, to the depth of pecorino, to the way they treat simple ingredients with respect. Salvatore and Manuela are also a big part of why it works so well. They’re friendly, happy to guide you through the menu and they genuinely seem to enjoy helping people discover new dishes. That warmth makes a difference and it’s why this place feels like more than somewhere to eat; it feels like a small Sale business you want to root for.
Mangiando Calabro has the potential to become a real gem in Sale’s food scene – a little corner of Calabria right here in M33 – and it’s the sort of place you can imagine recommending again and again: for a lunchtime focaccia that’s worth leaving the house for, for a relaxed evening meal that feels like proper comfort food and for those moments when you want to take a bit of the experience home with you from the deli shelves.
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Opening hours
Tuesday and Wednesday 11am–5.30pm | Thursday 5.30-9.30pm and Friday and Saturday 11am–3pm & 5.30-9.30pm.
📍 Mangiando Calabro, 186 Cross Street, Sale M33 7AG.
Note: menu prices and opening times correct at the time of publication. Please check with venue for any updated information!
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