Another amazing deal for Man Con app users – but be quick
By now, we assume that, as a lover of excellent food and wine, you’re one of the 12,000+ people who have downloaded our new app. From that, we can deduce that you are a person with high standards and discerning taste, who loves a good deal.
Confidentials’ team works tirelessly in partnership with the region’s top restaurants to get you the best deal without compromising on quality.
Mr Coopers is unlike most hotel restaurants, because it’s a dining destination in itself than a hospitality tag on. You might want to linger awhile beforehand in the award winning bar – although that’s not compulsory for this particular deal, the offer does include a choice of two canapés per person as a perfect palate opener.
Perfect bar snacks to whet your appetite include smoked ham hock, Manchego cheese and leek croquettes; gin cured Scottish salmon crostini with preserved lemon; soy marinated tofu with beetroot, hazelnut and coriander or the Spanish favourite charred Padron peppers with rosemary salt.
The bright, contemporary restaurant space is a gorgeous place to enjoy the rest of this fabulous menu. Starters perfectly illustrate the cooking style at Mr Coopers; simple presentation, great attention to detail and the best techniques to extract the most flavour into top quality, seasonal ingredients.
Aged beef fillet tartar (prepared by Mr Coopers own in-house butcher) is paired perfectly with a spike of English wasabi, silky-textured cured egg yolk and pickled shimiji mushrooms. For a plate of pure summer, choose a softly poached hen’s egg, with a fresh sprouting broccoli and nasturtium leaf salad – the runny yolk melds with Pommery mustard to create a perfectly rich dressing. Edging just ahead, in terms of presentation, flavour and imagination, was a perfectly crispy skinned charred line caught fillet of mackerel, with delicate and crunchy stuffed cones of pickled kohlrabi and a smooth sesame seed mayonnaise. The combination of flavours and textures put us in mind of a beachside barbecue on a sunny coastal holiday.
Mains are good, so difficult to choose between – if three of you go, at least you can all agree to try a bit of everything. A tender rump of Cumbrian lamb had been marinated in a dry rub of Moroccan spices until the sweet meat gently assumed the aromatic flavours of cinnamon and cumin. It’s topped with a lightly fried ball of slightly earthy goat’s curd which cut through perfectly while light summery flavours of fresh garden peas and courgette ribbons complemented this dish well.
Baked smoked aubergine, with spiced couscous, pomegranate and tahini is a satisfying vegetarian dish whose combination of flavours just happens to go with the lamb dish perfectly, making it ideal for mixing and matching. Showing some technical skill, the sometimes unattractive vegetable had been hollowed out, stuffed and sliced into perfect rounds. Top marks for presentation there.
If fish is more your thing, then choose a generous piece of sesame crusted sea trout, served on a bed of sautéed pak choi, with cucumber and a vinaigrette made with the sweet mirin adding to the oriental inspiration and fresh flavours that have gone into this dish.
Save room for dessert so the pastry section gets a chance to show off a little. There are three to choose from, again based on traditional recipes and much loved favourites, but with a little more thought behind it. Strawberry trifle, a classical English dessert is enhanced with a touch of meadow sweet giving the custard pleasant faintly almond-like flavour, while white chocolate crumble throws in some welcome texture. Very indulgently, it is served in a generous glass tumbler so you can dig through and make sure you reach all those lovely layers.
Mr Coopers caramel tart has been on the menu since day one, and is generally regarded as one of the best puddings in Manchester – so we couldn’t very well leave it off this deal. The perfect pastry is delightfully thin, providing a perfect base crust for the luxurious silky caramel set filling. A touch of mascarpone ice cream helps to balance the sweetness and intensity.
The best way to describe the third choice, goats milk panna cotta, with blueberry and pistachio is to just tell you that it’s like the nicest, mini-milk lolly you’ve ever had. Refreshing, light and bringing back a little nostalgia like only the best meals can.
So that’s why we’re particularly proud of this special menu (only available via our app) brought to you by Mr Coopers at the Midland Hotel. Thanks to the high quality of the dishes, and the reputation of Mr Cooper’s restaurant, vouchers for the limited edition menu were downloaded by an unprecedented number of keen app users, before we even told anyone about it.
So now we have told you about it, you better be quick. This particularly good offer is expected to sell out very soon.
