5 star just became affordable!
Lucky old Mel was asked to go and check out the new River Bar & Grill (the Grill bit is new), you know the place down at the rather nice Lowry Hotel. Never having been before, I didn’t realise just how lucky until I arrived & had the chance to experience this dam fantastic restaurant.
The restaurant is elegant and serene and incredibly inviting (Bit like the posh places, lawyers on US TV shows seem to go to, if you know what I mean), There is a warm and mellow feel about the place, just begging you to sit back, relax and savour the whole experience (which I duly did!). We were seated in a lovely comfortable booth positioned to make the most of the views out through the wall of windows. On a more balmy night, there is also a balcony bar outside which I could well imagine whiling away the hours on with a large glass of dry white.
The reason we had been given this mission, was to try the new Grill aspect – apparently everyone had been ordering mostly steaks and grills for years so they decided to change the restaurant name to fit and brought a new top of the range Grill. So I opted for the recommendations of the Restaurant Manager (very nice man indeed) – and were very pleased we’d listened! To start, I had the Scallops & Pork belly which was delicious. The scallops were light & smooth and the pork belly practically melted on your tongue. My partner went for the Tuna Tartare which I told was ‘really good’.
We couldn’t really look past the steak options, having heard all about the Josper Grill (the hottest grill on the market, non the less). We were not disappointed! I have to say, if they did home sized Josper grills, I’d have one! I went for the fillet and my partner the rib-eye, both were delightful, seared on the outside with an intense charcoal flavour, courtesy of the Josper I believe, but delightfully tender still inside. All steaks are served with big crispy onion rings, just enough good French fries and your choice of sauce – we can vouch for both the peppercorn and the red wine. There’s a really decent array of sides to accompany your main, which if feeling greedy like us, you can go for - we went for the Green beans and shallots and the grilled asparagus, which were again decent.
With the old diet firmly out of the window now, we managed to find some room to squeeze in dessert – I opted for the sticky toffee pudding. Now, I consider myself a connoisseur when it comes to this particular dessert & this one was a treat – absolutely bang on (so tasty in fact that my partner has no idea how good, because I wouldn’t let him have any!) But don’t worry, he was equally as happy with his dark chocolate fondant, cooked to a light, soft sponge but still oozing in the middle ‘really good’ he said again. Now, I’m not usually a fan of dessert wines, but our lovely waiter assured me that the Mas Amiel Vintage Maury was worth a try – ooo and it was! Best described as a kind of chocolatey liquer/wine, it was amazing! We also branched out and went for some of the specialist teas instead of coffee for dessert. Served with ‘why the heck not’ tantalising petits fours, the vanilla tea was delightful, an unusual & light way to round off the night.
I should throw in a mention now about the price – I know you’ll all be thinking, 5 star hotel it’ll cost a fortune (to be fair that is what I was expecting!) but truthfully, particularly bearing in mind the standard of the food, setting and service, it was actually incredibly reasonable. The fillet steak will set you back £29, but that includes the fries, rings & sauce and whilst the sides were excellent, there’s plenty of food without them! Honestly, 5 star luxury just became affordable.
It would be remiss not to mention the service, which was impeccable throughout. All of the staff were friendly, efficient & very knowledgeable, whilst still being totally unobtrusive.
So in short, yes, you have to make a tiny bit of effort to head a little bit out of town, but once you do, you’ll be very pleasantly rewarded with a fantastic meal in a beautiful setting – well worth it! Genuinely decent value for money and a chance to experience a real gem – we’ll be heading back very, very soon!!
Posted: Friday 11th April 2014
ID: 2911 - 1136
About River Restaurant
Executive Chef Dave Ashton’s menu uses the best local and seasonal produce that the hotel is famous for and creating classic British dishes to a high standard. His favourite starters include pan fried scallops with scallop ceviche, peanut, lime and avocado and A5 Wagyu beef with celeriac remoulade, ponzu and wasabi dressing. Mains include wild line caught sea bass with cockle minestrone, courgette and basil puree. Meat lovers will be delighted to see a Rump of lamb Cheshire Farm lamb with lamb fat carrot, roast onion, braised rib and mint sauce. Our famous sharing dishes of Beef Wellington and our 42oz Cheshire Farm Tomahawk steak.
The adjoining River Bar and Terrace encapsulates The Lowry Hotel’s fun-loving spirit at the confluence of city life. Here you’ll find in the intimate, informal surroundings a quiet place to network, drink and kick-back with a perfectly mixed cocktail, club sandwich, salad, or more substantial dish from our menu. The cosy Library is tucked away at one end. Open until late, this is a place to enjoy our signature cocktails.
Here you will also find Manchester’s longest bar terrace — an open-air first-floor terrace for al fresco dining where you can enjoy a drink or meal from the bar or restaurant. Open year-round, The Terrace is perfect for summer afternoon get-togethers in this urban suntrap overlooking the River Irwell.
The bar and restaurant at The Lowry Hotel provide the perfect place to relax and enjoy good food and drink, offering breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner on a daily basis, with a great Chefs Choice Menu offering 2 courses for £19.95 and three courses for £24.95 and a three course Sunday lunch for £22.50. Our Afternoon Tea is available for £22.50 per person or upgrade to our Champagne Afternoon Tea for £33.00.
On Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons you will also be entertained with live pianist and singer Kimm.
The River Bar and Restaurant as you know it will be closing in July but don’t worry, we will be back in September with a brand-new restaurant and bar, during this time we will be serving, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner in our grand ballroom during this period.
Here is a short video of the preparation of the Watermelon dessert on this month's Chef Choice Menu.
