Dale Street, Manchester
Allotment is a botanical
themed bar and restaurant in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. Decorated like a
boutique garden, complete with garden furniture, hanging fairy lights and
watering cans on the walls, it has a cosy outdoors/indoors feel.
It’s primarily a bar, with a
white Lilliputian garden fence sectioning off a corner for the restaurant area,
where there are only a handful of tables. The bar stocks an extensive range of beer,
wine, cider and cocktails, with a particular emphasis on gin. They have a ‘gin
journal’ on the table and they hold regular gin tastings.
Food-wise, it’s traditional
British cuisine with a few quirky twists. The main bulk of the menu consists of
‘small plates’, of which our waiter recommended ordering three per person to
constitute a decent sized meal. The small plates are categorised into ‘From The
Land’, ‘From The Sea’ and ‘From The Allotment’: cleverly segregating the
vegetarian, meat and fish dishes. Plates ‘from the allotment’ include salt and
pepper tofu and jackfruit pakora, meat options ‘from the land’ include coffee
rubbed steak and mini chicken kebabs and plates ‘from the sea’ include cod
cheek sliders and coconut prawn curry.
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| Allotment Interior |
There are also a handful of
‘large plates’, which are main courses to you and I, and during the daytime
there’s a selection of hot sandwiches. We opted for the Fish Finger Butty: a
simple, yet classic, sandwich, when done well, is a solid lunch option and one
of the most enjoyable sandwiches out there.
I’m happy to report that this
was an exceptionally good attempt at this beautiful Great British butty. There were three beer-battered fish goujons
(batter is always preferable to the breadcrumb-covered variety that is most
often a feature of the frozen fish fingers) with watercress, pickled shallots
and tartare sauces on two slices of doorstop white bloomer bread. White bread
is the only way to serve a fish finger butty. Forget your muffins and your
trendy sourdoughs, it has to be on good old-fashioned white sliced bread. I had
to ask for some extra tartare sauce, as I like it slathered on thick.
It was served in a wicker picnic
basket, which was a nice touch and in-keeping with the theme of the bar, but it
screamed ‘bar snack’. There was an accompaniment of pickled red cabbage, which
was sweet and crunchy. I think it should have been served with some thick cut
chips as standard, making it a more complete meal. It was only £6.50, which was
more than reasonable, but you shouldn’t have to then pay an additional £3.50
for chips as a side. After all, fish fingers and chips belong together.
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| Fish Finger Butty |
My friend ordered a side of
halloumi fries and the portion size was exactly that: a side. Certainly not
worth the additional £3.50.
The fish finger butties may
have been something worth shouting about, but the service certainly wasn’t.
When we were first seated, we were informed that there could be a bit of a wait
for food as the kitchen was a chef down. However, there was only one table in
front of us waiting to be served, so we didn’t think it would be too much of a
problem. We ended up waiting over 40 minutes, which is far too long for a
couple of sandwiches. They offered us a complementary beverage, but neither of
us were drinking, so instead we gratefully accepted a discount. It softens the
blow when they make an effort to apologise.
Considering the restaurant
area is so small and there were only three of four occupied tables, it really
shouldn’t have taken them so long.
Before visiting, I had my eye
on their afternoon tea. Served in a picnic basket, priced at £32.50 per person,
you can select three of their sandwiches to share, plus either a deli board or
scones and cakes. Sandwiches include a Reuben Stack, a chicken BLT and a wild
mushroom and asparagus flatbread. The price also includes tea or coffee and a
glass of sparkling wine or house gin. It sounds very appealing, but I’d think
twice after the slow service.
It seems Allotment is more of
a botanical gin bar, with the food not a priority for them.
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