CHEF TIM LEWIS is doing strong work at the MacDonald Townhouse Hotel on Portland Street. In fact his food is a revelation.
There was belly pork but also loin. Bunched on a fork with an exquisite apple butterscotch sauce plus pickled cabbage and crackling, it was a real winner.
The old Princess Hotel has been revamped and reinvigorated with conversion into a MacDonald Townhouse hotel. Not that it hasn't always been, externally, a handsome building, originally built in neo-Gothic style as a textile warehouse by Clegg and Knowles for the Pickles company in 1870.
1870 beauty
Inside more work needs to be done on the restaurant section to make it appealing to non-residents. The atmosphere is decidly 'hotel' in there, bland and cold. The restaurant feels side-lined and unloved.
Dull restaurant space
But the food is very good.
MacDonald Hotels started life in Scotland and the chef shares a name with one of the Hebridean islands, so maybe that's the reason for the Scottish ingredients that fill the brisk menu.
I began with a ham hock and Stornoway black pudding terrrine (£6.75). This had a tough full-flavoured ham, made sweeter with the gentle Stornoway (another Lewis, Isle of Lewis connection) and given delight by a wonderful cinnamon doughnut and poached apple. This was a complex little dish with a lot going, that through being led by the sturdy ham, never lost its integrity. Good start indeed.
Hamhock
An Eggs Benedict starter (£6.50) came with sauce and eggs prepared to perfection. It was given the required edge and lift by the crispy bacon and the rocket. It was adored by my dining guest.
Eggs Benedict
The mains feature pork, the poor relation of the meat world. While chicken has come clucking back with a vengeance onto UK menus, pig is largely ignored. The grunters occasionally get billing in their belly pork variant, but that's about it.
The problem with pork is keeping it moist.
No problems here. Lewis's free range pork and apple (£15.50) was fluid flesh at its best. There was belly pork but also loin. Bunched on a fork with an exquisite apple butterscotch sauce plus pickled cabbage and crackling, it was a real winner. I want to rush back and have another go with that very soon. The fat in the belly was a very memorable.
Pork
The 21 day matured Scottish ribeye steak (£18) with Bearnaise sauce (£1.95) came medium rare as requested. It was more evidence of the skill and competence in the kitchen.
Ribeye
The same could be said of the yoghurt cheesecake (£6). Feast your eyes on this pudding fans. It had granola on top, an elegant yoghurt sorbet, and raspberries, it had a lovely forgiving consistency, and was not - lots of brownie points here - too sweet. I loved the coriander that came with it too.
Yoghurt
Tim Lewis at the MacDonald Townhouse has an impressive kitchen. He also has a menu that's the perfect size. He is clearly very confident in his handling of the food and he uses imagination to great effect as evidenced by that cinnamon doughnut and the other fine little details.
Shame about the space that the restaurant finds itself crammed in.
If that matched the cooking then this would be a proper destination.
You can follow Jonathan Schofield on Twitter here @JonathSchofield
ALL SCORED CONFIDENTIAL REVIEWS ARE IMPARTIAL AND PAID FOR BY THE MAGAZINE.
101 Brasserie, MacDonald Townhouse Manchester, 101 Portland Street, City. M1 6DF. 0844 879 9089
Rating: 14.25/20 (please read the scoring system in the box below)
Food: 7.75/10
Service: 3.5/5
Ambience: 3/5
Merchant House 011
