| Cuisine : | Burgers, Hot Dogs, North American, Ribs, Steaks and Grills |
|---|---|
| Open for : | dinner, late night, lunch |
| Type : | bar, restaurant, takeaway |
| Tags : | child friendly, function room, private dining room, separate bar, suitable for large groups, tables outside |
| Menu types : | a-la-carte, lunch menu, specials board |
| Reservations : | booking advised at weekends, reservations accepted |
| For families : | childrens menu |
| Average price : | Main course £10. Three courses £19. |
| Lunch prices : | Average three courses £12.25 (lunch menu) or £9.95 for two courss. |
| Website : | http://www.solita.co.uk/ |
| Short URL : | http://iate.at/solita |
SoLiTa, short for South of Little Italy, is a bar and restaurant in Manchester's Northern Quarter. It takes its name not from the food, but from its location a short distance from Ancoats.
On the menu at SoLiTa are mains of rib-eye or hanger steaks, Jacob's ladder ribs and a burger enriched with bone marrow along with some more unusual offerings such as deep fried mac'n'cheese (served with with pulled pork or with red onion marmalade). The majority of the mains are cooked in the restaurant's charcoal fired Inka oven which cooks at temperatures up to 500 degrees Celsius.
Small plates on offer include salt cod balls, truffled egg toast, and a pulled pork sundae - pulled pork with SoLiTa's 60/40 mash (60% potato, 40% butter) and a shard of pork crackling. Puddings (all under £5) continue the theme with ice cream with candied bacon, rum and molasses marinaded pineapple roasted in the Inka oven with coconut ice cream, or deep fried Coke.
The main menu is supplemented by a specials board which includes a "burger of the week" and a daily-changing salad.
Please note, reservations are only accepted for groups of six or more. There is a private dining room, and for larger parties the basement bar area can be made available.
A lunchtime menu (12:00-15:00, 7 days a week) offers two courses for £9.90 or three for £12.25 with a choice of 3-4 starers, mains and desserts.
Review left on 02/12/2012 by RangeRover (1 review)
Been going here since they opened, and always had great food. Visited on Saturday and had a superb steak
Gets busy at weekends, so arrive early - or go midweek. Wife likes the cocktails.
Review left on 25/10/2012 by nmb (1 review)
This place is seriously over-hyped, but it does have good points. To read their twitter feed you'd think Jesus himself had come back to open a restaurant serving... burgers and deep fried stuff. Well it beats his previous bread-and-fish based foray into catering I guess.
My burger was nice - well cooked and made with quality ingredients - but really it was just a burger done competently at the end of the day. Certainly no life-changing religious experience going on there. The chips, I understand are bought in - bit odd that.
One thing that can't be faulted (even by me) is the service, the staff are cheerful, friendly and bring what you want when you want it (yeah I know that sounds basic, but honestly how many times does that actually happen these days!).
I can't help wondering if this place will still be so popular in a year or so once the novelty wears off or if this is just a fad? Time will tell, and I'm willing to be proved wrong!
Review left on 12/10/2012 by mcr (1 review)
Immense burger - recommend the smoked chilli topping, it is out of this world. Loved it, going back.
Review left on 30/09/2012 by Antonia (1 review)
I keep going back, they keep getting better.
I went for lunch at Solita today, must be about my 6th visit in as many weeks. Tried the KFB burger for the first time today and I'm totally in love - it is my favourite thing there now. The KFB bit stands for Kentucky Fried Bacon - and it is brilliant.
I've read complaints on the internet about service, but I've always had happy friendly staff when I have been in.
Review left on 12/09/2012 by Becca (1 review)
10/10 - love this new place in the northern quarter. Went for lunch today and had their pork chop with apple chips - amazing. The pork is cooked in a charcoal oven and that gives it the most amazing taste. Work mates had burgers and said they were the best they'd had, including the NQ's other new burger place.
Service was quick and friendly, and the bill seemed really reasonable given the quality of the food. Looks like this is a new addition to our office's list of lunchtime spots.
Review left on 08/09/2012 by BurgerMe (1 review)
Visited on Friday night, the place was absolutely rammed. Here is why:
I started with their sweetcorn chowder, which was rich, sweet and slightly smoky - if you like corn chowder you will love this stuff. I followed this with a KFB burger... the star of which is their "Kentucky fried bacon" but also comes with melted cheese, a great barbecue sauce and jalapeños. All of this sits inside a beautiful, sweet bun along with a just-pink and incredibly moist patty. Probably the best burger I've ever had.
Second only to the food is the service. All the staff we dealt with at the table and at the bar seemed genuinely happy to be there, knew what they were talking about and actually did what they should do - sad to say that is a rarity these days, but they seem to have it nailed here.
Very highly recommended, go now!!!
Review left on 04/09/2012 by steph (139 reviews)
We sat outside, although not very glamorous being opposite a multistory car park - but it was a pleasant evening as the sun was shining.
I started with the deep fried macaroni balls with homemade ketchup, they were delicious!
My main was a tribute burger. This was one of the best burgers I've ever had, I loved it!
The staff were great, chatty and knowledgeable about the menu and the service was spot on, despite sitting at the furthest table outside.
Review left on 01/09/2012 by Thom (1 review)
Having heard loads about it, I visited this restaurant in the NQ today with the wife to find out what all the fuss was about.
Started with their "Pulled Pork Sundae" - the tenderest pulled pork topped with mash and crackling. It sounds a bit odd, but it is great and the presentation is good fun too.
My "KFB burger" was also brilliant, a delicious beef and bone marrow patty with cheese, barbecue sauce and their "Kentucky Fried Bacon" all wrapped up in a delicious, sweet bun. Something I really liked was the bun stayed in one piece right to the last mouthful, something a the likes of MEATLiquor down in London could learn from (although their burgers great too). Came served with good fries - although a few more on the plate wouldn't do any harm.
Also, try the smoked German beer - never had anything like that before!
Other than the food and drink, the staff were lovely and the bill was the right side of £50 even with two courses and a couple of beers each - so really can't fault the place. It is my birthday in a few weeks, guess where she'll be taking me for my dinner...
Review left on 01/09/2012 by Jemma L (1 review)
Today we made our first visit to Solita in the The Northern Quarter and I am sure it won't be our last! Great food, great service and a brilliant atmosphere!
I started with the deep fried macaroni cheese balls which were just amazing, oozing with cheesy sauce. I followed this with their "Tribute" burger which the waitress told me was their version of a Big Mac - I can see how it is like it, but it seriously blows the Big Mac out of the water.
Best food in the NQ! GO THERE!!!
Review left on 25/08/2012 by Gary T (1 review)
Solita NQ is my new favourite place to eat. The burgers are beautiful - moist and well cooked - ie not overcooked like everywhere else seems to do them!.
Kentucky fried bacon is genius.
Great food, lovely staff, cool restaurant and sensible prices - what more could you ask for? Top marks!