Contemporary and stylish restaurant in Manchester House sporting an equally stylish top floor bar serving some quality dishes and interesting matching drinks - a must for the up and coming of today or those that wish to enjoy splashing out as a special occasion
This was a superb meal, no question. The short version is that all the dishes we had (on the tasting menu) were meticulously crafted and it was very consistent in that there really wasn’t a single thing that I didn’t like, plain and simple! That’s very hard to achieve in a long tasting menu as there are always going to be the odd thing here or there that not everyone will like on average, but there were only one or two moments that fell in the ‘ok’ bracket and that’s the lowest it got for me – everything in the main was seriously delicious. My absolute favourites were the pea mousse and foie gras egg, the cheese soup and the pigeon – these basically put my dining heart in to an 8 year old at the fair ground mode, I was that happy. I am also happy to go on record and say that the apple pie and custard macaroon (green one on the end) was the nicest macaroon I have ever had in my life.
The matching cocktail menu to go with the tasting menu included wines, sake and cocktails and the whole show was a triumph as a result. The pin-point precision of the presentation, the creativity and fun and, most importantly the genuinely lovely flavours, all made it a very good experience. I have absolutely no idea why this establishment was not given a Michelin star on its first round as, based on all others that I have been to, it is irrefutable from where I was sitting – MH sits comfortably in the top bracket of all the 1 Michelin starred venues in London; quite straight forward. So I do hope it gets its just reward. I should mention as well that pre-dinner drinks on the 12th floor overlooking parts of Manchester (as the bar is owned by the same group) is a very nice way to start proceedings before getting the lift back down to the 2nd floor for your meal. I was especially pleased with the swish and warm service and hospitality on both floors – we really were looked after well here and it never fails to highlight how important this is.
It was also a true highlight to be able to speak to Aiden Byrne near the end of service, who very kindly came to our table to say hello and was lovely to have a quick chat and tell him face to face the above sentiments and in plain English, just how much we genuinely loved the dishes. I don’t think I’ve seen such a dedicated eye and leader (something of great interest to me from my normal job) getting hands dirty where necessary like that in the open kitchen before.
So am very glad to have been to this option over a very nice occasion and the main summary is that I had no idea it would exceed expectation that much. Bravo Mr Byrne, and thank you again – we were looked after so well and it was an absolutely quality meal and evening in general.
Food Grade: 82%
My hobby-turned-passion began to evolve during my assignments to London where I was fortunate enough to be able to explore all the Michelin starred restaurants in my spare time and as a result, I gradually built up a catalogue of all these venues.
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