San Carlos is possibly the best restaurant in Leicester. In the town centre anyway, and since the Case closed down I cannot think of another restaurant in the centre of town where there’s a whiff of that feeling of being somewhere wonderful that’s not a chain.
Even though San Carlos is part of a larger group that includes Fumo in Birmingham and the Flying Pizza in Leeds it doesn’t feel like it. It’s old school. Beautiful crisp white table clothes, servers in smart waist coats and ties. The kind of trained staff who know how to serve a cocktail, pour a bottle of wine, clean the table of crumbs and spills before dessert and coffee. The kind of touches that elevate a restaurant from quick and cheap to elegant and an experience.
For anyone visiting the City from another place, and definitely for overseas visitors looking for a great food and wine experience in the City Centre this is the only place I’d recommend.
I love Italian food, probably my favourite. I love well made, drip of the chin pizza and el dente pasta, the type of food people travel around Italy to experience. And San Carlos delivers from the exuberant loud chef who comes to your table if you are honoured with his presence, to the singing in the kitchen which can sometimes be heard.
Every time I visit I think I have to come and support more often. I always have the feeling it’s just not going to survive. I usually go for lunch and the last half a dozen times the place has only been a third full, if that and I don’t really know why because for anyone stylish it’s the best food and the most fun.
I am sure I am not the only one who has noticed the centre centre of Leicester deteriorate which may be the reason for the decline in patronage at a beautiful spot like San Carlos, where celebrity photographs of sporting heroes and rock gods alike adorn the walls, a place to grab a late super when Leicester was the budding music, comedy and creative centre for talent to flock to.
The restaurant for me still holds that charm and I would be devastated to see it close. Then there would be literally nowhere like this to go in Leicester. I went to the not so new Gresham Hotel on Market Street for a meal a while ago, encouraged by the hype we had a new fantastic and different place to go and whilst the setting was interesting, a kinda 1920’s Coconut Grove cocktail bar feel with indoor palm trees (fake but it’s Leicester) the food and service was terrible and I felt like I was sitting on a made for Instagram influencers set. I never went back.
San Carlos is the opposite, authentic, old school and stylish. The food is consistently fantastic and the service, well there’s no where like it certainly in Leicester. The location on Granby St opposite the Grand Hitel isn’t the best and the parking around there isn’t the easiest either although you can usually park around Halford St and walk across.
People may have been put off because it’s a large restaurant and if there aren’t many people in there it’s hard to create the atmosphere San Carlos is known for but boy when it’s hopping and the staff are on fire I cannot think of a better spot for lunch or dinner I’d rather go to.
If you’ve never been don’t forget about this gem of a place when you are thinking of somewhere to celebrate a special occasion, they are particularly good at accommodating big groups, or just a wonderful bowl of well cooked pasta using high quality authentic ingredients.
The focaccia is out of this world and the olive oil is always fragrant and expensive. If you need only one reason to go, and there are actually many, this would be it.