Neil Sowerby Thermal underwear, almost a requisite in Britainâs current New Ice Age, but I forsook the Damart for a chunky fleece to get me to lunch at Livebait on a bitterly cold day.
Quite different, THERMIDOR, summer month in the French Republican Calendar and once a lobster dish as revolutionary as Robespierre. It was created at Maries, a Paris cafe near the Comedie Francaise, to celebrate the opening of a play of that name in 1894. Lobster Thermidor is on the LIvebait Manchester menu.
It was with some trepidation I ordered this retro and often traduced classic, but long-resident general manager Ellen assured me the LIvebait treatment could only enhance a substantial Nova Scotia lobster.
New owners
The Livebait treatment has not always been a guarantee of culinary delight. It has plumbed the depths. That is despite the chain nailing its fresh fish credentials to the mainmast while other nautical chains sunk round here â in particular fish! (now Piccolinos) in Clarence Street and the Didsbury Loch Fyne.
It wasnât until 2011 when Richard Muir of Cafe Fish in Edinburgh salvaged the site and Livebait properly freshened up its act.
That was under challenging Aussie chef David Spanner; his replacement, Scot Barry Gamble, stepping up from No 2, steers a more straightforward culinary course with the Thermidor perhaps the fanciest dish on the menu. At £35 a lobster, it ought to be â only the £70 shellfish platter for two matches it in price.
Substantial and sublime
My Thermidor was substantial and sublime. All the trad components were there â cooked lobster meat coated in a mustardy egg yolk emulsion with a hint of brandy and re-stuffed in the shell under a blanket of gruyere â yet it was light and playful, delicate and herby almost.
My starter had been similarly subtle, which I hadnât expected from mussels doused in a Thai-spiced broth (£7 for a starter portion). Thankfully theyâd been sparing with the coconut cream.
Both dishes were beautifully accommodated by a citrussy, herby white, Orballo Albarino, Rias Baixas 2010 (£6.25 a small glass, £8.50 a large, £24 a bottle).
Across the table there was little to fault the spicy Tiger Prawn Cocktail (£7) and whole Morecambe Bay plaice with a lemon caper butter sauce (£16). Fresh seafood simply done.
Livebait has survived troubled waters and if it is not an ocean liner of a gastronomic adventure, it offers some well-judged culinary plain sailing. Worth a fresh look.
Livebait, 22 Lloyd Street, Manchester M2 5WA (0161 817 4110, www.livebaitmanchester.com). Two and three course set menus are available until 7pm and are a bargain.