By Ruth Allan
AUMBRY chef Mary-Ellen McTague has moved her tabernacle of fine English dining to a pop up space in the back of Teacup on Thomas Street.
Strangely, things look much the same: there are antique furnishings, and an olde-worlde herbalists feel to the space much like there was at the Aumbry mothership while candlelight and mixed up china paint a pretty picture.
Mary-Ellen's cooking sees heritage recipes waltz with foraged foods and haute-cuisine cooking methods to produce a menu that's not a million miles from her heavyweight competition, Simon Rogan, over at The French.
The likes of beef dripping, rhubarb and snails were employed to transporting effect across the menu at Aumbry, and here too, where things remain largely the same. Having said that, we found the Guardian Weekend food writer somewhat invigorated by a change of scene.
Her immaculate presentation (she trained with Heston at the Fat Duck after all) was immediately in evidence. Highlights of our dinner included a new dish of sautéed mushrooms and snails with perfectly fresh curds on hay ash and a slice of chewy malt loaf and a tomato consomme with whispers of goats cheese.
As ever, her trademark soft boiled quails 'scotch' eggs and mushroom ketchup were a treat, as was a rhubarb milkshake 'post dessert'. Was it a nod to Rogan's scene-stealing sarsaparilla?
Another lure is the 100 per cent Croatian wine list, including rare, sweet, Spumanti-style sparklers, a rambunctious red that's made from a grape the Croats rightly call ' the blood grape', and a fabulously unfiltered white. At £36 for a wine flight, you'd be crazy not to subscribe.
Aumbry is in residence in Manchester's Northern Quarter until the end of October 2014. Weekends are largely sold out, but there is plenty of availability during the week. For late cancellations follow @4244 Edge St. We've also heard a few off the record rumours that the end of October will not the end of Aumbry's stint at Teacup so watch this space.
4244, Edge Street, Northern Quarter. Book via www.4244.co.uk
