BYRNE baby Byrne.
First Rogan, then L'Entrecote closes, now Aiden Bryne. We've never had it so good.
Aiden Byrne, a TV chef that can really cook rather than pretend, has revealed his la carte menu for Manchester House - the fine dining restaurant opening on Tuesday 17 September.
This is a Living Ventures' operation (Alchemist, Artisan, Australasia, Grill on New York Street, Grill on the Alley, Oast House et al) that is unashamedly chasing the stars.
Michelin stars: those elusive celestial bodies that split the restaurant world into two. On one side there are those chefs that desperately yearn for a star and on the other those chefs who pretend they don't care but secretly and desperately yearn for a star.
Tower 12, glimpsed between the Spinningfield's offices
One thing is certain.
With its lounge on the very roof of Tower 12 in Spinningfields, and its restaurant, perversely eight storeys below, with access through the kitchen, this no-expense spared experiment will spice the Manchester food scene up.
First Rogan, then L'Entrecote closes, now Aiden Byrne. We've never had it so good.
Which is probably why a TV company is presently filming in the city trying to make a battle out of things, stirring it all up, seeing whether it'll be Rogan or Byrne who lights up the Manchester heavens with a star.
Maybe it will be neither, maybe both.
In the meantime here's the menu. Food for thought.
Elegance in a lobster dish
Beginning
Prawn cocktail £12.50
Truffle-poached chicken with baby artichokes £15
Frogs legs Kiev £12
Butter-poached langoustines with carrots £12.50
Sea and soil with oxtail £13
Squab pigeon with cherries, pistachio and violet mustard £16
Roasted scallops with pearl barley £18
Middle
Belted Galloway beef and mushrooms (for 2 people) £57
Boddingtons steak and ale pie £24
Roasted cutlet of middle white pork and salt baked pineapple
£25
Fire-roasted lamb rack, pine stock and sheep’s cheese £27
Poached lobster tail with smoked apple purée £50
Turbot cooked in fermented cabbage with Morteaux sausage £29
Beer can chicken with onion macaroni £24
Wild sea bass, shrimp chorizo and red pepper £26
Belted Galloway Rib-eye £35
Belted Galloway Fillet £38
End
Manchester tart £8.50
Peach, pistachio and milk chocolate £8.50
Blackberry and beetroot cannelloni £8.50
Milk and honey £8.50
Szechuan, lychee and rose £8.50
Granny Smith with maple cream £8.50
Cheese selection £12
Other Menus
A La Carte Extended £15
Twelve Course Taster £95
Fixed Price Lunch £27.50
Six Course Lunch Taster £50
Aiden Byrne is also preparing a vegetarian tasting menu.
Restaurant Opening Times: Tuesday–Thursday, lunch noon-2.30pm, dinner 7pm-9.30pm; Friday-Saturday, lunch noon-2.30pm, dinner 6pm–10pm
Lounge Opening Times: Monday–Sunday noon – late
There's no dress code at Manchester House but private dining and a chef’s table can be arranged. Manchester House is at Tower 12, 18-22 Bridge Street, Spinningfields, City centre, M3 3BZ. 0161 835 255.
Truffle, potato, artichoke and poached chicken. All ingredients from within a 25 mile radius of Manchester
You can follow Jonathan Schofield on Twitter here @JonathSchofield or connect via Google+
