Artisan

The Avenue / North, Bridge Street, Spinningfields, Manchester

Artisan Kitchen & Bar is a rustic bistro in Spinningfields, one of the most popular places for eating and drinking in Manchester City Centre. Spinningfields is the beating heart of Manchester’s restaurant scene, and is also home to such swanky establishments as Australasia, Neighbourhood, The Alchemist and The Oast House.

Located on the first floor on The Avenue / North building, it’s a huge industrialised warehouse space which promotes ‘casual fine dining’ – basic food, prepared well. You enter through a small bar area on the ground floor, officially called The Drawing Room, before ascending into the main restaurant directly above. It’s like a TARDIS, much larger than it looks from the outside; it’s a vast space, with seating stretching for miles. There’s a large bar area, where you can enjoy drinks and cocktails before your meal, and a semi-open kitchen, where you can see the food being prepared. It’s industrial yet chic. 

There were plenty of tables occupied, although it wasn’t as busy as I would have expected for the Summer Bank Holiday. In such a enormous space, it doesn’t matter how busy it gets, during the day, it’s still relaxing and tranquil. It’s primarily a grill, with the menu boasting all the usual meat and fish dishes of an English restaurant in addition to a large selection of stone-baked sourdough pizzas.

We chose to partake in their Express Lunch menu, where you can enjoy two courses and a drink for £9.95, ridiculously good value for a premier restaurant in one of Manchester’s finest dining hot spots! Alcoholic drinks, including house wine and bottled beers, are even included in the offer. There’s plenty choice for the food, too, without it being overwhelming – five starters, five main courses. Lovely. 

To start, I had Patatas Bravas, the Spanish tapas classic of crispy, fried potatoes in a tasty tomato sauce. The sizeable cubes of potato were deliciously crunchy on the outside, but soft and fluffy within, almost like a lighter version of the good old-fashioned roastie. Served with a delicious garlic aioli, a Mediterranean condiment made with garlic and olive oil, with a beautiful smoky flavour, it was a tasty and hearty dish.

Patatas Bravas with tomato sauce and smoked garlic aioli

For main course, there was a choice of chicken, fish, steak, gnocchi and a vegetarian potato hash; something to suit all tastes, and all sounding delightfully delectable. I had herb roasted chicken, and, oh boy, it surpassed all expectations. I was expecting a chicken breast, but what I got was half of a whole roasted chicken. The meat was so succulent and tender; it fell off the bone and melted in my mouth. The tasty, herb-infused skin was gorgeous and perfectly cooked. It was served with a heap of spiced cous cous, which, thankfully, wasn’t too spicy, and contained small pieces of pomegranate, the texture of which complemented the cous cous. Natural yoghurt added a little bit of necessary moisture to an otherwise rather dry cous cous. Although the chicken wasn’t dry in the slightest, the flavours of the meat and the natural yoghurt harmonised very well.

Herb roasted chicken with spiced cous cous, pomegranate and yoghurt

Quite how they can prepare and serve half a chicken as part of a £9.95 two course menu is beyond me. It’s sensational value and almost too good to be true. 

When our waitress asked us if we’d like to see a dessert menu, my eyes must have illuminated, as my response prompted her to chuckle, ‘I’ve never seen anybody respond so enthusiastically before, that’s brilliant’. I thank you.

I was feeling completely satisfied after a hearty and moderately healthy lunch. I could have passed on dessert, but as she informed us that the sticky toffee pudding was off the charts, for research purposes, I had to give it a go. Thankfully, she was absolutely right, it was superb. The sponge was perfectly moist, with one or two dates, and the sauce was sticky without being overly sweet. Topped with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream, it was pudding perfection.

I was quick to inform her that she had been proven correct, and I think she was a little relieved, as she jokingly thanked me for having faith in her. Despite only having met little over an hour ago, she appeared to sense exactly how important my desserts were to me. Priced at £6.00, you can hardly grumble when the rest of the meal had cost under a tenner.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

The Express Lunch is designed to be eaten in your lunch hour, and it does what it says on the tin. The service was speedy, and if you’re in a rush, you can even order a dessert or hot drink to take away with you, or have your starter as a side dish. It’s without doubt one of the best value set price lunch menus in town.  The main menu is just as reasonable, and I’d like to experience the place by night.

Artisan is a rustic, retro and informal restaurant, which serves up simple food with a few quirks. It doesn’t break the bank and has already become one of my favourites. You’d be a fool not to give the Express Lunch a whirl. It’s also perfect for big parties, with private rooms available to hire.

Top tip - Sign up to the Artisan club online and you can reap a whole host of benefits, including 20% off the main menu: http://artisan.uk.com/.