Wood Wine & Deli (42 Madera) [CLOSED]

There was a LivingSocial deal for Wood Wine & Deli for a bottle of wine and 5 sharing plates for £25. As I haven’t been here before, I decided this was the opportune moment to pay them a visit, especially as I enjoy sharing plates. Ryo accompanied me on this visit.

It should be noted that since I visited, Wood have rebranded themselves as 42 Madera.

Interior

The decor for this place was largely rustic, but I felt the addition of the ropes near the ceiling was an odd choice. I’m not quite sure what they were thinking; in my mind ropes were more nautical than homely rustic. Aside from this the place was comfortable with nice wooden tables and chairs. I also like the chalkboard menus showing specials of the day.

The Menu

Wood Deli menu

The menu separated the small plates into different sections so it was easier to pick out a balanced selection of plates; some veg balanced with meat, light pieces balanced with heavy dishes. The variety was decent and there was enough in here to warrant another visit. Another couple were sampling the boards and they looked interesting too.

The Wine

Merlot

As a bottle of wine was included in the voucher,  one was ordered. It took  a while to choose which type of wine to go for as we wanted to pair it with the food ordered, which in itself took a while to choose. The wine we ordered was a Grenache Merlot and was quite easy to drink.

The food

Wood Deli spread

Asparagus, Serrano & Soft Poached Egg

Asparagus, 18 month aged Serrano ham, soft poached egg, nutmeg and parmesan

This was quite nice. I really like poached eggs in general (compounded by the fact that I can’t actually make perfectly rounded poached eggs) and this was cooked properly. The asparagus was cooked well and still had a bite to them and the ham very nice. Overall, a very nice light plate.

White Stilton Waldorf

Mango and ginger white stilton, baby gem lettuce, apple, celery, walnuts, crème fraîche dressing

I was surprised by how much I loved this salad. I had expected it to be very heavy, but it was actually not as heavy as I expected. It was a lovely combination of crispness, crunchiness and creaminess. The apples were sweet and went well with the walnuts. Mango and ginger stilton added a delightfully wonderful flavour to this amazing Waldorf salad. I would definitely order this again if it’s still around.

pepper seared Beef Carpaccio

Wafer thin, raw beef with rocket, toasted pine nuts, feta snow and beetroot dressing

This was actually the most disappointing dish. I wasn’t sure the pine nuts went well with the beef. The feta snow was more for show than taste and I couldn’t taste much of the beetroot dressing either. The beef itself was nice but it was ruined by the surrounding ingredients, what a pity.

Ox Tail Ragout

Ox tail cooked low and slow in red wine and tomato ragout served with rigatoni and bread

I had expected more ox tail ragout in this dish rather than the combined carbs of rigatoni and bread. I’m not against carbs it should be noted, but it was very starch heavy and I was expecting something  meaty. Despite this, everything was well cooked, and the focaccia was especially lovely.

Persian hake and mango

Lightly spiced hake, mango salsa, mago puree, watercress

This was a lovely fish dish; the spice crust was perfectly seasoned and didn’t overpower the taste of the hake. The mango puree added that lovely hint of sweetness to the plate and the watercress that lovely pepperiness.

Overall rating and comments

8/10, -0.5 odd interior, -1 for the carpaccio, -0.5 for over attentive staff. The staff came over to the table more than I would have liked, possibly because I went when it was early (6 pm) so they didn’t have much to do? It ruined the atmosphere a bit and towards the end of the meal I felt that perhaps they wanted to kick me out. I was taking a while to eat as I’m a slow wine drinker and there was after all a whole bottle to consume.

Would visit again?

Yes, I think I would come back here again. I hope that 42 Madera serves up lovely food continuing on from Wood NQ.

Information

Website: http://www.woodnq.com/
Address: 44 Tib St, Manchester M4 1LA