Pearl Barley Risotto
Alston Beef

Alston Beef

Cathedral Street, Manchester I-M4 3TR, United Kingdom

Pasta • British • Steakhouse • Vegetarian


"The first time we went we age from the lunch menu with the 3 courses for £18 option I really enjoyed my starter, the short rib had a beautiful barbecue taste and the pickeled mustard seeds added a fantastic texture and a beautifuly sharp contrast to the meat. I felt like the crispy shallots didn't add much other than texture, maybe more would've helped. Presentation wise I loved the jar the ribs came in For the main course at @alstonmanchestr I opted the Tweed Valley 250g rump steak which was served with garlic butter and fries on the side. The rump was a £3 surcharge to the set menu, I could've had a flat iron steak for no extra charge but I couldn't do that to myself. The steak was so perfect, I asked for mine rare which did not disappoint. The meat was thick and tasty. I enjoyed the fries but I would've preferred chips, also if I wasn't having 3 courses I would've grabbed some veg on the side. For Dessert I enjoyed Dark berries and gin tart with almond ice cream. This was a great end to my meal, the gin undertoned the sharp Berry flavours and wasn't overpowering. The pastry was firm and sweet. and I enjoyed the dessicated almond on the ice cream provided a nice texture. Our second visit we ate in the evening from the a la carte Starter Courgette and corn fritters with chilli tzatziki did not disappoint, they smelt very aromatic and were nice and crispy. The flavours were great but the main event had to be the chilli tzatziki underneath, it tasted incredible Main I had decided a few days before that I deserved a T bone as it had been a while since I had one. This one was 500g and served with either chips, mash or veg, and a choice of sauce. I opted for chips and I decided to try the bone marrow butter which did not disappoint. All the Tweed Valley steaks at Alston are hand selected by a master butcher from the best cattle that's been fed grass and barley My steak, served rare, was perfect and in true T bone fashion got less cooked in the center so I was pretty much eating a live cow..mmmmm. The seasoning on the seared meat was gorgeous and with that bone marrow butter spread on it was taken to a next level"

The Square Fish Café

The Square Fish Café

The Square, Maidstone, United Kingdom

Fish • Full • Wine • Meat


"Fine food and Issues Decided to visit as the reviews were mainly great. Arrived to find it looked ten minutes after due to be open. They were just opening the door. I went in and quickly used the toilet, not flushed by last person that used it! It's a well laid out, well decorated restaurant. I chose the Escargots as my starter, well cooked with a very small amount of sauce sadly no tongs to hold the shell. They were 6 very nice molluscs. The main was an absolutely sensational tasty seafood salad. Interesting dressing on a generous variety of sea food and nice salad. I had ordered a lime and soda, it transpired they had no lime so someone went out to buy some and could only get lemon, which was ok. When it came to the desert I liked the idea of four of them but ordered the lemon tart. A few minutes later the lady running front of house (I later discovered it was her first day in post!! Returned hugely apologetic telling me sadly they had no lemon tart. I chose the cherry clafouti and a few minutes later the young lady came back devastated to tell me they had none of that either! I eventually had a brownie, which she didn't charge me for. Must confess it didn't excite and the supplied ice cream was quite crystallised as if it had been refrozen. The table next to me were told they had no more Escargot, so clearly they opened with only one portion available. Front of house was good, 2/3 of the food I had was great but clearly someone needs to sort out the kitchen too many problems to give customers confidence of availability. Was it worth the trip? Oh yes but they have some serious organisational issues to resolve."

Plate

Plate

151-157 City Road, London, United Kingdom

Fish • Coffee • Cheese • Chicken


"Came here on a quiet Sunday. While the restaurant is beautiful and service excellent, I thought the set lunch menu selection was just average. Choose from a chicken breast, hake or vegetarian gnocchi for mains. We also assumed that ordering from the set lunch was optional but it’s not, we weren’t allowed to order from the a la carte menu during lunch but our waitress was kind enough to offer checking with the Chef to make exceptions in case we wanted something else . Eventually we decided to go with the 3 course set ordered the crispy pork skin to start, which was very decent, a little salty, but still yummy. The hake I thought the citrus, capers sauce were a bit too overpowering and you couldn’t taste the fish but cooked perfectly, and ended my meal with a delightful British cheese board. My partner ordered the gnocchi which he thought was very delicious, and the too pretty to eat coffee brûlée for dessert which he inhaled as it was perfect. It was a little pricey overall £54? even with the set meal as the portions were quite small, and there were lots of add on options i.e. cheeseboard was an extra £5, and coffee after another £4, which was a little disappointing. I am still on the fence with this one. All in all I thought the food was decent, but could suggest another similar resto for a similar price with a better set menu selection.... perhaps it’s worth returning to try their ala carte menu to make a final call. In my book, it’s 3.5/5."