Chorlton restaurant The Creameries relaunches with hearty yet refined cooking

Chorlton institution The Creameries has relaunched this month with a brand new identity.

Campagna at The Creameries by head chef Mike Thomas features Southern European country cooking with seasonal ingredients.

After stints at Where the Light Gets In, Bright, Rochelle Canteen and Leroy, and a couple of years at Honest Crust, Mike joined The Creameries as a chef de partie in 2019, quickly progressing to head chef in September 2020. 

Working with owner Mary-Ellen McTague at The Creameries he has been able to hone his craft, and now he will take over the restaurant’s menu, making fresh pasta, bar snacks and focaccia daily.

With pasta dishes starting from £10, starters, salads and desserts between £7 to £14, and three courses for £30 (on Sundays), Campagna at The Creameries moves away from previous fixed-price, fine-dining style menus.

Main courses such as cuttlefish stew with braised fennel and confit duck leg with puy lentils demonstrate the diversity of cooking from Southern Europe, while desserts including hazelnut torte with zabaglione cream reflect Mike’s passion for baking.

Dishes will change seasonally, in close collaboration with suppliers such as Cinderwood Market Garden, who will be growing specialist ingredients for Campagna, and Littlewoods butchers. 

Winter starters of roast candy beetroot or palourde clams with chickpeas, pastis and rouille will make way when Spring arrives.

However, staple classics, such as the beef shin ragu, will remain year round.

On Sundays, the menu turns ‘Al Forno’- think bubbling lasagne alla ragu bolognese or king oyster mushroom vincisgrassi (a style of vegetarian lasagne) accompanied by a crisp green salad, followed by a beautiful, classic tiramisu or a Courtyard Dairy cheese plate.

The wine, as ever, remains a key, carefully curated part of the offer, with a focus on delicious, low-intervention Italian wines that are perfect with pasta, while a new children’s menu makes it an ideal spot for a family get together.

“It sounds pretty simple but I’m most excited about making people delicious food,” says Mike about taking over The Creameries with his Campagna concept.

Mike has spent the last four years hosting his Umbra Foods supper clubs around Manchester – and now it’s finally time for his hearty yet refined, ingredient-led cooking to have a home of its own.

“It’s been a pleasure working with Mike this last couple of years, and to see his skills and confidence grow,” says Mary-Ellen.

“I’m so excited to see Campagna come to fruition.

“Chorlton is in for a treat!”

Reservations for Campagna at The Creameries are open now.