The Malâs food philosophy is âsimply dare to be differentâ? and I have to say that on this, my latest visit to the Brasserie, my experience was for the most part, a much improved one; very different from some of my previous encounters. In the past Iâve had problems with the service, but not this time, our waiters proved to be knowledgeable and enthusiastic without being fawning.
Of the three large and unwieldy menus, Iâm including the wine list here,
the Home Grown & Local menu makes for the most interesting read. Head Chef Kevin Whiteford provides detailed information on featured producers, with contact details too, to help diners understand the provenance of the food on their plate. This is a really good move that I would like to see more of.
I mixed and matched from the local produce and the a la carte menus, choosing a delicious, Goosnargh chicken liver parfait as my starter followed by rack of Herdwick lamb. The parfait was of perfect texture, not sloppy as is often the case, with no trace of bitterness, accompanied by slivers of toasted bloomer and contained within an old style preserves jar. Herdwick lamb is well known for its full-on gamey flavour and this really came through in my main course; succulent, tender, superbly cooked meat chined, carved and presented with a well executed Madeira reduction.
My wife began her meal with a salad of spring vegetables, including poached baby carrots, fennel and a selection of bitter leaves, served alongside a gorgeous salty/sweet goatâs cheese crostini; a vibrant dish both in taste and colour even though she had to hold the plate up to a nearby shaft of light just to be sure. Iâve always had a problem with the Malâs rather gloomy restaurant lighting; I like to see the food on my plate.
Equally, praise was lavished on her choice of whole baked Rainbow Trout. Served with sultanas and almonds, she felt these added little to the dish, if anything rather over egging the pudding so to speak, but the fish, a large specimen, the colour of wild salmon, was downright tasty, the accompanying haricots verts nicely al dente with a generous serving of creamy new potatoes. Given the variance in our choice of main meals we had already polished off the majority of an excellent bottle of Albarino with our starters.
After all this praise youâre no doubt waiting for the âbutâ? and, unfortunately, there is one. Both of our desserts, Lancashire carrot cake and a baked egg custard tart, both chosen from the Home-grown & Local selection, were poor. The custard filling impressed, but when our waiter asked if everything was alright, I turned the tart over to show him the base, âahâ? he said âthe pastryâs undercooked.â? He was right, and I got the feeling this wasnât the first time this had happened. The leaden, gooey centre of the carrot cake told a similar story, it had simply not been baked for long enough. Instantly we were offered replacements, but, sadly, by then the damage had already been done. What a let down after the excellent food that had gone before.
Russ Otterwell
Malmaison Hotel
Piccadilly,
Manchester
M1 3AQ