#AD / Beef and Pudding 2nd Birthday Brunch [CLOSED]

I was kindly invited by the lovely Holly Wood to Beef and Pudding to celebrate their 2nd birthday with their new brunch menu and drinks in association with Kettle One Vodka. I looked forward to attending as I love a good brunching place and it’s been a while since I last visited Beef and Pudding; I used to visit more often when I worked closer.

From their press release: “the event was attended by several reality TV stars such at Jordon James, Jsky, Big Brother’s Lisa Appleton, Model Sallie Axle, Dawn Ward and Leanne Brown- stars of the hit TV show Real Housewives of Cheshire – along with former football players Ashley Ward and Eric Nixon. The event was also filmed for two upcoming reality TV shows, to be shown later this year on prime time channels.”

All food and drinks from the brunch menu were offered free to those attending. My friend and I made a couple of additional purchases which are noted as such. All opinions are my own.

Interior

Beef and Pudding recently had a refurbishment so there is now more seating, but the atmosphere is still very urban industrial with wood and metal details. There are plenty of bar tables and bar stools near the bar, so if it’s just the drinks you’re after, you can do that. On the other side are tables and chairs to have your meal at.

The Drinks

My friend was very happy to see that they have Leffe on draught, so it’s worth noting they have a decent selection of draught beers.

Vimto and Champagne

Vimto and Champagne

We were warmly greeted and given a glass of Vimto and Champagne. You can taste the Vimto; it’s sweet and easy to drink. I could happily have drunk more glasses of this.

Carrot, orange pepper and vodka cocktail

We were then served the first of three brunch cocktails for the evening. This one had mainly carrot and orange peppers with Kettle One Vodka topped with black pepper. The drink was very odd and unlike anything I’ve had. I think I liked the peppery aftertaste but thought carrots and orange pepper would make this drink somewhat sweet, it did not. Perhaps adding some apples and ginger would help? Overall, not a drink I’ll be ordering.

Beetroot and vodka cocktail

Brunch drink 2: Beetroot and Kettle One Vodka

Our second brunch cocktail had beetroot in it. This I found similar to the first drink as the earthy beetroot made this quite savoury. Again, I felt that an addition of a fruit might have helped make this drink easier to consume. I didn’t have more than a few sips of this.

Bloody mary

Brunch drink 3: Bloody Mary – £6.95

I’ve never tried a Bloody Mary and probably never will again. One sip and I screwed up my face at the odd mixture I just consumed. My friend called this the Bloody Awful Mary. This was by far my least favourite drink of the evening.

Rhubarb fizz cocktail

Rhubarb Fizz cocktail – £6.95

My friend and I decided we needed a sweet cocktail after drinking the first two brunch cocktails and decided to order the Rhubarb Fizz. This consisted of a strawberry infused rhubarb liqueur, rosewater, citrus and Prosecco. It was a really nice cocktail.

Red berry tea

Red Berry Fruit tea – £5.50 for a pot and two cups

We finish the evening by ordering a large pot of tea for two people, which was charged as two small pots. Had we known this, we would have probably just ordered one large pot and shared the cups in all honesty. I wish this was made more apparent on the menu or at the time of ordering. I felt the price was a bit steep considering we were sharing a pot. The tea was however really nice and warmed us up for the journey back home.

The food

Brunch Pud

The Brunch Pud is a British pudding with black pudding, fairground onions and shredded ham, curry sauce and topped with a fried egg and smoked bacon. Priced at £9.95, this was quite filling and I struggled to eat it. Half of this pudding is more than enough as it’s quite heavy, but maybe for those who eat quite a lot? It was a very nice pudding, though, I especially like the curry sauce, very British!

The Plank

Beef and Pudding Plank

This specific plank isn’t on the menu so with much brain racking, I think this is what it contained. The items are a varied selection of items you would get from the brunch menu:

• Mini gunpowder smoked salmon with whipped mascarpone and dill on a toasted herb brioche
• Small portions of seared flattened steak
• Mini tortilla ‘Espanola’ which has chorizo, peppers, onions and potatoes in a sherry-laced omelette.
• Mini eggs benedict with house roast ham
• Mini black pudding with an egg on top
• Mini Corned beef hash

Each individual element was really nice, I especially loved the smoked salmon and the mini corned beef hash. The black pudding was a bit dry, however. Overall, I quite like the idea of a plank as you get to try many things in one visit. I wish there was a mix and match option as my friend was not keen on black pudding. The standard brunch plank on the menu is priced at £19.95 and is meant for two people.

Overall rating and comments

6/10 -1.5 service, it was a very busy evening but I kept thinking my table was overlooked just because we happen to sit near the bar. I’m willing to overlook this a bit given the fact that it was an unusually busy night, so have docked 1.5 instead of 2. I did end up speaking to Holly Wood about not getting any food, after having sat for at least an hour with just alcohol and watching the group next to us eat. We were given food shortly after. -0.5 for the food portions/heaviness. The food was fairly nice but there is a lot of it, too much I felt. -1 for the pricing. It’s £2.75 for one small pot of  tea and £3.95 for a large pot. One large pot between two people I’d imagine being about £4.95 at most, to pay for the cost of the extra cup. I also feel the food, in general, is slightly overpriced. -1 for the brunch cocktails, just not that nice and I felt bad that we were served such large glasses of each too. I should note that only the Bloody Mary is served at Beef and Pudding in their usual menu, the others were showcased for this event specifically. The brunch menu is only available on Saturday and Sunday 10am – 1pm.

Would visit again?

Unlikely for brunch. As I have mentioned the food is heavy in itself and the food portions larger than I can eat. It’s not for me, but I might consider this for a person who eats a lot.

Information

Website: http://www.beefandpudding.co.uk/
Address: 37 Booth Street, off Fountain Street, Manchester M2 4AA