IT goes against the grain to admit it but I am not a dab hand with a chainsaw. So a stack of junk emails urging ‘The Easiest Way To Start Your Woodworking Project’ have triggered a series of nightmares where I repeatedly lop off my thumb or crush my toes with a plank.
You can imagine my reticence then about reviewing a bar called WOOD. This self-styled Wine & Deli is a timber-led reconstruction of the former Fyg in Tib Street, which I rather liked ... and I have never had dreams (even Freudian) about squidgy fruit.
I was also suspicious of the new bar forming part of a chain that has hoovered up other Northern Quarter indie stalwarts such as Simple and Cord alongside further flung operations involving self-drive car hire in Salford and a brewery in the Forest of Dean, all trading under the catch-all of House of Adventure.
Fears were swiftly allayed the moment we stepped into a place that feels like a labour of love under the stewardship of manager Sarah Moran and her chef, 24-year-old Ulsterman Gary Weir. Surveying the abundance of rustic wood, from the bulwark of a bar to some chairs caved from trunks that yelled Timber! rather than Sit on Me! I had to ask the big question: “Are splinters a problem?” “Everything is smoothed over,” came the enigmatic reply.
There then followed one of the sweetest sequences of small plates I’ve had in this big on sharing age of ours. I didn’t find until afterwards that the platters packed with charcuterie and some excellent cheeses (Cashel Blue and Manchego the pick) were made from a rare Mexican wood, but I appreciated the attention to detail all round. And the prices – cheese platters £9 for three cheeses, £18 for seven; charcuterie £10 for 3 meats and £19 for six meats, with a mixed platter costing £22. There’s a mega one at £26 called a Fyg in homage.
The wine list is well chosen, if not comprehensive. A Vina Real Rioja was a little jammy for my taste, the house Argentine Malbec much better, a sturdy, fruity number that suited the platters and chef Gary’s dense, rich oxtail ragout with rigatoni and fried basil (£7 small, £10 large).
Like all the dishes, it wasn’t making a big statement, just getting all the little, satisfying things right. A lot of paces not very far away (not naming names) aren’t. I’m not sure how our beef carpaccio (£6.50 or £9.50) came to be described as pepper-seared; I just appreciated the balance of melting flesh with salty feta, an earthy beetroot vinaigrette and the crunch of pine nuts.
A small plate (£7) of flaky Persian hake was subtly spiced. Whether it needed both mango salsa and a mango puree is a moot point, but partnering pineapple ketchup with seared halloumi really worked. Ditto salt and pepper squid with ali-oil and crunchy carrot and cucumber in a citrussy vinaigrette.
I need to explore wine by the bottle here to see how it justifies its Wine & Deli billing. I feel another long lunch coming on. It’s therapy – to rid myself of those Woody Nightmares.
WOOD. Wine & Deli, 44 Tib Street, Manchester M4 1LA. 0161 478 7100. www.woodnq.com
