Jack Spratt - Season 2 Episode 5

Date: Friday 18th October 2013

Website: http://www.jack-spratt.co.uk/

Woah! What is this? Second review in the same week? Well you know, I like to spoil you guys! Nothing makes me happier than hearing about the Nurbites taking one of my recommendations.

So the past few weeks, I've been entertaining myself with YouTube videos such as The best of Phil Mitchell and Eastenders Pow Remix. This got me thinking that I need to get back to my roots, allow all these American and Asian places, and review a classic British joint. What better than this little gem on John Dalton Street, Jack Spratt.

I've actually been here a few times before. It was the reasonable prices of their set menus and the cool, laid back atmosphere that always drew me back. The environment does make it out that it is fine dining, but at the same time gives that British pub feel. The food has also always been decent, and again they didn't disappoint.

Firstly, I must say, service is always impeccable. They act like its their own restaurant, like they want to be there, which sometimes I don't get the impression at some other establishments. The restaurant always have a specials board which the waiter points out, so always worth taking a look before choosing your dish. The set menu offered is priced two courses for £13 or three for £17. They then have a further monthly specials menu (not the board) where dishes are individually priced.

So we began with the home made bread, which comes with some butters and oils. One of the butter sticks was infused with chili which was pretty great. The main I ordered was the lamb belly, which I haven't tried before, with my wife ordering the steak. The portions were skewed, hers quite big mine not so big, so I had to take some of her food (she wasn't impressed). Firstly, the lamb belly, it is like nothing I have tried before. You could tell it was lamb, but the texture was very different, quite juicy. The steak was a very, very good steak. We also asked for some peppercorn sauce which the chef specially prepared for us, with no extra charge. The steak also came with some incredible chunky chips. The chips for sure gets the 'melts in your mouth' stamp!

When the meal was over we actually hung for a while longer, conversing over the candle light. The restaurant sets the mood for a perfect evening with the atmosphere, but is also complemented with delicious food too. If you asked me where to take a girl on a first date, this place would be high on my list. If you do manage to pull by using my recommendations, think of me whilst doing the dirty.

I know for sure that this little place will be a regular for myself. If not for a steak then perhaps a cheeky burger!

8.5 out of 10 rating.

Australasia - Season 2 Episode 4

Date: 22nd October 2013

Wagwan Nurbites!

Website: http://www.australasia.uk.com/

Apologies for being away for so long! Been very, very busy. From getting married in Chicago (via an incredible stag in Vegas) to hanging in Miami, and honey-mooning in Jamaica, I have for sure been well fed! The food on my trips has been incredible! But nothing is better than being back home to Mad-chester, the home of the Rolls Royce, the center of the universe. Manchester is the greatest place this earth has seen. Well not quite, but it is home!


Having dined at several great restaurants in Manchester recently, I thought I'd come back with a bang with a place many have heard about in Manchester. Australasia oozes class from their Louvre style stairway entry to the high tech DJ playing with what it seems a 40 inch iPad! We were sat in a booth which was excellent for privacy, giving the place the slight edge if you prefer the more intimate vibe.

The menu had 3-4 sections, sushi, smaller plates and bigger plates. The waiter liked to talk about waves, bringing the meal in 2 or 3 parts but we wanted it all to come together. We treated the restaurant like an Asian tapas bar and so we all ordered 3 dishes each planning to share everything. This was nice as it gave us like ten different small dishes to try. The drinks menu actually came on an iPad which was cool to browse through.

Before the food came, the waiter came over with a fresh piece of wasabi and grated a portion of it on our table. Never seen this from a restaurant so was a nice touch (although seemed like a lot of effort from his part!). When the food came out, just about fitting on our table, the first thing we noticed was presentation. It was impeccable! Everything looking delicious. I would show you pictures but I don't like to give away too much spoilers for you and ruin the experience.

From what I tried, the sushi was great, but for the price not spectacular. The beef skewers stuck out to me as a gem, very flavoursome. The squid tempura, and the prawn and wasabi mix were pretty average. The dish I had heard about most was the expensive black cod. We ordered two of them as it was something everyone wanted to try. It was great, but I'm not sure if it warrants the fame it gets. Sure it is quite different, something you would not have tried elsewhere, but for me it was not the 'melts in your mouth' experience.

Now onto dessert. Fans have probably realised I don't really have a sweet tooth, and due to my lack of passion for the sweet dishes I tend to shy away from talking too much about them. It was due to the also hyped Mango soufflé with coconut ice-cream and mango soup, that I left a little space for this. When the soufflé smothered in the 'mango soup' and the ice cream touched my lips, this was the highlight of my meal...possibly my week. It was just delightful. The explosion of flavours in my mouth, the textures complementing each other ever so perfectly. This was the elite of desserts.

The restaurant decor is very impressive, and is a must if you just want to hang out, or impress someone. I was a tad disappointed with the food, however I did give it incredibly high expectations. The dessert though made me leave the place on a high, and may be the thing that forces me to return again.

8 out of 10 rating.

Smoak Bar and Grill - Season 2 Episode 2

Date: 8th March 2013

Website: http://www.smoak-grill.com/

Hello all!

I have actually been eating out pretty frequently recently, but unfortunately nothing really was worth reviewing. Been to a few Indians but for some reason none give me a spectacular experience, then of course I have been to Nandos many times too. With regards to Indian restaurants, although sometimes food can be great, they just can't get it right with the service. What needs to be done is some serious training on dining etiquette for the staff. (Don't mean to broaden the Indian dining, I just have had this experience at 4-5 restaurants in Central Manchester/ Curry Mile.)

A restaurant I should have reviewed was The Room on King Street but unfortunately for them I just did not have the time to write the review. So all I'll say about it is it is fine dining in a night club. Take what you want from that, but it was a bit of a shock for me as I just wanted a quiet romantic meal at the time.

Smoak Grill is located in the very nice Malmaison Hotel by Piccadilly train station. On entry you will first notice the glass open kitchen. Some advice, if you want to have an open kitchen then make it a glass kitchen. It is not a selling point of the restaurant if the place stinks of all sorts of food. The only time you should smell the food is when it is served in front of you. You want to tell people about experiences at eateries, not let them gather your experiences from the lingering smell stuck on your clothes.

Beside the open kitchen was a variety of steaks on display. This emphasises what the restaurant was about. Great steak.

The room was very dimly lit, with small candle sticks on each table. I liked the simple but effective look however on our busy table some felt uncomfortable with that hazard.

As we all knew about the reputation of the steak that was the main focus of the menu, however at first we were a little concerned as the variety seemed to be pretty limited. However we then realised they had a 'specials' board dominated by different cuts of steaks which pleased us. The menu also had a few other dishes like ribs, cod and a lobster thermidor (which caught my eye) but I didn't give them too much consideration. Sides and sauces are ordered separately, for an additional charge. If no sides are ordered with the steak, you literally are only getting the steak by itself.

The waiter was very friendly, coming to take your order with an additional chalk board in his hand, which was different. He vastly explained all the specials, and had sufficient knowledge of the steaks which improved the experience.

We ordered bread to start with. It came in two rounds, the first coming with balsamic vinegar do dip your bread into, the second (oddly) with a garlic mayonnaise dip, which actually blended quite well with the bread.

If it wasn't for the bread coming in two rounds, we would have thought that service was incredibly slow for our main, some still thought this. It seemed everyone either ordered a 250g fillet steak or the 400g sirloin steak on the bone at similar prices. I really don't know how accurate the weight was as the fillet steak was literally a quarter of the size of the sirloin. The ones who ordered the sirloin were very, very happy. Meat binge!

I ordered the sweet potato fries as the side which were incredible. The sautéed potatoes were also gorged with great satisfaction too. With the sirloin steak, I got the garlic butter on top.

The steak was the best steak of my life. Cooked to perfection. Marinated perfectly. 28 days aged. Clearly from well-maintained cows. Just incredible quality. Definitely not horse meat.

In conclusion, it was a great evening. A tad expensive, all the extras like sides and bread come at a cost, which gives me the impression the restaurant are trying to get as much money from you as possible. However the steak was that good that I will go back. I have still yet to go to Gaucho and Grill on the Alley, but for now at least, the best steak in Manchester.

8.5 out of 10 rating.

Mughli

Date: Wednesday 1st February 2012

Located on the famous Curry Mile, and rated as the best Indian on the road, possibly in Manchester. I personally feel this place has football's Scott Parker syndrome, decent but over-rated. It definitely is not the best place I have been to, far from it. But I thought it was pretty good and would probably make another visit ahead of most of the places on Curry Mile.

The place sticks out on the tacky neon lighted road as it looks classy. It has a Mughal themed look and sitting inside is definitely a different experience to other restaurants. There was clearly a heavy investment made for things like decoration, uniform, cutlery etc. One thing I liked was the cup they served lassis and cocktails in; it was a copper like mug which was pretty cool to drink from. One thing I disliked was that I was really cold inside the restaurant, which definitely decreased my enjoyment. Also I thought the music was way too loud, making it difficult to converse with my friends.

Poppadoms and chutney were not complementary, to our disappointment. I didn't mind too much to pay but the poppadoms arrived burnt so had to be replaced. The restaurant had an original chutney which I had not tried before at other Indian restaurants. It was a red tamarind sauce which was sweet and spicy; leading me to make this my chutney of choice ahead of the classic mango chutney.

The menu wasn't too interesting, having recognized most the dishes from other Indian restaurants. However unlike some places, it was very easy to choose, as each dish had a detailed English description of what to expect. You were also allowed to be flexible, letting you choose different fillings with your choice of sauce. I went with the lamb tikka sizzler dish, with my friends going for the kahari masala fish and the saag paneer.

We ordered naan and rice to accompany our dishes. I was disappointed when the naan came out. This is me being picky, but I rather like when the full naan comes out fresh on a stand, or a basket, looking appetisingly buttered up. However here the naan was sliced into quarters on what looked like a receipt stabber. One thing that also annoyed me is that the waiter seemed to be washing the table after we were done with the poppadoms, which he also did again when the other two were done eating but I had yet to finish.

Now onto the food. Admittedly I thought it was very good. The lamb came on a sizzling hot plate. The meat was very tender and spiced to perfection. The portion was very good. The saag paneer was very tasty, however I thought it could do with more paneer pieces inside. The best dish was definitely the kahari fish. It was excellent. The fish was juicy, and the kahari flavour had a hint of sweetness making the dish marvelous.

In conclusion, although this experience was slightly tarnished by a group of loud university lads clearly on the lash, with a few improvements I think this place has potential. This was far away from the perfect meal, but I do think if they work on a few things like restaurant etiquette and making the customer comfortable, you could come away with an enjoyable evening.

7.5 out of 10 review.

La Casona

Date: Thursday 26th January


After hearing positive feedback about a Tapas restaurant/ bar down my road (Heaton Moor), I thought this would be a good place to be next on my hit list. It is a nice little family run restaurant which was exactly what I was in the mood for.


On entering the Spanish gentleman welcomed and escorted us to a table, giving us the menus. The place was small, but had a decent amount of seating, and decorated simply but elegant. When we arrived the restaurant was pretty quiet, but we have heard that on prime nights it can fill up pretty quickly.

The two sided menu was categorized with Tapas dishes on one side, organized by vegetables, meat and fish. The other side was a classic A La Carta menu with sides and mains. We decided to get a selection of tapas, seeing as we fancied tapas. We were also served some homemade bread which came with a tasty garlic mayonnaise dipping sauce. The main entre selection was impressive as well, and next time I try this place I may be tempted to get a main dish, like a steak, or some type of sea food dish.


The waiter advised us to order six tapas dishes with bread, between the two of us. This ended up being too much food for us, however it would comfortably feed a party of three. When the food came, I was so impressed. The beef strips were nice and tender with a wonderful pepper corn taste. The lamb meatballs gave an explosion of delicious flavour into my mouth.And the seafood selection cooked in egg batter was delicious; with the calamari (fried squid) being the best I've ever had, including when having it abroad. All the dishes we ordered pleased our palates, except for the seafood dumplings, which were too flavorless for my liking. 


We had a Hi-Life Diners Club card, giving us 50% discount off the menu, making the meal very cheap. Even without this card though the prices are still reasonable, however the very nice waiter said he was not going to stamp off the card, meaning we can use this offer again next time.


This place left a very positive impression on myself, making me leave a generous tip on departure. I am really chuffed that this gem is just walking distance from my house and will surely be using this place to entertain guests or to give myself a deserved treat after a hard days work.


8.5 out of 10 rating.

Zouk Teabar & Grill - Manchester

A group of 10 of us booked a table for Saturday 14th January, 7.45pm. It was for a birthday meal. In fact we booked for 12 but 10 arrived. I have never experienced staff so rude in my life. The place was busy, but this is no excuse. When we sat at the table, I expect for a waiter to take our order for drinks. As everyone had not arrived, they instead ignored us, forcing us to ask for their service and being shouted at saying that they thought there were 10 of us. Then they said they will take our order in a minute and not coming back. So rude. Then they tried to take one of our tables and tried to force us to squash on less tables., but I refused after arguing. I must say the person who seemed like the manager with glasses on was disgraceful. 

Drinks finally got ordered. It took 45 minutes for it to arrive. The waiter argued with us saying we only ordered 5 minutes ago. again, rudeness and down right dishonesty. When it became more quiet the drinks and food did start to arrive, and to be fair the food was great, although plates weren't provided to eat from which again is poor restaurant etiquette. I ordered the sea-bass which was adequate, not the best in my time but tasty with an Indian twist. Funnily enough it was the bill that arrived very quickly. Our bill was £237 but we refused to pay the optional service charge. Cheekily enough though the waiter asked for it. I couldn't believe my ears. Quite frankly although your business is successful at the moment, I doubt it will last with this kind of service.