‘Just what Chorlton deserves’: Horse & Jockey, Chorlton Green, reviewed

If you were to ask me which restaurant consistently impresses me the most (I’m talking a take your in-laws, fill up on hearty Sunday roasts-type of place), it’d have to be The Black Friar in Salford. It’s undoubtedly faultless. Owner Neil Burke and his team run an incredibly tight ship whilst serving up some of the best pies in the North West to bagging award after award for their beautifully landscaped beer garden. 

So you can imagine how thrilled I was to hear the very same team were breathing new life into the Horse & Jockey - a gorgeous 200-year-old pub on Chorlton Green. 

When I spoke to Neil earlier this year about his reasoning for the challenging takeover, he simply said “The Horse & Jockey is currently not living to its full potential - I want to make it the best it can be and deserves to be. The people of Chorlton, as the people of Salford do, deserve to have a really good, foodie, up-to-date, relevant pub.”

Arriving outside the Horse & Jockey on a Saturday afternoon, it’s clear that the place has been given a tasteful facelift. Planters blooming with seasonal flowers adorn the Tudor-style facade and the new swinging signage, complete with a modernised logo, sways gently in the breeze. 

Inside the zhuzh up continues, with a cosy colour palette and charming horsey-themed decor handpicked by Neil after a few eBay sprees, he later tells me. No third party designer has been used. In fact, the whole place feels very homely, organic and welcoming. Just how all good pubs should feel.  

My partner Dave and I were welcomed and seated by Neil himself. An attentive owner who doesn’t do things by halves or manage from above, he did a cracking job of looking after customers in our section of the restaurant. 

To drink, I ordered the house-made cordial and soda; a seasonal soft made with cranberry and pear. Dave kept things traditional with a pint of Joseph Holt IPA. 

After scanning the menu a good few times and pondering over what to order - not through lack of choice but more fear of missing out as everything sounded delightful - I settled on the roast onion soup en croute; a vegan-friendly dish brimming with flavour and served in a china bowl with a ruddy big pastry crust on top. Just what was needed to kick my tastebuds into gear on a brisk, early-November afternoon. 

Dave chose the burrata served on toasted sourdough with truffled balsamic and Grana Padano crisps. The scent of truffle wafted across the table, up into my nostrils and almost had me levitating through the air nose-first like a Looney Tunes character. 

I managed to begrudgingly convince him to let me have a bite and I’m so glad I did. With just enough decadence to make it that bit naughty, it’s a total winner if you’re looking for something light and fresh that still satisfies.

Taking the naughtiness to the next level, I ordered the Gloucestershire wild boar with gnocchi and Grana Padano shavings. Buttery, rich and creamy gnocchi, lightly seasoned with fennel and served with pulled wild boar that had been slow cooked to perfection - so much so that there was barely any need for chewing… this is a dish I’ll be dreaming of until my next visit. 

Dave’s sherry and red wine-braised ox cheek, served with potato and celeriac mash also rendered him speechless. Beautifully presented and served with seasonal greens and a hearty sprinkle of crispy shallots, the ox cheek had tenderised in all the boozy reduction, falling apart with the slightest prod of a fork. 

Marvelled by flavour and almost too stuffed to move, Neil appeared at our table right on cue. 

“Want to take a look at the desserts?” 

We looked at each other and nodded. If the starters and mains had both been this exceptional, then we’d sincerely regret not trying to muster up enough room for pudding. 

Straying away from my typical ultra-chocolatey, super-sickly order, I opted for something different that caught my attention; hazelnut crusted cheesecake with a Trailblazer stout glaze.

Unlike any other cheesecake I’ve had before, this one verged more on the side of savoury than the sweet. Doused in a hearty glug of the Trailblazer stout glaze - which almost had a slight fizz to it and was unctuous in both texture and flavour - this dessert had just enough zippiness to liven you back up again from that post-dinner slumber. 

Dave, who’s normally dessert-phobic and can’t even stand the sight of anything sickly sweet (Christ knows what I see in him…) even managed to find something that tickled his fancy - strong praise indeed - and ordered the apple tarte tatin with vanilla ice cream. 

Served on an ornate glass plate, the French pastry dish was perfectly imperfect in shape and lightly dusted with icing sugar. The stewed apple had caramelised and the sugar had begun to crystalise on the edges, and the vanilla ice cream had just begun to melt into it. Bloody marvellous. Unfortunately Dave had snaffled it before I had a chance to reach my spoon over. 

Sigh. I suppose I’ll just have to come back again. 

Did I expect anything less from the team behind The Black Friar? Of course not. I expected this little racehorse to romp home right off the mark. But was I thoroughly impressed and will I be visiting again? You better believe it. In fact, I’ve spoken about the Horse & Jockey so much since last weekend’s visit that I’ve managed to convince the Confidentials team to book it for our Christmas Do. 

If that doesn’t sing its praises enough to you, dear reader, then I don’t know what will. 

Horse & Jockey, 9 Chorlton Green, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester M21 9HS

Follow Harley Young on Instagram @HarleyUpNorth

The Horse & Jockey is on Confidential Guides