SuperStore Manchester (CLOSED)

This restaurant has closed and is now owned by  Evelyn’s Cafe and Bar.

Elsa and Ryo met up and wanted something light for dinner. SuperStore Manchester was the obvious choice as their small plate sharing board was perfect for their stomach sizes and having been in the past, they quite liked the selection. The menu has changed since they last came here, so they delighted in ordering off the new menu.

Interior

Superstore interior

Elsa: When I first visited SuperStore, I wasn’t that impressed with furnishings. The interior is very industrial with wooden tables and chairs  and metallic features, but I’ve come to appreciate it. It’s definitely a place that’s better enjoyed on a nice sunny day as the huge windows really add to the interior of the place. Having visited once in the evening, I felt it was too dim.

Ryo: Yes, I know what you mean. It is oddly dark even in the daytime. I like  industrial design in general (at least it felt a bit “warmer” and natural than Byron’s metallic industrial interior) so I didn’t mind it much but I always thought the SuperStore’s tables are too tiny! A couple of drinks and plates then you don’t even have a space to put your cutleries…

Food

Small plate sharing board

Coffee seared carpaccio of venison, roast celeriac, beetroot and rocket salad, chocolate and red wine jus
Blue lady smoked mini ribs, pak choi, spring onion and peppers, soy chilli and sesame glaze
Crispy cayenne squid, chorizo, chilli, chard, dill and lemon aioli
Salmon special on the specials board

Elsa: We started eating the dishes on the sharing board from left to right and I was left sorely underwhelmed with each item. I had expected the venison to taste more strongly of coffee, but there was none. As I ate through each dish it became more and more apparent that everything was overly salty, what delicate flavours could have been present was just completely overpowered. This was not the standard of food I had experienced 6 months ago.

Ryo: As we mentioned briefly, Elsa and I visited this place a couple of times before and their presentation has always been quite good. So when I saw the slightly messy plate, I should have known that the food will follow the suit. The venison was salty and had this weird fishy smell – if I hadn’t known that it was venison, I would’ve believed that it was rotten salmon. I’m honestly not exaggerating. It was truly awful. But then it got worse, even the salads had salt all over – and not nice tasting salt, but nasty table salt. As I was tasting other food on the plate, it became apparent that the chef had some sort of a mad salt day as I couldn’t taste anything except salt.

 Side

Fries with parmesan and truffle oil

Elsa: I had visited another place prior which offered fries with parmesan and truffle oil and was astounded by the combination. It was absolutely delightful, so I suggested to Ryo that we order this as a side. Unfortunately, this also suffered the same fate as the rest of the food, overly salty.

Ryo: Yes, I loved the idea of fries with parmesan and truffle oil. Truly luxurious fries! But it was…. salty. And it didn’t help that the parmesan is also salty. All I could taste was salt, and even drinking 1 litre of water  afterwards, I couldn’t get rid of the salt taste in my mouth. Why SuperStore, you have been so good before!

OVERALL RATING AND COMMENTS

Elsa: 1/10 -8 food. -1 for the service, I felt like they weren’t that attentive this visit and it took a very long time to get up, pay and leave. This was such a huge letdown, considering I’ve been twice before and it the food had been very good.

Ryo: A toss between 0/10 and 1/10… because 0/10 seems mean? I don’t normally complain about food (I just never come back to that place again) but as I liked their food before, I told the waitress that the food was just unbearably salty. So I do hope that they have taken the feedback and changed the menu somehow. At least the amount of salt they put on the food.

WOULD VISIT AGAIN?

Elsa: Maybe if I knew the chef was changing. I noted that TripAdvisor had lots of comments from other customers who also noticed a distinct drop in the quality of the food (unfortunate that we weren’t the only ones), so I might reconsider if these change to more positive ratings.

Ryo: Ah Elsa, that’s a shame. I loved SuperStore… it was one of my favourite “small dishes” places. If they change the menu, I might go back but to be honest, I am very scared of this place now.

INFORMATION

Website: http://superstore-manchester.co.uk/
Address: G18, Smithfield Building, Tib St, Manchester M4 1NB