Jan 4

Jan 4 The Grill on New York Street, Manchester

THE GRILL ON NEW YORK STREET: MANCHESTER

06/12/17

By Beth

WHY YOU SHOULD VISIT:

For a delicious cut of steak
To enjoy a vibrant atmosphere
The central city centre location
To sample the new menu

Manchester is home to two Blackhouse Grill restaurants, including The Grill On The Alley and The Grill On New York Street. The latter is the branch I visited and it's situated a short distance from Piccadilly Station and behind Piccadilly Gardens, so in a great location in Manchester's city centre.

DECOR:

The Grill On New York Street has an authentic feel of a proper New York steakhouse. With low lighting and a mixture of leather booths, circular tables and high bar tables, the restaurant is perfect for groups of friends or for a more intimate dinner. We sat in a booth at the far end of the restaurant and it was really spacious and a good spot for people watching!

DINING:

My Mum and I visited on a December Wednesday evening for dinner as an early Christmas night out and sampled three courses, cocktails and wine. We were able to sample some of the new winter warmer dishes from the revised menu and here is what we ate and drank:

Drinks: A Pornstar (£10) and a Rhubarb Sling (£8) and a bottle of Puglian Fiano, Villa dei Fiori (£21)

Starters: Warm Baked Loaf with Salted & Chorizo Butter (£3.50), Thai Fishcakes (£5.50) and Bang Bang Chicken Skewers (£6.50)

Main Courses: We both chose the 227g Fillet Steak (£30) with one Chips and one Mash alongside Peppercorn Sauce and Red Wine & Shallot Sauce (£2.50 each), Roasted Root Vegetables (£4) and Cauliflower Blue Cheese (£4.50)

Dessert: We shared a Rich Chocolate & Salted Caramel Pot with Chocolate Cornflake Florentines (£6.95)

Pornstar Martinis are one of my favourite cocktails and it was made well and hit the spot. The Rhubarb Sling was a long cocktail and was refreshing with a subtle but tasty hint of rhubarb. The Puglian white wine we chose with dinner was absolutely delicious and not a bottle we'd tried before. It's one we'll definitely be sampling again.

We shared both starters, which were both from the new menu and equally good. I particularly liked the satay sauce accompanying the chicken skewers which was creamy and full of peanut flavour. The chorizo butter on warm bread was especially tasty and something I'd like to try making at home.

The steaks were well seasoned and extremely tasty but I was disappointed that, in a steak orientated restaurant, both steaks weren't cooked quite how we'd asked, with both being a little too rare. Since the quality of the meat was so good and perfectly tender, we tucked in anyway and both sauces that accompanied them were well made and flavoursome.

Cauliflower Cheese made with blue cheese was something new to us both and it worked really well and gave an added depth of flavour to regular cauliflower cheese. The Fries were perfectly crisp and the Mash was creamy and buttery and the Roasted Root Vegetables were a delight, containing both purple and yellow beetroot and purple potatoes.

We were pretty full after two courses but decided we should sample a pudding (I mean, you've got to haven't you?!), so chose the Chocolate & Salted Caramel Pot to share. It was rich and chocolatey but I felt it wasn't quite thick or perhaps set enough. The cornflake florentines however were a delicious little treat and perfect alongside our coffees to finish the meal.

DEBRIEF:

We enjoyed our meal at The Grill On New York Street and the quality of meat with the steaks and the starters from the new menu were especially stand out. The service was very friendly with knowledgable staff and the meal was nicely relaxed.