The team choose their favourite dishes from the year
It's been a busy year in the world of food and drink, with every month offering up a different Dish of the Month for us here at Confidentials. Before we head into 2025, the team choose their favourite dishes from 2024.
Poulet au vinaigre and pomme puree, Cantaloupe, Stockport (£21)
Poulet au vinaigre and pomme puree - just my type of menu writing, where your imagination does the colouring in. On the plate as well as the page, this was simplicity at its barnstorming best. Anyone can spin some good PR on their Instagram captions, it’s another thing to actually deliver.
A chicken leg with potato and a vinegar and cream sauce. That’s it. It really is that straightforward. I reckon I could try my hand with those ingredients in my kitchen, but then Keith Richards’ Blue Lena is technically the same thing as a Vauxhall Astra; it’s what you do with what you’ve got. Cantaloupe had chicken, potatoes and vinegar and made this; small, succinct, considered and executed with Jackal-like precision and flourish. Fantastic.
David Adamson @davidadamson123
Seafood Platter for two, The Oystercatcher, Stanley Square, Sale (£60)
Sale shopping centre used to be rubbish, a graphic example of pedestrianisation gone wrong, a grubby tip of charity shops and fighting pubs. This was odd given the wealth around the place. The Stanley Square development has stopped the rot by introducing neat and tidy units filled with good operators. Oystercatcher in Sale is particularly fine and an offshoot of the Chorlton original. What’s also excellent is Oystercatcher doesn’t impose a Sunday lunch and nothing else on the day of rest. This is increasingly a ‘thing’ in hospitality.
This dish of the month hardly needs describing save for one hidden virtue on the startlingly beguiling image here. On this platter there are red tiger prawns, mussels, salt and pepper squid and, smothered by all those perfectly cooked and prepared goodies, is a whole sea bream of a flesh so rich and pure it would put a smile on the face of the saddest mourner. There’s chilli mayo and salsa verde too, which when the seafood is this good, are more of a distraction than an asset. The other main feature is the hispi, the ubiquity of which I was getting sick of, but here it has been chargrilled with great skill so the soft almost flesh-like interior comes into its own. Oystercatcher is a fabulous restaurant.
Jonathan Schofield @jonathschofield
Butter Chicken, Indian Tiffin Room, Liverpool (£13.50 plus £3.50 for naan)
I smelled the butter chicken before I saw it; a rich, tomatoey, slightly spiced and sweet scent wafted through the air. A dish that appeals to all the senses, ITR’s butter chicken was a sight to behold. I couldn’t wait to tuck in.
Made with proper chunks of chicken breast (none of that dehydrated-rehydrated rubbish) and a thick and indulgent butter sauce with cream swirled through it, it was enough to bring a tear to my eye - which could be mopped up quite easily with the generous amount of homemade naan served on the side. Top tip: take advantage of the air bubbles in the bread by filling them with butter chicken sauce and popping it in your mouth. You won’t regret it.
I’d argue that this is the best butter chicken in the north west - certainly the best I’ve ever had at least.
Harley Young @Harley__Young
Grilled lamb ribs, coco beans and sheep's yoghurt, Erst, Ancoats (£24)
Coming from five generations of Butchers, my lot had the pick of the chilled cabinet when it came to Sunday lunch.
My favourite? No roasted ribs of beef, legs of lamb. Oh no. Slow roasted breast of lamb, a very unfashionable cut which more often than not was the last available on Saturday evening to take home as very few people knew how to cook it.
But my dad did. Well-seasoned, maybe some fresh rosemary and roasted. Crispy on the outside, in the middle the bones would just slip out leaving meat and fat for which the word unctuous was coined.
Lots of northern gravy, made from cabbage water. I know, trust me.
Last month I had a quick lunch with my pal Howard at the resiliently brilliant Erst in Ancoats, along with the wine-bothering Neurologist Jon Sussman.
The lamb dish arrived. Described as 'Grilled lamb ribs, coco beans and sheep's yoghurt' I instantly recognised the cut my Dad used to cook over 60 years ago. The ribs weren't as far south as a full breast of lamb, but the skin was the same crunchy crispy salty glorious experience delivered all those years ago. I dealt with the bones on behalf of my guests to help distribute the crunchy skin and the lush, fatty, banging with flavour meat to fairly (well nearly) distribute between the three of us.
Sat on a cassoulet-like stew of beans and gorgeousness that I once drooled over in a backstreet cafe in the foothills of The Pyrenees, and a big dollop of the yoghurt, the cooling acidity of which counteracted the fattiness of that glorious cut of lamb; My Old Man would have approved.
This is a hardcore dish that is immensely difficult to get right and Erst’s kitchen warriors have nailed it. I am warning you Will, take this off the menu and you will suffer consequences.
Mark Garner @gordomanchester
Market fish of the day, Medlock Canteen, from £20
There are sexy fish and ugly fish. Gurnards definitely fall into the latter category. Even removing the spines and ‘wings’ from the red variety before barbecuing whole still leaves you with a sense of confrontation. Bulging eyes stare balefully up at you from its large, prehistoric head, gob gaping. A nice little gurner, though, at Sam Grainger’s quality addition to the Deansgate Square dining scene. Served in a pool of melted butter, infused with lemon and chive, it tasted gorgeous, the firm white flesh easily detached from its tapering, bony frame.
This ocean bottom feeder has suddenly become an upwardly mobile treat – the monkfish de nos jours, no longer deemed fit only for lobster bait, celebrated indeed by cool chefs. Inevitably there are now queries about its future sustainability.
Checking the Marine Stewardship Council charts, I was left floundering about its seasonality. Consume it during the breeding period, May to July, you may be in choppy waters. My research also dredges up a trait common only to the gurnard. While being caught it emits a croaking sound, earning its nickname the grunter. Too much information?
Neil Sowerby @AntonEgoManc
Seared red mullet, spinach, blood orange, roast langoustine oil, vinaigrette, Bird at Birtle (£75 as part of 'Nuts about Riviera' menu)
Back in January I got transported back to the French Rivera of thirty years ago to enjoy classic French dining Andrew Nutter style. No, I’ve not lost my mind, this was an event at the Bird at Birtle hosted by Andrew Nutter, aptly named “Nuts about Riviera”. I’ve missed Andrew’s classic style of cooking ever since he sold Nutters Restaurant in 2021, so when I saw that he was hosting an event at his gastropub, The Bird at Birtle, I was there like a shot.
The menu curated by Nutter was a showcase of some of the food he produced when he first opened the restaurant way back thirty years ago and one of the showstoppers was the seared red mullet.
I’m renowned to be a fussy bugger with fish and always turn my nose up at fishy fish. But on the night, Nutter won me over with a chunky fillet of red mullet sourced from northwest seafood supplies Neve Fleetwood. This dish was top notch, the fillet was seared so it was delicately cooked, and the fish just broke into light flakes and it was carefully plated from a bed of leaves, dressed with vinaigrette, layered with roast langoustine oil and nuggets of langoustine and finally slithers of blood orange that just bought the dish together. And if that wasn’t enough there were a few cheeky charcoal cheddar croutons to give a flavour punch every so often.
The dish was that good I’m still inconsolable that Nutter’s Restaurant is no longer with us but all is not lost, there may be other nights on the horizon so keep your eyes peeled.
Georgina Harrington Hague @georginahague
Leahurst Farm pork collar ham, egg and chips, Edinburgh Castle (part of the £29 three course set menu)
May was a good month as I'd managed to book a few days holiday while it was still sunny. My significant other wanted to see The Wizard of Oz at the Palace Theatre, and pretty much the only reason I agreed to endure such trauma was the promise of being able to go somewhere decent for food afterwards. So, after 2 hours of leaking collagen from my kneecaps squashed between the edges of tiny seats and internally screaming throughout all the munchkin nonsense, I was allowed a couple of recovery cocktails outside Fumo before heading over to Edinburgh Castle.
It's a very canny name because every time I tell anyone about this meal I'm asked if I've been to Edinburgh (that's a great marketing hook). No, it's a cracking pub in the Northern Quarter with a very sophisticated restaurant on the first floor. The décor is spot on; herringbone wooden floor, teals and creams, and big leather chairs making for a very relaxed dining environment.
I was recently trying to explain the Confidentials scoring system for reviews at a family pub lunch as they thought 7/10 was a bit mean. Seven is pretty good; it's an "I'd go again and happily eat the same thing" but to get a ten it has to be something you'd possibly remember on your deathbed and this take on ham, egg and chips is a nirvana-inducing ten for me.
The first mouthful of this perfectly seared pork is one of those eye-closing, hold-your-breath moments where you're no longer part of the mundane physical world anymore. The downside is you feel guilty that there's going to be less and less of it left with each mouthful. There's also a chore of choosing whether to dunk the porky morsels in the gooey egg yolk or superbly sweet apple sauce. The accompanying chips had a silky skin coating which was impressive, but it's the pork I'll be thinking of before plopping into the abyss.
Martyn Pitchford @Pitch_Blend
Fish Finger Butty, Rack, Arndale (£8.75)
Manchester is a great place for butties, long may it reign. Back in June I had one and I’m going to start by reeling off the ingredients; hand battered fish fingers, minted pea puree, tartar sauce, lettuce, white bloomer and BLOODY CHIPSTICKS! The chipsticks are a stroke of genius - they kind of bring a vinegar element without the inevitable sog. They also served it with a curry sauce but for me the sandwich alone was perfect and everything you’d need from a lunchtime bite. I often dip my head into Rack just after payday and they always have something new for me to check out. This has already left the specials board but I’m praying it’ll be back.
A bangin’ butteh
Hayden Naughton
Roast chicken breast, Fishpool Inn, Delamere (£18.95)
Although this pub is less than a ten minute drive from my house, I have never been able to book in. It’s a popular spot for dog owners and walkers visiting Delamere Forest. One Sunday I thought I’d try my luck as I was passing by and craving comfort food after an open water swimming session. I was in need of a cosy pub and a hearty meal. A buzzing atmosphere, just how I like Sundays, families, dogs, people of all ages enjoying good old fashioned pub grub. I started off with salt and pepper scampi and a glass of their recommended red - Spanish, Bodegas Santiago Rioja.
I am a fussy one when it comes to roasts as it’s hard to beat your home standard but this one is up there. A huge Yorkshire pudding, soft chicken with a crispy coating, crispy broccoli and rich wine gravy along with extra without needing to ask. Just how I like it. Overall a nice end to the week, and I left feeling a happy and very full. I will be back if I can book in.
Lucy Allen
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