Restaurant Orme Review

Opened in May 2023, Orme is an independent tasting-menu based restaurant located in the Greater Manchester suburb of Urmston. Having received a couple of decent local write ups, and indeed a Michelin Guide listing just a few months after opening in September 2023, I was very much looking forward to giving the place a try as I rocked up for lunch with my wife on a drizzly March Friday, to celebrate our anniversary.

The restaurant sits on the main road through Urmston and has no dedicated parking, but we were able to find a spot on a nearby residential street without too much of an issue. The welcome on arrival was warm and friendly and we were shown to our table next to the front door. We were the first in the restaurant and although my seat was probably the worst in the dining room (every person who entered the restaurant passed right behind me), it was still a pretty comfortable spot, even as the restaurant filled up during service. I liked the feel of the place in general; there's a definite Scandi vibe to the room complimented by an indie music playlist (who doesn't love a bit of The Cure).

On offer at lunch is a four course tasting menu (although one of those courses is bread and snacks) plus two additional courses available for an extra supplement each which we opted for. Drinks wise there's a comprehensive range of drinks including an interesting wine list, although the non-alcoholic selection was poor. I had my usual Hendricks and tonic to start which was delivered perfectly, whilst my wife enjoyed a couple of Lemon Drop mocktails (the only mocktail offered) during her meal. There's a matching drinks flight to go with the tasting menu too, including a pairing for each supplemental course.

Lunch began with some truffle and chive bread, accompanied by snacks of a salmon tart and a bowl of creme-caramel style cauliflower custard. I was very impressed by all the elements; the bread was great and both snacks were delicious, it was a great start to the meal. Next up was the first supplementary course; cured cod served with a smoked kohlrabi salsa and wasabi and dill. I really enjoyed this dish also; the flavours packed a really big punch, and the dish as a whole was very tasty.

There was quite a wait for the next course to arrive, but the torched sea bream with pickled onion, a chunk of celeriac and mussel sauce was another enjoyable plate of food. The fish cookery was good although the celeriac could have carried more flavour for me.

Then came... a very, very long wait. Another table of two had arrived a few minutes after us and it was very apparent the kitchen were trying to sync us up; the big issue with that is the other table in question were progressing a lot more slowly than us through their meal (as well as having started later) so it made the wait painfully noticeable. We timed it at a whopping thirty-five minutes between our plates being cleared and our next course arriving, and that's just too long for me under any circumstances for a tasting menu.

It was doubly frustrating as my wine pairing was poured many minutes before the food arrived (more on that later), and then bizarrely, that other table we'd been waiting for somehow ended up receiving their next course before we did. When it did eventually arrive, the next dish of roasted Cumbrian chicken with mushroom and tarragon was actually very tasty, the chicken cooking was perfect and the dish ate well as a whole. And look, if I had to choose between a long wait and badly cooked chicken, I'd take the long wait every time, but I shouldn't need to make that choice.

I'd guessed the next dish (a supplementary cheese course) would arrive much faster, and indeed it did, after just a couple of minutes. The Hebridean Blue cheese was nice, but the accompanying Yorkshire parkin cake wasn't great; I'd pass on this course in all honesty if I went back. The provided Solaris Botrytis wine pairing just didn't work for me either.

Last up was a white chocolate cheesecake sat on rhubarb with a cardamom ice cream and sesame disk top. I enjoyed this, it was a well-constructed dish and the flavours were interesting. My wife wasn't so keen on the combination of flavours though; it's one of those dishes that will split opinion. The final drinks pairing was an in-house designed cocktail titled 'The Stone Roses' which packed a punch, but it's not a drink I'd rush back for.

And so with that, as we collected our bill (complete with 12% service charge) accompanied by a couple of lemon verbena p4's, an enjoyable lunch came to an end. I was very impressed with the food here; the standard of cooking was high and better than I'd been expecting in all honesty. The wine/drinks pairing wasn't particularly memorable and frustratingly a lot of the wines were poured a long time before the food arrived. But on the plus side, it wasn't expensive and all the wines were explained enthusiastically by our waitress and poured at the table as I much prefer. Service as a whole was pretty faultless, we were well looked after during our visit.

The biggest issue was the pacing I alluded to earlier; I know from eating a lot of tasting menus that it's one of the hardest things to get right, but the gaps between some courses were just far too long. Overall though, we really enjoyed our lunch here; I thought our meal (albeit with a special £10 per person March lunch discount) was really good value, and I'd happily go back again to try a future menu.