I'M a big fan of the recent revival for quality premium spirits.
Cocktail lists from more upmarket establishments are getting heavier and now read more like a pocket social history. Gin and vodka especially have got a lot more interesting, but bourbon isn’t one of my favourite drinks, it’s not even my tenth favourite drink. I respect that it’s at the centre of a whole part of American culture, but to me, it’s a bit like ‘joke’ whiskey, and I’ve not got much of a taste for the serious stuff.
Bourbon and Black’s hardcore thrash playlist made it feel like we were dining in a mosh pit and made the kids go a bit crazy
It does work well as an ingredient though and its gently charred sourness can add another dimension to all sorts of dishes. This is a theme taken up by newish Didsbury resident Bourbon and Black. In regard to the ‘black’ bit, the website and menu come across a bit defensive, shouting on the very first line: “LET’S GET ONE THING RIGHT: IT’S CHARRED, NOT BURNT!”
Tucked in-between food lover’s stalwarts, Cheese Hamlet and Evan’s fish shop, Bourbon and Black’s understated frontage makes it easy to miss. Inside the exposed brickwork, booth seating and dark wood are understated and simple but I loved the cut glass bottles and bulbs they’ve used as light fittings.
Bourbon & BlackI don’t usually mention music in a restaurant as it’s supposed to be a background thing, gently enhancing the dining experience, but Bourbon and Black’s hardcore thrash playlist made it feel like we were dining in a mosh pit and made the kids go a bit crazy. There is no children’s menu (an oversight considering they’ve opened up in middle class suburbia) but smaller portions of the already limited menu are available if you ask.
Now, I don’t normally like to add to TripAdvisor’s webstats, but I will admit to having a peak at what people were saying about B&B. Turns out they're always running out of menu items, so I wasn’t surprised to hear our waitress tell us there was no Woodford Reserve pulled pork or pan-fried chicken with confit leg. We visited on a quiet Sunday, but apparently they’d been 'slammed the night before’. If it wasn’t for the online reports confirming this as a regular occurrence, I might have given them the benefit of the doubt.
From the grill section there are three classic steaks and two to share at £55 each, a 16oz Chateaubriand and a Tomahawk – a bone-in Cote de Boeuf. These seem to be the go to dishes for B&B, but as sharing steaks or burgers don’t make for interesting copy or images, choices were narrow. There is a specials menu from which we ordered ribs (£8) to share as a starter. They were ok, but I’m struggling to find a hook to differentiate them from ribs in similar venues. I’ve seen more stand-out ribs on Kate Moss.
Bacon wrapped bangersMy meat-loving son happily hoovered up bacon wrapped chipolatas glazed with honey and mustard (£3.95) but the accompanying hand cut chips (£3.50) were left untouched, they were slightly more bourbon brown than golden. As children do, my daughter painstakingly picked the Bourbon & Black sauce off her smoked chicken wings (£5.95), we enjoyed it.
I couldn’t talk my husband out of having steak. His 10oz rare ribeye (£19.95) was packed with flavour but I reneged on an earlier promise to go halves on my whole grilled sea bass served with chargrilled broccoli and lemon (£16.95, main image). It turned out, (as per the warning) to be very charred, but NOT BURNT! The fish was good enough for me to recommend, but our waitress felt she had to clarify that it came whole and on the bone – apparently one delicate Didsbury diner had previously been surprised by this biological fact when he’d ordered it. I loved the chargrilled broccoli, with its thickly sliced florets, and will be enjoying my brassicas this way in future at home.
Ribeye
Chocolate paveSticky toffee pudding (£5.95) with bourbon butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream was a good, hefty portion and went down well. Chocolate Pave (£4.95) was uncompromisingly grown up, packed with plenty of cocoa solids and came with plate licking accompaniments of peanut butter powder, thick salted caramel and ice cream.
They’ve kept the wine list simple but have gone all out on cocktails and American whiskeys - there are over 50 listed, ranging from the reasonably priced (and deliciously sounding) Knob Creek £4, to Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 year at an eye-watering £28 per shot.
If you are a bourbon aficionado, Bourbon & Black is definitely one for you, they’ve made it their niche. However, if you’re looking for a Didsbury restaurant to take the family for a bite to eat, to be fair, there are better places to try first.
All scored reviews are unannounced, impartial, paid for by Confidential and completely independent of any commerical relationship.
Bourbon & Black, 704 Wilmslow Road, Didsbury Village, M20 2DW. 0161 448 0383
Good for: Bourbon in the burbs.
Avoid: THINKING THAT IT IS BURNT, BECAUSE IT IS MOST DEFINITELY NOT!
Rating: 12.5/20
Food: 6.5/10 (Chipolatas 7, Chicken wings 6, Ribs 6, Ribeye 6, Sea Bass 7, Sticky Toffee 6, Chocolate Pave 7)
Service: 3/5
Ambience: 3/5
