El Capo - Manchester

El Capo originally opened in summer just as a Mexican themed bar, providing another option on Tariff Street between Whiskey Jar and Kosmonaut for drinks. The premises is split into two floors very similarly to their aforementioned neighbours, in this case with the top floor primarily focused on the bar area and to serve food in on quieter occasions and the basement being the main restaurant area. The design is heavily based on an English twist on what you would imagine a typical Mexican cantina with lots of Mexican influenced paintings on the walls (sugar skulls, sombreros etc), bottles of tequila as vases, rustic tiles around the bar and wooden flooring throughout. It's clear some real attention has been spent on the decor and there were a few lovely touches such as the tables upstairs all having fresh lillies in the tequila bottle vases.

The opening of the restaurant area in late August was accompanied by one of those great stories that adds a lot of 'authenticity' (shudder) to a place like this with a tale of the head chef Troy Almador returning from extensive travelled in South America to learn about the tradition of much of the cuisine he plans to serve. Certainly a lot more impressive than downloading the Wahaca menu and trying to copy as much as possible. For me, the research has certainly paid off as when it comes to the menu they're well covered on both the typical Mexican staples (burritos, tacos, churros and so on) but digging a bit deeper into the menu reveals some more interesting options including prawn and scallop ceviche, pan seared cows heart and slow cooked pork stew. Certainly not your typical fare. 

As you'd expect since they've been open as a bar for several months, the drinks menu was pretty extensive - lots of interesting South American influenced cocktails, several wines and a ton of Mexican and American beers, lots of new names on me and certainly enough variation that a night in here on the booze would be a good time. 

I was so impressed during the first visit that I was keen to head back and try a few more dishes (as well as a few immediate favourites again) as quickly as possible so the food mentioned below was eaten across both meals. On the first occasion I ate upstairs, it was very quiet as I first arrived (worryingly so, with only 2 other tables occupied) and as a result we got some fantastic attention from the waitress who was extremely knowledgeable and helpful with the menu - making some great recommendations. The second visit was made on a busy Saturday night, with only one table still available when I dropped in - reassuringly the service was just as good and attentive which was certainly left a good impression. 

"Chicharron"

A snack of crispy, fatty long pork scratchings which came accompanied with a pot of chilli vinegar which added tartness. The long scratchings combined with a shallow ramekin weren't ideal for dipping and meant it was only possible to dip a cm or so at a time, still well worth the effort.

"Guevara No. 4"

The waitress did the right thing and warned me I was in for ceviche (raw fish typically cured in lemon and lime juice). I do always get slightly panicked when ordering ceviche as clearly if seafood isn't prepared properly the next 24-48 hours aren't going to be particularly pleasant. The presentation was initially off-putting but the seafood here was all very good flavour-wise, the queenies (baby scallops) were served roe-on which I know often turns people off but I dug in and thoroughly enjoyed it. The prawns and salmon were similarly delicate, the citrus was clearly pronounced in the fish but not over-bearing. The smoked sour cream served with a sprinkling of coriander in this instance.tasted of very little but added a welcome creamy texture to the dish.

"Cartel Pollo" (left in the photo below)

This consisted of two decent sized chicken breasts which had clearly spent a lengthy amount of time marinated in garlic, onion and coconut milk as the meat was so tender it tasted almost slow cooked. Draped with a few slices of well cooked pepper, this was an excellent start to proceedings.

"Prawnstar" (right in the photo below)
Seven well cooked bite-size prawns which had been butterflied and were served red hot still in the pan, lathered in garlic and chilli oil. Great as a dish to share.

"Mi Corazon" (on the left below, shocking photo - apologies)

Pan seared cow's heart which was served with slices of Aiji pepper, a very mild flavoursome vegetable. The meat was one of the big hits of both visits, cooked medium (not that you can tell from the photo), there's no way this wasn't freshly prepared given the cut of meat. 

"Sonora Salad" (on the right below)

A big old portion of quinoa salad, stuffed with peppers, plantain, salted cheese and topped with a couple of slices of grilled avocado - crisp on the outside but still creamy within. The real hit here was the taco bowl it was served in, forget your old el paso wafer thin taco bowl - this was a dream, thick almost short-crust pastry and the whole thing tasted like it had been deep fried to hold it all together in one piece. Absolutely fantastic, I could happily have sat all afternoon snapping pieces of a giant one of these and dipping them into hot sauce. Not the healthy option I imagined on ordering but very enjoyable for a 'salad'.

"Messi-Cow" (cooked rare in the photos below)

An 8oz portion of Argentinian steak which came well seasoned, it was so good on the first visit that I couldn't resist going for it again on the second. It comes with a choice of two sides from a list of 8.

Second time - asked how rare they'd go and the waitress advised blue, I thought this had come back as 'blue' as i'd like, it appeared just touched on the grill but I got hammered on twitter as it apparently wasn't properly blue. The meat didn't taste as well seasoned as the first time but was still very enjoyable.

The four sides I had with the steaks were:
Sweetcorn (top left below) - a full cob sliced in half, cooked to perfection for me (maintaining the crunch to the corn) and lathered in chillo mayo and slices of pepper. A full cob chopped in half made for a very generous portion.

Cassava chips (top right below) - A new one on me, it had that lovely grainy texture of bread fruit (suspect it's a near relative), very enjoyable as an alternative to your typical french fries. The best of the four sides I tried. 

Coconut rice (bottom right below) - this was very stodgy, almost like a side of only mildly sweet rice pudding. 

Refried beans (bottom left below) - standard refried beans, fairly bland on their own but fine with a dollop of hot sauce added. 

"Nachos"

I had the nachos as a snack to start on the second visit and they were fairly decent. There were a few toppings to choose from (shredded pork, chicken, grilled meat, chilli con carne or chocolate chilli) and I went with the pork. The chips were a step up from the bland cardboard you often get served but overall everything was fairly dry, the sides of guacamole and salsa helped - both of which were fine but fairly small portions and nothing special flavour wise. They got picked at but not finished. 

"Lometo Completo" 

The steak was excellent, again ordered rare and arrived stuffed inside a deliciously soft bun with a fried egg and mustard making for a really messy sandwich. The side salad served within a few leaves of iceberg lettuce added enough to turn this into a course of food rather than just a burger. The menu mentioned curtido (which is apparently somewhat like a Mexican version of kimchi) and the taste was powerful enough to give a little extra to the salad to keep it interesting. 

"Helado" (Ice cream)

I was intrigued by the idea of the purple potato ice cream but it was unfortunately off for the evening (along with the churros - a shame as it's the 'classic' Mexican dessert) but an alternative of coconut ice cream turned out to be a good choice. Three ceramic skulls were dished up with a scoop of creamy coconut ice cream in each, looking worryingly like it'd been shaped into a quiff (I really hope this was deliberate). There was nothing spectacular flavour wise but looks-wise definitely more interesting than a bowl with 3 scoops of ice cream in.

"Pedro's Changa"

A crispy deep fried tortilla filled with mango and spiced apple which came sprinkled with cinnamon sugar adding a hit of sweetness to a fairly savoury dessert - it reminded me a lot of apple strudel. This was right up my street and the side of Vanilla ice cream in another of the skull dishes rounded things off well.

So overall, I came away on both occasions genuinely impressed by El Capo and it speaks volumes that I made a repeat visit so quickly as this is a very rare occurrence for me (I have to admit the 50% discount they had on for the first 3 weeks did help). I'd been expecting a pretty bog standard Mexican with focus on the drinks but was served really tasty and imaginative food, the ceviche in particular is a bold move for them to make and I wish them well. Based on the full menu prices, I'd say that all the portions were value for money with the possible exception of the prawns. The overall quality of the food was very high and as a result El Capo is definitely recommended.

Rosylee - Manchester

I'd read a lot about the infamous Mark Addy, headed by Robert Owen Brown and his take on the 'nose to tail' concept heralded by St John. Unfortunately it closed early in 2014, shortly after I arrived in Manchester so I never had time to visit but it's always spoken of very highly (foodwise at least).

My expectations were understandably therefore high and foolishly on my part I didn't check the full menu that'd been posted online before heading in for dinner. Unfortunately, it really is the very definition of safe - burgers, steaks, pie, hot pot, chicken breast, a couple of salads, with only the rabbit offering anything vaguely out of the ordinary. Where is all this adventurous fare Rob is supposedly famous for? My browse of the printed menu was pleasantly serenaded by a workman started drilling into the ceiling in the back of the restaurant. Not even the sniff of an apology from the serving staff for this as he continued to go for it several times while we were in there. I wouldn't even invite you round for a brew and piece of cake in the flat if I had a workman in drilling into walls let alone expecting me not to mind while I pay for dinner in a restaurant filled with paying customers. Farcical really, just utterly amateurish and embarrassing. 

"Baked Whitby Crab"

Paprika spiced baked crab with double cream and leeks

I expected the topping here to be crisped up but it was breadcrumbs on top of a thick rich creamy mix of blitzed crab, double cream, leek and paprika. The warmth and flavour of the paprika took the lead and absolutely dominated the flavour which was initially unpleasant, I ordered crab expecting a light delicate dish and instead got a rich spicy sauce with a hint of crab flavour.

"Beetroot and Goat's Cheese"

This was on the early evening set menu as a starter but I'm calling bullshit on this being offered as a starter, I mean - look at the size of it. It was totally fine, it was a few wafer thin slices of beetroot on a bed of fennel and with a Subbuteo sized crispy goats cheese ball.

"Fish and Chips"

This was the best dish by some distance, the chips were exceptionally cooked and very crispy just as I prefer them, the haddock was soft and light with a perfect batter crust and the sides of peas and tartare sauce were chunky and satisfying. Once I'd lashed salt and vinegar all over the fish and chips things were going really well.

"Steak and Ale Pie"

The pie itself was very good, a substantial crust of salty flaky pastry on top of the pan very heavily loaded with juicy tender beef and a rich gravy sauce. The dish itself came accompanied with a dollop of mash which half sat on a napkin leaving me utterly confused about what the gravy jug was for, was I supposed to do try and pull the napkin out from under the potato or just lash the gravy over the napkin and hope not to end up with a mouthful of tissue paper? The mange tout served on top of the potato looked like something one of the contestants would do to improve their 'presentation' during the first round of Masterchef. The final insult was they use Dobber beer in the pie filling but couldn't make room between the Birra Moretti and Guinness for it behind the bar.

"Eccles Cakes"

I went with the 3 bite sized Eccles cakes with a slice of Lancashire Cheese for dessert. Pastry was spot on for an Eccles cake and they were sufficiently stuffed with fruit filling but they'd clearly been slid into the oven before serving (despite taking 20+ minutes to arrive) and so were slightly warm on the outside but with a stone cold centre. They should've just been served hot or cold, this weird mid-ground wasn't good at all.

Service was polite but not particularly effective, basics like the table not being cleaned down despite being visibly covered in crumbs weren't dealt with. As I mention above, the Eccles cakes went AWOL and had to be chased up after 20 minutes waiting. The final dose of comedy was the highly audible noise of the drains emptying directly above our table every time someone went to the loo.

You could argue it's early days with the new menu only being on a week but Rosylee has been there for years with presumably the same serving staff and if the kitchen staff aren't up to speed yet then deep discounts should still be being offered until they're at a decent level. 

There were stories about this 'concept' being rolled out to other cities after Manchester "Venues are currently being looked at in Leeds and York" apparently which is totally baffling to me, though if the concept they're going for is "good but not great" pub food then they've absolutely nailed it.  I honestly couldn't tell you what hole Rosylee fills or what really sets it apart from 100 pubs across the North of England serving very similar food.

Maybe I'd set my expectations a bit too high but honestly this was massively disappointing and I wouldn't bother going back unless some more interesting menu options appear in the future to tempt me back. 

Katz Orange - Berlin

It's always a slightly daunting but enjoyable challenge planning meals for a trip abroad. I attempted the usual lines of research ahead of a few days in Berlin but it's clear the blog culture out there is not as rich as over here (for better or worse). I found endless coffee blogs (not surprising as Berlin does dominate coffee) and lifestyle blogs but very few reliable food blogs, in fact a lot of the food reviews were UK based bloggers that had written up meals post-holiday. Honestly, i'm not a massive fan of TripAdvisor (aside from reading 'Terrible' reviews for fun) as the results often seem to offer no reflection of the actual situation in a given city. Despite having lived here for 9 months now, I haven't heard any mention of at least half of the top 20 restaurants in Manchester suggesting a severely lacking degree of taste in the population that post reviews.  

To cut a long story short, the name Katz Orange kept turning up and piqued my interest, especially after a browse of the menus on the website. They offered a selection that changed often and with tasty sounding specials – usually the sign of a confident and capable chef handling fresh ingredients, the menus I checked out certainly seemed to offer plenty that I would enjoy.

Ambience and first impressions are a big deal to me and often make or break a meal - walking through the large archway in the row of buildings and seeing the church like building at the end of the courtyard looked fantastic and really set the scene well. The restaurant itself is in a very imposing building which on a bright early summer day cast the entire courtyard into shadow, creating an almost eerie short walk to the entrance.

The restaurant itself was very homely once I was safely inside, with a two tier main room and a mix of small intimate tables and a short lower table at the end of the room that was being used for a family meal and all looked extremely relaxed under a backdrop of a huge and impressive tapestry.

As with a lot of restaurants in Berlin I came across a mix of ultra professional American and German serving staff, who all spoke impeccable English and were comfortable covering any questions I had about the menu.

I opened with a turkish coffee martini, I could defintitely taste cardamon and the turkish coffee flavour was distinct enough to seperate it from a standard espresso martini.

For my starter I had the free range beef tartar, green bean, veal tongue, shallot and sour cream. One of the things about beef tartar that is usually frustrating is that portions are small but this could comfortably have been served up as a main with no complaint. The meat was exceptionally flavoured and left to do it's work, with just a sprinkling of sea salt on top to enhance the flavour. The tartar was sat on top of various slices of mushrooms used as a base and a sprinkling of freshly picked herbs scattered over the top.

I was feeling in a meaty mood and for my main had the Flank steak on a bed of creamy potato with wild garlic and celeriac with a side of freshly cut fries in goose fat. Lovely thick chunks of meat, with a lovely flavour and a rich meaty gravy to mix in with the mash.

Proper chips fried in goose fat like a big bowl of perfect Sunday afternoon roasties. Lathered in salt. Crispy bits at the bottom were to die for, almost certainly taking days off my life expectancy with each nibble.

For dessert I went with the Rhubarb and yogurt option. Unsurprisingly given the quality of the previous dishes this was also very impressive. The rhubarb had been used as an Alan Partridge style breakwater to contain the yogurt and had been decorated with sugared caramel walnuts and biscuit crumbs. The tartness of the rhubarb and neutral yogurt taste with the extreme sweetness of the sugared walnuts and biscuit was just mindblowing.

I can't claim to be an expert on the restaurant scene in Berlin but if you're researching ahead of a trip I would thoroughly recommend Katz Orange without hesitation. A meal that was of an exceptional standard from start to finish.

Volta - West Didsbury, Manchester

Don't let my blog header deceive you, i'm a real sucker for a good typeface and logo and as soon as I saw the Volta window I felt pleasantly reassured that this was a place that clearly had good taste - the restaurant looks really (I hate to say it) cool from the outside and a place you wouldn't hesitate to drop into to check out. The website states that they keep some tables free every night for drop-ins but i'd been sensible and booked so was seated pretty quickly. The mirrored back wall combined with my awful eye-site worked like an optical illusion giving the impression I’d wandered into an enormous dining room. In fact it’s about 40-50 covers tops with further seating outside and which gives the whole place a lovely cosy vibe. I sat with my back to the mirror so I didn't send myself mad constantly catching my own eye.

I'm a big fan of the tapas style serving which has become massively popular post-Polpo over the past couple of years, not just restricted to typical Spanish fare anymore. This worked really well at Volta, the menu was broken up into a majority of small plates and with a few meaty mains - the whole process was very laid back with food coming when it’s ready and side plates provided from the start so everyone gets to dig in.

A few of the dishes that appealed such as the lamb chops and crispy squid were unfortunately off for the evening which was a shame as i'd definitely have also tried them.

Sourdough with butter – I can't not order bread, especially when I saw the loaves come from Trove who are baking the best bread in Manchester in my opinion.

Grilled Padron peppers - a generous portion of plump juicy peppers that had been very generously seasoned ahead of grilling. The tiny red peppers were extremely sweet and fruity and were a real hit, as a combination this was a delight.

Smoked feta with beetroot, hazelnuts and dill – this came chilled, the ground beetroot was extremely refreshing, hazelnuts provided a crunch to break the dish up slightly and the smoked feta was a real treat to finish the dish off.

Mushrooms on toast – not something i'd normally have gone for, this was sent out from the kitchen as it’d been marked down on our order incorrectly and therefore wasn't charged for. It was one of the specials and featured mushrooms that had been foraged locally. 

Negroni cured salmon on a bed of fennel with orange and pumpkin seed – the salmon itself was perfectly cooked with the negroni cure extremely subtle, but as it often does the fennel just overpowered the whole dish. The juice from the orange made the whole dish very wet meaning the salmon got part soaked and everything ended up overly sweet. An interesting idea that just didn’t work for me.

Battered Cod cheeks on potato hash and chorizo was another of the days specials. This consisted of lovely fat cod cheeks fried in a breadcrumb fish finger style coasting. The batter combined with the potato alone would've been a little too bland taste wise but the chorizo gave everything a good kick and this worked really well as a dish. Personally I prefer a tempura batter with fish and this would've made the cheeks lighter and lifted the whole dish.

The dexter rib on bone steak with béarnaise and chips was superb. Real care had been shown to the meat which was well flavoured, the sauce was pleasantly thick and the chips were wonderfully crispy – proper chips for once, none of this fries lark. The steak was ordered rare and the meat was served pink as requested. This was a very generous amount of food for just £19.50. In the absence of a proper steak house in Manchester this will definitely be my ‘go to’ place when I'm craving a steaky hit.

Brandy and raisin ice cream with coffee ‘affogato’. I can’t ever not order a coffee based dessert when I see one and I had no regrets from this one - it helped that the coffee was dark and strong as hell, gave it such a deep flavour. I also had a separate espresso which I didn't soil with ice cream and which was unbelievably potent, they certainly take coffee seriously here - a perfect end to the meal.

Drinks wise they had a packed cocktail menu covering all the classics and including some cocktail of the day options which sounded interesting enough that I would've tried them if they didn't have such a great beer menu. I went with a pint of Jaipur to start which was an obvious choice and as good as ever, after a brief chat about the options I ended up taking a recommendation from the waitress for my second (a bottle of Brew by Numbers Wai-Tai and Lemon Saison) and it was definitely well received. 

Overall it was genuine value for money at approximately £75 for the food above, two cocktails and two beers plus coffee and tip. I absolutely loved Volta and wouldn't hesitate to go back if I find myself in Didsbury in the future, it's definitely a restaurant that I will be making repeat visits to and I would certainly become a regular if I lived locally.