Didsbury's new arrival, Volta, is heaving. We arrive at around 9pm and the bar's three deep already with people crammed into the booths around the sides. Candlelight bounces off an art-deco back wall, as sounds from co-owner DJ Luke Unabomber's famous collection fill the room. It's got the look of a place that good friends come to to catch up - and Didsbury's movers and shakers are doing that in force.
It's not often that a new restaurant becomes an immediate hit. But Volta's a breath of fresh air for Burton Road. We all know Crazy Wendy's thai karaoke bar and restaurant, the Rose Garden and cosy bars like Folk. Well established restaurants and bars like Greens, The Lime Tree and the Metropolitan blossom in this part of the world too. But there's not been somewhere that's shaken things up a bit for a while.
Bottle aged Negroni, is typical of the drinks list. This Italian classic, dating back to Florence in 1919, is what everyone's drinking in the capital and its an acquired taste. Bitter and sweet at the same time, Volta's is almost American in its potency. It's not cheap (£15 between two), but it comes in a heavy beaker, with a ball of ice clinking around in the base. It's possibly the best I've had.
Fine wines
We follow it up with a bottle of French red (Languedoc, £19), although the list includes some fun bottles too, such as a fabulous, gooseberry-packed Gruner Veltiner (Domaine Wachau, Federspiel, £20) and rich red Lebanese treat from Chateau Ka (£23).
The menu is less focused.
Dishes like an Italian tomato, pecorino and potato gnocchi (£4) sit, somewhat incongruously, beside hangar steaks (£13, pictured), Dexter rib on the bone (£19.50) and dishes straight out of Barcelona's back street cafes like crispy baby squid with aioli (£5) or char-grilled Padron peppers (£4).
The hangar steak is a delight. Fresh parsley, salt and the finest olive oil seeped across the board from the chimichurri sauce, begging to be mopped up with bread from bakery du jour, Trove. A salad of pomegranate and feta on the side offers balance - the 50 50 sweet potato and normal chips are a solid complement.
The only real glitch is the Padron. The motto of these fun-sized peppers, a relative of the capsicum from the northern part of Spain, is that 'some are hot and some are not'. Being something of a fan, I wade in, guzzling at least three before my mouth is replaced with some kind of volcano, and I have to actually step outside the restaurant and chill under the canopy outside to recover.
Padron me, but I won't be ordering these again.
The dessert selection returns to Italy - and to form - with a milk chocolate pot (£5.50), with a homemade Ferrero Rocher creation on the side. This combination soars, whereas the affogato (£4.50), or ice cream and hot coffee combo, disappointed a tad due to less melty than expected ice cream.
It makes sense to keep it simple when ordering at Volta; steak and Negroni, say, or a bottle of one of the remarkably reasonable wines and a plate of bread and English cheeses. Sit outside and take in leafy West Didsbury, or have a romantic meal out for two. Just tread carefully around that Padron.
Volta, 167 Burton Road, West Didsbury, M20 2LN. Tel: 0161 448 8887. www.voltafoodanddrink.co.uk
Opening times: Tue - Thu, 5pm while midnight, Fri 4pm -late, Sat noon-late, Sun noon-late, Mon closed.