Restaurant Review: Blue Pig, Northern Quarter, Manchester

Hey,

A restaurant review from Manchester city centre today - and not another new venue that's sprung up either...

If you're familiar with Manchester, you'll have undoubtedly come across The Blue Pig before. This pretty blue traditional-looking pub sits in the heart of Manchester's Northern Quarter, close to the market side of the Arndale centre.

Not necessarily known for food previously, other than maybe a quick bowl of chips or a Sunday Lunch, The Blue Pig have relaunched their food and drinks menu with a fresh new take on pub fare! With this NQ stalwart under new management, I was happy to oblige when asked to visit to check out their new offerings*.

The new menu is perfect for grazing (my favourite kind of eating!) with their main 'Deli Menu' centred around charcuterie boards.

With a menu packed with a huge selection of cured meats and cheeses, artisan breads, pate and terrines, seafood and small plates - and all reasonably priced - this was right up my street.

We were treated to a 'tasting' evening to sample the new menu, trying a mix of some of the hero items, expertly paired with complementing drinks too.

To whet our appetite, we started with a cocktail: the Negroni Bramble - a refreshing mix of Tanqueray gin, Lillet and Pampelle grapefruit liqueur.

This was paired with pork crackling with fennel and coriander. This was incredible! I love pork crackling and you could tell some effort had gone into this. We were told that this was made with the Sunday Roasts at the weekend. It was so tasty and crispy - and huge!

Next up was the best bit for me - cured meats, cheeses and crackers!

This board was amazing; piled high with salami, extra mature cheddar, red Leicester, homemade fennel crackers, pickled vegetables and chilli jam.

You could taste the quality in all the components. The fennel crackers and cheeses in particular were really good.

Accompanied by a large glass of Spanish house red, this was definitely my favourite course. You can't beat cheese and red wine!

Continuing our feast was another sharing board! This time stacked with nibbles from the Small Plates and Seafood dishes.

The biggest eye-drawing item on the board has to be the vegetarian scotch egg! Created with a runny duck egg in the centre, sat atop ginger and rhubarb jam and encased in a beetroot falafel shell. As beautiful as this looked, it just wasn't for me - I think I love real scotch eggs too much! I found the beetroot falafel a little bland but the egg in the centre was gorgeous.

The board also featured feta-stuffed crispy olives with romesco sauce. I actually don't like olives but the beautiful sauce, creamy feta and crispy coating made these just about okay which is a big win for me!

My two favourite items were the tempura jerk prawns with citrus mayo and the Asian pork bon bons with pickled mooli and wasabi. The jury's out on which dish I favoured most - both were delicious. Did I know what mooli was? no (it's a type of radish, by the way); did I care? Absolutely not, it complemented the sweet and tender pork bon bons perfectly. The prawns were also awesome; lightly battered with great seasoning and a bit of a kick and juicy inside!

Last but by certainly no means least - dessert!

Our dessert was paired with a superb cocktail - the Lemon Curd Collins. Created with Ketel One Citron, Limoncello, real lemon curd, vanilla syrup, orange bitters and a splash of soda, it was both refreshing and sweet - the perfect palette cleanser. I'll definitely be back to order a round of these!

Then the pudding, oh the pudding. A classic chocolate fondant is one of my firm favourites and this one was wonderfully rich and gooey on the inside as it should be. The perfect size too to top of our tasting evening.


All in all, I was thoroughly impressed with The Blue Pig's new menu - I never expected to find food like this in such a setting. I'm ashamed to admit that I would have happily walked by The Blue Pig previously and would never consider visiting for something to eat but the quality, care and thought that's gone into their new menu is incredible.

There's so much on the menu that I know I'll love so I can't wait to go back, especially as everything is so reasonably priced - like their all-day charcuterie and cheese board offer of any 3 for £7, or 5 for £10. It's the perfect sharing lunch option for a catch-up with friends over a few cocktails!

Have you ever visited The Blue Pig for food and would you go back for this new menu?

Restaurant Review: New Opening - Tre Ciccio, Altrincham

Hey,

Today's post brings another exciting new restaurant opening in Altrincham, Tre Ciccio!

Tre Ciccio's concept is simple - authentic, rustic Italian food created with great ingredients and a small menu focused around classic Neapolitan wood-fired pizzas and slow-roasted chicken.

The restaurant has been trading for a few weeks but has very recently unveiled its new outdoor terrace area - just in time for the pre-summer heatwave we've had!

I popped along to the launch night of the terrace area a few weeks ago so was delighted to be invited back for the full dining experience*.

We unknowingly picked a fantastic day to visit; booking for Wednesday last week when the UK's mini heatwave kicked off. I rang ahead to ensure we were sat in the wonderful outdoor terrace area to make the most of the weather.

We kicked things off with a light house pinot grigio while we perused the menu. I loved that the wine was served traditionally in tumblers like most great Italians do!

Tre Ciccio have a great antipasti selection, made up of traditional Italian appetisers. We decided to share so ordered the Pane e Pinzimonio - a bread basket of warm focaccia, Altamura bread and crisp Carasau, accompanied by olive oil and balsamic to dip; the Cuoppo Fritto - a Neapolitan-style selection of lightly fried sea food including calamari, prawns and small whole fish served with lemon and garlic mayonnaise and lastly, Bocconcini Fritti - lightly crumbed and fried buffalo mozzarella bites with fresh basil and Marzano tomato sauce.

Though Tre Ciccio's Italian-style roast chicken was tempting, we're both big pizza fans and having been greeted with the restaurant's huge pizza oven on arrival on the top floor, there's no way we could pass them up!

The pizza menu is made up of 'Classic' and 'Gourmet' pizzas. There's a wide range of options (while still being authentic - absolutely no BBQ sauce bases or pineapple here!) and I truly struggled to choose!

I finally settled on the Salernitana - topped with sliced pancetta, fior di latte cheese, parmesan and basil. My date went for the Calzone Napoletano - traditional folded pizza with salami, prosciutto, fior di latte cheese and basil.

My pizza was so good! Amazingly tasty and fresh toppings with a wonderfully chewy and slightly charred crust characteristic of a perfect wood-fired pizza!

The calzone was awesome too - piping hot inside with the ideal amount of filling and not too doughy.

As the sun set out on the terrace, we decided to share a tiramisu too (which by this point was too dark to capture!) and it topped off a fantastic meal perfectly!

Tre Ciccio is super close to where I live so I'm excited to have somewhere this good to stroll over the bridge to after work for a few beers and great pizza.

I'd definitely recommend this unassuming Italian for perfectly executed, authentically Neapolitan pizzas with a laidback, friendly neighbourhood atmosphere. They definitely give Altrincham Market favourite, Honest Crust some honest competition (geddit)! With the added bonus of having your own table!

Will you be visiting Tre Ciccio the next time you're in Altrincham?

Restaurant Review: New Opening - Blanchflower, Altrincham

Hey,

Today I've got a food review - and an exciting one at that! A new Manchester gem, recently opened in my town of Altrincham.

Alty newcomer, Blanchflower opened up by the popular market hall a few weeks back for brunch/lunch and I'd often wandered slowly past the window, making a mental note to check out their Eggs Benedict.

I was delighted to hear that they had just launched into evening service with an exciting and innovative menu, keeping their core 'artisan bakery' status as a key component. With this, I was thrilled to accept their invitation to try out the new menu*.

Let's delve in!

N.B. since my visit, Blanchflower's menu, along with portion sizes, have changed somewhat. The below review is based on the smaller plate sizes, with us choosing five dishes to share.

As touched upon above, the bakery element is Blanchflower's real selling point. Having taken centre stage during the day with freshly baked bread and pastry; baked goods are certainly not forgotten during the evening. 

After settling at our table, we were given the most magnificent bread bowl. Every kind of bread was explained (their signature sourdough bread is the product of a three-day process, don't you know?) and we were encouraged to let the waiting staff know if more was desired. My favourite item was the sea salt 'cracker' which was beautifully crisp and covered in just the right amount of coarse sea salt. Accompanying our bread was a saucer of house-made thyme butter - delicious!

The best bit? Complimentary, of course. No overpriced stale hunks of baguette added to the bill here!

Though only just opened for dinner service, the restaurant was surprisingly busy and so I struggled to get many shots of the interior. 

Blanchflower manages to achieve an almost industrial cool, while still feeling like an intimate dining experience. Modern without being overly slick, the atmosphere pairs perfectly with the food.

First Round

As noted above, we were advised to order five dishes to share (without puddings). The menu is split into sections, 'Bar Snacks', 'Small Plates', 'Larger Plates' and 'Puddings' and the dishes brought out in order of their respective position on the menu.

I was very pleased to hear this as sharing small plates is my favourite kind of eating; there's nothing worse than food envy!

Our first choices were the Fried Buttermilk Chicken with Homemade Sriracha Mayo and the Ox Cheek Croquettes with Truffle Mayo.

The chicken could have possibly had a little more seasoning for my taste but was crisp on the outside and lovely and juicy inside. The sriracha mayo was an excellent accompaniment too.

The ox cheek croquettes were incredible and quite possibly my favourite dish of the meal! They melted in the mouth and were full of flavour. As someone who loves the taste of truffle too, the mayo really took these to the next level!

Second Round

Our third dish hot off the counter was Rainbow Trout with Fermented Pepper Hollandaise, Potatoes and Chives.

This was our 'wild card' dish - not something either of us would usually order but it sounded interesting so we went for it!

It turned out to be one of the highlights. The fish was cooked perfectly with a crispy skin and the hollandaise with the peppers made it really flavoursome. 

Third Round

We were looking forward to these! The larger plates were certainly more substantial and looked impressive!

We chose the Free-Range Herb Feb Chicken with Green Sauce and Roast Jerusalem Artichoke and the Charcoal Grilled Bavette Steak with Potato Gratin and Juniper Carrots.

The chicken was probably my least favourite dish of the evening. Usually a safe bet, I found myself leaning towards the bigger flavours of the other dishes we tried - it was still delicious!

Another highlight of the meal was the bavette steak. Full of flavour and charred on the outside, it was perfectly cooked - and the potato gratin was amazing! 

Puddings

Comfortably satisfied, there was still room for dessert!

Our waiter recommended the Cardamon Spiced Custard Tart with Poached Rhubarb which I didn't hesitate to choose, while my date opted for the Apple & Almond Streusel Tart.

I thoroughly enjoyed the custard tart but have to say that the apple tart (which I stole a mouthful of) topped it!

I think that Blanchflower is a fantastic addition to Altrincham's burgeoning food scene. Style and substance and a focus on quality ingredients make this place a real gem, almost too good to share. I think I've found my favourite local restaurant!

I'll definitely be back to try their brunch soon.

Let me know if you agree that Blanchflower looks like a restaurant worth travelling out of Manchester for!

Restaurant Review: New Menu at Bundobust, Manchester

Hey,

A food review today and not a new restaurant opening, rather a menu relaunch from an old favourite of mine, Bundobust!

The independent Indian street food and craft beer concept, first established in Leeds before opening in Manchester in 2016, has a really laidback vibe and great food - a winning combination that still sees this Piccadilly basement restaurant packed out on a regular basis.

I've resolved to try to eat a little less meat this year, something that isn't going fantastically well. When I heard that Bundobust were relaunching their entirely meat-free menu with new additions and improved recipes, I knew it was something I wanted to check out*!

Having already got firm favourites in mind, I headed into town after work one evening to see if any of the new dishes could top the old classics.

One of the great things about Bundobust is that the drinks line-up is as equally in the limelight as the food. Their ever-changing blackboard of regional and wider-known independent beers is certainly impressive and the staff are more than happy to offer up their knowledge and a little taster if (like me) you find it hard to choose!

My date's Bombay Dazzler, created in collaboration with Bundobust by Yorkshire Brewery Northern Monk, was so good that I had to order one on the next round. With flavours of ginger, cardamom and coriander, it paired perfectly with the Indian spices.

Bundobust have also added an array of new cocktails to their drinks list. I opted for a Desi 75 - a refreshing mix of Sipsmith sloe gin, lemon, cinnamon syrup and prosecco.

On to the food!

As well as reworked dishes, there are five brand new additions to the Bundobust menu that we were presented with. They are (clockwise as pictured below):

GOBI MUSHROOM MANCHURIAN - Mushroom & cauliflower pakoras in an Indo-Chinese sauce

PANEER KADAI - Paneer cheese cooked in a deep cinnamon, fenugreek, red pepper & tomato sauce. Served with bhatura

PAV BHAJI - Mashed up cauliflower, potato & peas. Flavoured with garam massala. Served with a spiced toasted brioche bun

RAGHDA PETHIS - a spicy mushy peas & potato cake, topped with turmeric noodles, tomato, onion & tamarind chutney

CHOLE SAAG - Chickpea & spinach massala. Served with puri

There's some great additions here! I love that most of the more substantial items come with a bread on the side. I wasn't so sure about the toasted brioche bun but the bhatura and puri were excellent - light and tasty and perfect for dipping!

For me, the Paneer Kadai was definitely a highlight. Even though it was full of delicious, big chunks of paneer cheese, it wasn't too rich at all. The sauce was deep, smokey and aromatic - just perfect!

My favourite dish however was the the Chole Saag. This chickpea curry was so unbelievably tasty, with a rich massala sauce and folded fried puri on the side for scooping up every last bit (which I did).

Of course we couldn't resist ordering our favourites from the last visit: the Tarka Dhal, a classic medium cumin-infused lentil curry sat atop basmati rice, and the Vada Pav, a spiced fried potato burger. I don't know what it is about the Vada Pav but I found myself thinking about it regularly - thankfully, it was just as good as I remembered!

With an all-vegetarian, mostly vegan and often gluten-free menu, Bundobust surely is a crowd-pleaser - even for an enthusiastic carnivore like myself!

You can check out the full Bundo menu here.

Are you a street food fan?