10 June 2008

Knott is one of my favourite Manchester bars, awkwardly shaped, quirky; its appeal is wide, serving a diverse range of draught beers, a wonderful selection of cask ales and a no less impressive choice of bottled beers and ciders.

On this visit the usual variety of Marble brews were up for grabs, alongside beers from local gem Phoenix and over a dozen other draught offerings including Fullers. But on this occasion my main mission was to sample the food from a menu that includes several different burgers, a few British Classics, Lancashire hotpot, Bangers and Mash among them, and a number of Mediterranean Tapas style dishes. Half a dozen of these smaller plates are listed at £3.95 each. My dining companion and I opted to share a selection of three of these, available for just £9.95; excellent value for money. Of interest to many will be the imaginative vegetarian and vegan options; the five bean salsa served in a warm tortilla (£4.95) sounds good.

Knott always seems to be busy, a great jukebox encourages customers to linger and listen to key tracks from the past forty decades or so. We waited, perhaps a touch too long, for our dishes to arrive, but from our seats, close to the kitchen, we could see and hear that our food was being freshly and carefully prepared. With this in mind it is worth noting that if time is short, lunchtime perhaps, you can pre-order your meal by ringing in advance.

Delivered to our table by one of Knott’s friendly and knowledgeable staff, the portions were a good size, producing an array of tantalising aromas. We were surprised, and pleased, to see that the Calamari was not of the battered variety; fresh rings, beautifully cooked and meltingly tender were nicely matched by zesty lemon yoghurt and a red chard salad. Smoked haddock with a creamy tarragon sauce had a nice balance, the tasty naturally smoked fish not overwhelmed by the powerful herb; very moreish. Chunks of bread came in handy to mop up the, paprika infused, red wine sauce of our fried Chorizo dish, an excellent specimen of the Spanish pork sausage.

Knott has received numerous nominations for various awards over the years and Chef Oz Ghoshen is currently producing food of a quality that many serious restaurants would like to achieve; maybe it’s time it finally got the recognition it deserves.

Food available 12 – 8pm

Knott Bar.
374, Deansgate,
Manchester.
M3 4LY.
0161 839 9229.