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The Dinner Detective dines at: Northern Quarter Restaurant Bar and Grill
The Dinner Detective19/ 5/2005
UNLIKE restaurant reviewers on some newspapers, the Dinner Detective eats out incognito and always pays for the meal. That way the Dinner Detective gets the same treatment as the readers, giving you an honest review of the service you might receive.
Going to the Northern Quarter during the week is like stumbling
across an empty film set or wandering into a ghost town, which is a
shame because there are plenty of places to eat and drink. It's
only after you stumble out of your chosen haunt that you're
unnerved by the emptiness of the area.
So on a Wednesday night I ventured into the land that Manchester
forgot for a bit to eat. I picked my way through the tumbleweed to
the Northern Quarter Restaurant.
The waitress looked slightly startled when I asked for a table for
two and even more concerned when my date failed to materialise
straightaway. She consoled me with a bowl of large marinated olives
that were sharp enough to wake me up from my office-induced
stupor.
When my dining companion arrived we gossiped, the kitchen staff
looked on expectantly, the waitress hovered in the background. We
made our choices and I started with herb couscous and halloumi
stuffed pepper, £5.25, my date chose smoked salmon crostini,
£5.75.
The halloumi was chewy and satisfyingly salty, balancing out the
innocuous couscous. My date, C, was happy with his fish. He was
going for a protein-heavy meal as part of his training for the
Great Manchester Run.
Service was swift and we barely had time to draw breath before the
mains arrived.
I'd been feeling anaemic that week so I thought the marinated lamb
steak, £12.50, would sort me out. It was slightly overcooked and a
bit fatty but I liked the celeriac potato puree and the red
cabbage. The dish was a nice combination of comfort and
crunch.
C thought his rib-eye steak, £11.60, was scrummy but hankered after
some sauce for his slab of meat. Well, don't we all? He had two
glasses of a bold Rioja to wash down the super chunky chips that
came with the beef.
We finished with banoffee pie, £4.50, which hurt my teeth but hit
the spot. To finish, C and I were given two mini mint juleps. I
didn't drink mine but C threw caution to the wind and knocked both
drinks back with gay abandon.
The Northern Quarter Restaurant is a nice enough restaurant,
nothing fancy in the way of décor or cuisine but pleasing
enough.
What's on the menu?
Northern Quarter Bar and Grill, 108 High St, Manchester, M4 1HQ.
Telephone: 0161 8327115
Cheapest starter soup of the day, £3.95
most expensive seared scallops in pancetta,
£6.95
cheapest main glazed shallot tart, £9.75
most expensive salmon and tiger prawn brochette,
£13.25
desserts £4.50
Opening hours: Tuesday - Saturday 12pm - 11pm;
Sunday 12pm - 4pm
Parking availability: Yes
Disabled access: Yes - pavement level
premises
Availability of kids' menu: Yes - chicken and
chips or salmon pasta for £4.50
Average price of a drink: wine, £3.50
Unusual offerings: post prandial of mini mint
juleps with sugar-dusted strawberries
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