JACK Spratt isn’t quite sure who he is. His mis-matched dress sense (heavy wooden tables, vintage bobs and fairy lights) and British pub-meets-traveller palate (steak, roasts, raita, Louisiana mayo) doesn’t give a cohesive impression. He’s the kind of guy that’s still got fluffy hair and a winning smile, but isn’t quite as confident as the big boys nearby.
Jack might need more time to find his feet, to get that food consistency right, but the vibes are in place at this quirky one off. It provided, despite some cooking errors, a very pleasurable night out.
Located in the commercial heart of Manchester, just off Albert Square, Jack's been going for a couple of years now, and what he's got going for him are excellent vibes.
Warm, friendly and welcoming with live music and a great team of staff, he’s also bang into his meat.
Vibe-tastic
One of the specials is an all-you-can-eat-style mega burger while the menu proper includes trendy ‘Flat Iron’ steak with skinny fries (£15), a ground beef burger on glazed brioche (£15) and pork tenderloin with a Magners cider-infused cream sauce (£16).
A selling point on the menu is that everything is ‘home cooked’. That’s the minimum I expect from my dining out experience, to be honest, but here it’s a byword for the love and ambition that’s gone into the dishes - even if they don’t always 100 per cent work.
Outside on John Dalton Street
Mussels (£7) are on the money. A light, lemon and cream sauce is flavoured with stock and lively white wine making for shellfish and dipped bread (we had to ask for extra as you just get a tiny, airplane-style roll) which canoodle on the tongue. A starter of poached Williams pear with gorgonzola, rockets leaves and balsamic vinaigrette glaze (£5) is just as good. Sweet-tart flavours are elevated by slightly less Gorgonzola than I would’ve liked. And if the balsamic glaze is a throwback to when Coldplay’s Yellow was in the charts.
Everybody loves a nice pear
Food goes a little off-piste from here. Veggie Laura’s butternut squash sage and chestnut roast (£14.50) comes with wan, underdone parsnips, crisp carrots, mangetout and ‘Dauphinoise’ - cut potatoes (slightly thicker than crisps, but the same shape). Herb butter seeps across the plate as the claggy, garlic-caked roast slowly flattens a bed of watercress over the course of the meal.
The Persian lamb tagine (£15) owes more to Morocco and India than the Middle East. Bright gherkins and pickled cauliflower sit at odds with raita, herbed rice and flatbread. The chicken tikka I had in Sainsbury’s café last night was more cohesive. A roast fig and orange tarte (£5) is more trowel than pastry, more treacle tart than anything grown on a tree but it fills a sweet hole. A side of Christmas coleslaw (£3) is a bit of a revelation - a combination of what tastes like crumbling roast chestnuts, fine sliced cabbage, silky cladding. Harmony is briefly restored.
Tasty coleslaw
Like the wine list which serves quality by-the-glass favourites (we tried the house white Spanish Macabeo, £3.80 and a French Pinot Noir, £6), the restaurant is strong on basics, less so when they get creative. And even though our meal was far from perfect, I’m left with a warm and fuzzy feeling about the place.
The acoustic songs performed by a sad James Blunt look-a-like are pitched just right and people laugh and share stories with big, festive smiles.
Orange and fig tart
Jack might need more time to find his feet, to get that food consistency right, but the vibes are in place at this quirky one off. It provided, despite some cooking errors, a very pleasurable night out.
You can follow Ruth Allan on Twitter here @RuthAllan.
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11 St James’s Square, John Dalton Street, M2 6WH. Tel: . Click here.
Rating 12.5/20
Food 6.5 /10 (mussels 9, salad 8, roast 4, lamb 6, dessert 5)
Atmosphere 3/5
Service 3/5
