The Ivy Collection has officially opened the doors to its newly transformed rooftop destination at its Spinningfields Brasserie, Manchester, welcoming guests to experience a new era of rooftop dining and socialising in the heart of the city and our roving reporter Mark Anderson went to check it out
The new rooftop design is inspired by Manchester’s industrial heritage. The bar incorporates subtle worker bee motifs throughout its design, and some amazing cocktails including the Forbidden Margarita, made with Casamigos Blanco, Velho Cachaça, triple sec, lime, agave and jalapeños; the Cherry Blossom & Jasmine Spritz; and the Concrete Jungle Vesper, featuring Belvedere, Tanqueray No.10, lemongrass and Thai basil white vermouth.
The Rooftop restaurant features botanical influences, layered textures and elegant finishes, creating a sophisticated escape above the city. To celebrate the new Rooftop menu, guests are treated to a wide selection of globally inspired dishes designed for the individual or to be shared. The selection ranges from:
Raw & cured: Beef Wagyu Tataki with soy, wasabi and crispy potato. Yellowfin tuna Tataki, Steak Tartar, Yellowtail Ceviche, Salmon Sashimi.
Small Plates: Heirloom Tomato & Watermelon Salad, Snow Crab Maki Roll, Pan Fried Scallop, Twice Baked Cheese Soufflé with Black Truffle, Popcorn Shrimp, Gouchujang-Glazed Fried Chicken.
Sandwiches: Lobster & Prawn Roll, Hot roast beef Ciabatta, Buttermilk Fried Chicken Burger, Prawn & Avocado Open sandwich, Roof garden Wagyu Burger.
Large Plates: Robatayki Half Roast Chicken, Lemon Sole Fillets, Roasted Lamb Rump, Yellowfin tuna Steak, Queen Scallop & Prawn Linguine, Beef Cheek Ragu Papperdelle. 48 Hour Miso Marinated Black Cod.
Steaks: Centre-cut Fillet Steak, Rib-eye On The Bone British Wagyu Sirloin Steak.
For the purpose of the food review we chose three courses. The first from the Small Plates menu.
The starter courses arrive without having to wait for an age, but within just enough time for us to sample some excellent wines.
We opted for Crispy Snow Crab Maki Role served alongside wasabi soya & avocado & Jalapeno. The Maki roles were excellent and couldn’t fault the dish. We also sampled the Pan fried King Scallops, with Bramley apple puree & a tempura samphire. The scallops came wonderfully cooked but the Apple puree was too sweet for my liking, I felt the sweetness over powered the scallops flavour.
Our main arrived without much delay and again we opted for different plates in order to sample the different tastes. The first choice was Roasted Rump Lamb, served with crushed peas, sun-blushed tomatoes, pine nuts with garden pesto & a red wine jus.
The Lamb was cooked just right & the accompaniments were very flavorsome. We also chose the yellow fin Tuna Steak, with Heirloom tomatoes & a sherry vinaigrette mango and chilli salsa. This was my favorite, it waslike eating a thick steak, the fish was excellently cooked ,moist & very moorish
We finished the evening sharing The Ivy Chocolate Bombe. Oh my dear: this desert is to die for. It’s the Classic meltingChocolate dome with vanilla ice cream, honeycomb and hot caramel sauce. It’s very rich & sweet, but a beautiful desert I would defiantly have again.
The Overall experience of the Ivy rooftop restraunt delighted us, the food was delicious, the service was faultless and the setting was exquisite. Defiantly a place to come back to.
