Ply, Manchester - Winter Offerings and Bottomless Brunch

Evening all. Apologies for the absence, but I'm sure you've seen from my Instagram that I've still been a busy little bee, eating all the food and drinking all the cocktails. As we're embarking on the festive season, I thought I'd do a couple of posts on some of the nice little weekend escapades I've been on, which you could incorporate into your Christmas shopping! Double whammy...

So first to Ply; those of the disco pizza oven and fluffy dough bases. Launched just last week, are their festive cocktails. They were still being perfected, so we got to be guinea pigs. Not a problem my friends.

Dolce Vita - pannetone infused rum, spiced syrup, orange and egg: It's basically a Christmas egg custard in liquid form. Lovely bit of nutmeg on top to warm those cockles and get you in the mood for some festivities. Better than freezing your bits off in some crowded market sipping hot muck from a mug.

BlackBerry Messenger - a blend of rum, prosecco, blackberry, orgeat, ginger and honey: Refreshing yet still has that delicate warmth from the ginger.

White Chocolate Snowball featuring a flurry of vodka, white chocolate liqueur, prosecco and milk: Only for those with sweet teeth (not tooth). This is like a fizzy milkshake, and not for the faint hearted.
Roast Peach Old Fashioned - roasted peach infused bourbon, honey and sage: By far Phil's favourite. We both thought the peach may be a little over-powering, but it's actually very delicate, and worked beautifully with the honey.

And so to the carbs my loves. This Sunday saw the launch of Pasta Paul’s Super Soundtrack Sunday, 'bringing the beats whilst Ply serves up the best in bottomless brunch'. Basically, this is unlimited pizza (once you've scoffed your first one), and bottomless Bloody Marys or prosecco, for an hour and a half. It's £25, and is served between 12-6pm every Sunday.

We were utter lightweights and ate one pizza each. I had the poorest of form, and made Phil eat some of mine! (Rings bell...) Shame! We did however try two of the newest items on the menu.

Brunch Pizza - crispy pancetta, portobello mushroom, sausage, egg and mozzarella with a tomato base: A full English on a pizza. Nice sausage.

Alpino - bianca, asiago, panna, speck, spinach, roast potato, garlic with a white base: I love white based pizzas, as I find tomato sometimes distracts from the flavour of the topping. The Alpine has thinly sliced potatoes which crisp beautifully in the inferno style pizza oven. 

Absolutely love Ply. I've never had a bad pizza from there, and the staff are always the right level of chatty. Our lovely waitress was getting well giddy about her post shift roast, and had we not just gorged on pizza, we would have been very tempted to join her! We're all about the gravy.

Go here for a chilled afternoon of eclectic tunes, pizza, fizz and some cracking winter warmers.

Disclaimer: I was invited to Ply to try their new offerings. Let's face it, I'd have gone anyway! They did not threaten to throw me in the pizza oven if I said anything nasty, and we did not gatecrash our waitress' roast. Too far. And we were full. 

Mama Kelly, Amsterdam

Before we begin, channel your inner Pink Lady. You're a Mean Girl, and it is Wednesday. 

When I researched where to go in Amsterdam, all the same places kept popping up, so much so that I felt like we were old friends by the time we left. Then I stumbled upon Mama Kelly, in a fluke that shall be from this moment forth, known as the biggest fluke of all time. Flukesville. Imagine my face when I came across the pictures below on Mama Kelly's Instagram. There shone a shiny pink demon. We were going.

Pictures nicked from Mama Kelly's Insta

Powder pink booths, art deco style gold metalwork, golden pineapples and lobsters dotted around the gaff, and sumptuous cushions at every table. Walking through the door was definitely no disappointment. The whole restaurant shines pink. It felt very much like a homecoming.

Getting there was a bit odd. It absolutely lashed it down. Our plan of getting the tram to the other end of the city was utterly kiboshed, so we spent about 45 minutes stuck in traffic with a grumpy taxi driver. We pulled up at the Olympic Stadium, which was like a 1920s ghost town. It has a bit of an odd feeling about the place, mainly because it feels quite remote. Then there he was, a pink chap ready to welcome us in from the deluge. This pink palace welcomed us with open arms.

Three floors of pure glamour await, which when juxtaposed with this odd building, makes you feel like you've just entered another universe.

There's this weird thing about Amsterdam. They don't do cocktails. If they do, you have a choice of three; dark and stormy, Aperol spritz or a Moscow mule. They were all rubbish. I can't even remember what we ordered at Mama Kelly, I just know they were pink and perfect in every way. First decent cocktail in weeks due to doom antibiotics. Worth the wait.

Burrata with avocado cream and country bread: Ellie doesn't like cheese, except goat's cheese and halloumi. Hates cheese. Ordered burrata. Crisis averted! Even she agreed this was incredible. Soft cheese on a bed of whipped avocado cream, served with crunchy bread. Textures!

Halloumi served with roasted vegetables, peppers and green herbs: An absolute delight. Thick chunks of halloumi with sweet vegetables. Not too heavy, whilst still being very satisfying indeed.

Flat iron steak from the charcoal grill with beurre Café de Paris: Wow. It looks like a decent steak, but was so much more. Served on a bed of sweet squash with onion seeds, its pink centre and sweet flavour were tantalising. Ate every single morsel.

Lobster risotto - fresh lobster prepared in bisque: Stand down, the claw is not in a shell. Turns out after an initial lack of clarity on the matter, Ellie very much enjoyed the lobster in this dish.

Broccoli with fresh chilli and roasted almonds: A rather lovely combination, which means I will want almonds with my little trees from this day forth.

Homemade fries: Look how crispy they are. Wonderfully golden and perfect with steak.

Blondie with caramel sauce and sea salt: We were in no shape to be waving around dessert menus, yet here we were. Very rich as expected, the vanilla ice cream helped.

Sticky toffee date cake: Looks very similar to sticky toffee pudding, but tasted and felt much more like parkin. Still great! I think it needed some ice cream to lighten it a little though.

What a wonderfully strange experience in this pink wonderland! Go here for an evening of glamour, and food that will knock your pink socks off. And yes, I did wear an Amsterdam dress. Extra...

Wood, Manchester

The deal was sealed. Aidan Byrne was poorly, and Simon Wood stepped in to take his place at the Bolton Food and Drink Festival 'Sunday Club' event. I have much love for Aiden, but was thrilled to find out Simon would be joining the ever entertaining Andrew Nutter for some Sunday evening tomfoolery. And there it began. Turns out we became his biggest fans in the blink of an eye, and ended up devouring a Tomahawk at Wood two days later. 

Wood opened on Manchester's First Street site a sniff over a year ago, but I'm convinced that folk are not fully aware of its brilliance just yet, probably owing to the location. However, fellow new kids on the block Bunny Jackson's and School for Scandal are changing everything. I'm hoping that it's going to become a bit of an alternative playground for those who love a bit of decent music and good food.

Simon won Masterchef in 2015, opened Wood in August 2017, and bagged themselves an AA Rosette within a year. Then came plans for a second site in Chester's Indigo Hotel, and now Woodkraft is about to open in Cheltenham. Not bad really. There's no doubt that he's an extremely accomplished chef, but he's also a bloody nice fella too. And he likes metal. We like him.

He's not alone in this venture though. He managed to snaffle Mike Jennings as Head Chef, and has an excellent front of house team who make the experience even more pleasurable. I first met Mike when he was at Grenache, producing food that gave Salford a right kick up the backside. He's great.

The styling of Wood is just beautiful, with nothing out of place and every item carefully considered. The kitchen is partially open, which allows nosy people like me to watch the chefs prepping those huge tomahawks. Makes you really hungry though. I suppose that's what starters are for!

I was on the antibiotics of doom at this point, so was sans alcohol, but our waitress (who clearly saw my anguish) quickly produced a mocktails list, and all was well. Phil opted for a nice glass of red, whilst we perused the menu, listening to The Pretty Reckless and Pvris. If you know, you know.

The scent of steak being very much real, we were thrilled at the arrival of some freshly baked bread and salted butter. Always start a decent meal with some interesting carbs.

Pigeon, fig, endive and belazu lardon: One of the best starters I have had in a long time. Crispy edges on that rich pigeon breast with the sweet fig neared levels of actual perfection.

82°C belly pork, cider, Granny Smith, sage and onion: This was mentioned during Sunday Club, and had to be ordered. Phil's a massive fan of pork and crackling, so this was right up his street. Pared with tart Granny Smith apples, this is the culinary equivalent of a hug and a kiss.

Tomahawk to share with green peppercorn sauce: The scale of it man. This bone in rib of beef makes me feel like a cave dwelling carnivore who will never be short of iron again. Granted, it is for two people, but it's still a fair 'un.

Cooked to near witchcraft perfection, with a fragrant peppercorn sauce. Behold. I'm not saying anything else, because I've lost your attention to the pictures.

Baby jackets and broccoli with black onion seeds: Simplicity at its best. Soft potatoes with crispy, salty jackets, and crisp broccoli with sweet onion seeds.

Citrus tutti frutti: Lemon, lime, grapefruit and orange heaven. I always opt for berries rather than citrus, but this was fresh, light and an absolute delight. At this point in the meal, I could not fault a single thing.

Chocolate, espresso and salted caramel: Surprisingly light as a feather, and not overpowered by the coffee.

 Tea: We needed the caffeine after all that food. Even the tea pot was cute.

I will not have a bad word said about Simon, his team or his restaurants. I'll fight you. Admittedly, I just love eating out and trying new places. I will look for the positives over negatives every time, and always enter somewhere new expecting to love it. However, every so often I really fall in love. This is when outstanding food and service work in harmony, and I genuinely like the people running the show. Wood is firmly in this category.

Go to Wood for delicious food, warm service and great music!

Turtle Bay, Manchester

Turtle Bay is a place I associate with pre-gig cocktails and Highly Suspect excitement. I feel I need to explain that my excitement is not Highly Suspect, but rather they are one of my favourite bands who I happen to have seen a few times. Over-explanation over. They also have tremendous happy hours which means you are rarely without two cocktails in hand.

I was recently invited to try the food, so thought I would give it a whirl. Now imagine the scene, I had been cooped like a chicken for a week after having minor death in the form of gastroenteritis. I needed spice in my life, and some post-quarantine fresh air. It was like the planets had aligned.

We arrived on the wettest of days, the kind where your red ballet pumps are saturated within a few feet of walking, for example. Our chirpy waitress welcomed us in and quickly had a cocktail menu in our hands, and informed us that if she were to be an animal, she would most definitely be a loyal dog. Can't remember the context, but it went down well.

Just jerk platter - marinated jerk wings, glazed pork ribs, beef patty, jerk chicken flatbread, sweet corn fritters and super green salad: Massively indecisive when it came to starters, so we ordered a platter. Felt safe, but actually ended up ordering too much food, which is standard behaviour. Apologies for the strange orange glow on the photos, it's a very orange establishment!

Jerk sirloin steak - Prime cut aged sirloin steak, spicy jerk, coconut callaloo and spiced fries: This picture is the equivalent of an intoxicated selfie after you looked a million dollars at the start of the evening. The steak was perfectly pink and the creamy coconut callaloo was the type of warming Autumnal fayre you crave in such dank conditions.

Goat curry - Rich and spicy curry, coconut rice ‘n’ peas, sweet plantain, dumplings: Two people recommended this within 24 hours. Had to be done. A fairly mild curry with a sweet edge. Proper comfort food. 

Sides - cheesy jerk sweet potato fries, grilled Halloumi, baba roti, and dirty curry fries: Judge all you like, we ordered too many carbs, and set it off with a side of cheese. We were being encouraged by the manager, who clearly shared my hosting mantra of 'they shall leave dying and unable to move owing to the volume of carbs'. Also, if Halloumi is on there, it's getting ordered. Jerk Halloumi is excellent.

Passion pie - sweet pastry, zesty passion fruit curd, soft baked meringue, fresh passion fruit sauce: Of course I had room for dessert. My ideal kind of pie, this is like the lemon meringue variety but with passionfruit. Perfect.

Caymanas upside down rum cake - warm golden mellow rum cake, rum caramel and vanilla ice-cream: Jeez Louise this was strong! Extra points for being baked bundt stylee, this light sponge was drenched in rum, which was just wonderful.

Rather pleasant afternoon. By the time we left we had guffawed with our waitress, had a chat with the manager about the ludicrous nature of him emigrating from California to Manchester, drunk some lovely cocktails, and suffered near gout levels of fullness. We had even managed to miss the rest of the rain.

Go here as a group for lots of buffet style food, for comforting one pots and grills, or just to take advantage of a great happy hour.

Disclaimer: I was invited to review Turtle Bay, but put under no duress when it came to the nice words bit. I wasn't even drunk, and neither was the waitress who likened herself to a friendly dog. 

Albatross and Arnold, Manchester

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be invited to the beautiful Albatross & Arnold for a bit of a mash up between their good selves and Tappers Gin. Nested above Beastro, Albatross & Arnold is a real hidden beauty with great views over the rest of Spinningfields. It has this wonderful modern Scandic meets classic art deco feel, with light wood, gleaming gold accessories and fresh flowers. It's my kind of place.

Albatross & Arnold created a seven course tasting menu paired with Tappers Gin; a small family business making some of the most exquisite gins in rather decadent bottles. The whole event really was a feast for the senses, with careful consideration given to how the dishes and cocktails looked, smelled and tasted. 

Picture shamelessly lifted from A&A's Instagram

I've added a copy of the menu as I'm pretty sure that the pictures I took say it way better than my words ever could. Early disclaimer though, I forgot to photograph the melting middle chocolate pudding. Yes, I know, shoddy work whilst being too busy eating it! Trust me, it was good. 

Before I start I wanted to go through the cocktails (mentioned in more detail on the menu above). Phil had to drink all of mine because I was on antibiotics of doom, which meant I couldn't as much as lick alcohol. He was suitably ruined the next day as a result. He gave every one his full approval, despite not being a usual fan of gin. What I can comment on was the presentation and (oh my word...) the smell of these. No fake essences, they were the real deal, and bursting with flavour. 

Massive thanks to our waitress Charlie who was an absolute diamond all night. She made me non-alcoholic versions of these so I at least felt like I was playing out. 

Gin Cured Salmon, Tonic Foam 

Razor Clam, Brown Crab, Samphire Mayonnaise, Sea Spray

Pidgeon, Hazelnuts, Horseradish, Gherkin: I have to say, that this is one of the best things I have eaten in some time. I hate horseradish, but these meringues were quite subtle, and brought a little warmth to the dish. Trust in the chef. 

Cod, Sea Aster, Samphire, Lemon Curd

Duck, Orange, Elderflower: Another truly outstanding dish. Perfectly cooked and absolutely packed with flavour. Real autumnal flavours coming from this plate of food. 

Summer Fruit, Crumble, Cream: Hands down one of the best desserts I've had in some time. Jo who was sat with us even ordered a second in lieu of chocolate pudding. Sterling work that Jo. Sweet yet tangy, with the perfect contrast of textures. 

Chef Jonathan Green is a bit of a dark horse if you ask me. That dessert reminded me very much of something I ate at one of my favourite places, Northcote. It was no surprise to find out then, that Jonathan did a decent stint under Nigel and Lisa at that very restaurant, before becoming Head Chef at Tattu. Very wise appointment that one. Thoroughly nice chap too. 

Go to Albatross & Arnold for beautifully crafted food without the formality. Service is professional yet friendly, and the surroundings are just beautiful. I can't wait to go back here when I can drink! 

Disclaimer: I was invited to Albatross & Arnold to sample the food and drink as part of a special event. I was under no obligation to say nice things. I wasn't even drunk whenI told them how much I loved them...