Albatross and Arnold, Manchester

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be invited to the beautiful Albatross & Arnold for a bit of a mash up between their good selves and Tappers Gin. Nested above Beastro, Albatross & Arnold is a real hidden beauty with great views over the rest of Spinningfields. It has this wonderful modern Scandic meets classic art deco feel, with light wood, gleaming gold accessories and fresh flowers. It's my kind of place.

Albatross & Arnold created a seven course tasting menu paired with Tappers Gin; a small family business making some of the most exquisite gins in rather decadent bottles. The whole event really was a feast for the senses, with careful consideration given to how the dishes and cocktails looked, smelled and tasted. 

Picture shamelessly lifted from A&A's Instagram

I've added a copy of the menu as I'm pretty sure that the pictures I took say it way better than my words ever could. Early disclaimer though, I forgot to photograph the melting middle chocolate pudding. Yes, I know, shoddy work whilst being too busy eating it! Trust me, it was good. 

Before I start I wanted to go through the cocktails (mentioned in more detail on the menu above). Phil had to drink all of mine because I was on antibiotics of doom, which meant I couldn't as much as lick alcohol. He was suitably ruined the next day as a result. He gave every one his full approval, despite not being a usual fan of gin. What I can comment on was the presentation and (oh my word...) the smell of these. No fake essences, they were the real deal, and bursting with flavour. 

Massive thanks to our waitress Charlie who was an absolute diamond all night. She made me non-alcoholic versions of these so I at least felt like I was playing out. 

Gin Cured Salmon, Tonic Foam 

Razor Clam, Brown Crab, Samphire Mayonnaise, Sea Spray

Pidgeon, Hazelnuts, Horseradish, Gherkin: I have to say, that this is one of the best things I have eaten in some time. I hate horseradish, but these meringues were quite subtle, and brought a little warmth to the dish. Trust in the chef. 

Cod, Sea Aster, Samphire, Lemon Curd

Duck, Orange, Elderflower: Another truly outstanding dish. Perfectly cooked and absolutely packed with flavour. Real autumnal flavours coming from this plate of food. 

Summer Fruit, Crumble, Cream: Hands down one of the best desserts I've had in some time. Jo who was sat with us even ordered a second in lieu of chocolate pudding. Sterling work that Jo. Sweet yet tangy, with the perfect contrast of textures. 

Chef Jonathan Green is a bit of a dark horse if you ask me. That dessert reminded me very much of something I ate at one of my favourite places, Northcote. It was no surprise to find out then, that Jonathan did a decent stint under Nigel and Lisa at that very restaurant, before becoming Head Chef at Tattu. Very wise appointment that one. Thoroughly nice chap too. 

Go to Albatross & Arnold for beautifully crafted food without the formality. Service is professional yet friendly, and the surroundings are just beautiful. I can't wait to go back here when I can drink! 

Disclaimer: I was invited to Albatross & Arnold to sample the food and drink as part of a special event. I was under no obligation to say nice things. I wasn't even drunk whenI told them how much I loved them... 

Comptoir Libanais, Manchester

'Bits' are the best. The art of convincing yourself 'oh look at me, I'm eating little tiny things like a dinky bird', where in reality, it's the joy of not being tied to one main, then staring furiously at someone else's whilst cursing yourself for not ordering the same. No my friend, mezze is the future.

Lebanese food lets light into the soul; spicy, warming and lots of 'bits' which make you beam. A couple of weeks ago, my friend Ellie and I got ourselves involved in a bit of Veganuary at Comptoir Libanais. This was going to be interesting, as I am a full on carnivore and she's pescatarian, so we wanted to see just how full can two hungry girls get with no meat or dairy? Challenge set.

Comptoir Libanais has to be one of the prettiest restaurants in the city. Lebanese restaurants are usually full of colour, with vibrant tiles, extravagant teapots and the most wonderful ingredients to buy to take home. The restaurant is spacious and light, and there's even a bar tucked away at the back for those in need of pre-dinner drinks, or a cheeky glass of something with nibbles.

So then, this mezze I was on about. I was determined not to make a pig of myself after the great 'Pre-Sum 41 Disaster of 2017', where I was so full after eating Lebanese food, that I went to the bar during the gig and had to ask for a glass of squash. Party hard. Would history repeat itself?

The promotional picture below really does not do the volume of food justice. Looks okay hey? Colours as dazzling as their home, it really is as much a feast for the eyes as it is for your belly.

Here's how we got on.

Drinks: Great range of wines, cocktails, beers, and homemade soft drinks, with extra brownie points going to our hostess who found the ingredients list of a discontinued cocktail Ellie had fawned over online. It's also essential that I mention (and stand by) my original description of the rose tea we were served too; 'magical'.

Mezze to share:
Hommos - smooth rich chickpea purée with tahini and lemon juice, served with pita bread: The original hommos listed on the menu was beetroot, which is fine if you like soil. I do not, therefore this was easily swapped for the regular version. I really must impress upon you that this stuff makes the pots from M&S taste like beige nothing. This is so rich and full of flavour, there's a definite difference with the authentic stuff.

Baba Ghanuj - smoked aubergine, tahina and lemon juice with pomegranate seeds, served with pita bread: Drenched in the most beautifully scented olive oil with pomegranate seeds, this dip is like a little glimpse of lunch in Heaven.

Freekeh - smoked green wheat, wild rocket, vine tomato, spring onion, apple vinegar and mint dressing: Not keen on rocket, so why was this so wonderful? I often find it drowns the taste of anything you serve it with, so I can only presume that the combination and balance of flavours here were just bob-on.

Falafel - chickpea and broad bean pate, coriander, parsley, garlic and peppers, served with tahina sauce: They always look so dry and uninviting, but once cracked open, these little balls of delight are a taste sensation, especially when drowned in tahina and eaten with those bright pink pickles. 
Quinoa and Pumpkin Salad - quinoa, chickpeas, vine tomato, fresh mint, topped roasted pumpkin, apple vinaigrette and pomegranate dressing: The first time I ate quinoa was in porridge with protein powder. This is not like that porridge. Soft and spicy with texture for days. This went down very well indeed.

Aubergine Tagine - baked baby aubergine in a rich tomato and chickpea sauce: By far my stand out dish of the day. There's something about a warming tagine served with fluffy rice that wraps me in a big blanket and makes me feel safe from the cold outside.

Rose Water Mouhalabia - coconut milk and rose water Lebanese milk pudding: A little like a very light blancmange with a subtle rose flavour. Ellie was a big fan of this one.

What an amazing afternoon! It was howling a gale outside, and there we were, feasting, drinking cocktails and declaring tea 'magical'. In all honesty, you would barely notice that everything was plant based, because it was just so unbelievably delicious, and we left feeling incredibly full indeed. Many of the foods served like chickpeas, aubergine and quinoa take on the flavours of the spices when cooked well, so feel hearty and soothing. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm never going to change my meat eating ways, but will happily reorder ay of these items in the future. They are on the normal menu all year round, so you can still sample them all.

Go here for a slow afternoon of chit chat, cocktails, and the most beautiful food.

Disclaimer: I was invited to the restaurant to complete an honest review. I was under no obligation to say nice things!

The Alchemist Spinningfields, Manchester

Well good afternoon you little lot. I've been a girl about town recently; baking cakes, drinking cocktails and of course, eating lots of food. It's all part of 'Operation Choose Happiness', and I have to say, it's working. I've been to some lovely places with some of my faves, medicated with laughter, and surrounded myself with people who make me incredibly happy. 

Once such trip was an afternoon of fun on Spinningfields with that cocktail drinking tinker of mine. Partial to an Aviation and a gin or two, she was the perfect person to accompany me to the Alchemist. We had a bloody delightful afternoon of wonderful service, chips which were as moreish as crack, and genuine cocktail alchemy. Smoke, bubbles and colour changes are just an average Tuesday afternoon at the Alchemist... Yes, you should be hearing the Harry Potter theme tune in your head. Wands and Potions books at the ready please.

Once again, she wanted to write this one up, so here's what she thought. Over to Lee... I'm off to brew my own Felix Felicis.

So Rachel and I found ourselves again wagging work for the afternoon (obvs not actually wagging, booked the afternoon off, we are too goodie two shoes for genuine wagging) and travelling into Manchester for food and cocktails. I have been to Alchemist on Spinningfields many times for cocktails and have always been impressed, genuine sorcery goes on behind that bar and the drinks are a sight to behold. But I had never eaten there and was really excited to try it.

The restaurant area at the back is very calm and luxurious. We were seated in a big booth, which was lucky considering the amount of shopping I had managed to do in the short time we had been in town before we ate.

Popcorn chicken: The waiter suggested we have some nibbles before choosing our meals and I was initially hesitant, I've got form for over eating on nibbles and starters and then not being able to eat my main, but he managed to convince us to try the popcorn chicken which did not disappoint. Hot and crispy coating on delicious tender chicken, a great start.

Vegetarian sharing platter: Having spotted nachos on the starters I needed to have these, and we reached a happy compromise in ordering the vegetarian sharing platter which included edamame, red pepper houmous, padron peppers, nachos, falafel and dips. This was an absolute triumph and we scoffed the lot. I suspect we will enjoy many of these in the future when we need a post drink nibble.

Fajitas: For mains Rachel chose fajitas and was delighted to find out she could have half and half on the meat choices so went for beef and Cajun chicken. This came beautifully presented on a sizzling skillet ready to be made up exactly as you like.   

Chilli and rice with nachos: Keeping the Mexican theme going I went for the chilli and rice which was again presented in a fantastic way, in a tiffin tin with chilli in one level, rice in another, tortilla chips is another and finally one filled with salsa, sour cream, guacamole and cheese.

Quick interlude from me... these are the above mentioned salt and pepper fries, or as I like to call them 'crack fries'. They are so addictive, I continued eating them way beyond my own cries of 'oh Lord, I'm stuffed', and later 'please don't ring Maury Povich and tell him I'll need air lifting out of the restaurant' (although it would have made an excellent episode). They are covered in soy sauce, but remain crispy. They are the kind of alchemy that Nicolas Flamel would have been proud of. I'm off again... 

Both our meals were absolutely delicious. We powered through the mountain of food and even managed to share some Belgian waffles for pudding which finished the meal off perfectly, we were ready to be rolled out of our seats.

Throughout the afternoon we tried a variety of the amazing cocktails on offer, I won't list them all in case our mothers read this and realise we aren't responsible grown up women at all! However they were all incredible, good quality spirits mixed with inventive flavours and presented in a fun way. We were particularly pleased with our hip flasks (look out for the cocktails with a symbol next to them on the menu).  

Thrilled to bits this one!

Thanks to all at the Alchemist for taking such good care of us, we will be back soon.

Lounge on 12 at Manchester House - Afternoon Tea

She had been very well behaved, so that little cocktail drinking homie of mine accompanied me to sample a rather glorious champagne afternoon tea at Lounge on 12 at Manchester House the other day. We had a cracking little time, and it was quickly declared by Lee that she was going to write this review. I've been relegated to the bench. Luckily the bench is a great place, where I have a cocktail in hand, and I'm basking in the sun. Meanwhile, she can tell you all about what we got up to!

I love Manchester. I love the variety of places to visit, and gorgeous food to eat. A couple of places however are very close to my heart, and Lounge on 12 at Manchester House is one of them. I have been known to describe it as my spiritual home (second only to Selfridges beauty hall of course). I have the best memories of times spent here with special friends, in particular one long boozy afternoon on the terrace in the sunshine after a particularly good Jo Malone shop. So when Rach asked if I would like to accompany her to try the afternoon tea, I was beyond excited.

As always the luxurious experience of Manchester House starts the second we walked out of the lift, as we were greeted and escorted to a table with beautiful views over the city. Our server Dennis recommended we start with a cocktail, and who are we to disagree? I went for my all time favourite cocktail ever... anywhere....an Aviation. It didn't disappoint, it never does.

Now onto the afternoon tea, and I must point out that this is the first one that Rachel and I have finished totally. We normally get over-faced and end up taking cake home.

The afternoon tea is beautifully presented, with a delicious selection of sandwiches; including coronation chicken wraps, beef and coleslaw, cucumber, and cheese and pickle.

The array of sweet offerings was amazing, fennel eclairs (I know they sound weird but eat them, you won't be sorry), salted caramel macarons, panna cotta, scones and Eccles cakes. The macarons in particular were a stand out item for me. We demolished the lot.

We enjoyed this with a glass of champagne as recommended by the lovely Dennis, who was absolutely wonderful at looking after us. He took the time to sit and talk us through the food and drinks, and recommend cocktails based on what we liked.

After the food we relocated to the terrace into the sunshine for more cocktails, and were delighted to be told we could put our own music through the terrace sound system (apologies to anyone we subjected to Blake Shelton!)

Please note reclined al fresco feet...

It was a perfect afternoon, and I honestly think if we hadn't had another engagement to get to, we would still be on that terrace now!

Thanks to all at Manchester House, we can't wait to see you soon
Disclaimer: We were invited to review afternoon tea at Lounge on 12 at Manchester House. We were not asked to befriend the front of house team (again), and we certainly were not challenged to eat and drink everything, we did this of our own accord.