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Dinner Detective
29/ 9/2006
The Grill On The Alley
5 Ridgefield, Manchester, M2 6EG
Tel: 0161 833 3465
Website:
thegrillontheally@blackhouserestaurants.com
Starters:
Cheapest: Classic clam chowder, £4.50
Most expensive: Six Irish rock oysters, £8.95
Mains:
Cheapest: Steak sandwich, £8.50
Most expensive: Kobe beef fillet, £50
Desserts:
Cheapest: ristretto ice, £3.95
Most expensive: Stilton board and pickle, £6.95
Open: Noon to midnight every day
I RECKON restaurants were one of the main reason why the Labour
Party switched their traditional allegiance from windy seaside
towns to our rainy city.
And I think that was the real deal Blair and Brown struck during
their dinner date from hell at trendy Granita, in Islington, 10
years ago.
"Okay," says Blair, "you can have the premiership as long as we
have a city break in Manchester on my last year - just no more fish
and chips!"
On Tony's last autumn jolly, many a red tie will have been spotted
redder with wine inside our most fashionable brasseries - and I
wouldn't be surprised if The Grill On The Alley has welcomed half
the cabinet this week.
This uber-stylish place, one of three Blackhouse Grills
countrywide, which opened in August, just oozes the confidence and
sophistication of a New Labour politico. Good-looking, urbane but
not too trendy and cool that it stops being comfortable. Style, yes
- but is there any substance?
You enter TGOTA - on Ridgefield, where Est Est Est used to be -
into a rather busy bar. That can be a little off-putting if you
want a quiet meal, but once you are seated amid the exposed
brickwork and large black-and-white prints of our dear city (an
idea that's a little tired but taps into Mancunian pride
nonetheless), it melts into an appealingly buzzy atmosphere.
Around us were students in three-day worn jeans jostling with the
jewellery-draped Cheshire set, all equally at home.
Most were tucking into steak or "home-grown, grass-fed, hormone
free, British beasts, sourced from local farmers" as TGOTA puts it.
But we were seduced by the fish counter - which is not enormous,
but was on ice and proudly out front next to the lobster
tank.
A friendly, knowledgeable waiter told us about the kobe beef (£50 a
pop), melt in the mouth stuff from cattle which supposedly live in
the homes of Japanese farmers and are pampered to within an inch of
their lives. We stuck to the fish.
I tried a generous portion of garlic prawns (£7.95) - nicely
cooked, but not too subtle. Which is also what you could say for
the skewered chicken with sweet chilli and ginger sop. Nice hunks
of chicken rather spoiled by a face-pullingly harsh dip.
Americans would go wild for this grill-based menu, including posh
burgers and surf 'n' turf-type choices. They can also sear a good
tuna and TGOTA got my sashimi tuna loin (£14.95) almost right too.
Nicely pink on the inside, but a little more toasting on the
exterior would have scored a 10.
A good-sized whole seabass was across the table, well cooked and
moist in its lemon, garlic and rosemary (£16.95). Tasty, chunky
chips, crunchy French beans and zingy horseradish mash squared the
meal, which came to £90 with a couple of aperitifs.
The wine list is bolstered by wines of the month and we chose a
gorgeous, fragrant Italian white (Santa Caterina Tocai Fruilano
Collio, £22).
The dessert menu seems a little lacklustre, but I suppose that's
just as well waistline-wise. In fact, there's twice as many
champagnes on offer as puddings. A good place to raise glass of
Cristal (£250 a bottle) to a new leader, no doubt.
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