Moles Molehill

Post: #1 (ID: 45950)

Post yer fave place tae eat here.............. Rolling Eyes

---ooo-err-Ah can hear Frillz writin' aboot Atul as Ah post this Laugh Out Loud

Post: #2 (ID: 46031)

Goes without saying Liz Praise you!

I also hear very good things of Zaika, and would like to try there too
http://www.zaika-restaurant.co.uk/?click=adwords01

Post: #3 (ID: 46034)

Marie Claire has a few reviews (you need to go to the Full Index)
http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/travelfood/reviews/tag/manchester.html

So does The Guardian

http://www.guardianrestaurantbookings.co.uk/index.cfm

and this is a well respected guide
http://www.hardens.com/

And just in case here's a guide to the 2007 Michelin starred places
http://www.carta.co.uk/beebstuff/michelin.htm

Post: #4 (ID: 53058)

OK, so I have to recommend Benares Laugh Out Loud

This is a report of our second visit there, after the tennis at the beginning of December

It was busy in the lobby downstairs when we arrived, checked in our coats and baggage from the day - they said the bar was packed already but we could either stand in there or we could go straight to our table.
Actually when we got in the bar there was a table for two, and it wasn't too conjested anyway.

We ordered a bottle of champagne (Billecart-Salmon NV) and I wanted to try a cocktail. I'd read the special Benares ones and couldn't decide between the

PASSION FRUIT CHUTNEY MARTINI
Wyborowa vodka shaken together with chef's special, freshly made passion fruit chutney - served straight up.

or the

MUMBAI MARTINI
Wyborowa vodka muddled with curry leaves, fresh root ginger, shaken with fresh lime juice & sugar - served straight up.

So in the end I had their Margharita, but to be honest, although it was nice, I wishes I hadn't really bothered as it wasn't anything too out of the ordinary iyswim?

To start we had the little mini poppadums with four chutneys, and then shared a main course between us

TAWA JHINGA
Pan-griddled Tiger Prawns with Carom Seeds, Peppers and Caramelised Onion Sauce

absolutely delicious prawns, massive they were - and very, very tasty, complex but not fiery spices. They were garnished with some sprouting seeds, which I couldn't place (asked the Manager and it turns out that they were some kind of fennel shoot...looked like ordinary cress, but thinner and longer leaves, more delicate and with a really interesting but subtle flavour)

Mains were a mixed bag to be honest, mine was more successful than Mr F's

We had a mixed bread basket and I had
MEEN MOILY
Pan-Seared Wild Bass with Coconut and Ginger Sauce.
This came with aubergines and was absolutely stunning.

Mr FP had the famed lobster, but although the lobster was good, it came with a green pea sauce (smooth) and yoghurt rice, which was cold
He wished that he'd gone for the lamb shank instead.

We were absolutely stuffed full by this time, having also consumed a bottle of water, so we didn't go for dessert or coffee, instead we repaired back to the bar, as the night was still young, and sunk another bottle of Billecart Blushing

It was packed out and buzzing, but as the staff are so efficient, it didn't feel overcrowded or out of control, just good to be a part of. We'd definitely go back again some time.

Oh and I also bought two candles, which are lovely - Mimosa and Basil scented, in a glass jar, and when you open it up there's a covering of large dark burgundy rose petals, which you can either use as a pot pourri, or put into your bath (apparently)

Post: #5 (ID: 53059)

Didn't book until Friday. We had booked at Fortnum's Fountain Restaurant, and then I said to Mr F we could dine for less if we had the set lunch at the Boxwood - got a table for two at 3pm.

The restaurant's at The Berkley, but has its own separate entrance. It's on different levels and was packed. We were on the upper level, which seemed a bit more serene than the lower one. There were plenty of staff, although just two in charge of our section (which could cater for about 30 diners - there were probably about 20 eating at the time, all parties of two, except one table of four young women)

In the event we didn't have the set lunch
which was as per the sample here http://www.gordonramsay.com/boxwoodcafe/menus/setlunch/

We had

the BC bread basket - two fresh, hot rolls each, one tha menshun o' this cullur be banned coz it be tha cullur o' SNAW and one croissant shaped brown.

Mr FP: Potted salt beef brisket with grain mustard, pickled cucumber and buckwheat flour crackers
followed by
Grilled breast and leg of Norfolk pheasant with sprout tops, smoked bacon and chestnuts

and I had
Glazed pea and leek tart with a herb salad (which was the one off the GBM)
and
Roast fillet of bream with langoustine, fennel, capers and raisins

We shared the green beans with walnuts and lemon and a portion of roasted potatoes, garlic and shallots.

Stuffed pretty full we shared a pud, just to try it - the GBM vanilla cheesecake with gingerbread and raspberry sorbet+puree...doesn't look as though it's on the online menu, but it was there alright.

Review follows...

Post: #6 (ID: 53060)

I tried a fair few mouthfuls of Mr FP's salt beef starter - really liked it. The waitress had warned it was 'spicy' but we didn't find it overly so, and wouldn't have thought you'd need telling about it. The crackers were really unusual and a great compliment to the beef.
The only thing I would say is that it was a very filling starter, it'd be a good dish as an early lunchtime snack, maybe with a bottle of beer - and then to go off shopping.

Instead of beer we had a bottle of chilled Chilean Viognier, which was a very good choice with the food.

The GBM tartlet was wonderful. Never tasted peas that seemed so fresh and flavoursome. The filling wasn't like a quiche at all though, it was a sauce, and hence smooth and liquid, not much evidence of leek. The pastry was like no other I've ever had - very crisp.
Overall it was fairly sweet tasting, but not off puttingly so, and the herb salad was a good accompaniment to it.

I didn't taste Mr FP's pheasant - but it looked quite pale, and not so 'gamey' as you'd have thought. He had the sprout tops which he'd never had before and it was quite strange as we'd been looking at the stalks of sprouts in Fortums and the cabbage like tops, which you don't always see. He thoroughly enjoyed it.

I got two fillets of Bream - delicious, cooked beautifully, and the overall combination of flavours was lovely.

The cheesecake off the GBM was an odd one really. The last number of times I've had cheesecake it was a baked one, which I quite like - this was more of a smooth cream with all the flecks of vanilla running through it. It was a tiny portion, but very rich, so a shared plate was fine. The raspberry sorbet and puree (not too smooth) was intensely flavoured - but the gingerbread base and line of exceptionally fine crumbs, was, as we thought on the GBM a bit of a waste for me...I couldn't really taste the ginger at all, and on the programme that massive slab of gingerbread looked fab

Filter coffee with hot milk, came with a little cube of coffee/chocolate fudge (not keen) and lemon flavoured French macaroons (those pretty ones that are all the rage atm) - delish