Gino D'Acampo launches new Manchester restaurant and announces plans for TWO more

Celebrity chef Gino D'Acampo has unveiled his stylish new Manchester restaurant - and says he's already eyeing TWO further sites for his Italian brand in the city. Gino was in the city centre on Thursday night to welcome guests to his new restaurant on First Street.

VIP guests were able to sample tasters from the new menu, which includes new theatrical pasta dishes to share, and carbonara pizza. Gino was the star of the night, mingling with guests and posing for selfies, as well as welcoming star pals to the launch event including musicals star Alfie Boe.

The 200-cover Italian restaurant is at the INNSiDE by Meliá Hotel, and has been given a huge £800k refurbishment from its former First Street Bar and Kitchen Brand.

READ MORE: Huge queues for the Trafford Centre's newest addition

TV star Gino told the MEN that with this latest restaurant launch now complete, he has his eyes on even bigger expansion in the city. His plans for a three floor super-Italian at the former Restaurant Bar and Grill on John Dalton Street are still very much on the table he says, as well as a SECOND site that has caught his eye.

Gino, with his favourite Negroni cocktail in hand, said: "Let me get this launch done and then I can focus on the bigger sites in Manchester. In the pipeline there are two sites in Manchester.

"One is the one we've already discussed on John Dalton Street, but the other one I can't say yet. I think everybody has seen that I'm opening restaurants and that business is going really well for us - the formula works.

"So everyone is throwing restaurants at us, everyone is throwing sites our way and they say do this, do that. So at the moment we are taking our options.

"We say ok we have an amazing site there, but we have