Deansgate, Manchester
Sophisticated, chic and
stylish, The Living Room is home to top quality food and supreme service.
Located on Deansgate, at the heart of the city centre, it’s a venue for every
occasion and every kind of experience. Whether you’re looking for a celebratory
meal, a relaxing lunch, a party, a couple of cocktails or afternoon tea, The
Living Room can cater to your every need.
Since its inception in 1999,
it’s prided itself on being ‘the restaurant and cocktail bar choice for
Manchester’s people’. It’s quite the rare breed: a popular celeb haunt which
isn’t over-priced or pretentious. It’s all perfectly affordable and perfectly
executed.
Immediately engulfed by the
elegant atmosphere as you enter through the double doors, the 1920s art deco
interior sets the tone for a relaxing and tranquil dining experience, complete
with leather seating and booths. Downstairs it’s all about the drinks, and
there’s an extensive cocktail menu, whilst the first floor is primarily for
dining.
Throughout the dreary month of
January, they had a special set menu in place, allowing you to indulge in two
courses and a beverage for £12 by day and £16 in the evening. £12 for two
courses in the city centre on a Saturday afternoon is such sensational value
that it almost seemed too good to be true.
A selection of starters, main
courses and desserts had been plucked from the varied a la carte menu, which
boasts a range of European dishes in a type of cuisine that is trendily
becoming known as ‘British fusion’. Think classics like fish and chips and
Lancashire hot pot, steaks, salads, burgers and pasta dishes.
To start, I had King Prawn
Lollipops. The first rule of a set menu is normally that prawn dishes are
strictly off-limits, so it was a pleasant surprise for this to be included
given that this particular starter on the main menu is more than half of the
overall cost of the fixed price lunch. Three deliciously juicy king prawns on a
skewer were delicately fried in light and crispy tempura batter, hence the lollipop
look. The prawns were deliciously cooked and the batter was crispy, yet not at
all heavy or greasy, and the sweet chilli sauce was the perfect dipping fodder.
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| King Prawn Lollipops with Sweet Chilli Dip |
My main course was Pesto &
Hard Cheese Gnocchi. For years, I was unsure about gnocchi. In an Italian
restaurant, the idea of a potato dumpling dressed up to be like pasta wasn’t
something which particularly appealed to me. I imagined it to be stodgy and
chewy, but when it’s cooked well it’s delicious.
This particular gnocchi was,
without doubt, the best I’ve ever tasted. Generously covered in herby green
pesto and tossed up with slow-roasted plum tomatoes, spears of asparagus and
spinach leaves, covered in truffle oil and topped with toasted cashew nuts, it
was a beautifully colourful dish which left my taste buds singing. Pesto is one
of my very favourite things; one of those ingredients which can single-handedly
sell a dish to me. I’ve had some disappointingly bland pesto dishes, simply
because they’ve been too sparse on the main ingredient. It was a generous
helping of gnocchi too, which is always a bonus.
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| Pesto and Hard Cheese Gnocchi |
After two faultless courses
and a lemonade (there are non-alcoholic alternatives available as part of the
set menu, although granted you don’t quite get the same value for money), I was
determined not to have dessert, but I was so thoroughly impressed by the
quality of the food, I felt I owed it to myself to give one a try.
I ordered a Sticky Toffee
Pudding, the all-time great British staple. In a unique twist on the classic,
it was sprinkled with almond granola which provided a satisfying crunch. Topped
with a swirl of salted caramel ice cream and accompanied by a jug of warm
toffee sauce for pouring, it was a stunner. Just imagine
pouring a jug of hot, sticky toffee sauce over the pudding, watching the ice
cream melting away on the top.
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| Sticky Toffee Pudding |
The Living Room instantly
became one of my new favourites. The sensational January offer may now be a
distant memory, but the a la carte menu is very reasonably priced, so I’ll
certainly be making a return visit.
They’re open for brunch and
also serve afternoon tea, as well as catering for parties and functions in one
of their three rooms available for private hire.
Whatever the occasion, The
Living Room can make the celebration even more special. It’s not to be missed.
Other options...
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| Seafood Linguine |
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| Chocolate Orange Torte |
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