Aumbry

Ahead of this trip it looked like the football fixture planners had been helpful with an away tie scheduled for my first weekend back in Manchester. Unfortunately, following the debacle of Hyde away last year (see here) it was difficult to muster much enthusiasm for a possible repeat. And so it was that the gloomy Saturday morning saw me planning to catch a tram and heading north rather than a train heading east out of central Manchester. Not that the journey was without its hiccups. Someone had decided during the night that they needed cables more than Metrolink so the tram ride from Manchester Victoria to was via double decker bus instead.

Aumbry has been a standout on the Manchester dining scene since 2009 with husband and wife team Mary Ellen McTague and Lawrence Tottingham at the helm. Both worked previously at The Fat Duck and then at the Hind’s Head leading to their applying modern techniques to produce dishes inspired by historical recipes.

The tiny cottage on Church Lane that houses the restaurant is an easy stroll from the Metrolink station in Prestwich. Drinks are prepared at the bar to the right of the front door and left takes you to the tiny dining room with seating for 30. The room has an informal feel with simply painted white walls, white painted mismatched chairs parked at tables with overhanging white tablecloths and the large dresser by the kitchen. There is a limited view through the serving hatch to the small kitchen at the back of the restaurant so you get a hint of the action as it happens.

Once you’re sitting comfortably then it begins. A smoked cheddar gougère with wonderfully light choux pastry was bursting with a strong savoury cheese tang was brought to the table ahead of the menu together with a glass of cucumber water. Lunch options were a three-course set menu, a four-course menu or a nine-course tasting menu. With the luxury of an afternoon and no other commitments, the nine course menu seemed like the best way to go.

With the order placed it was time for another taster. Smooth black peas topped with vinegar and fresh mint was a welcome mix of the tart and the refreshing. The mint was the dominant flavour at first but then other ingredients shone through. The pockets of pickle in the pea paste were a delight and the crust of deep-fried vinegar jelly was subtly acidic. This was followed by a refreshing cup of iced honey jasmine tea.

The Tunworth fondue with truffle and broche toast was a delight. Tunworth cheese from Hampshire Cheeses is a pasteurised whole cow’s milk cheese and the creamy rich cheese was perfect with the hit of truffle. More toast would have been good although it was thoroughly satisfying to clean out the bowl using your finger.

The bread course is another point where Aumbry excels. White or brown bread was offered and accompanied by a bowl of beef dripping as well as a covered dish with Maldon salt topped butter and burnt brown nut butter. The dripping is an excellent touch and it’s so easy to keep dipping more and more bread. The strongly nutty brown butter was another great topping for the breads.

The next course was one that I could happily have eaten again and again. A lovely dish to look at, the potted pheasant with beetroot, pickled cucumber, cornflower and rapeseed oil dressing was a stunning blend of summery flavours. Everything about the dish was superb with the blend of rich pheasant and sweetly earthy beetroot particularly outstanding.

The chargrilled sardine with bitter orange dressing, shaved fennel and walnut vinaigrette was a simpler dish where the fresh ingredients were allowed to shine. The oily sardine had a big marine kick and the combination of fennel, walnut and orange was the ideal compliment for the fish.

It was great to see another remnant from my previous visit when a bowl of field mushroom soup with English truffle and wild garlic turned up. The airily light soup had an intensely rich mushroom hit that got even better with the boost from the garlic. A truly superb soup.

An interim course of oyster loaf served on an oyster shell was based on an 18th century recipe by Hannah Glasse. A small hollowed out crusty loaf of bread was filled with braised shin of beef and an oyster. The richly decadent beef was the dominant ingredient but it was delicious so no complaint.

The main savoury course was a 33-day aged Longhorn beef with oyster, aura potatoes, pickled cockles and Langdon greens. The blend of scents in the dish was intoxicating and it seemed almost wrong to disturb it. The beef was quite mild in flavour and the recommended Cuvée des Galets was ideal for accentuating the beef notes. The aromatic pastrami cubes were excellent in combination with the dressed greens. The smooth oyster purée with the beef was a nice approach to the classic combination of beef and oyster. Best of all were the deep fried pickled cockles that were simply delightful.

I passed on the cheese course and then the kitchen substituted the sherry trifle for the grapefruit posset. The trifle combined Colosia muscatel sherry, chamomile and mandarin. The chamomile vanilla cream was nice but the joy of this dessert came from digging through to the fruity mandarin and sherry base. This was a lovely lingering feelgood dessert.

The main dessert was a bit of a puzzler for me and the server confirmed my reaction was not unusual. The beetroot and chocolate cake with bee pollen, hazelnut, milk and honey was adventurous but I really wasn’t sure it was for me. The flavours were gentle throughout and the hazelnut streak did a good job of tying everything together. The warm beetroot marshmallow was tolerable and the cake wasn’t particularly exciting. The cold honey milk was probably the single element that worked best for me.

The rhubarb and custard petit fours combining an ice cream with a sorbet quickly brought a smile back to my face thanks to the superb combination of the creamy custard and the sharply sweet rhubarb.

The final bite was an apple kickshaw, again based on an old recipe. The original would have been made with musk sugar. The endangered status of the musk deer meant that a compromise of a glass of warm water with musk added was used instead. The kickshaw itself combined a lovely tart apple filling in an incredibly pastry. This was a very pleasant way to finish things off.

The lunch time tasting menu at Aumbry was a well balanced mix of the familiar, the nostalgic and well thought out dishes. Only the final dessert represented something of a misstep although I'd happily have eaten the apple kickshaw without the additional fuss of the musk vapouriser. There were a few outstanding courses in the form of the pheasant, the mushroom soup and the beef that will ensure that Aumbry will continue to feature on my go-to restaurant list

But it's not all about the food. No write up of Aumbry is complete without acknowledging the warmth and helpfulness of the front of house crew who are a pleasure. As a complete experience Aumbry combines good food with a thoroughly welcoming atmosphere and that is why you want to go back on a repeat basis.

Overall Rating – 4/5