IS there no escaping Confidential writer Gordo?
We also managed a portion each of cherry Bakewell and treacle tart. Both tasted as good as they look and they looked fabulous.
I’d headed to Hale for a midweek supper and bumped into a friend of a friend who was an old mucker of 'The Fat One' in a past life.
“Me, him and Sharrock used to spend all our time in Goblets in Manchester. It was where all the movers and shakers went to get pissed,” he recalled, getting giddy at the memory of the early 80s. “We thought we were something. Not seen him in a while though.”
“You could follow him on Twitter.”
“Tried that. But his language is just f****** appalling,” he said with the duplicitous morality that comes with being the father of a young daughter.
We were in Amba on Hale’s main street, him for a tea with the family, me to try out a restaurant that for a decade has held its own against the onslaught of mass market chains and starry competition from Simon Rimmer.
Amba street view
It is part of the mini empire of Ryland and Judith Wakeham and David Edmundson who cut their teeth at The White House in Prestbury, added Amba in 2002 and opened Napa in Bramhall in 2008.
It occupies the building that was once Hale Wine Bar (Gordo probably went there too) and you walk in off the well heeled high street straight into the bar area which feels quite clubby with its dark wood and well padded booths.
The back opens out into a much lighter, brighter space, more booths down one side, simple tables in the rest of the room and hanging over it all from the white panelled roof, two enormous, pendulous lights. (I have included a PR shot so you can see them for yourself.)
Official shot
The kitchen is downstairs, which also offers a second dining room popular for private parties and the like. When I was in a group of 30 odd bright young things were down there.
Upstairs it was busy too. Mainly couples and one large group. But no WAGS or fake tan. Nothing too Cheshire, nothing too bling just a good relaxed atmosphere.
And they serve up the sort of food you want to eat every day if you had the time to source the ingredients and the ability to do imaginative things with them.
Round here it seems that most people don’t and those fancy kitchens where whole walls can be dedicated to ovens remain unsullied as their owners prefer to come here for their tea.
“This place is the equivalent of Hale’s cafe,” said Gordo’s old mate. “A posh one maybe but a lot of people come a couple of times a week because the food is so great.”
To this end they offer up a seasonal set dinner 6-10pm Sunday to Friday and for an hour, 6-7pm on Saturday night. Two courses £15.50, three courses £18.50. So for under £40 you can have supper and a glass of wine each and not have to argue about the washing up.
The menu changes to follow what’s seasonal and they buy locally if they can, supporting small suppliers and producers but source the best from across the UK.
We started out with two starters from the seasonal menu, pan friend fillet of Cornish mackerel with southern spices and the homemade “soup of the moment” which in that moment was asparagus.
There was a spike of alarm when the mackerel arrived as its skin looked like it had spent too long on the griddle but a quick flip revealed succulent flesh with some mild spicing going on to cut the oil. It sat on a bed of finely shredded Amba coleslaw with some apple compote on the side which all combined to make perfect forkfuls.
Mackerel
The soup was vivid green, lush and deep, an English spring right there in a bowl with some good homemade bread on the side. You felt your iron levels rising just looking at it and the smallish size of the portion was forgivable given that asparagus prices had reached an all-time high.
The kitchen also knew the size of the mains that were coming next.
Because this is another thing with all good cafes, they serve food that will sate a healthy appetite not leave you already longing for breakfast.
First up was pan fried duck. Three thick slices, nicely pink, sat on top of a mound of vanilla and lime mash, some hearty roasted parsnips under there as well, enveloped in a deep port jus. The duck was melting but the mash was inspired. I think it was the vanilla that set them apart, or maybe the lime, not sure. But it worked a treat.
Duck
On the other plate sat a 250g rump of lamb. There were some vegetables as well, grilled and sticky and some delicious gravy/jus but the lamb was the thing..
Puddings are also conjured up in the kitchens below not in the kitchens of an industrial estate.
Lord knows how but we also managed a portion each of cherry Bakewell and treacle tart. Both tasted as good as they look and they looked fabulous. The Bakewell light and almondy and the tart with enough lemon to stop it cloying.
Washing down all this pink meat was a deep and plumby Ned Pinot Noir. Chosen ahead of a tempting Rioja it held its own against the mix of flavours on the plates and came in at £24.50.
Lamb
Don’t ask me about what beers they serve or the rest of the wine list because what with the wine and the general congeniality of the place, the catch up turned to gossip and grand plans and I forgot to take notes and/or nick the menu. Sorry Jonathan.
Bakewell
I do know they serve a very fine Taylors port though.
The service was great. Smiley and efficient. Everyone else seemed happy enough too.
I just looked on-line at the current menu and the duck is now being served with spiced plums, parsnip puree and parmentier potatoes. There is also a whole West Country lemon sole being offered up simply with shrimp butter and sugar snap peas. And a £12.50 burger
I want to eat it all.
You can follow Jill Burdett on Twitter here @JillBurdett
ALL SCORED CONFIDENTIAL REVIEWS ARE IMPARTIAL AND PAID FOR BY THE MAGAZINE.
AMBA, 106 Ashley Road, Hale, Greater Manchester. WA14 2UN Web
Rating: 15.5/20 (please read the scoring system in the box below)
Food: 7.5/10
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
