In a sea of restaurants that come and go, it’s those that still exist that can be overlooked. And in Manchester it seems there’s a new venue appearing monthly, if not almost weekly.
But what of those that have stood the test of time? Looking at how quickly some come and go, those that have a couple of years, or even more under their belt must be doing something right. Right?
Room is hardly a new kid on the block, but for me it’s a neglected venue. I’d never been before, until a small group of us were invited to dine. Time to correct this omission.
Up a graceful winding staircase through to the bar and restaurant itself – a gorgeous high ceiling, eclectic lighting and original features make it visually striking. Large windows let in luscious amounts of natural light, highlighting the wooden ceiling and stopping it feeling dark and dour.
We were guided to a table beneath a gorgeous chandelier, delicious cocktail in hand care of bartender extraordinaire Amir (try the Ginger Bread, or the Salted Mr Tom).
Struggling to choose our starters, let alone our mains, our host made a suggestion – would we like a taster selection of the starters?
Perfect. Game terrine with foie gras, guinea fowl and ham, prawn cocktail with guacamole and spiced crab, smoked salmon with shots of Bloody Mary and slices of vodka spiked cucumber and mushroom croquettes.
My favourites were the Bloody Mary consomme which was delicious and intense and went fantastically well with the cucumber and smoked salmon. I also loved that the spiced crab meat included the brown meat, mixed with the white. Often it’s omitted and the delicate white meat flavour can be destroyed by the accompaniments.
The game terrine was fabulous. I know foie gras is contentious, but even omitting it’s fatty meaty flavour, this terrine still deserves a mention. It was rich in flavour, creamy, earthy, everything you’d expect and the sharp rhubarb served alongside kept the fattiness from being overpowering.
A special mention must go to the wine list. Anything that describes a group of wines as Matured and filthy rich and Ripe, dominant and vivacious works in my book.
Our mains we chose separately. Attempting to save some room for dessert, I went for the cod in parsley sauce, with samphire and mussels.
What I got was huge! I’m a sucker for samphire with it’s salty crunch, and the cod skin was crisped to perfection, the cod itself done to meaty white flakes.
The mussels were perhaps a touch overdone, but I loved the additional pot with vinegar, reminding me of seaside holidays. The parsley emulsion didn’t really work for me, I couldn’t pick up the parsley flavour, even after shaking, the bottle vigorously, but I didn’t miss it.
Onto dessert and decisions raised their ugly heads. Saved again by our host, who suggested a platter.
It was cakeageddon.
Toasted marshmallow, passion fruit sorbet, carrot cake with toffee carrots and cream cheese, treacle tart, chocolate marquise, all vying for our attention on the slate.
The out and out winner for all was the toasted marshmallow, for me closely followed by the passion fruit sorbet. The creamy nuttiness of the marshmallow and the sweet yet sharp passion fruit made a delicious pairing.
Verdict? There’s a reason Room is still around. Value for money, good food and drinks and a striking venue. Will it set the world on fire? No, but it doesn’t need to.
Why mess with something that works so well?
With, as ever, huge thanks to McAvoy Photography for the images.
