Vineet Bhatia Night at Manchester 235
Last night I made the short trip along the M62 for a meal hosted by Vineet Bhatia and his team. Vineet is one of only two indian chefs in the country with a michelin star, and has a reputation for top class indian food, a long way from the chicken tikka masala of your local curry house. At £45 per head for food, I was hoping the price would warrant some excellent cooking, unfortunately I left slightly disappointed.
Roast Cumin Wild Mushroom Soup
The meal took place in Linen restaurant in the manchester 235 casino, it is a pleasant enough surrounding, except for regular announcements over the PA system about the latest high stakes game that is paying out. The meal consisted of 15 dishes, served over four courses, our pre starter was a wild mushroom and cumin soup that was rich creamy with just the right level of spice, a good start. Our starter plate of king prawn, small samosa, lamb seekh kebab and paneer cheese was also nice, a good balance of flavours and made with some skill. For me, however, the food wasn’t living up to the price, its not that this food wasn’t good, it was and far better than any Indian restaurant I’ve been to in Liverpool, it’s just at £45 per head I expected something better.
Chili Tandoori Prawn, Chicken Tikka Roasted Cashew Nut Samosa, Lamb Masala Cheese Seekh Kebab and Goan Peri-Peri Paneer
Main course was five dishes served up together, all with a nice balance of spice and flavouring, this was better than your average balti house. A beautiful poached Tilapia in a moilee sauce was scented and delicate with perfectly cooked fish, the kidney beans were also excellent. The other dishes were nice, without being anything to shout about. The accompanying naan breads, both cauliflower and beetroot, were poor, probably due to not being cooked in a tandoor oven.
Keralean Style Tilapia, Ghongura Lamb, Lucknowi Chicken Biryani, Achari Aubergines and Kashmiri Rajma
Cauliflower and Beetroot Naan
Desserts again had highs and lows, the pistachio ice-cream was rich and perfumed and lovely, I could have quite happily eaten a whole bucket of the stuff. The orange rice pudding with chocolate mouse on top was nice, even if the rice was a touch under done, and the chocolate and almond samosa I didn’t care for.
Orange Rice Kheer, Chcomosa and Roasted Pistachio Ice Cream.
This was a nice meal, I would love a restaurant in Liverpool serving this standard of Indian food (I’ve not yet been to eastZeast but it is on the list), but not at these prices. I think £30 per head would be a reasonable amount to pay, I feel we did pay slightly for the name. The Malmaison, Lunya, Delifonseca and others run theme nights in Liverpool, usually for half the price, I feel any of them would have been, if not a nicer meal, certainly a better value meal.
