Ten good things I ate in Manchester in November

Slip sole, cheese doughnuts and 'ethical goose liver'

November was an interesting month. I was invited to some very luxurious lunch and dinner events, got my wine tours rolling properly, and got to visit some spectacular restaurants as an MFDF judge - and I caught COVID for the second time since it became a thing.

This time, my experience of the virus wasn’t much better than the first. It doesn’t seem to be much milder. I spent over a week in a nest of duvets and blankets shivering, sobbing and generally feeling hideous. Luckily, I didn’t lose my sense of taste and smell this time. That symptom is terrifying for someone whose work revolves around wine and food, not just due to the lack of pleasure but the lack of income. I remember eating jelly tots when I caught it in 2021, bemused at them all suddenly just tasting of sugar and using them as a barometer for my senses returning.

I am also not the kind of person who is content doing nothing. I was forced to relax and watch trash TV and actually, I think I needed it. Now I am back to full health, doing kettlebell classes at the gym and swimming a kilometre at the Aquatic centre at least once a week. I’m also eating out again, thank god.

Here are the best things I ate and drank in November:

Cheese doughnuts at Sterling (£9.50)

I added the wonderful Sterling to my wine tours this month. All the venues I visit are places I have been before and enjoyed and while I had been to Sterling for cocktails, I hadn’t tried their wine or food so in the interest of research, I had no choice but to sit alone at the bar hoovering up a plate of ‘cheese doughnuts’ with an insanely good glass of Ridge Lytton Springs from Sonoma (a blend of zinfandel, petite syrah, carignan and mataro, in case you’re wondering). Doughnut pass these indulgent little snacks by if you’re visiting this subterranean bar. There are enough to share in a portion but you don’t have to.

Ethical goose liver at Mana (part of a £150 tasting menu)

Manchester’s only Michelin-star restaurant, Mana is outrageously expensive and I am very lucky to have been able to visit in both a personal and professional capacity several times. If you are looking for a unique dining experience, it certainly provides, though sometimes it feels like a performance rather than a relaxed meal. It’s one of those places you should tick off the list if you can. On this occasion, we were entertained by a procession of novel little morsels, effusively explained by the young, Kool-Aid-fuelled staff. Koji featured massively, as did seafood - one of the things I really like about this place. But it was a simple dish - whose name is my new favourite emo band name - ‘Ethical Goose Liver’ that stayed with me permanently. A smooth-talking quenelle (one of Michelin’s criteria has to be at least one quenelle per meal, surely) of smooth goose liver parfait served with what can only be described as a tubular croissant. Since eating this dish, I have started to spread cheap supermarket pate on cheap supermarket croissants in a vain attempt to recreate it. It’s obviously nowhere near as good technically but lights up the same pleasure receptors and can be enjoyed from the comfort of your own sofa.

Mushroom porridge, girolles, Jerusalem artichoke crisps, porcini at 10 Tib Lane (£17)

My favourite flavour is umami and this is a big bowl of the stuff. We shared it as part of a meal that also featured the kind of steak that looks like slices of exposed red crystal, vivid green cavolo nero and crispy spuds. I only realise as I am writing this that this particular dish was vegan. You would never guess from its buttery, creamy unctuousness. A comforting sludge of pearl barley, wild shrooms, and my favourite artichoke encircled by a vivid green herb oil. Bloody great.

Roast Shetland cod with confit chicken, clam sauce and Exmoor caviar at The Pearl (£22)

If you’re on the pulse of the Manchester food scene, or if you read my recent article on The Pearl, you’ll be aware of the acclaimed chef Iain Thomas. He’s been around the Manchester food scene for well over a decade but became very well known when Jay Rayner praised his food at The Alan. His latest restaurant project is The Pearl in Prestwich, an aptly named liliputian neighbourhood bistro. This cod with confit chicken and clam sauce had hallmarks of Top 50 Gastropub cooking. I ate it about a week into the place being open and it’s a very strong start. I’m going back ASAP and am very keen to see how this pearl shines in the next year.

Torched mackerel with taramasalata and pickles on toast at Little Blanchflower (£9)

This is basically all my favourite things in a dish. Oily fish, creamy taramasalata, tangy pickle, and toast. So of course it was going to win a spot in this round-up. Little Blacnhflower has taken over where The Creameries was, on the other side of Chorlton tram stop from Morrisons. Its menu is all about fresh handmade pasta but the starters/sides are essential eating too. Check it out if you haven’t been yet.

Steak sandwich at Elnecot (£erm)

The third Thursday of November is Beaujolais Nouveau Day. This is the day that brand new Beaujolais is released from the wineries, only a few weeks old and full of the kind of playful verve for life that comes with such youth. It’s a fun, fruity, pick-n-mix flavoured wine, not posh, not complex but delicious and I bloody love it. I love it so much that I went on a BoJo crawl starting at Climat and ending up at Elnecot where I found chef proprietor Michael Clay wielding his BBQ tongs like the madman he is in the frosty throes of November. By this point, we needed some food and what better than a fat steak sarnie with fried onions and green sauce? Just look at it.

Falafel sharer at Maray (£16)

Another new venue on my wine tours is Maray. I love it for its wine list featuring wines from places as diverse as Georgia, Greece and Macedonia. A great opportunity to show people wine they may never have tried. But I also love it for its food. Veg-heavy and full of the vibrant flavours of Paris’s Marais district where the restaurant's name comes from. This falafel sharer with hummus, tabouleh, fattoush salad, pickled cabbage, sumac onions, harissa, tahini, and the most garlicky flatbread ever exemplifies the flavour bomb that is Maray’s menu.

Sweet potato, double cream, lime zest and ras el hanout at Tast (£8)

I’ve loved Tast for a long time and have worked my way through a lot of its menu. The squid with duck egg is essential, as are the perfect croquetas. But I hadn’t tried this dish until I visited for a fancy wine dinner showcasing the wonderful Argentinian wines of Karim Mussi. This dish took me aback, its simplicity belies its incredible flavour and will now be on my list every time I order. You can find it on the bar menu but I suspect if you are dining in the restaurant and you ask nicely, they’ll allow it there too. The service here is second to none.

Up Beet cocktail from Nomad/Common Decency at Sterling (£comped)

Schofield’s and Sterling are shaking up Manchester’s cocktail scene with some of the best mixed drinks I have ever tasted. But there’s something punk rock about the dapper duo, they are always bigging up others who do a great job. Because Joe and Daniel have worked in cocktail bars all over the world, they have a menu of mates that they often call upon to pop up here in Manchester. I was kindly invited to visit when the esteemed London hotel Nomad brought its Common Decency cocktails to play at Sterling. I lapped up with Up Beet with its earthy yellow beetroot flavour. An almost savoury drink, absolutely my kind of cocktail. Keep an eye on the Schofields and Sterling socials for the next time one of their clever pals is visiting. These events are a unique opportunity to try drinks made by the world’s best bartenders.

Slip sole with sea vegetables and cafe de Paris butter at Climat (part of an invited lunch to celebrate its first birthday and Beaujolais Nouveau day)

I make no secret of the fact that Climat is in my top five Manchester restaurants. I love it so much that I would eat there every month, if budget allowed. Luckily, I occasionally get invited to special press events which means I am actually on target for that goal. The latest being a big lunch to celebrate the restaurant’s one-year birthday. If you’ve let this place exist for a whole year without having visited, it should be one of your New Year’s resolutions to rectify that. Book it now for whatever special occasion you have coming up in 2024. Book it for lunch and enjoy the most beautiful restaurant view in the city. Needless to say, this delicate slip sole in its sauce the colour of a 70s bathroom suite was just perfect. Cafe de Paris is the posh version of chippy tea curry, and I firmly believe sea vegetables should be served with every meal.