Mana Review

It certainly didn't feel that long, but it had been over three years since my last very enjoyable visit to the renowned Mana in Manchester, a restaurant that's now been open for over six years (time flies when you're having fun I guess).

The major guides have remained very positive in that time also, with that precious star from our favourite tyre munching inspectors, which of course eluded Manchester for so long, still very much in place. Since my last visit the AA have bestowed an impressive four rosettes also, as I predicted they would. Having never had a bad experience here I was excited to return, but also genuinely intrigued to see what changes those intervening years have brought, as I rocked up for lunch with a friend on a mild November Friday.

Booking is still a pay up front affair via Tock as it was on my previous visit; one notable change is a non-alcoholic pairing is now available (as well as the wine flight) but this is only available if selected (and paid for) when booking. On the day of our meal my friend was running late, so I went to the restaurant first, still about seven or eight minutes late myself as I'd been waiting for him. Such is the regimented delivery of the service here I was slightly worried this would cause a major issue, but the welcome on arrival was perfectly warm and there was no detectable disquiet from the staff whilst waiting in the lounge area for my friend to arrive.

Inside the decor is very much as I remember, it's a smart dining room overlooking the open kitchen. One of the large outer windowpanes did appear to have a rather large crack or two running through it, but I'm sure that will be dealt with soon. Although the precious star is definitely the focus here as far as displaying awards goes (and it's easy to understand why), it was nice to see the four AA rosette plate on display too by the bar area. In terms of atmosphere, there were a couple of free tables during our visit, but the restaurant was fairly busy which was great to see.

On offer at lunch is the full tasting menu (which we'd pre-booked) but there is a shorter menu available also if selected in advance. Drinks wise there's a comprehensive wine and drinks list, with plenty of wines by the glass and a large range of cocktails too, including a still decent range of non-alcoholic options.

We'd pre-booked one wine flight as my friend didn't want to drink a lot; there's no option to share a flight here in separate glasses but in the end he just had one of the wines from the flight during our meal. Whilst waiting for my friend to arrive I didn't fancy something extravagant like a cocktail, so I just asked for a gin and tonic. This arrived with no thrills in a straight glass with ice and was perfectly pleasant; what I didn't realise until after the meal is that it had cost a rather spectacular £17, more than the majority of the cocktails listed on the drinks menu (ouch).

After my friend arrived, lunch began in the lounge area with a couple of snacks courses, served individually; a rich cold cheese bite and a lovely prawn tartlet. We were then sent to the kitchen to be served the final snack, another very nice one-bite mouthful of fried beer, sunchoke and cep mushroom, before being shown to our table. All three snacks showed a great deal of technical skill and more importantly were very tasty, it was a strong start to the meal.

Upon sitting at our table we were presented with a sealed copy of the menu and a pair of scissors to open it if we wished, which was an interesting touch. The menu didn't though include a copy of the wine flight; we were told this would be provided at the end of the meal, but it never was.

First of the proper courses was a poached oyster with horseradish and fennel boba balls. This was a nice dish that packed a good level of heat. This was followed by a langoustine served on a sea buckthorn kosho sauce. Unfortunately this was a bit disappointing, the langoustine was nice but the sauce was incredibly overpowering and unnecessarily acidic, I'm sure it wasn't meant to be served like that. The rest of the langoustine was then served in a pleasant broth as the next course, but it was difficult to enjoy given my throat was still burning from the previous course.

Things got back onto a much more even keel next though with a delicious bowl of steam custard atop which sat lovely slices of scallop, it was a thoroughly enjoyable dish. Equally good was the following course of poached cod with a lovely mussel, sitting atop a vegetable tea-like sauce. Again, it was another piece of top class seafood cookery and an excellent dish.

Onion and malt bread served with ethical fois gras was next on the menu, but didn't actually appear (with no explanation) until during our next course, hogget with a peaso (a Noma invention combining peas and miso) sabayon. I really enjoyed all the elements here, the meat cooking was great, the sauce was delicious and the bread (regardless of whether it was served at the right time) was top notch too.

The pre-dessert came next and is listed on the menu as aspergillus oryzae; it's served in sorbet form with some caviar and iced green tea (in a separate little cup on the side) to enjoy also. I wasn't blown away by the flavours here but as a palate cleanser, it worked really well.

First of the desserts was a Tunworth cheese granita served on top of a fermented tomato and hon mirin mix. This was nice but to be honest, it felt more like another palate cleanser pre-dessert than a proper course, it was just lacking a bit of oomph for me. However the final dessert of uchiki kuri with a beautiful quenelle of velvet like chocolate and a brown butter vinaigrette was stunning flavour wise, and probably my favourite dish of the meal. Apparently it's a fairly recent addition to the menu; lucky me.

To finish the meal we were presented with a single petit four styled as a fudge-like sweet wrapped in paper, with our waitress telling us not to eat the paper (apparently a few people previously had). This was too soft and gooey to eat properly as a wrapped sweet, and given that was all that was served, it was a pretty disappointing p4 offering in my opinion. My friend and I had a coffee each to accompany this from the considered selection offered, which was perfectly delivered.

And so, after the delivery of our bill (complete with 12.5% service charge), a very enjoyable lunch came to an end. The wine flight was excellent with some thoroughly interesting wines, and the delivery was first class with all wines being poured at the table as well as being thoroughly and enthusiastically explained.

Service throughout in general (from a combination of waiting staff and the chefs) was very good and the menu pacing was solid also as per my previous visits; Chef Patron Simon may not have been in the kitchen this time, but the courses still flowed steadily as they should. The food as expected was of a very high standard with an impressive level of technical skill on show, there were though one or two little issues for me with the food and the desserts in particular were a bit dull visually and just lacked a bit of plating finesse in areas. If I'm being brutally honest, I would say the overall standard of the food was slightly lower this time than my previous visit.

Pricing wise, this is still fairly top end in terms of 1* restaurant pricing but although the wine flight cost has increased since my last visit, the menu price has actually gone down, which is a clear indicator the restaurant is aware of the need to keep the pricing as accessible as possible. As I always say, if a restaurant is too expensive, people simply won't come, and that's clearly not the case here.

Overall, I have no issue proclaiming Mana is still an excellent restaurant; in the current hospitality climate it's a commendable feat to maintain such a high standard with a new restaurant for over six years. I wish the team continued success and although there are one or two things I think could be improved, I'd have no issue at all returning in future and look forward to doing so.