Neil Sowerby Football memorabilia. There was none. Thankfully. The edible soil that appeared in a pea soup special was a culinary counterfeit, not some dessicated remnant of the Maine Road pitch.
Kaleido is definitely aiming for a different fanbase to the folk who have been flocking to the National Football Museum below it in Urbis â 100,000 so far at the last count.
And that, of course, is where the problem lies. A spaceshiplike remoteness in the prow of an iconic building reached via a lift has bedevilled previous incarnations. Even the punters who made it to the fifth and sixth floor found the panorama restricted by the architectâs perverse insistence on frosted glass.
Still, now itâs a fresh start under the watchful eye of a firm called Kudos, who roll out museum catering across the country. The Bollinger Bar/fine dining extravaganzas of Le Mont and the cocktail wizardy/worthily sourced fodder of The Modern are but memories.
New incarnation
Fond ones, though. I liked both. Indeed The Modern, having removed some of the frosted glass, was a great, safe haven to watch the rioting Glasgow Rangers fans down below four years ago. The current Museum footie enthusiasts are a quieter bunch and their food needs are catered for by Kaleidoâs sister kitchen on the ground floor. Corporates can mix a banquet with a visit to the Hall of Fame, too. FC United were due soon after my visit.
It all sounded very jolly. Kaleido itself was less so â despite its colourful name and even more colourful decor. Perhaps it was the shortage of lunchers. A shame because the express lunch at £14.50 for two courses, £19 for three seems particularly good value, as is the all-day Sunday lunch. We ate a la carte, only dipping into the express option for two of our three puddings.
First impression of the a la carte â with starters £6-£12 and mains £14-£18 â was of too many boxes being ticked. Suspicion mounted it might be the the result of having a consultant (TV chef Frank Bordoni) and a hands-on chef (Paul Riley, once of Nutters).
Modest prices
I am avoiding most football analogies but canât resist the Director of Football/Head Coach one. Certainly too many cooks werenât spoiling the broth â my companionâs peas soup starter.
We couldnât identify what the edible soil was constructed from, certainly not the usual olives. It came with half a pod of peas, edible flowers and pearl barley in a large white chamberpot of a bowl. The soup was poured over it from a white jug. It was a fine shot of chlorophyll.
My £12 starter of veal carpaccio struggled for flavour, amid its decorative tangle of peashoots and soft-boiled quailâs eggs, Spenwood cheese shaved, parmesan style, and mojama, flaked, air-dried tuna fillet from Spain. So much composition for so little reward.
In a departure from previous regimeâs local sourcing, my companionâs belly pork main (£15), came from Dingley Dell in Suffolk. It looked so beautiful with its thyme honey glaze, but the pork could have benefited from crispy crackling â its fibrous flesh and fat felt mushy, while its partnership with goatâs cheese was just wrong.
My Hereford (sic) oxtail and kidney pudding (£16.50) was a very deconstructed, very dry version (despite a slick of gravy) in a flabby suet cone. Much pleasanter was an accompanying chunk of feather blade steak and some sweet carrot puree.
From an affordable wine list we drank a Quinta do Crasto 2010 red from Portugalâs Douro Valley. A savoury, herbal, blackberryish delight, well worth its £29 tag.
Roasted almost ice cream
The pudding experience was mixed. Both the egg custard tart with roasted almond ice cream and bitter chocolate and bergamot iced parfait off the lunch menu were fine, if a mite underpowered, but the dessert menuâs summer fruit paté â with black olive caramel, yoghurt sorbet â was a rubbery jelly finger (£7.50).
In aiming high, I think Kaleido is ballooning over the crossbar at the moment (and there was me trying to avoid footie comparisons).
Kaleido, Urbis Building, Cathedral Gardens, M4 3BG. Tel: 0161 871 8160. www.kaleidorestaurant.co.uk Open: Mon-Sat, noon-midnight, Sun 12-10pm.