Confidential-reading carnivores know their steak, but if they feel the need to test their knowledge and even learn something new about provenance, sourcing, ageing or cooking, there can’t be many better places to do that than at the Blackhouse Grill chain of restaurants.

The Living Ventures offshoot brand includes Manchester’s Grill on The Alley and Grill on New York Street which has recently launched a confident new menu and cocktail list after ‘spruce and tickle’ refurbishments.

Grill on The Alley’s new look and new menu is available now – and at Grill on New York Street from the end of May. So what's different about Manchester’s stalwart steakhouses?

Blackhouse Grills are simply the epitome of the contemporary family steakhouse

The much loved Grill on the Alley is now ten years old and the plan was to give it a contemporary look whilst creating some consistency across the Blackhouse brand which has sister branches in Leeds, Glasgow and Smithfields, London. Commitment to good food and drink has even stepped up a level with the new, simplified main menu specialising in carefully sourced beef sourced only from countries which have established an excellent reputation for rearing quality cattle.

Each Blackhouse branch will also install its own Himalayan salt chamber where steaks will be aged for a minimum of seven days. The special atmosphere helps to draw out the moisture and infuse the meat with a more naturally intense flavour and unique taste. Classic cuts are air dried for 24 hours before cooking to allow for added tenderness compared with meat that has come straight from fridge to grill.

As well as signature steaks, there is a range of starters (such as the hearty St Louis glazed bone-in pork rib, or the classic prawn cocktail) fish and seafood dishes, such as lettuce wrapped stuffed sea bass and vegetarian options such as cauliflower steak seared on the impressive energy efficient Synergy Grill. There are sauces and sides to pimp up your meal and a range of Blackhouse Specialities including proper burgers and a roast chicken dinner with stuffing and potatoes roasted in beef dripping.

But what about the Book of Beef we mentioned earlier? For years, this has been a training manual to give the front of house team an in-depth knowledge of the provenance and cut of every steak they serve. As customers become more interested in where the food they eat comes from, Blackhouse have realised that they need to show their commitment to good beef more. Eventually The Book of Beef will become a printed book for customers to read – but for now, it’s part of the knowledge Blackhouse’s front of house staff must learn intensively before they’re even allowed to serve.

Along with the reopening of the Grills, service has been given a more flexible, personality-led approach. Instead of reading from a set script, waiting staff are encouraged to let their personality shine though, tailoring service to suit each table and offer advice or information where it’s wanted.

If you want to know more about the difference between British Galician beef, Aberdeen Angus Black fillet, Argentinian ribeye; the territory it’s been raised on, the ageing process, or the difference between breeds, then all you have to do is ask. Some steaks are quite specialist in either cut or breed; the magnificent and impressive English tomahawk finished with a beef dripping glaze or the premium Wagyu fillet raised in the USA. If you’re pushing the boat out as far as paradise, you may as well top it off with half a lobster for a luxurious surf and turf option.

Make sure you leave room for something sweet to round off the meal such as salted caramel chocolate pot with cornflake Florentine, lemon posset or the classic apple and blackberry pie, brought to the table whole and designed for sharing.

But what about the drink? As with all Living Venture’s brands, the bar is just as important as the restaurant. Cocktails are their strength and the list is divided into various sections: It started with a..., Caught in the middle, Go with the flow, On point, The End? These cocktails are great on their own, but many have been designed by Living Venture's Concept Head Bartender Aziz Sakakli to work well with a number of dishes at every stage of the meal, so if you don’t want to work your way through the same bottle of wine with your starter, main and dessert, you don’t have to.

Obviously if wine is your thing, they have that covered with an extensive list that covers every desire and need from sparkling, rose, and various categories of white and red wines by the bottle or glass. Other than that, there are beers, non-alcoholic cocktails and even a note at the bottom of the menu which says ‘if there is something you want making just give us a shout.’

Blackhouse Grills are simply the epitome of the contemporary family steakhouse. They have a decade of understanding what their customers want and have developed a confident, dependable and responsible approach to making sure they deliver it.