Albert's Schloss, Manchester

I don't even know where to start with this one. I'm going to try and keep it succinct, and show you lots of pictures. I've been to Albert's Schloss loads of times for drinks, but recently I ended up going three times in just over a week for different reasons, and had such a belting time, that I thought it important to share!

Let me summarise. So first of all was a long awaited catch up with our friend Tash, then I went with the girls, and finally was the launch of Le Grand Tour. 

What's Le Grand Tour I hear you ask? It's floral and fresh, with Alpine vibes. I'll let them explain:

'This season, we will be your official cicerone, taking you on a journey through the pure essence of Alpinism. For 2018, Albert has taken influence from the grandiose of the great outdoors, curating distant mountain cultures and abundant attractions into beautiful and charming displays of alpine meadow flowers and hanging gartens'.

So brace for evidence of what became a week of gluttony and excess, with some of my absolute faves. What I will tell you before I begin is that you will always have a good time at Albert's, unless you're a miserable bugger, or hate cocktails, beer and food. I think my photos evidence this well! 

Prosecco reception with the girls

Phil with his touring ladies!

Book a booth to 'Push for Prosecco'! 

I've grouped together the food and drinks, and won't go through each in copious amounts of detail, but will give you some of my highlights.

Touring cocktail - Lychee Blossom Martini, Tanqueray gin, Kwai Fai, lychee, lemon, rose flower tincture (the one with a flower in it): Could easily become an alcoholic from this. It's insanely refreshing, and ticks the 'sweet' box without being overly so. Pretty sure I had three.
High G&T - Raspberry and tarragon (the one with the leaves), Beefeater 24 gin, lime, tarragon, raspberries, light Fevertree tonic: Sweet and fragrant. I may have had more than one of these too.
High G&T - Honeycomb and rosemary (the one with a chunk of honeycomb): I had to remove the rosemary as it gives me migraines, however, sans twig this was excellent. Naturally sweet with a real tang to it.


Haus pretzel, sweet mustard, pickles and smoked gouda: Baked in house every morning, my aim is to get there early doors when they are still warm. We had these twice! When in (fake) Bavaria and all that.

So to the food. I've eaten twice out of the three visits, and again I'll give you the highlights.

Meatballs pork and beef meatballs, tomato mother sauce, cambozola (top left): Absolutely delirious. Who thought of melting cambozola on this? Medal time.

Alpine ham and cheese croquettes pancetta, gruyère, crumb, yoghurt aioli (top right): Perfect acoompanyment to a few pints if you're picking bar snacks.

Sformato, baked truffled mashed potato, melting nuggets of alpine cheese (bottom left): Couldn't touch this as truffle has the same migraine inducing effects on me, but Tash describes this as actual crack. Looked amazing! 

Confit duck leg yuzu dressing, pickled orange, fennel salad (bottom right): The picture makes it look a bit dry, however you have to trust me on this one, that the duck was beautifully moist with tart pickles.

Shaved turkey sandwich treacle cured bacon, avocado, smoked cheddar, Russian dressing (top left): Was kind of massively jealous when Lucie got this. Since New York, Russian dressing is my new favourite thing, and the whole combo sounded absolutely delicious.

Halloumi schnitzel burger, crumbed halloumi, griddled zucchini, beetroot slaw, lemon mayo, focaccia (top right): I can't believe I didn't order this on either visit. Halloumi will always be one of my faves. Jayne's feedback was that it didn't need the breadcrumbs. We like our cheese to squeak.

Sauerbraten slow cooked beef, red wine sauce, pickled cabbage (bottom left): Warming and lovely.

Paprikash chicken kebab lemon, yoghurt aioli, crunchy chickpea, pickled fennel, pomegranate, mint, coriander, rose harissa, flatbread (bottom right): A bit of a lighter option, again served with that rather special tangy pickle.

Classic cheese burger aged cheshire beef, pickles, Russian dressing, double cheese, butterhead lettuce, brioche bun (forgot to take photo in excitement): That's right, I take about a 684 pictures of food every day, and forgot to snap my own lunch. Bozo. What I need to tell you is that this is one of my favourite burgers in the city. You'll just have to trust me an imagine a juicy double burger with a generous portion of pickles and crispy fries. Sorry.

Despite suffering with post 'American dream' food fatigue, I had a dessert both times. 

Baked Alaska: Both times. Days apart. This is one for the sugar fans! Soft meringue hiding tangy sorbet. I will never ever tire of this. Ever ever.

Orange bread and butter pudding: Amber ordered this one, and it was demolished pretty sharpish, so I can only assume that she enjoyed it.

More confessions. Both times I have left the building with a sizeable box of cruffins, kronuts and cinnamon buns. I could have pretended that they never existed, but the thing is, they did and they were excellent. However, copious amounts of cocktails and 'cake aways' are not great bedfellows. In other words I was too drunk to remember to take pictures before scoffing them. What of it. They're great.

Go here to have fun, that's the bottom line. A daytime affair during the week is quite relaxed, Saturday afternoons are busy but have a great buzz about the place, and evenings are like gin fuelled carnage of the best sort. The DJ was amazing on Le Grand Tour night, and got extra brownie points for playing 90s trash, and wearing an excellent hat.

19 Cafe Bar, Manchester

Evening is the perfect time to write about breakfast, surely? Every so often you stumble across a right little gem, and that's exactly what I'm going to tell you about. I love a good full English. I mean, I really love them. From your 'crappy caff' to Michelin starred stay overs, I've eaten hundreds over the years. Some are good, others fade into mediocracy, but then I'll find a few which end up being on my 'what could you just have?' list.

If you Google 'best breakfasts in Manchester', all your usual suspects like Koffee Pot, West Corner and Moose (to name but a few) will repeatedly feature, and likewise, I love these too. So 19 Cafe Bar may just be a new kid on the block, freshly emerging into the scene with more than just a fry up on the menu, nice teas and fresh pastries.

Let's talk breakfast. Sunday morning, one fancying the quintessential fry up, the other craving something a little different. The menu does not disappoint.

Bacon open bagel with cream cheese, bacon, avocado and two poached eggs: Two perfectly poached eggs atop crispy bacon and fresh avocado. The perfect alternative to the traditional fry up, whilst still being filling. Thinking man's breakfast.

Big breakfast - two sausage, two bacon, two fried eggs, beans, tomato, mushroom and toasted bloomer: These sausages are a world class breakfast item. The lovely lady who served us told a tale of a chap who had come in especially to have these again, and took a side order of them home with him! I have to confess that I didn't eat it all, but I'm blaming this on New York based food fatigue. I'm back in the game now. Greedy girl's breakfast.

The food at 19 Cafe Bar was fantastic, but the service was also superb. The lady who served us was really knowledgeable about the menu, and was happy to offer her own thoughts when we were struggling which bagel to pick. She had our sense of humour too...

Go here for a relaxed weekend brunch. It's on the quieter end of Lever Street, and sun beats through the windows on a nice day. If you're going a bit later, they do cocktails too, which we are already planning on sampling on another day.

Walrus, Manchester

My first experience of Walrus was about eight years ago, back in the days where I thought I didn't like cocktails, and clearly knew nothing. Since then, the Northern Quarter exploded with new restaurants and watering holes, with Walrus sat there as a bit of a veteran in this ever expanding part of town.

Last week we were invited to try the new menu, so off we went, with empty bellies and open minds. It was like press central in there, which always makes me feel like a bit of an interloper, despite the fact I've been doing this blogging malarky for around seven years now. Lots of people taking pictures of the new menu, with fancy cameras working the angles. Ladies and gents, I am here to give you the average Doll's view of proceedings!

Let's start with the feel of the place. Comfy booths, friendly bar staff, and a rather lovely front of house manager. We liked her a lot! Drinks were swiftly in hand, with cocktail being sipped and beer poured within a few minutes. I feel I have to warn you that opting for multiple Um Bongos may leave you legless after a few, as it tastes like actual pop. Not a bad thing.

Also recommended from the cocktail menu are the Solero (yes, of the ice lolly fame) and a Manchester take on the classic Bramble, with Vimto poured over the top.

So onto the food. There's nothing fussy here, and I'd suggest that this menu has been designed to be an accompaniment to the lovely drinks.

Chipotle beef pizza with sweetcorn and tomato salsa: Massive. Perfect to share, or eat it alone if you don't mind dozing off. Tasty chipotle beef, however we felt there needed to be more cheese on this, and maybe some sort of herbs for seasoning.

Mac n cheese balls with tomato and basil sauce: Do you even reside in the Northern Quarter if you don't serve these? Nice and crispy on the outside with lots of cheese on the inside.

Dirty fries - doner meat, pickled chillis, mozzarella, and yoghurt sauce: By far my favourite thing I tried. Imagine the scene... you're five cocktails deep and you have the munchies - THIS. My only slight issue is that the 'doner' is too high quality! This is not a real criticism, just the ramblings of my 'five cocktails deep' self. Apologies for the terrible lighting on this one, we were nowhere near a window (blogger problems).

When I review somewhere, I like to imagine who might go, and for what occasion. Many of my friends go to Manchester purely to drink, which is a totally alien concept for me, as I am ruled by food. This is the perfect compromise. Drinkers, you are going to be rather happy with the choice of cocktails and beers on offer, whilst your little piglet friends like me can enjoy some tasty nibbles on the side.

Book yourself a booth, get settled, let the DJ spin some tunes and relax.