REVIEW | Bacchus, Prestbury

DID you know that on islands without predators, the birds eventually become flightless? As the evolutionary pressures on them subside, they relax and chill out, and well, you’ve eventually got a dodo.

About the restaurant itself? It’s a bit of a funny old place

Bacchus in Prestbury is threatening to become a dodo. Insulated from the vicious cut and thrust of Manchester’s restaurant scene by distance and the wealth of its residents, it has begun to waddle. Stepping into this restaurant is like stepping back in time (roughly, the cretaceous era), which maybe just how most of its customers like it. The a la carte menu is full of upscale variations on meat and two veg which is clearly what it’s traditionalist clientele demand. Fun fact: Geoffrey Boycott was a recent customer, which tells you a fair bit about the demographic. It’s hard to believe that Bacchus has only been in existence for three years.

But even on this insulated little island, change is afoot. (Fun fact number 2: Some Prestbury business owners are complaining that the preponderance of rich celebrities and footballers in the locality are undermining their commercial base. The hearts of businesses in the rest of the northwest bleed for you, I’m sure.) There is a new chef – Mike Jennings, previously of Grenache - and while it doesn’t look like he has been allowed his way with the a la carte just yet, the specials are looking, well pretty special, and the fixed menu has a touch of whimsy about it.

Scallops and lumps of "Bury" black pud

The pan-seared scallops (£11) came with a "Bury" black pudding (no they are not being sarcastic, the writer of the menu is exceedingly fond of quotation marks) and pea salad. This classic combination was unfortunately let down by a couple of elements: the scallops were gritty, a sign that a) they were not hand-dived, so not the best possible quality or b) they haven’t been cleaned properly. The “Bury” black pudding tasted fine but came in such huge brick-shaped lumps it was hard to credit the dish with any finesse whatsoever.

Happily, the other starter of smoked mallard (“that means wild duck”, the waiter helpfully informed me) turned out to be a better dish, with plenty of tender, ruby-red duck flesh heaped on a puddle of plum compote (or ‘a whole lot of jam’ as my dining partner observed) with a couple of bitter curls of chicory to provide contrast.

Here’s a question – why are you informed that lamb comes pink, yet asked how you want the beef served? This isn’t particular to Bacchus of course, I often find it is thrown down like a challenge – “the chef serves the lamb pink, madam,” as if I might be shocked and appalled by this wanton lack of carcinogenation. Yet with beef it’s all ‘and how would madam like it served?’ Still mooing, as it happens, but I wonder where the difference in approach comes from? Though to be fair, I have noticed people getting very irate about anyone ordering burgers well done.

Going gooseberry

Smoked mallard (aka 'wild duck')

I pondered this as both the aged “Cheshire Charolaise” fillet of beef (£27.50) and the roast lamb (£23.50, main image) arrived. The lamb certainly looked the part, glowing with the mandatory pinkness. It wasn’t as tender as it could have been, in fact I felt I was sawing away at it by the end. The accompaniments were good though – a tangy kidney, heaps of mashed peas, creamy dauphinoise potatoes and a sprinkling of salty samphire.

The beef on the other hand was quite marvellously tender, full of aged flavour, cooked perfectly. The mushroom and fondant potatoes disappeared into the background but the red wine jus was rather delicious.

One thing Bacchus has lucked out with is its manager Mike. Presented with an extensive (and by extensive I mean longer than a giraffe’s necktie) wine list, I did the sensible thing and asked him for a recommendation. Mike tried to very tactfully point us towards the cheaper wines on the menu (which stretches all the way up to a £495 Chateau Latour). I appreciated the fact that he could have really tried to upsell to me at this point, but actually took care to point out the relatively thrifty New World wines. In the end I managed to convince him I wasn’t totally impoverished and he let me go for a Chateau de Pez 2008 (£65), which was full of juicy blackberry flavours and had a good, rich feel to complement both lamb and beef. Although secretly I would have preferred one of the Margauxes, (shhh don’t tell Mike) it was an excellent recommendation.

Gingerbread tiramisu

As for the dessert course, my dining partner sensibly went for the seven-piece cheese board at £10.50 (too many good cheeses to mention here, but the Shropshire blue was standout for me) while I ordered the gingerbread tiramisu (£7). It tasted exactly like one of those Starbuck’s syrupy milky drinks that are for people who hate coffee but still want to carry a coffee cup around. Or to put it another way, Starbuck’s drinks taste like puddings rather than caffeinated beverages, and this pudding in particular. It came in a condensation-frosted glass with some excellent biscotti on the side.

About the restaurant itself? It’s a bit of a funny old place – it feels a bit cold and unloved, yet there are the usual linen napkins and chandeliers that are meant to say ‘upscale’, but then why is the menu plastic? A not very anatomically correct female (is that her breast growing out of her neck?) adorns the wall in Modigliani-inspired glory. I presume she is meant to be one of the maenads, or female followers of Bacchus, who worked themselves into a bit of a frenzy, and on a really big party night, tore people to death. But where is the similarly hot, nude Bacchus figure? If we are going to have naked, violent mythological figures all over the place, then in this day and age, let it be equal opportunity naked, violent mythological figures.

I’m still hopeful that this restaurant is clawing its way out of the caveman era mainly thanks to some quality staff, but if the wall murals are anything to go by, there is still a little way to go.

Bacchus, Prestbury, Macclesfield SK10 4DG. Tel: 01625 820009