Albert's Schloss, Manchester

I don't even know where to start with this one. I'm going to try and keep it succinct, and show you lots of pictures. I've been to Albert's Schloss loads of times for drinks, but recently I ended up going three times in just over a week for different reasons, and had such a belting time, that I thought it important to share!

Let me summarise. So first of all was a long awaited catch up with our friend Tash, then I went with the girls, and finally was the launch of Le Grand Tour. 

What's Le Grand Tour I hear you ask? It's floral and fresh, with Alpine vibes. I'll let them explain:

'This season, we will be your official cicerone, taking you on a journey through the pure essence of Alpinism. For 2018, Albert has taken influence from the grandiose of the great outdoors, curating distant mountain cultures and abundant attractions into beautiful and charming displays of alpine meadow flowers and hanging gartens'.

So brace for evidence of what became a week of gluttony and excess, with some of my absolute faves. What I will tell you before I begin is that you will always have a good time at Albert's, unless you're a miserable bugger, or hate cocktails, beer and food. I think my photos evidence this well! 

Prosecco reception with the girls

Phil with his touring ladies!

Book a booth to 'Push for Prosecco'! 

I've grouped together the food and drinks, and won't go through each in copious amounts of detail, but will give you some of my highlights.

Touring cocktail - Lychee Blossom Martini, Tanqueray gin, Kwai Fai, lychee, lemon, rose flower tincture (the one with a flower in it): Could easily become an alcoholic from this. It's insanely refreshing, and ticks the 'sweet' box without being overly so. Pretty sure I had three.
High G&T - Raspberry and tarragon (the one with the leaves), Beefeater 24 gin, lime, tarragon, raspberries, light Fevertree tonic: Sweet and fragrant. I may have had more than one of these too.
High G&T - Honeycomb and rosemary (the one with a chunk of honeycomb): I had to remove the rosemary as it gives me migraines, however, sans twig this was excellent. Naturally sweet with a real tang to it.


Haus pretzel, sweet mustard, pickles and smoked gouda: Baked in house every morning, my aim is to get there early doors when they are still warm. We had these twice! When in (fake) Bavaria and all that.

So to the food. I've eaten twice out of the three visits, and again I'll give you the highlights.

Meatballs pork and beef meatballs, tomato mother sauce, cambozola (top left): Absolutely delirious. Who thought of melting cambozola on this? Medal time.

Alpine ham and cheese croquettes pancetta, gruyère, crumb, yoghurt aioli (top right): Perfect acoompanyment to a few pints if you're picking bar snacks.

Sformato, baked truffled mashed potato, melting nuggets of alpine cheese (bottom left): Couldn't touch this as truffle has the same migraine inducing effects on me, but Tash describes this as actual crack. Looked amazing! 

Confit duck leg yuzu dressing, pickled orange, fennel salad (bottom right): The picture makes it look a bit dry, however you have to trust me on this one, that the duck was beautifully moist with tart pickles.

Shaved turkey sandwich treacle cured bacon, avocado, smoked cheddar, Russian dressing (top left): Was kind of massively jealous when Lucie got this. Since New York, Russian dressing is my new favourite thing, and the whole combo sounded absolutely delicious.

Halloumi schnitzel burger, crumbed halloumi, griddled zucchini, beetroot slaw, lemon mayo, focaccia (top right): I can't believe I didn't order this on either visit. Halloumi will always be one of my faves. Jayne's feedback was that it didn't need the breadcrumbs. We like our cheese to squeak.

Sauerbraten slow cooked beef, red wine sauce, pickled cabbage (bottom left): Warming and lovely.

Paprikash chicken kebab lemon, yoghurt aioli, crunchy chickpea, pickled fennel, pomegranate, mint, coriander, rose harissa, flatbread (bottom right): A bit of a lighter option, again served with that rather special tangy pickle.

Classic cheese burger aged cheshire beef, pickles, Russian dressing, double cheese, butterhead lettuce, brioche bun (forgot to take photo in excitement): That's right, I take about a 684 pictures of food every day, and forgot to snap my own lunch. Bozo. What I need to tell you is that this is one of my favourite burgers in the city. You'll just have to trust me an imagine a juicy double burger with a generous portion of pickles and crispy fries. Sorry.

Despite suffering with post 'American dream' food fatigue, I had a dessert both times. 

Baked Alaska: Both times. Days apart. This is one for the sugar fans! Soft meringue hiding tangy sorbet. I will never ever tire of this. Ever ever.

Orange bread and butter pudding: Amber ordered this one, and it was demolished pretty sharpish, so I can only assume that she enjoyed it.

More confessions. Both times I have left the building with a sizeable box of cruffins, kronuts and cinnamon buns. I could have pretended that they never existed, but the thing is, they did and they were excellent. However, copious amounts of cocktails and 'cake aways' are not great bedfellows. In other words I was too drunk to remember to take pictures before scoffing them. What of it. They're great.

Go here to have fun, that's the bottom line. A daytime affair during the week is quite relaxed, Saturday afternoons are busy but have a great buzz about the place, and evenings are like gin fuelled carnage of the best sort. The DJ was amazing on Le Grand Tour night, and got extra brownie points for playing 90s trash, and wearing an excellent hat.