LIVEBAIT HAS NOW CLOSED PERMANENTLY
THIS could be one of the best times we've ever had in Manchester city centre for cooking.
You have to applaud the fabulous figs that burst in a sugary blast in the mouth, the carefully worked veg and the little surprise I was talking about, pork scratching affairs, that turn out to be ducks tongues.
John Farrer at Teacup is a fine addition to the city, David Gale is doing magnificent work at Podium, Robert Owen Brown constantly delights and surprises at the Mark Addy, the Moreaus are going great guns at 63 Degrees, Michael Campbell at Doubletree is worth seeking out, Thompson and Guarracino at Cicchetti hit the heights and the kitchens and brigades at MC at Abode, Sole, Australasia, Room, Harvey Nichols, The Northern Quarter Restaurant and Bar, Ning and The Angel can all be exceptional in their various ways.
The pretty exterior
Now add David Spanner to the list. This fairly recent arrival at Livebait on the Lloyd Street corner of Albert Square is the real food deal. In some respects he's had the hardest of jobs. Livebait's had a poor reputation for years, disappointing punters with the quality of its cooking.
Now under new ownership (Richard Muir's Edinburgh-based Cafe Fish) and due to be re-branded in the late summer, former whingers need to look again. The food produced by Spanner is eye-opening.
Spanner, the food engineer
The Aussie chef has cooked in restaurants and cruise ships across the globe. "It's been 20 years of slog," he says.
The slog has paid off. The man allies craft with skill, flair and imagination.
He says: "Without creating a laboratory kitchen I've a fascination about using different techniques, getting new flavours and bringing in a great variety of texture - and passing that onto the people who work with me. I'm obsessed with getting the texture element balanced and interesting."
He might also have mentioned that his food looks spectacular.
Look at the care and craft in the wild striped sea bass (£16) here. The flesh is beautiful, delicately cooked, but because white fish can be a little bland Spanner has added samphire and croutons for crunch. The result is a triumph.
Seabass
The salt cod croquette (£14) is another utterly charming dish this time with little beetroot bricks of sheer delight adorned with roasted almonds, tidsy tomatoes and various jellied veg. Taken as a whole it's a meal where give meets take with every bite.
Salt cod
The fragrant fish and shellfish curry with steamed jasmine rice (£14) is as good an example of this dish I've ever had - and reflects Spanner's Aussie training and global experience. The deep fried whitebait with aioli pictured below for £6 is an A1 version of a classic.
Whitebait
With all these dishes there are surprises.
This is best summed up by the poached foie gras with figs and pistachio salad (£8). People with a taste for foie gras should rush into Livebait and grab this quick. It's a little work of art, although Spanner's description of the preparation left me a shade exhausted, "de-veining...12 hours in sodium nitrate to keep the colour...tea-toweling...poaching it 90 seconds...leaving another two days..."
It's impressive work and tastes so sweetly, forgivingly, joyous that you have to applaud the complexity.
Then you have to applaud the fabulous figs that burst in a sugary blast in the mouth, the carefully worked veg and the little surprise I was talking about, pork scratching affairs, that turn out to be ducks tongues.
Cheekily the ducks tongues are not mentioned on the menu. It's a sly surprise that makes the dish so much better.
Foie gras
Those paying attention might have realised that foie gras comes from birds of the feather rather than fish in the sea. But a bonus for diners here is that rather than putting just a single steak on the menu in the time-honoured Loch Fyne group way, this fish restaurant shows the same care for its two or three meat dishes as any of the other food.
A good combo classic is the scallop with bellypork (£9) where the elements balance beautifully and the cucumber pickle adds perfectly to the party. But what's that bit of scaffolding rising up there? Crackling you've got to assume - nope, pig's ear, unannounced on the menu, very welcome on the plate. Another Spanner surprise.
Fork bunching bellypork
The desserts are going to be fully re-visited another day but again do the job very well. Here was a little trio that Spanner gifted us - so we can't review them as such. Suffice to say the chocolate number gives a wacking endorphin rush along with the lush flavours.
Pudd sampler
The practicalities include set lunches of two courses for £9.95, three courses for £12.95. And of course you can get old Livebait stalwarts such as seafood platters for market price, and whole lemon soles for £21. The basket of home baked bread is worth popping in for as a snack at £5. There are only about two vegetarian courses on the menu.
What Dave Spanner has done is turn the Albert Square/Lloyd Street junction into a food destination for the North West.
I adore his cooking and his attention to detail.
He will have to tread a careful path with his imagination so as not to bewilder diners, but for those who like eating out to be an occasion - and not overpriced - we have a cracking re-invented restaurant to enjoy.
Livebait is a big part of what is making Manchester dining so good in 2012, across a range of disciplines, styles and price points. I know a few writers and regular readers of this site who love a good moan about the city's dining scene.
They need to get out more.
You can follow Jonathan Schofield on Twitter here @JonathSchofield
ALL SCORED CONFIDENTIAL REVIEWS ARE IMPARTIAL AND PAID FOR BY THE MAGAZINE.
Livebait, 22 Lloyd Street, City, M2 5WA. 0161 817 4110.
Rating: 16/20 (please read the scoring system in the box below)
Food: 9/10
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 3/5
Clamming up
Homemade bread and dips
Platters available
Interior
Menus
Livebait chiaroscuro
