Browns on York Street feels like it’s been there longer than it actually has.
Or maybe that’s just me. The building itself has been there over a century and before the site was taken over by Browns about four years ago, it was a pub – both of which are very popular with the local office crowds.
And it’s no surprise. Inside this old bank, there’s a real old world office feel. Marble and dark wood, and despite the large windows trying to bring in a lot of light, it still feels like an old style wine bar in some respects, with lots of brass, glass and men in suits.
It’s classic. Timeless.
After using the bar for a quick meeting over a gin and tonic (for which it is downright perfect), I met my date, Keeley and we settled down to listen to the live music while we dined.
We took advantage of the Browns Signature Cocktail offer – £5 each Sunday to Thursday – and some fat green olives while we eyed the menu. Thursday is lobster day and it was hard not to be swayed by the idea.
And swayed I was, when it came to my starter, but more by the decor and venue than the shellfish. Prawn cocktail with bread and butter, lobster infused Marie Rose sauce, chicory and crisp iceberg. Well, mostly crisp iceberg, a leaf or two was a little tired and brown around the edges, left out a little too long perhaps.
But other than that, it was everything you’d expect a prawn cocktail should be. Sweet lettuce, creamy sauce with that bite of acidity, the roasted cherry tomatoes added a little extra texture.
Keeley too, went retro with asparagus wrapped in proscuitto, with poached egg and hollandaise sauce. Hers too had a little niggle, when she realised the egg yolk was hard, rather than soft. The flavours were there, it was just not quite all it should be, especially as a classic dish.
No matter, we were onto mains, and Keeley couldn’t resist the call of the shellfish. Lobster, garlic butter, chips. The lobster was done well – claws already cracked so there was no fiddly stuff, despite the finger bowl and nutcrackers provided. She happily tucked in, while I was much more satisfied with my own main.
Roast chicken, tenderstem broccoli, baby new potatoes and little chunks of Garstang Blue cheese, over which I poured spring onion broth. This was much more like it. Crispy skinned chicken, just cooked broccoli, melting oozing cheese with little nuggets of buttery potato all relaxing in a pool of well seasoned onion broth. The broth was a nod to gravy without anything too heavy, and perfect for Keeley to dunk her leftover chips in.
Feeling much more satisfied, desserts called. And we answered.
Take a good Eton Mess and put little chunks of scone in it. It was like eating a bag of Revels without any of the bad ones nobody likes. Each mouthful was a game of Russian roulette, with you either winning a biscuity hunk of scone, or a melty piece of meringue. I liked it so much, I quietly nicked the idea over the weekend following this meal and added some homemade elderflower liqueur to the cream.
The Pimm’s panna cotta had me eyeing it suspiciously. I wasn’t sure. Soft milky, set dessert with jelly, cucumber and strawberries. And yet, it worked. The cucumber added a crisp, fresh contrast, making it a real summer dessert.
Browns is good, nice. If it can iron out the niggles over our starters – it’ll be better. The service was fabulous – our waitress was delightful, even though she was tired enough for us to want to offer her a seat at our table.
But that’s the thing, it’s nice, and we have a lot of nice restaurants. Safe places we can take our parents, grandparents, in laws. Browns is always going to be what it is, and if it can do classics well, people will keep coming in.
I know it’s going to sound ungrateful, and I know this is about the whole restaurant scene in Manchester in general, but I can’t help yearning for a bit more than nice.
The food and drink enjoyed on this visit were provided for free by Browns Manchester.
As ever, a meal supplied, doesn’t ensure a positive review. The food and drinks supplied were good, bar a couple of niggles that affected our starters, everything was lovely. The service was excellent. With additional thanks to Keeley for allowing me to be her date for the evening.