Phil Jones
The debate in our office has been, for sometime âhas Manchester got hotel restaurants or restaurants in hotels?â The Hilton and the Lowry both deliver excellent restaurants that happen to be in hotels. There are others that donât, but itâs not the place to discuss that here!
Weâre dining on the newly re-launched British menu at Opus One at the Radisson Edwardian Hotel â the third in a trilogy of five-star hotels in Manchester alongside the above. I have to admit that on both occasions dining here previously, I had left feeling very underwhelmed and under fed for my money. They were sometime ago and I was sincerely hoping this visit would make up for those less than average meals.
As everyone knows, Opus One is on the site of the Free Trade Hall. The first place I ever worked in what could be called the âmusic bizâ?. I was actually a steward for three gigs in late 1977. It still counts as my entry into the industry and 32 + years later Iâm still doing it!
We canât help but comment as we take our seats in the opulent dining room, that itâs a shame there is no reference to the unrivalled past history of the venue visible to diners. Iâm not talking Hard Rock Cafe in your face style, but surely a nod to the fact that so many major acts played here, as well as the home of the Halle, wouldnât go amiss..?
The restaurant is large in size, and on a January Tuesday is understandably quiet, but still a nice, relaxing atmosphere. Glamour is the feel, with magnificent red cascading lamp shades mixing with what appears to be the original pillars. A kind of Chinese feel mixed with Manhattan and Manchester on a grand scale. We were shown to our window table and rapidly given menus and bread. Very welcoming, with our Siberian Maitre de Lorissa showing impressive hospitality skills, although her complaints about there not being enough recent snow fell on very flat ears.
We couldnât help but reminisce about how many times we had each walked up the famous steps into The Free Trade Hall, and the fact that out table was exactly where the information desk was sited, always staffed by an old bloke who knew nothing about the show.
Wine had to be ordered, we needed a drink and plumped for the sauvignon blanc, Chilean, La Joya - and la joya it was. Magnificent on the nose and even better on the pallet. It was gorgeous - especially at £20 per bottle. A great start, to our anniversary!
So what had head chef Russ Brown got for us to eat? The menu is full of substance and interesting combinations of British food. Opus One is aiming at foodies looking for high quality with value. Starters ranged from £5.50 for Potato and watercress soup, to Seared scallops with confit belly pork at £8.95. My wife decided on the scallops and I plumped for the Smoked wild mallard, with air dried local ham and orange rosti at £7.50.
The scallops were perfectly cooked and the belly pork was as fine as we had ever tasted, crispy and tender at the same time. The addition of green horseradish and miso stir fried vegetables provided the perfect accompaniment to a superb dish. Excellently presented and full of sharp contrasting flavours, it was a delicious treat to behold.
My meat was, by comparison, disappointing. The mallard was a little on the tough side and I have eaten much better air dried Cheshire ham. That withstanding it still provided a decent starter. Perhaps next time Iâll give the Brown onion soup with a Cheshire cheese somosa a try? I always appreciate freebies when dining, and previous to our starter arriving, we had been served a nice appetiser of gnocchi with pesto and olives.
We had ordered from a choice of 10 main dishes, including three fish and two vegetarian. I was tempted by the Seared duck breast with chillied squid, pak choi and duck crackling at £17.75, but having had the duck starter I decided upon the Braised lamb neck fillet with chicken farce and gremolata at £17.95. I had to ask our very attentive waiter what gremolata was; he didnât know, which was a shame because with no mention of vegetables on the menu I also ordered sides of red onion mash and spinach. My wife went for the Oven roast cod with crispy kale, a bean and Cumbrian ham broth with clam and saffron potato at £17.25.
It turns out that gremolata is a kind of Italian chopped herb condiment, with a unique tangy flavor - a nice addition to a heaving plate of food. The braised lamb was delicious but unfortunately the chicken it was wrapped in did nothing for me, except confuse my pallet. The magnificently tender lamb was slightly overwhelmed by the chicken, which had a peculiar soft almost manufactured texture. Iâm certain the bird came from a fine home but it just didnât work for me. In addition to this, I had been presented with previously unmentioned generous helpings of dauphinoise style potato and a tasty carrot dish, rendering the extra mash and spinach slightly redundant.
What of the cod? Well it was just a tad overdone, but tasty though. The saffron and clam potato it came with was delicious, very original .The ham and bean broth was also a nice warming addition. It was all presented on a bed of yet more spinach. Unfortunately, the kale was over salted, even for our tastes, which was a shame because kale is so nice au naturale?
There were some excellent choices of mains and on my next visit I will be paying more attention to the non meat dishes, such as Pan seared bass and smoked haddock chowder with Spanish linguini and crispy seaweed at £16.75.
Stuffed as we were, the dessert menu had to be sampled. What a menu! For pudding club fans, such as myself, this is about as close to Nirvana you can get without actually leaving Manchester city centre.
From a choice of half a dozen great sounding dishes I chose Chestnut mousse and chocolate macaroon with coffee ice cream and my wife opted for Coconut panacotta with lime cheese lollipop and a passion fruit sauce. All were as delicious as they read and at £5.95 were superb value. Matched with a lovely glass of muscat pudding wine, it was just about perfection.
By now it was getting to baby sitter hometime, but there was just enough time for a brief chat with chef de le jour Neil Armstrong , who is currently commuting from his family home in Beverley, East Yorkshire, for the sheer pleasure of working in Opus One. Iâm sure he doesnât come by space rocket but his journey is certainly one of adventure. He and Russ have created a gem of a restaurant in Opus. Their bold statement of being âIn the forefront of British cooking in Manchesterâ? is correct.
It is good to see that Manchester does indeed have another high quality restaurant in a hotel that is not over priced. Recommended and, after time to bed in, certainly a contender for that coveted Best Restaurant gong.
Opus one @ The Radisson Edwardian
Peter Street
Manchester
M2 5GP
T: 0161 835 9929
W: www.radissonedwardian.com