THERE are so many contenders for our favourite place along Burton Road (the mainstay of our Taste Top 20 Didsbury. For beer definitely Saison bar and The Epicurean bottle shop, neighbours Volta and Folk battle it out for best general bar, while among recent newcomers Proove Pizza stands out.
We always thought that Reserve at No.176 could satisfy all our wine needs but now there’s a rival just a few doors down at 156.
Unlike Kate Goodman’s traditional merchants, Nick Yates’ Sip is a hybrid operation. Yes, it’s a wine bar dispensing by the glass from an Enomatic machine and offering shelves of bottles to drink in or take away, but it’s also a restaurant with daytime brunch treats and sharing platters. Come the evening head chef Wes (once of The Lime Tree and Jem n I) offers a more ambitious a la carte plus a tasting menu even.
On our exploration three month since launch in the former Bistro-156, we just tackle one of their six quid posh hot dogs where the dog is that spicy Basque/Navarre sausage chistorra, sharing the honours with melted brie, caramelised onions and English mustard mayo. An accompanying glass of Chateau Edmus St Emilion Grand Cru (£51 a bottle drinking in) seems to posh for posh, but that’s a top end of the wines on offer. There’s much to delight at around £20, Spanish in particular. Much of the Enomatic’s contents are more entry level than at, say Salut in the city centre.
Nick (ex Oddbins, Boutinot, Bidbendum, Moreno) is well versed in sourcing wines across the range. This is his first solo venture. It looks bijou beautiful and fits rather neatly into the Burton Road ‘Paseo’.
Sip, 156 Burton Rd, Manchester M20 1LH. 0161 445 1900. Pictured with Nick, bar manager Polly.
