FORGIVE us for thinking bad thoughts in this season of goodwill. When Dishoom announced their Manchester special it turned out to be a pie. A pie – that’s what Mancs like. OK, it could have ...
Reviews
Review: Mana, Ancoats
SOMETIMES the level of intensity in a ‘serious’ kitchen astonishes. Imagine how that vibrant pool of broth beneath your tangle of charred onions (below) came about? Four days of regular stirring to reduce 400 litres ...
Review: Ivy Asia, Spinningfields
IT is some time in the early Noughties. We are staying at the Metropolitan Hotel in Mayfair. The Armani-clad staff are beyond snooty cool. We dine in its restaurant, Nobu, where Boris Becker notoriously had ...
Review: Elnecot Ancoats Winter Menu
FINE tuning a small plate offering is a tricky task. On a tapas menu you’d be astonished if albondigas, padron peppers, croquetas and tortillas were suddenly ditched. Salford’s new Spanish arrival Porta offers these and ...
Review: Allotment on Lloyd Street
JONATHAN Gold, the legendary Los Angeles Times food critic who died this year, never reviewed a restaurant on one visit alone. In City of Gold, the documentary that charted his groundbreaking championing of street food ...
Review: Andrew Green at Mamucium
FIRST things first. It’s pronounced Mah Moo See Um. It’s a variation on Mancunium, the Roman fort in Castlefield from which, mist-shrouded legend has it, Manchester sprung. Etymology nerds note it means breast-shaped hill. Mamucium ...
Review: Tre Ciccio, Altrincham
IT was the pizza that drew us to Tre Ciccio. After suggesting Salvi’s Neapolitan style topped dough might be the best around (despite our soft spot for Rudy’s) we then felt compelled to check out ...
Review: Piccolino Caffe Grande
AN old friend has been through some difficult times. All’s well now but you’re still hesitant about dropping by. That was the case with Piccolino Caffe Grande, closed for seven weeks after a minor fire ...
Review: Game enough to sample Iberica’s winter specials?
AUTUMN’S the game season and this healthy, sustainable meat is guaranteed to be on the menu in the best country inns and hotels. Great places to sample it within an hour’s driving distance of Manchester ...
Review: Canto, Cutting Room Square
NO-ONE has ever visited Lisbon without trekking up to the Belém district to tackle the Pastéis de Belém. They’ve been baking these egg tart pastries dusted with cinnamon at the atmospheric Antiga Confeitaria de Belém ...