THERE was a techie with spare cash I knew who loved the Restaurant Bar and Grill (RBG) in the late nineties.
He was particularly partial to cute cocktails with little umbrellas he would grip tightly between fat fingers. But he was there for more than the drinks. "I love the people-watching here - you know checking out all the chicks with tight skirts from the offices," he'd say with a wink.
What is clear is that RBG is back as a force to be reckoned with in Manchester's very competitive mid-range grill market.
RBG was the original slick mid range dining spot for Manchester professionals and would-be professionals. You couldn't move in the place without tripping over property developers and lawyers and their buckets of champagne. Nothing wrong with that of course and lots of money for RBG too.
It stood out from the opposition with its 'City' atmosphere and its service which has always been excellent. It found itself a niche in Manchester (and then Liverpool and Leeds) and worked the arse off it.
The decor was part of this, deliberately sharkish. It was like a view inside the imagination of a nineties investment banker, uncluttered, colourless, efficient, two-tone black and white. A 'love' of art was shown by big prints of the bratpack, Sophia Loren and Audrey Hepburn.
The food was quick to the table, with good ingredients and handsome to look at. It probably introduced the notion of a Thai fish cake to the North.
The name summed up the whole place. No nonsense. To the point.
Restaurant.
Bar.
Grill.
No nonsense. Restaurant. Bar. Grill.
By 2009 the magic was long gone.
RBG looked like a faded car showroom completely overtaken by newer, cleverer competitors. The Grill on the Alley nearby pitched itself straight at the 'grill' market of RBG and ran off with it.
In the last few years the RBG's food has reflected this. I think I've been three times in as many years which says something, and on every occasion the food has been unbalanced and overpriced.
But now it's 2012.
RBG took an age to react but at last the fightback has begun and it's remarkably effective.
This comes from the creation of a terrace on the first floor complete with comfy (if very low for a six footer) seats and loungers and a view of a gorgeous London plane tree (I think).
The terrace from the tree
There are heaters and awnings and a peculiar magic that come rain or shine, warmth or chill, is proving attractive. The renewed popularity is deserved.
It's delightful to sit on that terrace - called in the usual no-nonsense way The Terrace - without coat or jacket eating or drinking and watching the world go by. You could lose an afternoon or evening there easily.
The Terrace
The food has massively improved as well. In fact the whole mood of the place has. It feels motivated again.
The new chef, Kevin Wigglesworth, has brought a delicacy and finesse to the cooking which RBG has been lacking for a while. The sauces, in particular, are brilliantly delivered.
The dill and white wine sauce with the whole lemon sole (see main picture above) and chips (£24.95) is a joy, a strong, skilful, yet nuanced addition to a perfectly timed sole that was all forgiving and yielding white flesh. The chips were chunky, and again timed well.
Beautifully put together fishcake
Prior to this, the mix within the Thai fishcake starter (£8) was an essay in balance between the casing, the halibut, the coconut, and the lime leaf sauce, with the element that unlocked the whole, the lime, allowed a real presence. A less clever chef might have been too afraid to release the lime to that extent.
A frangipan pudding (£6.50) off a handsome dessert trolley was solid and sweet, filling and full-on, again with a good mix and helped by a softening and delicious cream.
Frangipan
The only downside to the food is the price. I would have preferred the sole £3 cheaper at least. Two large glasses of a character-filled Soave Classic set Confidential back £7.95 each, the cheapest large glass of white was a Chenin Blanc at £5.95.
There are deals to be had. A lunchtime menu for two courses is £15 and for three courses, £19. The menu has some 'grill' surprises too, mainly provided from an in-house 'tandoor clay oven'.
What is clear is that RBG is back as a force to be reckoned with in Manchester's very competitive mid-range grill market.
This strong return will be reinforced when up on the roof of the building an ambitious dining and drinking area will open early next year. Yep, on the roof and in the open with judicious use of canopies and awnings once more.
In fact given the re-invention of the place the only problem might be the utility bills to provide all those external heaters.
There are a couple of bum design notes that surely will be sorted out soon. In the bar downstairs there are still those ludicrous black and white prints of the bratpack and Sophia Loren.
Yawn - the de rigeur interior design of the provincial restaurant
Just get rid would you RBG.
Perhaps you got these as a job lot from a discount warehouse for all the RBGs but they need to go. Check out the Lowry Hotel instead where Comme Ca Art arrange for a delightful, changing, selection of work from Manchester's very good artscene.
Original Manchester art at The Lowry Hotel, this from David Gledhill
Maybe go down to Thom Hetherington's Buy Art Fair and Manchester Contemporary in Spinningfields next week and pick up something distinctive - something as interesting as the wonderful Terrace you've created upstairs.
Anyway enough of my personal bees in bonnets, to change the subject, the service is an unchanged constant. It's still excellent, friendly when required, but always efficient, led by Laura Mills, the general manager.
Laura Mills prepares my frangipan and cream from the dessert trolley
The techie I knew ten years ago would approve as well - but fortunately he's moved away. He'd have liked the waitresses who seem to be wearing some type of nightdress. Very foxy, if a little excessive at lunchtiime.
I hope these poor young ladies get changed in RBG, it'd be a bit odd to be dressed like that at 9am in the morning on the bus to work.
Still after all said and done, it's good to have RBG back as a city food and drink destination.
You can follow Jonathan Schofield on Twitter here @JonathSchofield
ALL SCORED CONFIDENTIAL REVIEWS ARE IMPARTIAL AND PAID FOR BY THE MAGAZINE.
The Restaurant Bar and Grill is at 14 John Dalton Street, Manchester M2 6JR. 0161 839 1999. Website.
Rating: 15.5/20
Food: 7.5/10
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Specials menu
The Terrace
Soave and suave
Those fishcakes
The tree
The handbags and the empty top right box - any suggestions for what might go in there?
Restaurant Bar And Grill: The Terrace
