Date: Wednesday 22nd February
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This is possibly the best restaurant I have ever been to.
Big claim I know, but this is most definitely a deserving one. This place is in a league of their own in terms of fine dining, everything was to perfection.
Located in my local village Heaton Moor (represent) this hidden British restaurant is snugly neighbored by a DVD store and a Fish and Chippy. So although the dining is high class, there was definitely no hint of snobbishness. The staff was very friendly, and what seemed like the owners, were very welcoming. I absolutely loved the decor inside. Largely using wine bottles to give the place character, the place oozed class. This place would be perfect for a candle light dinner with that special one, or to have an upmarket business dinner to impress a client.
We were given a A La Carte menu in a very posh binder, and also a separate set menu costing a reasonable £14.95 for two dishes or £17.95 for three. I personally could not resist some of the dishes from the A La Carte menu upping the price of my meal, but I was fine with that. Although the menu seemed a little limited, it seemed have classic favourites for all taste buds, from delicious sea-bass to a succulent sirloin steak. It also has fat chips as a side for ones that don't like to experiment. Also, attention cheese lovers, I saw a neighboring table order a selection of 10-15 different cheeses. The waiter brought all the blocks of cheese available over letting you choose which you fancy (if not all) and slices a piece for you to try. It looked like a very interesting thing to try one time.
They begin your meal with complementary home made bread accompanied by cubes of butter. They can also bring balsamic vinegar with the bread on request. For starter I went with the crab and parsley risotto, which simply said, melted in my mouth. At first glance, it looked interesting, with the risotto topped with a foamy broth, but it was simply fantastic.
For main I went with the shoulder of lamb (not on the online menu) accompanied with the saute potatoes with parsley and garlic. It was just wow. It was the best lamb I have ever had (sorry Mum). The lamb was unbelievably soft, with an amazing flavour. The potatoes were also great, coming uniquely sliced in a square, sandwiched a beautiful garlic sauce.
I also tried the salmon accompanied by fresh mussels, which was part of the set menu. The salmon was good, the mussels were simply spectacular. They were nicely soft and tasted wonderful.
The portions of everything were very generous. We were all very full after the two dishes, however we couldn't resist getting a dessert to complete our meal. I went for the chocolate and orange cheesecake. It was amazing. It possibly could have surpassed the cheesecake I had in Chicago. It had a scrumptious chocolate orange flavour, with both orange and chocolate sauce flowing out perfecting the taste, and honestly topping off my meal.
As you can see, I cannot recommend this place more highly. It makes me proud that this is in the village I grew up in, and hopefully encourages other places to follow this marvelous eatery. The only reason I cannot give this (or any restaurant) a ten is because I refuse to think my dining experience has peaked. So now it seems the Dining Gods have given me an important task, to hunt for a place to surpass this fine dining in Manchester.
9.5 out of 10 rating.
