About Manchester is proud to introduce a brand new writer to our team Amanda Padbury and her first assignment sent her to a Manchester Institution Mr Coopers.Here is what she thought.
Walking in to the ornate Midland Hotel on a sunny Saturday afternoon with my plus one, Mr Carnivore, we were both struck by general nostalgia for a time gone by. Just a few paces away, the restaurant opens up into a very calm, airy and delightfully modern space with a Mediterranean garden feel.
The ceilings are adorned with beautiful Glass chandeliers which sound strange in a garden but it really does work. The restaurant has been inspired by Mr Cooper, a well-known gentleman who once owned a house and garden back on the site in 1819, and, according to the official website, the restaurant prides itself on dishes that are inspired by Mr Cooper’s use of the very best ingredients, including home-grown seasonal favourites and cuts of meat carved by Manchester’s only in-house butcher ensuring the customer gets the finest cut there is. This definitely sounded like a challenge to be explored and so we did.
Similar to the more exclusive “The French” restaurant on the other side of the hotel, there is a great eclectic mix of music any child of the 70’s & 80’s will love in the background. The music definitely has the Goldilocks factor – not too loud and not too quiet and during lunch, we were treated to Hall & Oakes, a bit of Starship, Hey Jude and American Pie. It wasn’t quite karaoke but by the end of the lunch, it was a little tempting to sing along and definitely added to the relaxing atmosphere.
The service from front of house to the table was very polite, friendly and efficient without being overly fussy. The staff had a good knowledge of the menu and were very happy to answer any questions. The lunch slot we went for was not very busy so our table was perfect but the tables may feel a bit close if the restaurant is full but still good space compared to lots of other restaurants in and around Manchester.
The tables were very clean and, in line with the modern feel, there wasn’t a tablecloth in sight. The linen napkins were very fresh and the cutlery was of good quality and very clean. This may well be a very trivial point however to the more traditional people amongst us, this sort of attention to detail is very important and helps to set this restaurant aside from others.
The wine list has a good wide choice and it was particularly impressive that there was a great choice of wines by the glass. In many restaurants, this is quite difficult if there are mixed red and white drinkers but we both managed to have delicious wines. I had a cold crisp French Chardonnay and I didn’t have to send it back to be chilled which is one of my flash points in many restaurants. Mr Carnivore had a smooth Pinot Noir that was also delicious.
Our very helpful server invited us to try the bread & whipped butter with salt as this is the house speciality. When it arrived it was still warm with a fabulous brioche texture and the whipped butter and salt were separate which meant that you could be as healthy or unhealthy as you wanted. We both tried all the different combinations and scored it 9 out of 10 for deliciousness and fought over the last piece as five slices does not easily divide into two.
Mr Carnivore is a very fussy eater although he claims to be more specific than fussy so, for starters, he ordered the pork & lovage croquettes and declared they were very meaty with the tangy smoked apple sauce and would definitely be ordered again which is high praise indeed as anything polluted with herbs is usually classed as “not unpleasant”. Although I did end up eating the edible flowers as Mr Carnivore couldn’t bring himself to try them but my opinion is that they were lovely.
I decided to lead the charge for the pescatarians and healthy eaters and had the pan fried scallops, shallot purée, hazelnut and caper crumb. I was particularly pleased that the scallops were served with the row as it always saddens me these delicious parts of the fish quite often go to waste. On first reading, the starter seem to be a mishmash of lots of ingredients but this is just further reinforces my view that we need to trust the chef as they really do know what they are doing.
To try out how good the restaurant’s claim of having its own in-house butcher, Mr Carnivore ordered a medium rare sirloin steak with red wine & bone marrow jus. The chips had to be ordered separately but needed to be done as it’s the law, apparently. When the dish arrived, it was also accompanied by roasted vine tomatoes which were not mentioned in the description.
Again, this is only a trivial point but it is one of the things that drives Mr Carnivore mad that things are brought on the plate that are a surprise, especially when they are of the non-meat variety. The verdict on the steak was that the expectations were heightened and, although it was cooked very well, it wasn’t quite as tender as it could have been and possibly a little overseasoned. The fries were golden and the jus was absolutely delicious.
I ordered the roast cod, mango salad & lightly-spiced cauliflower. It was cooked beautifully and was served warm rather than hot. The cauliflower was the right-side of al dente and had a flavoursome spice that was delicate as described.
We had a good break in between main and dessert which gave me plenty of time to agree with myself that ordering a non-healthy dessert had to be done. I plumped for the chocolate peanut butter cheesecake, crunchy honeycomb and vanilla ice cream which was essentially a deconstructed crunchie bar and was heavenly. The peanut butter wasn’t overpowering at all and gave a fabulous density to the cheesecake.
My plus one chose the selection of hand churned ice cream and sorbet which also came with edible flowers, presumably from Mr Cooper’s garden. The sorbet was particularly good and very tangy. The chocolate and vanilla ice creams were very subtly flavoured and very creamy with good vanilla speckles running through.
After all this, we were both very full but I really wished I had room to try the selection of local cheeses. This will be a definite when I return, and I will do soon as it was really was rather good. We both had a macchiato to finish that wouldn’t have been out of place in Italy.
If I was being highly critical, all the cutlery for the starters was placed on the inside rather than the outside and the newly introduced plates were a little tricky to remove from the trays but the staff were all so lovely, it really didn’t matter.
I have been to Mr Coopers on several occasions and did have some initial reservations about the previous service. However, during the course of our lunch, I was listening out to the other tables and the staff were great, engaging, attentive and very professional. It was such a shame that the bar was practically empty as this should be a go to place on a Saturday afternoon as their cocktails are fabulous and they have a great gin menu.
Overall, taking into account the food, service and ambiance, Mr Coopers scores a strong 8/10. It’s a great restaurant where you can be as traditional or modern twist as you like.
