The Northern Quarter Restaurant and Bar

The Northern Quarter restaurant was offering 40% off their A La Carte menu with a voucher so I went there to finally check it out. I’ve been interested in this place for a while due to their seasonal menus and rich foods including game and uncommon vegetables. I went there for early dinner accompanied by my friend, Ryo. Note that I went when they had their Autumn 2015 menu on.

Interior

The inside has a rustic charm with it’s soft lighting, olive green walls and wooden furniture. The windows are large giving an airy feel during the day but the atmosphere really picks up late in the evening as the restaurant fills up.

Menu

Each menu had a  varied selection so there is bound to be something for everyone. It was quite hard to pick something as I’m an avid everything eater, especially when it comes to things I haven’t yet tried to cook myself, such as game.

The Drinks

Red wine and honey and rosemary rosado (Condesa le Leganza Tempranillo Rosado, American Honey, Licor 43 and fresh rosemary)

Espresso and biscotti

I ordered the honey and sage rosado but unfortunately I was later informed that they had ran out of sage and asked if I minded if rosemary was used instead. I did not mind this but I thought it a shame that they didn’t have any sage, especially since it wasn’t a weekend evening. Ryo informed me that the wine and espresso were both nice.

The food

Mains from TNQ

Crispy Courgette flower

Crispy courgette flower stuff with lemon, cream cheese & basil, pepper compote)

Pan-fried Wood Pigeon

Pan-fried wood pigeon confit leg, figs & port reduction

I was surprised at how light the courgette flower was. It was a really nice starter and I only wish there was more of it. The vegetables still had a bite to them, the batter was crispy and the compote delicious.

I really like eating pigeon and this did not disappoint. The pigeon was cooked well and went excellently with the sweetness of the figs. This was also a nice contrast to the courgette flower as it was rich and sweet whereas the courgette flower was lighter in taste.

Barry Pugh’s Suckling Pig

Barry Pugh’s suckling pig, apple & celeriac mash, chantenay carrots & cider jus

Goosnargh Duck Breast

Goosnargh duck breast, confit leg, mousseline potato, charred spring onion & blackberry jus

The suckling pig was absolutely delicious but there was a lot of it, too much in fact for me. There wasn’t a strong apple taste in the mash either which I felt slightly disappointed by as everyone knows that apple and pork go well together.

The duck breast was also very tasty but again I felt there was too much meat on the plate. In hindsight I should have ordered a side or two of veggies to accompany these dishes as I did not realise just how little veg there would be.

Vanilla infused panna cotta

Vanilla infused panna cotta, marsala poached peaches & dried raspberries

This was actually very disappointing. I felt like the panna cotta had very little flavour and the dried raspberries added nothing but an annoyance to the dessert. The peaches were nice and helped to add some flavour to the dish.

Overall rating and comments

7.5/10 -0.5 for not having sage in stock, -1 for the imbalanced veg:meat ratio, -1 disappointing dessert. Overall the food was cooked very well, but I will definitely have to order some veggie sides next time and maybe go with someone who can eat more than me so they can finish some of the food on my plate. I would probably not order dessert from here again.

Would visit again?

Yeah, I think I would give this place another go given the right conditions. It is a fairly expensive restaurant to go to without a discount voucher so that would put me off going in casually.

Information

Website: https://www.tnq.co.uk/
Address: 108 High Street, Manchester, M4 1HQ