The popular city centre food spot has been going down a storm since launching last September.
Their take on Glasgow’s fried pizza with fresh figs and Parma ham(Image: Malocchio)
The man behind one of Glasgow’s most talked about Italian dining spots is changing up lots of their iconic dishes again – but confirmed that the viral vodka pasta will stay this time.
Malocchio is the small plates and pizzettes Italian restaurant in the Merchant City that has been going down a storm since launching last September.
Despite only being open for nine months, owner Romano Perella last night launched his 3.0 menu with big changes again.
But after a wild response to dropping the most popular dish of all – the iconic vodka pasta – a few months back, Romano is quick to reassure fans that a few key items are here to stay.
Romano said: “We will always change it up to keep Malocchio fresh, exciting and different for our team, our customers and for me too. We want to get better every day.
“It’s not a seasonal change although, it is influenced by seasonal produce of course. It’s about being playful and putting our twist on different dishes, or reimagining ones we have.
“There are some cornerstones we will keep permanently though – camembert pizzette, crispy potato starter, steak with cowboy butter, our signature tiramisu and yes, vodka pasta.
“That’s a lesson we learned last time when it felt like everyone in Glasgow was stopping me to demand we bring it back. So we did.
“I knew people would like those dishes but the love for the steak and the impact of the crispy potatoes were a surprise.
“The intensity of the reaction around the vodka pasta was wild. So those core dishes are here to stay.”
There are a lot of changes across the rest of the menu though, with tweaks to previous dishes as well as totally new additions or replacements.
The new Malocchio menu(Image: Contirbuted)
Romano said: “We have switched up the big fish dish, introducing an amazing new star ingredient monkfish cheeks – this is such a special one. I love it.
“We’ve added a new sort of risotto dish called orzotto, made with fresh pasta rather than rice so it’s a variation on the classic.
“Look out for our Friggitelli peppers which are similar to the famous Spanish padrons, but obviously an Italian version
“Our take on Glasgow’s fried pizza is switched up with fresh figs and Parma ham – this is a really nice twist and I think it will be popular.
“There’s a new gnocchi plate served with sundried butter and also a new option for our filled pasta, which is light and refreshing.
“We have brought back seafood pasta, with crab instead of mussels and also we have added king prawns, spinning it up a bit from menu 1.0 back in the day.
“We’ve changed up our sourdough focaccia making it with olives, we did it with tomatoes in menu 2.0.
“For summer days there is a new peach salad – nice, light, seasonal. Also the classic prosciutto melone dish, real deep-rooted traditional Italian.
“The much-loved carrots from 2.0 stay, and we have a new take on pesto – we’ve had with kale, then trapanese but now it is the classic pesto Genovese.
“I love the new porchetta and potato pizza, which uses trimmings from the crispy layered potato dish so it’s a great sustainability dish too.
“And the crab pizzette is a real favourite with the team – really recommend that.”
The restaurant has been a huge hit over the last nine months and Romano – who also owns classic family NYC style Italian spot Amore just along the street – is thrilled at the continued support.
“It’s tough for everyone in hospitality right now so I know how lucky we are that Malocchio continues to have the most amazing support.
“That’s why we work so hard to keep it fresh and different, always evolve and try to get better all the time.
“From our team, our chefs, the menu, the dishes and the service, it’s about making sure it’s better every time you choose to spend your time and money with us.
“Even things like the website – we have introduced a new see the dish concept where you can view the food as it will look in the restaurant, as a moving image – really see what you can expect when you come in. Go to Malocchio.co.uk/seethedish
“Overall since we opened the reactions, the support and the love from the city and beyond have been amazing, so thank you Glasgow.”
Dining and Cooking