Thursday 23 May 2013

Chorlton Green Brasserie - Manchester


Chorlton Green Brasserie is a brasserie on the Chorlton Green end of Beech Road in Chorlton, hence the name.

Having been open for less than a year, the brasserie was initially brought to my attention through the ‘Bacon On The Beech’ blog (here). My wife and I eventually made it along on a recent Sunday lunchtime.


‘Pros’ (based on our experience): excellent produce (much of it organic, sustainable and locally sourced from the region’s best producers and suppliers); great service (especially from the East European/Polish girl – sorry I didn’t ask her name); great atmosphere (very much a ‘Chorltonesque’ vibe); good range of wines, beers, teas and coffees.

Potted Crab Custard (£6.95) served with a celeriac & red chard salad with warm crusty bread – my wife was very happy with her choice of starter, and from the mouthful I tasted, I could see why.


Eggs & Bacon (£6.25) poached duck egg on a pea & bacon potato cake, buttered kale and a hollandaise sauce. Quite a lot of the albumen on the egg remained uncooked but schoolboy error aside, the dish was well conceived and tasty.


Roast Strip Loin of Beef (£11.50) served with twice roasted potatoes, proper gravy, roasted veg and a Yorkie pud. The meat (supplied by L.H. Frost) was the star of the show. The twice roasted potatoes though were nothing special, despite their supposed double roasting. The roasted roots and Yorkies were perfectly good.


Bubble & Squeak Pie (£13.50) with coconut, mustard, beetroot cream and a side of roasted roots. My wife loved her pie – the Barbie pink beetroot cream working well in classic partnership with mustard and coconut.


Death by Chocolate Pot (£4.75) a wonderfully rich chocolate pot served with short bread.


‘Sunday dessert of the day’ Banoffee Pie (£3.95) despite the overly arty smears, splatters and sprinkles, it was an enjoyable and keenly priced dessert.


‘Cons’ (based on our experience): home style cooking not faultless; waiting time for food was a tad too long; doll’s house furniture; some lessons needed in how to serve and prepare teas.

To explain the these points further: I appreciate the restaurant is small but the doll’s house furniture was definitely a disadvantage to a six footer like myself… unable to fit my legs under the table, I spent the duration of the meal teetering on the edge of my seat, imagining the chair splintering scene from Goldilocks when she sat on Baby Bear’s.


With regards to the tea – I was pleased to see Jeeves & Jericho teas on the menu and selected their high grade ‘Temple of Heaven’ Gunpowder Green Tea only for the leaves to be scorched to bitterness with boiling water straight from the coffee machine. As a keen tea drinker this is something that annoys be time and time again, often in even the finest restaurants (see my post about the 3 Michelin star Jean Georges post for a similar, yet more technically detailed, rant.)
 
It was definitely good enough for me to want to return – the breakfast menu with its Full English and Eggs Benedict has certainly piqued my interest. 




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