We were delighted to be invited to the Northern Quarters newest kid on the block Sixty Three Degrees, situated below the Light Apart-hotel. It also happened to be Le Beaujolais Nouveau and after sampling a few glasses of the highly sought after grape, its safe to say it is one of the best crops of recent years.
The newly opened restaurant is owned by Alex Moreau. Alex had the idea to fill the niche between Cafe Rouge and The Midland French; somewhere that serves great wholesome French cuisine which is affordable too. We like his ethos.
Alex has moved his family over from France to start this new venture. This includes father Eric Moreau who has cooked with the likes of Alain Ducasse through his distinguished career. The restaurant owes its name to Eric who discovered that 63 degrees is the perfect temperature at which to cook meat. Eric says that cooked long and low at 63 degrees, poultry tastes like youve never tasted it before, incomparably tender and full of unforgettable flavours!
We started with Creme de petits pois a la menthe, crevette geante au safran, which was outstanding and Alex told us is one of his best sellers and it was not hard to see why. The dish consisted of a pea cream with mint and giant prawns with Saffron (and a secret ingredient which he wouldnt tell us!).
This was then followed by Capuccino de chataigne, canard fume au bois de hetre, a chestnut cappuccino served with beech-smoked duck which again was absolutely divine. To round the starters off we we were then served escargot with pan fried ratte potatoes and parsley butter.
Moving onto the main course (where we got to taste the meat cooked at 63 degrees) we were served their signature dish Supreme de Volaille 63 degrees, sauce morille et gratin dauphinois. The chicken lived up to its cooking method and was tender and full of taste, while the morel mushrooms and dauphins potatoes made for an exquisite dish, full of flavours.
To finish, we had a selection of desserts including the Feuilles a feuilles aux poires pochees et Riz au lait; Poached Pear in pastry and Rice Pudding and of course, a top up of that delicious Beaujolais.
Sixty Three Degrees is an exciting new restaurant with some great people behind it. The Moreau family are keen to keep this a family business serving modern french cuisine using locally sourced, fresh ingredients in the heart of Manchester. Well we say...Bon Appetit.
63 Degrees, 20 Church Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester, M4 1PN, 0161 832 5438
Opening Times:12 Noon -11pm Tuesday-Thursday, 12 Noon-12am Friday and Saturday, 11am-5pm on Sunday.