Restaurant Review
Burgundy, France, £5.50 per glass. T_he rabbit was a
stand-out dish for me. T_he mustard and tarragon
complimenting the rabbit, which arrived delicate and
full of flavour, instead of the often clumsy
arrangement of ravioli I’ve often encountered.
T_he Cheshire sirloin steak, £12.50, and the best end
and shoulder of lamb (£11) finished off our three
courses through the grazing menu. It was only fitting
then, that a red wine would end our journey through
the restaurant’s wine list. Michael selected the
Plantagenet Caberivet Sauvignon, 2004, Great
Southern Western Australia, £9.75 per glass, to
escort our red meat dishes. Preferring New Zealand
red to the Australian variety, I was won over by this
smoky oaked, powerful variety.
T_he steak was accompanied by a dreamy portion of
dauphinoise, stir fried mange tout, shitake
mushrooms and bean sprouts served in a light sherry
cream sauce. My palette succumbed to the
flavoursome sauce and succulent sirloin, while the
Mic
A
hael Caines at
bode
lamb arrived pink, falling off the shoulder with the
most delicate of touches.
T_he grazing menu allows diners to test and try and
mix and match. Ideal for the more inquisitive and
broader taste buds. Experimentation with the wine
list is also recommended, and if you’re not a
dimly lit basement in the centre of cheeks and crispy belly pork, £6.50, with ginger
confident connoisseur, Michael is surely one of the
Piccadilly is home to Michael Caines’ and apple puree and fennel cream sauce. As far as
finest Sommelier’s in the city, to help guide the
Manchester restaurant. T_he doors I’m concerned, you can’t go wrong with scallops
palette.
flung open to this high-class eatery and pork belly. T_he scallops were perfect, cod
little over a year ago and having had the pleasure cheeks tender, and serving of pork belly, well, it “T_he grazing menu allows
of meeting Michael shortly before the was all too small for my liking. I’m not a major fan
restaurant’s opening, I was reassured this of fennel. However it did work for me, this diners to test and try and mix
Michelin starred chef would be going for the creamy consistency complimented the shellfish.
ultimate accolade; a star for Manchester. Before I move onto our next course I should and match.”
Ian Matfin, Head Chef at Michael Caines’ introduce you to Michael. German Sommelier,
Manchester restaurant and his team at Abode Michael Sokolovs was on hand to select a wine It was after a small pause that my guest and I trouped
have scooped several awards already, including for each course. He introduced the first German on to finish off with three devilishly naught varieties
‘Manchester Restaurant of the Year’ at the wine, Wittmann Riesling Trocken 2007 of rhubarb; arriving as a sorbet, jelly with custard and
Manchester Food and Drink Awards 2008. Rheinhessen, £9.35 by the glass, to the menu in the customary crumble form with clotted cream. A
Arriving downstairs at the Abode, my guest and I when he joined Michael Caines last year, a dry lighter way of delivering this traditional English
had the restaurant to ourselves with the exception white, which, given a few more years will evolve dessert, the bitterness of the rhubarb was balanced
of two fellow diners. Seated, we were handed to a more flagrant wine. Taking us out of our out with the sweetness of the custard and cream.
three dining options; the ‘grazing’, a la carte and comfort zone, this was Michel’s first selection for A delicious offering of dishes and a well thought out
tasting menus. us. menu. Michael Caines
Overwhelmed somewhat by the decisions laid in Next on the menu was a generous portion of T_he atmosphere didn’t appear to be at its best;
front of us, we eventually concluded that a ravioli, stuffed with rabbit, alongside Savoy however it was a Wednesday evening. At first
selection of dishes to share was the way forward. cabbage, grain mustard and tarragon sauce, £7.50, overwhelmed by so many carte du jour choices; we
T_he grazing menu offers diners the option of and the slow poached halibut, £10.50, with soon warmed to the idea of sampling several dishes,
smaller servings of a la carte dishes, for instance watercress puree, salsify and chicken jus, with a although a negative on the waistline, a positive
the slow poached halibut, which is £20 on the glass of Le Petit Jaboulet Viognier, 2007, dining experience.
main menu, arrives in a much smaller portion
with the same accompaniments for £10.50. Each
ATMOSPHERE
W portion arrives with enough for both guests to
or
delve into with as much care and creativity as the
SERVICE
ds:
Kerr
larger dishes. FOOD
We decided to choose three dishes each, mixing
WINE
y S fish, game and meat. And so to start our journey
pencer
through the Michael Caines experience we
Michael Caines at Abode, 107 Piccadilly,
ordered the pan fried scallops, £7.95, with
Manchester, M1 2DB, 0161 247 7744,
butternut squash puree and yoghurt, and cod
www.abodehotels.co.uk
35
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68