Craft Beer And Casual Dining At No. 1 Watson Street

Confidentials 19 April 2016

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CRAFT beer and casual dining: is there a better combination? Probably not, particularly when No. 1 Watson Street is concerned, as Confidential found out when they visited one rainy afternoon and found solace in superb homemade pizzas and its very own Worker Bee lager.

Needless to say, we were in food nirvana

Even the interior is escapist - clean lines, solid wood furniture and large front windows that let in loads of light - whilst the music is chilled and eclectic. On one turquoise statement wall hang abstract prints incorporating the iconic Manchester worker bee, symbolism that can also be seen throughout the menu.

With a tantalising choice of burgers and handmade pizzas - quintessential familiar classics - said menu hit the spot for a hungry Confidential crew. And, despite the emphasis on informal food, there was nothing casual about the attention to detail.

Porky Pizza

Salads can have a reputation for being boring, simply a concession to eating healthy. Yet when done well, they make a great dish in themselves, as our first choice of pear and walnut salad proved. Strong creamy Perl Las Blue cheese was contrasted with the subtle flavour of poached pear and given a satisfying crunch with a sprinkling of candied walnuts. Add in rocket salad, crispy shallots and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and the result is far from your stereotypical bunch of lettuce leaves.

Pear & Walnut Salad

Vegetable intake sorted - well, more or less - it was time for some pure indulgence, first up in the form of nacho chicken burger. As if the homemade fried nacho chicken served in a pretzel bun wasn’t enough tastiness, the burger comes with a pot of hand-cut, skin-on fries. Needless to say, we were in food nirvana.

Nacho Chicken Burger

The braised brisket sandwich that followed did nothing to diminish this feeling. Meat was exquisitely tender, served with homemade BBQ sauce and topped off with a slice of Monterey Jack cheese. Fries accompanied, along with a pot of flavoursome brisket sauce.

Beef Brisket

These devoured with relish, we moved onto the No. 1 speciality, craft pizza. Some words of warning: since the selection is so good, it can be hard to choose... We eventually opted for Shangri-La and Porky’s Hog Roast - with a sneaky side of deluxe truffle oil and parmesan fries - and weren’t disappointed.

Shangri-La comes with prawn crackers on top so you know you’re in for a treat as soon as it appears. That’s before the baby back ribs, cooked in cola and spices, then topped off with hoisin sauce and a smattering of spring onions for extra freshness. Porky’s Hog Roast made the perfect contrast, distinctly less exotic but with plenty of the ‘snap, crackle and pop’ it professed to have: with succulent slices of roast pork leg, buttery sage and onion stuffing, homemade crackling and an apple infused pork gravy - well, you can’t really go wrong.

Shangri-La Pizza

It’s not just the food this place excels in. Beer is a mainstay, with over 60 different varieties including local brewers like Cloudwater and Blackjack, plus monthly tasting events. For beer novices, the staff are extremely knowledgeable and will advise which goes best with certain dishes: we particularly enjoyed the Pilot Ultravilot Unfined, a refreshing pale wheat beer with strong undertones of Parma Violets, and the Worker Bee house lager. This is one of the 5-9pm weekday Happy Hour specials when - alongside 241 pizzas and £3.50 house wines - you can snaffle it for £3, but it also made a welcome addition to our impromptu lunchtime visit.