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.