French food is pretty versatile. In winter months, local bistro menus are full of rich beef dishes, slowly cooked in good wine, or rib-sticking cassoulets with local sausages and soft, velvety beans. Summer en Français sees slightly wobbling tarts made with crisp pastry, or fresh salads piled high with the best of the season’s crops. Any time of year is perfect for sampling the hundreds of cheeses and traditional charcuterie the French are famous for, but even some of those are traditionally eaten only during certain times of year – with wine of course, wine features a lot in any article about French food.
Salmon Carpaccio
We weren’t sure whether to photograph it or eat it
63 Degrees, in the Northern Quarter, is the place to head for in Manchester to experience a genuine taste of France. Their menu changes three times a year to suit the seasons, and they’re proud to be able to show off their calendar of cuisine. This independent, family run restaurant is almost totally run by French staff, headed by the hugely experienced Eric Moreau, a chef of almost four decades. Front of house is run by his son, the affable Alex Moreau, who makes sure everything runs smoothly. He is also responsible for choosing their all-French wine-list which he offers at reasonable prices, because in France, drinking wine is a way of life rather than a privilege.
Foie gras, seasonal chutney
It was Eric’s almost geeky attention to detail that inspired the restaurant name. After many experiments, he concluded that 63 Degrees was the optimum temperature for cooking poultry to ensure that it retained its best qualities of flavour and texture. As is typical in France, menus here are kept reasonably short and to the point with no more than eight starters and eight main dishes to choose from as well as six desserts. All components are made fresh every single day (they don’t even have a freezer in the kitchen) and fresh bread is brought in daily from their Didsbury bakery Bisous Bisous.
63 Degrees Chicken
We went along to sample some dishes from the new summer à la carte menu, although we are now quite tempted to return for the reasonably priced Set Lunch Menu - two courses £16/three courses £20 and also the 5 course tasting menu (for which they only charge £25 per head on Tuesdays.) Chef Eric and his dishes are French to the core, but his menus often reflect the global outlook and gentle influences other cultures have had on his country’s cuisine.
‘Cylindre de filet de canette farçie, sauce Teriyaki’ was a dish which showed off the kitchen’s skill; a beautiful to look at and deliciously tender fillet of duckling, stuffed, rolled and sliced, served with drizzles of darkly salty Teriyaki sauce. We also tried a light, summery plate of thinly sliced Salmon Carpaccio, with lime and pretty dots of dressing which was so beautiful, we weren’t sure whether to photograph it or eat it (we did both of course.)
Rack of Lamb
For mains we really enjoyed a fillet of tuna, perfectly cooked à point, served on a colourful bed of crisp summer vegetable ribbons including shavings of yellow and green courgettes and long pink-skinned French radishes, all bound in a nutty sesame dressing. Of course, we also tried their signature dish of chicken, cooked at 63 degrees with a layer of confit tomatoes and a creamy cider sauce. Rack of lamb, another main dish from the new summer menu, turned out to be a real taste of the Mediterranean, served on a carefully layered savoury gateau of courgettes and basil.
Fillet of Tuna
The fact that we had a little room left for desserts was because the other courses are designed to be generous but light. Hot Chocolate Fondant was a perfectly timed soft-centred pudding that caused us to have a bit of a spoon-fight over it until we were distracted by a beautifully buttery sable biscuit covered in pistachio crème patisserie and fresh strawberries.
Fruit tart with pistachio cream
Owner Alex is such a fromage connoisseur, he even requested thirty French cheeses for his thirtieth birthday instead of a cake. He is so proud of his country’s cheeses, it would have been rude to leave without sampling a few. To round off our meal, we worked our way through a delicious selection including Beaufort and three differing types of chevre with homemade chutney and fresh bread.
We are lucky to have such an authentic slice of France on our doorstep. 63 degrees is a family-run bistro in the northern quarter neighbourhood and they are looking forward to welcoming you with a petit sample of Gallic hospitality. Whether you hope to relive meals enjoyed on a favourite French family holiday or a just require a little joie de vivre, this is where you’ll find a genuine corner of France in Manchester.
Photo credit: Emma Golpys
Hot Chocolate Fondant
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