City Inn
Mancunians returning to their home city after even a short time away wouldn't recognise the part of town where the City Inn is these days fast caving a niche as a fantastic place to go for a meal. Until a year or so ago, this completely revamped area near Piccadilly Station was one of the last remnants of 'old' Manchester. The actual site of the hotel was a car park with a scuzzy curry house nearby. Now it's, well, transformed. And new boutique hotel the City Inn is very much a key part of that renaissance.
Right next to Malmaison, the 285-bedroom City Inn is part of a small hotel chain with branches in Glasgow and London. But there's nothing uniform about the cooking on offer in its City Café restaurant. Executive Chef David Gale is clearly a serious player and expect to hear a lot more about him in the years to come. David has joined the hotel from the exclusive Moët Bar and Gallery restaurant at Selfridges, where he was responsible for the 80-cover gourmet eatery, the food hall and private dining events. Born in Wilmslow, David's previous form includes the Alderley Edge Hotel (also excellent) and THE Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge. He's also worked at one of New York's top boutique hotels - Soho House. And it shows.
Browsing the menu over a G and T in the smart, relaxing Piccadilly Lounge bar, it's clear that loads of thought has gone into the food on offer here. There is an A La Carte menu, a proper Vegetarian menu (with three choices of starter, main course and dessert) and a Kitchen Menu, which offers slightly simpler cuisine - two courses for £14.95 and three courses for £16.50. The latter changes twice a week.
A la Carte changes seasonally but the emphasis is always on absolutely premium ingredients cooked with panache but not pretension. Flagship starters currently include carpaccio of monkfish, fritto misto with sardines and whitebait, and pistou Provencale soup with Bayonne ham and pesto. A combination of Whitby crab with chilli and wasabi mayonnaise is innovative, irresistible and top-notch stuff. Typical mains include choices like fish pie with organic salmon, honey-glazed duck with Bok Choi and blood-orange dressing, fish and chips with Deuchars IPA batter and rump of lamb with broad beans and shallot fricassee. Four generous slices of pink meat come seared on the outside and meltingly tender on the inside. Suitable accompaniments like spinach, green beans and Parmesan, spuds or salad are extra but only a couple of pounds more. Grills and roasts are also available with a choice of sauces.
The vegetarian menu deserves special mention. First, sincere congratulations to a place which actually treats veggies as real culinary animals and doesn't expect them to eat ubiquitous fare like omelettes and mushroom risotto (fine though these can be). Meat-free starters include spring onion soup with asparagus and morel salsa, pear and watercress salad with Roquefort cheese and hazelnuts, and (in season) asparagus with hollandaise sauce. Mains include cauliflower gnocchi with purple sprouting broccoli, a polenta and ratatouille Millie feuile with tapenade and a house speciality - vegetarian Scotch egg. No horrid retro dish this but one replete with truffle oil, potato and free-range egg. Sensational. Acts like these are hard to follow but desserts do not disappoint. They include toothsome treats like dark chocolate and orange fondant, blackberry and apple pie with bourbon vanilla ice cream and a luscious summer pudding soufflé with clotted cream.
The cheese (a typical selection includes Shropshire Blue, real Red Leicester, and Mrs Kirkham's Blue Lancashire) comes with grape chutney and walnut and raisin bread and is (be warned) easily enough for two. An excellent wine lost starts at £14.95 for soft and fruity Merlot or Chardonnay and house champagne is £38 a bottle. There's a great dessert wine and port list too. With three courses and a bottle of wine, it's £40-plus a head. (A bit less if you go for the Kitchen menu) but REALLY worth every penny. Service is first-class; the restaurant itself is restful and nicely done-out in a contemporary way, which nevertheless echoes the style and elegance of a 1930's dining-room. With food like this on offer, it can't be long before it's strictly booking in advance.
City Café
City Inn Hotel
1 Piccadilly Place
1 Auburn Street
Manchester
M1 3DJ
Tel: 0161 242 1000
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