An award-winning Italian restaurant from just over the Cheshire border is opening its first site in Greater Manchester.

Giuliano, based on Wilmslow Road in Handforth, is due to open a second restaurant in Bramhall on 19 October. It is taking over the former Trunk Lounge on Bramhall Lane South, which has been fully transformed for the new opening.

The Handforth restaurant was named Best Restaurant in England at the England Business Awards two years ago, and Best Restaurant in Cheshire in both 2023 and 2024.

Giuliano first opened in 2012 and was taken over seven years later by owner Lulzim Culaj, who is originally from Albania. He is credited with turning it from a struggling restaurant into one recognised at national level.

The cooking draws on Sicily. The Handforth menu includes stonebaked pizzas, pasta and risotto, alongside fish and meat dishes such as chargrilled veal, lamb chops in red wine and garlic sauce, beef fillet and a popular Pollo Milanese. The restaurant says its dishes are prepared by a Sicilian chef with more than 20 years' experience.

Announcing the move, the team thanked their regulars: "To everyone who has dined with us, celebrated with us and continued to choose Giuliano, thank you. We can't wait to welcome both familiar faces and new guests."

Giuliano joins a growing line-up of new openings in the village. Earlier this autumn, former Coronation Street actor Maximus Evans opened Mexican restaurant Casa Papi on Woodford Road.

Sources: Giuliano and the Manchester Evening News. This article was produced with the help of AI tools and checked against the sources above.