Mel's mid week River Bar & Grill treat
As far as mid-week meals go, I normally opt for something simple at home - usually a meal deal from M&S watching Masterchef. I think it’s because I’m in the middle of my routine and the thought of breaking this monotonous cycle unnerves me.
Turns out, we should always do something on a Wednesday. It breaks up your week, gives you something to look forward to and you can always catch up with Gregg and Torode another time.
Instead of an average microwave meal and cheap bottle of plonk, I was invited to try the River Bar & Grill’s a la carte menu at the 5 star Lowry Hotel.
Quite a few of Manchester’s top restaurants are within hotels these days; The French, Michael Caines, Smoak, Mr Cooper’s Garden, Opus One....and The River certainly falls into the top half of this list.
This restaurant looks like something out of a style magazine. Crisp table clothes, nice flowers, spacious, pristine staff and tones of summer flooding in from the windows overlooking the River Irwell and Spinningfields. I often feel a bit uptight in a fine dining restaurant, but here I felt very relaxed due to the setting and warmth from the staff.
Our booth was very comfortable, and we ordered a lovely spicy bottle of red wine (Château Mont Milan Corbières 2010) whilst enjoying an amuse-bouche of ham hock, quail egg and piccalilli; best ham and eggs I’ve had!
The menu is short and sweet but ticks all boxes for variety. Just from the short descriptions you can see that the team are using a blend of both classic French and modern techniques. A good sign I thought using my Masterchef knowledge.
Starters arrived to our delight - both looking like entries for an art competition; smoked salmon with cucumber compress, nasturtium and rye for me and corn-fed chicken terrine with wild mushrooms and picked vegetable salad for my date.
The salmon was of very high quality, a vivid and intense cucumber dressing and bitter leaves. The compressed cucumber was fresh and with the Melba rye, brought the dish together with texture. Simple to look at but had clearly been mastered to combine the rich smokiness with the clean cucumber. The terrine was equally charming. A brawny slab of chicken with a punchy mushroom dressing (so meaty it almost tasted of liver!) - great seasoning and thoroughly enjoyed.
Something else which I liked about the starters was the size. They were dainty without being light of value. It was just enough to get going without over facing you before mains.
For our mains we ordered a Dover sole which came with shrimps and candied celery along with a fillet steak with peppercorn sauce.
Isn’t that a picture? The sole was cooked perfectly and the sauce was glossy, rich and had wonderful brown shrimp running through it. Along with a lovely piped mash and well seasoned asparagus; I loved this. Didn’t pick up on any candied celery (or see any celery for that matter), but was happy nevertheless - the fish had a slight sweetness anyway so it balanced well.
Not much I can say about the fillet other than it was unbelievable. Cooked in a Josper Grill meaning it takes on smoky BBQ flavour, it was such a good piece of meat. The chips were cooked wonderfully and again, a sauce made with love - boy, it was good.
Somehow (and I don’t know how), we ordered dessert. This was partially down to the wonderful waitress recommending both the raspberry shortbread and the Eton mess. Both great summer puds, both ordered!
The Eton mess was served in a way I’ve not had before. I liked it a lot; juicy strawberry ice cream, silky Chantilly cream, mini meringues, delicate strawberry jelly, a great pistachio crumb and fresh strawberries. This had an intense strawberry theme through the three ways of serving and with the chewy meringue and velvety cream; it was everything it should be.
By all accounts the raspberry dessert was good too (particularly the sharp sorbet and freeze dried berries), however it lasted but a minute so can only tell you that my date looked very smug and shook the hand of the lovely waitress for the suggestion.
We finished with some refreshing mint tea on the terrace and reflected on a wonderful meal. The wine, the service, the food, all spot on.
I wouldn’t think twice about recommending the River Bar & Grill. Not many hotel restaurants have free parking (if you spend over £30), great views and first class food and drink. GO HERE.
Posted: Friday 17th July 2015
ID: 2911 - 1368
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.
