Northern Quarter Restaurant, Manchester

A 40^th birthday party and the host’s choice was the excellent Northern Quarter Restaurant in Manchester. I’m a big fan of the Northern Quarter with its combination of eclectic bars and restaurants and a real sense of being an independent spirit in a big conventional city. It does enjoy being different but its enthusiastic celebration of all things artisan makes it a lovely break from the mundanity of life. 

I went for the fish and chips with homemade pea puree and tartar (their spelling) sauce at £9.50.

The fish was excellent and had a fresh, light flavour. The batter was light and crispy and had a really well balanced taste. A lovely combination.

The chips were really good. Twice fried and full of floury loveliness. 

The pea puree was good but didn’t pack as much of a flavour punch as I expected. 

The tartare (my spelling) was excellent with the myriad of ingredients working well with each other and it came in a big portion on the plate with lots of little chunky fresh flavours. 

I was surprised that there was no lemon and the salt and vinegar needed to be requested. The vinegar came in a jug which made it another job for high-quality motor skills.

The TNQ, as it’s branded, is posh and therefore the pea puree and tartare has to swiped across the plate which meant that the chips were sitting in both of them and as I’m a little odd I always prefer to have all the ingredients separated out so I can choose what to add at any time of the meal.

I went for the house red as they only sell bland bottles of lager which is still a bit of a surprise. When I asked what beers they had the waiter was quite animated telling me their range of continental lagers, but I can never get excited about San Miguel.  

On the whole it was a pleasure to eat at TNQ and I’m looking forward to my next visit.

Brambles Cafe and Bar, Holmfirth

A Friday night in Holmfirth to watch the wonderful Lau in concert at the Picturedrome and an opportunity for a bite to eat before the gig.

I went for the Brambles beer battered haddock, chunky chips, minted mushy peas and tartar (their spelling not mine) sauce at £8.95.

The fish was bland and the batter was a little oily and the oil it was cooked in may have been past its best as it gave the batter a slightly burnt taste.

The chips were not chips and they were not chunky as claimed. The wedges with bits of potato skin on them were also a little oily and had a burnt flavour like the fish batter. They were thankfully a standard sized chip.

The mushy peas were a challenge. They tasted OK but had no mint. It was only after a few dips into the bowl that they came in that I realised the mint had been added to the bottom of the bowl and my job was to mix the peas with the mint to create the advertised effect. Unfortunately I’d already eaten quite a lot of the peas before I found the mint and so I had half a portion of perfectly good mushy peas and half a portion of very minty peas.

The tartare (my spelling not theirs) had been blended to within an inch of its life and none of the flavours that went into it had any distinction. A decent lemon wedge was provided.

My main grumble was with the presentation. The meal came on a plate with two equal sections. Section one, on the left, had the fish and chips and the other side had a bowl for the mushy then minty peas, the lemon and a tiny cup for the tartare. It seemed to be trying too hard for a plate.

I went for the Brambles Best Bitter which was a house beer from a local brewery and was pretty good.

The service was great. Quick, efficient and helpful.