Mel tries Baltic Cellar!

It’s a well known fact that you are never more than 10 feet away from a burger in Manchester. Whether you’re going for the ‘dirty style’ or the Golden Arches equivalent there is no getting away from the Americana icon...or is there?

Cue an invitation from the nice folk at Baltic Cellar which is hidden two minutes from the Christmas Markets on Lloyd Street. I had seen their photographs and general build-up online and was intrigued by their Eastern European dishes and cosy downstairs interior made up of exposed brick and wooden ceiling. A sense of mystery.

The initial impression I got when I arrived was how busy it was for lunchtime; full in fact. Booths, tables and the bar were packed full of a wide spectrum of people ranging from smart business types to foreign exchange students. I felt like I’d left a very wet Manchester and I’d been transported to Riga sipping on glowing Russian cranberry vodka.

That Klukovka was wonderful; only 20% in alcoholic volume and an ideal festive aperitif to enjoy while perusing the vast menu.

The menu is made up of exciting sounding dishes native to the Baltic States ranging from traditional Latvian dumplings to Lithuanian pastries. I hadn't heard of the majority so ended up ordering a lot of them between us all; EIGHT in fact which is not what you need to do if you’re after a quick lunch. You could instead pick two and pay just £10.95 or three for £14.55.

Sharing it all I managed to try everything which all tasted great. The starters of an Olivier salad and Borsch started the meal off to a flying start. Imagine having a potato salad enhanced with tender boiled beef and gherkins and you have Olivier salad. The beetroot soup was equally fine. A vibrant and deep red colour full of vegetables and laced with tender bite sized pieces of slow cooked pork. With wide weather outside, this comfort food was perfect.

You could tell that the whole meal was cooked by somebody who enjoyed cooking wholesome dishes with traditional methods and flavours. Let’s touch on the flavour, which had a running theme of dill, gherkins and sour cream throughout the menu. Carefully balanced, these strong ingredients allowed each of the dishes to sing and complimented each other with the selected meats.

The service was knowledgeable and we came to understand the origin of many of the dishes (even learnt a little Russian!). It was really nice to eat something new and alternative to many of the usual cuisines available in the city.

To make life easier, I have listed the mains below with some comments;

Golubtsy: well seasoned chicken mince wrapped in steamed cabbage leaves which had a similar consistency to al dente lasagne sheets. Topped with a creamy, cheese sauce with shredded carrot; it was a delightful dish and a great introduction to Baltic dining.

Siberian Dumplings: these mini dumplings which contained a mixture of pork and beef mince reminded me of Chinese steamed wontons in appearance and flavour. Traditionally eaten in Russia with sour cream, I thought they were magnificent on their own without the need of the cream.

Beef Stroganoff: this creamy, slow cooked beef dish had a lovely peppery finish and went well with the accompanied herb topped fries.

Pikkpoiss: doesn’t that sound great? The meatloaf was stuffed with peppers and then topped with shredded egg - WOW. It tasted as good as it sounded and had bags of flavour. I want more!

Keshanele: this typical Lithuanian dish consisted of chicken stuffed with forest mushrooms and cheese (both inside and out). The earthy mushroom was outstanding with the cheese complimented it well.

Chicken Shashlik: chargrilled thighs served with spicy rice and two styled sauces (ketchup and sour cream/dill). Meat was cooked extremely well and had a great BBQ flavour. I would definitely order this again, perhaps with their grilled sausages which looked good going past.

The only thing I didn’t order was dessert. Slightly disappointed that I ate so much, as their Honey Cake looked great on neighbouring tables!

If, like me, you haven’t tried much of Estonia, Russia, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania’s cuisine, Baltic Cellar give you the chance to delve into them all without having to leave Manchester. I think you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else locally who can do that along with lovely service, well priced drinks and an all round brilliant experience without costing an arm and a leg.

This entire lunch was fantastic, and not a brioche bun in sight.

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Posted: Monday 10th November 2014
ID: 11064 - 1241