"This restaurant underwhelms and is very pretentious. The 9 course tasting menu plus an amuse- bouche of duck broth is overpriced at £110, the amount shown on our bill not the website, and lacks imagination and flair. There is neither style nor elegance in the courses served. I suspect the ethos of sustainability overshadows any aspiration to a full Michelin Star as opposed to a green one. Each course, served approximately 20 to 25 minutes apart, and is given an explanation by the server, without which we would indeed be wondering what it was all about. But to start at the beginning. The amuse-bouche is served as you arrive at the foot of a metal staircase, so anyone with mobility issues please note, behind which is a barbecue so one hand rail is very hot, inside wood tables and chairs adequately spaced but note two of them are in full sun (WTLGI – yes I get it if it’s a sunny day, pretty uncomfortable to eat at and nowhere to move them. The toilets are up another flight of stairs and the sink outside the toilets is two planks of wood which slope together, do I detect style over substance? On to the food itself; the main event after all. First is a pickle plate, six pieces a little bigger than a thumb nail and two carrots (dried? about 2 inches by a ¼ inch with three spots of black garlic. Two oysters follow which were admittedly tasty then chunks of sourdough (from local Yellowhammer bakery with duck rillette are next. Kholrabi with a gooseberry puree follows; gooseberries from a chap in Marple (sustainability . Cornish mackerel in a corn chowder was I felt a bit odd, we were told it also had mussels in it; my portion had half a mussel but for the life of me I couldn’t find any more. Then the main event; confit of duck leg finished somewhere to render down the fat and crisp up the skin. Needless to say neither mine nor my husband’s was rendered or crispy, such a classic rooky error, just undercooked fat – yuck. Finally an upside down plum cake which was admittedly light in texture but hardly palate cleansing. Oh and a cobnut macaron. Cheese is extra. Drinks? A 125ml glass of wine is between £12 and £19 and a bottle somewhere between £69 and £110, soft drinks and beer £6/7. Stockport’s finest (tap water is free and plentiful. Regretfully I cannot recommend this restaurant nor, probably to their relief, will I be back."
Dinner
