Da Manu

«Da Manu» opened just steps from St. Isaac's Square, on Bolshaya Morskaya Street, next to Admiralteyskaya metro station. The name translates from Italian as "at Manu's" — the nickname for Manuel Suraci, a certified pizzaiolo and the restaurant's brand chef, while the pizzeria concept belongs to Aram Mnatsakanov. The space is small but well thought out: tables under a vintage chandelier, seats by the open kitchen, and sofas. The walls and kitchen are finished with Karelian birch wood panels, and one wall is decorated with a panel featuring a fragment of the Renaissance fresco "The Creation of Man" from the Medici-Riccardi Palace in Florence. The restaurant's format is Pizza & Aperitivo. Manuel Suraci originally created the pizza dough for the Mina restaurant in Moscow, where guests immediately took to it. Rolled out with a rolling pin, it comes out thin and crisp, similar to the Sardinian flatbread pane carasau. The menu includes classics like Margherita and Four Cheese, as well as a pizza with mortadella and pistachios, one with black truffle, and a version with salmon and black caviar. There's also an unusual "Margherita Calabrese," where the mozzarella is added before the tomato sauce. The "Fattoush" salad deserves special mention — the greens are hidden inside a dough sphere that's cracked open right at the table. The main menu is complemented by dishes familiar from Aram Mnatsakanov's other projects: homemade pasta in several varieties, turkey cotoletta alla milanese with salad, and Sicilian-style octopus. For the aperitivo, the restaurant offers its own branded prosecco, signature cocktails, and Italian wines selected by sommelier Dmitry Kizeev. The average check at the pizzeria is 1,500 rubles.