A brand new “pasta kitchen” concept is to open in Altrincham – the brainchild of two restaurant entrepreneurs who only met six months ago while working together in Market House.
Alex De Martiis, 30, and Jonny Marcolgiese, 28, came up with the idea while making pizza at Honest Crust, and together with Alex’s brother Michael, 34, will next month open Sugo in the Shaw’s Road unit formerly occupied by Deli Sabrosa.
Sugo – literally “sauce” in Italian – will specialise in Southern Italian cuisine and a cooking and presentation style that they instantly bonded over in Market House.
“We’re both half-Italian and both our families are from the Puglia region,” said Alex, “and when we met it was the first time either of us had met anyone who understood food the way we do.
Below: The former Deli Sabrosa unit on Shaw’s Road, where Sugo will be opening
“So we started going round to each other’s houses, cooking a bit of pasta and trying different things, and after a while it just felt that the right thing to do was to go into business.”
The pair moved fast – they came up with the concept about two months ago, and then six to eight weeks ago secured one of the vacant units just yards from their former workplace.
The concept – which Alex says has no match in the whole country, never mind Altrincham – was borne out of a frustration the pair consistently felt with the Anglicised nature of Italian restaurants in the UK.
“A lot of places do pasta,” Alex added, “but our inspiration has come from a mutual feeling that pasta isn’t properly represented over here. Most Italian restaurants cater for English tastes, using ingredients that aren’t right and sometimes not the best quality.
Below: The new restaurant‘s branding
“Our food will be all about the ingredients, the seasonality and the regionality. We’re not having fixed menus – everything will be on the blackboard so we’re free to chop and change on a daily basis if we want to, according to the seasons.”
Central to the concept is the dining experience: Alex and Jonny will be doing all the cooking themselves, using traditional Pugliese crockery, and the back third of the long unit will be given over to a very open kitchen. “Everyone will be able to see what we’re doing,” Alex added.
There will be “rustic” seating room for 25 to 30, and the new restaurateurs have struck a deal with former Market House neighbours Reserve Wines to supply the booze. “Wine is a big deal for us, and they’ll be providing three or four red and whites that will change every few weeks,” Alex said.
So what to expect when – all being well – the restaurant opens to the public on July 1st? “We’ll be having a couple of slow-cooked sugos, one with lamb shoulder, salsiccia and San Marzano tomatoes, all slow cooked for three or four hours,” Alex added.
Below: Alex De Martiis (left) and Jonny Marcolgiese after securing the tenancy for the unit
“We’ll also be doing a couple of filled pastas – one with beef brisket and roasted carrot, all slow cooked in a chicken and basil broth, and another with squid ink pasta, filled with crab meat and ricotta.
“There’ll be lots of sharing platters, and we’ll also be doing the basics really well – a proper pasta pomodoro, and an amatriciana made as it should be with guanciale (pig’s cheek), rather than the bacon or pancetta you usually get.”
Building work on the unit started this week and is scheduled to last four weeks – and then at last their long-held dream will be realised.
“Me and Jonny have always been in and around restaurants, getting frustrated at not being able to do what we wanted!” added Alex.
“We’re absolutely buzzing that we have this chance now – it’s been a long time coming, and we can’t wait to get going.”
