"Sitting
on one of the busiest hubs in Manchester city centre, The Brasserie
at the Mal is perfectly located for Piccadilly Station, the Gay
Village, the main shopping street and the Apollo Theatre, (all a
short walk away). It's a very welcome retreat from the hectic commuter
hustle and bustle outside. Having recently undergone a refurbishment,
the intimate restaurant
is very tastefully decorated and wouldn't be too out of place in
a top Parisian hotel.
For our visit, there
was a superb 'Homegrown & Local Menu' on offer boasting Mancunian
delights such as Bury Black Pudding, Manchester Tart and Eccles
Cake amongst many others. As a Bury lad myself, I opted for the
Black Pudding - the best I have ever tasted in a restaurant! I hope
they keep that dish when their menu theme changes. At just £16.50
for 3 courses, it was also excellent value. That said, my Cheshire-reared
T-Bone Steak came with a £4 supplement and no side's (I opted
for the delicious Hand-Cut Chips at a hefty £3.25 extra).
The steak itself was nice, although rather small and not worth the
extra £7.25. That said, I would hardly complain at spending
£23.75 in total on a 3 course meal of this quality. My partner
opted for the Steak Frites off the Brasserie Menu (£15.50),
whilst the trademark Mal Burger (£11.95) seemed to be popular
with all the other diners in the restaurant - it looked equally
as tasty and gave us another reason to revisit soon.
With an incredible wine
list to choose from, including two from Manchester's Spanish twin
city of Cordoba on the Homegrown & Local Menu, the feeling of
being in a quality European restaurant is reinforced. The window
blinds successfully block off any reminder that Station Approach
is just outside and with the excellent French waiter who served
us, you might as well be in Paris, Nice or the Alsace.
Desserts were interesting,
I couldn't taste any rhubarb in my Rhubarb Crumble, although the
Raspberries and Wild Berry Crumble I had seemingly been given was
absolutely delicious! It turned out there had been a mix up in the
kitchen but I certainly wasn't complaining - it was better than
any Rhubarb Crumble could have been, plus they offered us free coffees
to 'compensate' for the mistake. My partner's sorbets (again off
the Brasserie Menu) were slightly expensive at £1.75 a ball
- the Mixed Berry Sorbet and Passion Fruit Sorbets were out of this
world, whilst the Lemon Sorbet was a bit too overpowering - almost
like sucking a very bitter lemon. It made for some funny involuntary
facial reactions nonetheless.
Give or take a few minor
irritations - like the 10% service charge and then the 'opportunity'
to leave a further gratuity when you pay by credit card, the many
bottles of fine wine and champagne that surround you, acting as
decoration, remind you that the Mal is all about quality. And that's
what you get - quality steaks, quality wines and quality presentation.
Certainly one of the best in town!"
-
Manchester Restaurants 20/10/07 (visited on a Saturday lunchtime) |
