Northern Monk Brewery / Grub and Grog Shop - Leeds

There’s certainly something in the water in Leeds at the moment, resulting in a new wave of original and independent food and drink businesses popping up all over the city. As a city to visit for the weekend it’s up there with my favourites in the UK. It seems like there’s always something food and drink related happening in the city and something I’d say only London can compare with. As of late August, Northern Monk joined the party by opening their new brewery premises just a short distance from the city centre.

Having seen no photos of the premises before I visited it’s no exaggeration to say I was pretty staggered by the whole thing. The building itself (a converted flax mill) looks incredible - the first sight of the branded banners with their impressive artwork hanging from the front of the building framed by a dark bleak Yorkshire sky really is a sight to behold. As a package it's certainly the most impressive restaurant and tap room combo I've visited - in the UK it's pretty much unique (I'm certainly struggling to think of anywhere).

As you enter the building you’re greeted with sneak peaks of the brewery itself through the large glass windows throughout (just my luck I chose to visit on a day that no brewing action was taking place though, unfortunately). The taproom is up on the first floor is made up of a large room with exposed beams, original brickwork, local artwork and filled with a mixture of smaller bar style seating and large 10 person communal seating. As a brewery taproom, it’s pretty much my idea of the perfect place to sit and quaff a few quiet pints. Beer wise we’re looking at 16 keg options and 4 cask options – heavily focused on Northern Monk but with some cracking guests (Bad Seed, Magic Rock, Kirkstall, Red Willow amongst others on this visit) as well as a small but well curated UK focused bottle shop.

The good news is that the booze is more than well complimented by the "Grub and Grog shop" who are also based on site and provide breakfast, lunch and dinner in this ‘refectory’ area. I hadn't heard a lot about them so did a bit of reading in advance and was immediately impressed by their imaginative menus. I loved having a read through their 'Friends and suppliers’ section of a website and which in this case links to a selection of suppliers who were all impressively local.

The menu on the day of the visit was different to that on the website. This is something i'm always keen to see in a place that serves smaller dishes as it typically suggests an imaginative chef making the best of seasonal ingredients and pushing themselves rather than serving up the same old dishes day after day. On this occasion I got stuck into the following:

“Ox tongue hash, celeriac mash, pickles, kale, hop syrup and stout gravy”

This was a good looking plate of food indeed. The tongue with the mash and stout gravy was just fantastic, think rich and with a mountain of deep flavour. The kale was roasted and added a great crunchy texture to proceedings, pickle had been finely sliced and was mild enough that when mixed in with the other ingredients it didn't overwhelm anything. On a day in the height of winter when it and absolutely freezing cold outside, this was a perfect winter warmer of a lunch. 

“Yorkshire fries”

A generous portion of red hot freshly roasted seasonal vegetables served with a dollop of reassuringly stodgy home-made mayonnaise. The veg involved resulted in a mix of textures, some extremely crisped up and others more part baked resulting in an enjoyable mix of consistencies, a great little take on a boring old side of fries. Really enjoyable.

“Stuffed Mutton in Ale, glazed beetroot, sautéed sprouts and puy lentils”

I didn’t actually dig into this one myself but I was being so enthusiastic about my dish that my friend offered me a spoonful of his. The mutton was cooked well and full of flavour - the sprouts and lentils as a base made for another great hearty dish, one that seemed just as impressive as the one I was tucking into.

I don’t have enough good things to say about the Northern Monk Refectory; offering the holy trinity of excellent fresh beer in stunning surroundings and with delicious well-priced original food could not have impressed me more. It’s right at the top of my very favourite places to visit in Leeds and you’ll be sure to see me propping up the bar tucking into beer and food in here at every opportunity I get whenever I'm over the Pennines in the future.

Trove - Manchester

Having recently moved from the City out to South Manchester, I've been taking the time to explore and one of my new favourites is Levenshulme, which reminds me of a fair few of the trendier London suburbs: a thriving, culturally mixed community build around a train station with a Saturday morning food market. For me the jewel in this crown is Trove Café and Bakery. I've mentioned my love for their bread on many occasions; they’re head and shoulders my favourite ‘proper’ bakery in Manchester with a classic white sourdough that could scrap it out with the best of them.

Trove seems to be one of the few places in Manchester that I genuinely haven’t read a single negative word about. I’d built up a strong expectation of the place being entirely twee from the photos of their kids and cat on Instagram, an occasional mention of acoustic folk nights (*shudder*), the impressively curated range of homewares in their store and the photos of the interior. No insult meant by any of those observations, they just fit very well into a specific style of café that you can be sure most boroughs in London (sorry to mention the L word again) have tucked away somewhere but still seems to be a rarity being done ‘properly’ with taste this flawless in the North.

The menu was small but perfectly formed with brunch and sandwich options which covered all of the typical eggy and hot breakfast bases but with the addition of some genuinely interesting tweaks and flavours. Normally, I am fairly decisive when ordering, but this was a situation whereby I just ambled upto the tills and just chose at the last second being pretty confidant from the descriptions that whatever appeared would be tasty. The place smelt so good that my hunger levels had increased tenfold since we wandered in.

The eggs benedict Mrs HJ ordered came with with crispy bacon and capers served on two well buttered giant slices of their signature white sourdough. I can’t get enough of capers at the best of times (we can’t keep them in the house as it’s a matter of time before one of us tucks into the jar with a spoon) and they worked a treat here adding some acidity to the rich hollandaise. Bacon was just as crispy as I’d hoped and eggs were very well cooked, I could've done with a bit more sauce but the yolks ensured things were never dry.

I went for the crispy black pudding, poached egg, ginger and beetroot chutney on brown sourdough (my choice). Presentation was impressive with the pudding layered onto a spring onion and topped with an egg poached just to my taste, not a hint of sloppy white mess but with a yolk that was fit to burst. The chutney was tangy and warming and worked really well with the fried black pudding. 

We also had a flat white and black Americano (not pictured) both excellent and I’d say easily the best coffee we’d have found walking at least 45 minutes in any direction from here and arguably in the entire city.

Despite it being 3pm on a Sunday it was still pretty busy and as everything was just so damn good I can imagine it gets hellish on Saturday mornings or when they have events on. So my only minor quibble would be that due to the location and travel required I’d hate to rock up only for it to be heaving and have to leave disappointed as the alternatives nearby for a similar quality of food and drink are minimal to non-existent. I’ll test the waters again in a few weeks but for that to be the only slight negative I could add (if anything they should receive a massive pat on the back for offering something original down here) is about as petty as it comes and as a result Trove is massively recommended – top 10 in Manchester material for me.

Modern Pantry - London

I've admired the Modern Pantry from afar a few times whilst wandering around Clerkenwell, which is becoming an increasingly hip part of London for food and drink types to head for. Just off the top of my head you have Workshop Coffee, Foxlow, Giant Robot, St John, Polpo, Prufrock, Craft Beer Co and Hix amongst I’m sure others that I’ve not discovered yet. All of these establishments are within an easy 5-10 minute walk of each other meaning you could easily start at Farringdon and head in a circle spending a pretty fantastic afternoon stuffing your face. 

The building itself is stunning; it’s only three floors but takes an imposing position at the top of St John’s Square and immediately draws your eye from Clerkenwell Road. The lower floors and seating space outside at the front make up the main eating area and the top floor was being used as meeting room on this visit. This was much to my surprise as the toilets are also on the top and as I made my usual nose around (I can never help myself) I almost blundered into in a pretty serious looking business meeting – closing the door would've helped avoid me making a fool of myself immensely. From what little I saw before I scuttled off, this looked like it would also have made a pretty swish private dining area for small groups.

Whilst I was blundering around upstairs, our coffees, orange and grapefruit juices arrived offering a vibrant multi-coloured start to proceedings. My Americano was fantastic, rich, strong and a real mid-morning head clearer. The grapefruit juice was just as I like only a tiny touch of sweetness mixed in with the tart citrus but it was too smooth to not be from a carton. The glass of orange juice was stuffed with fresh juicy bits and that all so reassuring sugary hit. 

"Modern Pantry Muesli"

A large bowlful of intensely creamy soaked Bircher muesli which came sprinkled with fresh ripe pineapple, a dollop of raspberry compote and crispy toasted seeds. This alone would’ve been more than enough to set me up for the day, for me it was exactly what I want from a breakfast – carby, not too sweet and with the muesli, which can often be very bland in the wrong hands, more than bought to life by the sugary fruit and seeds. Lovely stuff. 

"Raspberry and Ricotta Pancakes"

I’m hard pushed to remember pancakes better than this I’ve had elsewhere in the UK (or further afield in fact). It did mention on the menu that there's a 20 minute wait which almost put me off, especially at breakfast time, but honestly i'd have waited all morning if i'd known they'd be this good. They came served as a stack of 5 thick pancakes, which were almost verging on the consistency of soufflé. They were cooked well – retaining their form as individual pancakes and so as not to just collapse into a giant pile of mushy pancake dough. The portion was so generous that it was a battle getting through (especially given the muesli I’d already tucked away) but they were so more-ish they were just impossible to leave. The extravagant amount of fruit compote and raspberries throughout meant this must've been at least one of my five a day, right? The crème fraiche finish was an ideal partner to the dish, breaking up the intense sweetness of the compote. 

The final course we shared (well my partner in crime started and I finished) was one of the impressively large selection of vegetarian cooked breakfasts which in this case consisted of two poached eggs and toast with pan fried haloumi, spinach and slow-roast vine ripened tomatoes. Initial impressions weren't great as the dish looked so bland compared to the muesli and pancakes but flavour wise it was very well considered. The spinach and slow-roasted tomatoes were juicy and well flavoured, the eggs were poached perfectly - primed with the yolk and ready to explode with the merest exertion of pressure. The bread was lathered in butter and the halloumi had been really well cooked, with only had a hint of that usual rubber-like consistency, which absolutely goes through me like nails down a blackboard. Here it was thick, buttery and actually had genuine flavour to add to the dish rather than just be there as a pointless addition. 

The coffee was strong, the service was fast, food was all very good and we both left absolutely stuffed for just under £40. The addition of fruit or vegetables to each course at least made these feel healthy and as a very late slightly hungover breakfast this absolutely kept me going until dinner time which is all I could ask. If I worked locally it’d be my spot of choice for meetings and breakfast which can often be a meal that’s difficult to inject life into – they really cracked it with the menu seeming both reassuringly familiar but with an injection of their own personality.

Proper Tea at Manchester Cathedral & Teacup Kitchen on Thomas Street

It made sense to review both places in the same post as they're both part of the same family and are just a short 10 minute walk away from each other; Teacup Kitchen located slap bang in the middle of the increasingly busy Thomas Street and Proper Tea located directly opposite the entrance to Manchester Cathedral.

The close relationship is obvious on immediate sight of either establishment as the design throughout (including font, colours, menus) is kept close to the other but due to the very different locations both spots have a clear personality of their own. There is also cross-over on the food and drink range, with both sharing the same core range of teas, coffees and cakes but with Proper Tea having a food menu that focuses more on smaller snack dishes to go with their teas.   

Both locations are fantastic to drop into casually for a drink and one of their broad range of cakes. They both cover a lot of the classics and you can safely expect to see (among others) Victoria sponge, flourless chocolate, lemon cake, brownies, rainbow cake, red velvet and more displayed on the counter for you to admire. From the point of view of a greedy customer it's excellent having the choice between these or the equally enjoyable over the top cakes that Home Sweet Home are dishing out a short walk from both spots.

Teacup Kitchen on Thomas Street

I've been into Teacup Kitchen on countless occasions now and there's often a queue out the door which speaks volumes for the quality on display especially given it's not one of those places that you see much 'hype' (horrible word, forgive me) about. The main food menu is based around brunch options and sandwiches and to accompany the food they have an imaginative tea menu, smoothies, milkshakes and coffees (which are extremely strong, a massive plus for me). There's usually a couple of daily specials as well which often showcase some real imagination and ensuring there's always something interesting to try.

I enjoy Teacup Kitchen at all times of the day, it often quietens down in the early evening on weekends making it a great place for a casual drink and chat with friends but my favourite part of their menu is undoubtedly breakfast. It's easily one of my favourite places to nurse a hangover after over-indulging the evening before.

On this specific occasion I was in early morning and had a "Royale Northern" which is their take on the classic eggs benedict, served with smoked salmon on toasted sourdough toast. All the individual elements were of a good standard, the yolks added to the sauce ensured there was sufficient moistness to the dish and leaving behind ample hollandaise and yolk mix to dip up with the leftover toast. The capers and peashoots were a great addition, genuinely adding to the hollandaise acidity and lightening up the dish.

I also tried the "Superfood Porridge" which consists of milled oats served piping hot topped with mixed seeds, roasted coconut, raisins and agave syrup. Porridge is a difficult thing to make exciting but this both looked and tasted fantastic, the syrup melted through the oats avoiding the tasteless gloop that's often hidden away at the bottom of a porridge bowl and there was more than enough fruit to ensure it didn't disappear in the first few spoonfuls. 

For dessert (that's right, breakfast dessert) I went for a slice of the red velvet cake and an Aretha Franklin smoothie, made up of apple juice, raspberries, mango and banana. The cake was exactly as I'd want - moist, plenty of icing and a big enough wedge to kill the sugar cravings for a while.

Proper Tea at Manchester Cathedral

Proper Tea is just far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the city resulting in a very quiet and relaxed atmosphere. The restaurant is stunning inside, the huge windows on the corners ensure a perfect view of the Cathedral and that the place is flooded with light which really emphasises the wonderful tiled floor and white interior. They also have a couple of tables tucked outside, which on the rare occasion the sun is out are often snapped up quickly. 

Food wise, on this occasion they had just introduced the new summer menu which was stuffed with interesting sounding salads (Mackerel, chicken, salmon, goats cheese tart or halloumi with a choice of sides) as well as meaty, vegetarian and cheese platters. All sounded ideal to share or dip into yourself.

Firstly I tried the smoked mackerel which had the skin removed so there was no faffing about to do! This was accompanied by a little pot of beetroot creme fraiche and a side of green bean, feta and almond salad. The crunch of the green beans with the mackerel and creme fraiche was a delight, a really enjoyable plate of food.

The second salad I tried was the halloumi, tomato and olives (which came served warm) and was accompanied with tabbouleh, roasted vegetables and spicy avocado sauce. Of the two this was my favourite, it looked and tasted absolutely fantastic and genuinely healthy - the avocado sauce was a new one on me but added a rich creaminess to the salad, completely avoiding what could have been quite a dry dish.

For dessert I went with the lemon cake and the coconut carrot cake which were slightly disappointing on this visit (the first time I've had issues). The sponge in both slices tasted a day past best, this visit was made on a bank holiday so all I can think is that they'd done a large bake to cover the long weekend. Both pieces still got polished off but it did take a slight shine off things on this visit. 

So, which would I recommend? I'd actually be hard pushed to choose a preference and it's great having both options on my doorstep knowing that whether I'm in the mood for a relaxed cuppa with a salad in a beautiful scenic location or a cracking brunch in a buzzing little restaurant I'm well covered. Both locations are definitely recommended.

Baltic Bakehouse - Liverpool

I arrived into Liverpool on a particularly miserable Saturday morning and headed towards the Baltic Triangle on the hunt for Baltic Bake. As the heavens opened I was starting to doubt whether the trudge was going to be worth it but i'd been drooling over their photos on Twitter and Instagram for weeks and I breathed a huge sigh of relief as soon as I opened the substantial wooden door into Baltic Bake;  it was love at first sight. Freshly baked loaves line the exposed brick walls, a counter jam packed full of various pastries, with the cafe pleasantly full, buzzing with chat and with a genuinely authentic rustic feel to the place. The smell of the baking coming from the ovens in the back was heavenly. One of the best first impressions I having in a new space like this for some time and somewhere I was immediately looking forward to spending time in.

I had to show real restraint when it came to the range of cakes as the buns, croissants, tarts and loaves all looked of a very high standard. I took a window seat, ordered at the counter and the food was bought over very quickly. I had a great view to watch people drive up, pop in and grab a few loaves for the weekend and then head off. I spotted more than one child accompanied by their parents holding onto loaves as if their lives (and not just their afternoon sandwiches) depended upon it. Given Baltic Bake isn't in the most convenient location (approximately 15-20 minutes from the city centre on foot), this speaks massive volumes about the high quality on display and good reputation they've cleared earned in the city.

Food wise I ordered the following:

Granola with yogurt and banana: this was perfect, the granola was crunchy and substantial but not too sweet - the yogurt and banana bought everything together so well. 

The bacon sandwich was spot on - two thick slabs of well-buttered fresh sourdough with a generous helping of bacon and sauce.

The salted caramel chocolate tart was a thing of incredible beauty. Pastry that was so delicate it crumbled at the lightest touch of a knife, lovely warming deep chocolate with a thick layer of salted caramel at the bottom. One of the finest cakes I can remember eating.

Everything had been so good that I went back for a croissant, a decision I definitely didn't regret. Pastry was the same high standard as all of the previous treats.

This was all washed down with a large french press coffee which provided enough for two cups.

The icing on the cake was the ridiculously good value for money, the price paid felt low for the quality and amount of food received. £15 for the baked goodies, the bacon sandwich, the granola and large coffee for two and I left absolutely stuffed. My only regret was not buying a loaf or two to take away but I knew it wouldn't have made it as far as the train based on the quality of everything else I tried. I'm already planning another weekend in Liverpool just so I can make a couple of visits to Baltic Bake, you can definitely count me as a major fan.

 

SoLita - Manchester

I'm a big fan of both breakfast and Solita so when I spotted a few blogs posting enthusiastically about their new breakfast offerings I headed down as soon as possible. I know that when Solita typically launch a new menu they often do blogger tastings which unsurprisingly lead to extreme positivity and zero criticism but given i've never had a bad experience food wise at Solita I was really looking forward to checking their offering out.

One thing I need to get off my chest that always annoy me about Solita is the bar - I always seem to end up facing it and as they get busy and start struggling for space and it typically ends up crammed with dirty glasses, it really lowers the whole tone. I was slightly surprised to see that the front of the bar was tidy but the back of the bar was just lined with cartons of cheap orange juice that they were serving up as breakfast drinks, it seemed extremely cheap to have the cartons out in the open like this - it wouldn't have taken much  thought to tuck them away out of sight.

I started with a black Americano and the coffee was clearly passed it's best, leaving a mild soil taste with no kick to the espresso. Good coffee is key for breakfast and this set a bad tone for the rest of the meal.

I decided to try a few food options and started with the Steak Eggs Benedict. Slicing through the eggs and steak was impressive, the steak was perfectly pink and the yolks exploded everywhere. Unfortunately the hollandaise tasted of barely anything, the capers were a nice touch and did provide a much needed hit of vinegar but there just weren't enough to compensate for such bland sauce.

Pancakes were also hit and miss. The bacon was a real treat and extremely crisp, syrup had been pre-poured and had mixed with the salty bacon nicely. The pancakes themselves were dry (as they often are) and this is usually mitigated by lathering them in syrup and melted butter - the problem was there just wasn't enough syrup meaning half a dry pancake was left stranded.

For £8 I was expecting the bagel to be heaving with salt beef and pickles. For a restaurant that is usually very generous with portions it was verging on a piss take to charge so much for this - the bagel itself was fine but the salt beef dry from sitting too long. The mustard was on the menu as ball park, i'm not entirely clear whether this is a brand or whether it was meant to be a sales point but it was just totally plain. As far as you could get taste wise from the stuffed salt beef bagels you get on Brick Lane lathered in Colemans mustard for a couple of quid.

So overall a very negative experience - coffee was bad, the eggs very bland, the bagel very overpriced and pancakes decent but needed more care. Having been to SoLita several times before, including New Years Eve, and always leaving both full and very satisfied i'm unsure as to how they got it so wrong. Hopefully it's just a case of them finding their feet with breakfast and things will improve to the level of the main menu over time.

Solita is generally recommended but be warned for potential disappointment with brunch.

Moose Coffee - Manchester

I love being up bright and early on a weekend and as a result i've developed a real taste for brunches over the past few years as i've eaten out more. Clearly one of my main priorities on moving to Manchester was finding somewhere that serves a great brunch.

Having tried a few places early on (Trof, Gorilla, Fyg) and being relatively unimpressed I passed Moose one evening after work and after peering through the window it quickly found its way to the top of my list. As soon as I wandered into the branch on York Street in Manchester (turns out it's a mini-chain with three further locations in Liverpool) I knew I'd stumbled onto a gem.

Moose Coffee  is a US-styled brunch restaurant, the kind of diner vibe you'd expect to find as you pull up in a small town during a long drive across the USA - they serve up enormous portions of all the breakfast treats you could ever need including pancakes, french toast (option to have it stuffed with jam and peanut butter), eggs benedict, omelettes, potato hash, salt beef sandwiches, waffles, granola.....

The thing I love most about Moose is that there is absolutely no pretense or attempt to be anything that it is not, the staff are always polite and chatty with minimal wait for tables and food served quickly with no fuss. For a while it had got to the stage where I was having to actively talk myself out of heading down there for breakfast on a Saturday morning due to concerns about wherever I tried being worse than Moose (and being disappointed several other places - tales for another time).

On this particular visit I had the Moose Club sandwich on granary and my dining partner had creamy scrambled eggs with a kick of pesto. My Moose club was packed with chicken, bacon and just the right amount of creamy mayonnaise to keep everything perfectly balanced. The food isn't anything special to look at (I appreciate the photos don't look spectacular) - but when you're in the mood for strong coffee and an enormous breakfast it hits the spot like very few other places do.

I've yet to dig into the burgers, salads or waffles but that just gives me all the more excuse to head back (as if I need one).

Excellent Value for money, food options between £6-8 and coffees all around the £2-3 mark.

Highly recommended.

http://moosecoffee.co.uk/