Salt House Tapas - Liverpool

As readers will be aware I have reservations about tapas (see Charango post), but Salt House Tapas is approximately 45 seconds walk from The Q's house and with a four week old baby in tow we needed somewhere close to whet the baby's head. As Salt House is the new boy on Liverpool's restaurant scene and part of the ever-expanding Liverpool One complex I was also intrigued to see what they had to offer.

Salt House Tapas is located in the Salt House, a lovely old building on Hanover Street (just opposite John Lewis) - a great place for popping in during or after a tiring day of shopping. The restaurant is decked out in light woods, sage paint and specials above the open faced kitchen - with an almost canteen feel about it. There are interesting spanish touches like cutlery in pimento tins, giving that relaxed spanish feel.

Interior of Salt House Tapas, Liverpool

Arriving at 1pm Salt House Tapas was a little empty, but we were greeted with the warmest of welcomes by the manager. As we had brought a pram we were told to pick any table we fancied rather than our reserved one and the staff went out of their way to move things around, put the blinds down so the sun didn't effect Baby Q and generally made us feel very special (again, take note Vermillion). A very different reception than to many other places when you take a baby in.

Everyone chose the lunch menu - a steal at £8.95 for three generous sized plates plus a big plate of the chewiest, freshest homemade sourdough served with good quality oil and balsamic. Being a contrary one, plus having been seduced by the sound of the special sardines by our dishy waiter, I decided to order off the al la carte menu. The dishes are a little more expensive and you for go the sourdough, but I wasn't disappointed (plus I took liberties with Daddy Q and the Boy's - all in the name of gastronomic research of course).

The chewy and delicious sourdough (before research commenced)

With tapas there's so much that comes out that I won't bore you with all the details, however I will say that each dish that come out was well presented and well prepared; such as the chargirlled, peppery and refreshingly lemony chicken and cous cous or the generous shavings of manchego over the grilled mushrooms. There were only one or two negatives such as a slightly under seasoned dish of patatas bravas (however so crisp and fresh it really didn't detract) and a slightly insipid salami on the charcuteria plate (but accompanied by a divine Serrano I'd give my eye teeth for, or £8.95..).

Charcuteria plate

However it's choosing which of the star dishes to describe as there were so many. The morcilla (black pudding) came out crispy atop a sharp, soft, herby apple sauce - a great texture clash, the sharp sauce cutting through the sweet pudding and the little onion rings on top were great; crisp and sweet and divine.

Morcilla

Another star dish was the aforementioned specials board sardines - soft, chargrilled and lovely. The whiting off the lunch menu was similarly well cooked with the addition of an exceptionally tasty chive and chorizo sauce, which set off the fish brilliantly and made the whole dish dance.

Mussels off the a la carte menu were sensational; smokey, sweet, soft, salty - luckily served with a spoon so I could unashamedly sup up the sauce like the great big glutton I am.

Mussels - really good portion size and so lovely!

I'm not usually one for puddings at lunch time; but after the raving success of the mains plates we dived in with glee - and I'm so glad we did. Daddy Q's soft meringues, peaches and cream was a pillowy and comforting adult version of baby food (Baby Q would be proud), the Boy's olorosso sherry took a British classic and (shhhh!) improved it (I know!).

But the star was my ice cream with sugared almonds, espresso and PX sherry - a Spanish version of the Italian affogato. I couldn't imagine such a simple concept would be so brilliant, but I was wrong and fell in love (I think the use of amazing produce and a great PX helped). Pour over the PX and a splash of the espresso - or otherwise the espresso will drown out everything else.

The best pudding - Ice cream, sugared almonds, PX and espresso

Salt House Tapas' website proclaims their love of provenance and sourcing of good quality ingredients, this ethos certainly shines through in the food they serve; however this isn't stated on the menu (they're not fans of that apparently), but I think maybe they should boast a little - the people of Liverpool need to know what a great treasure they have on their doorsteps. Lets hope it stays there.

Ps - Book ahead, especially at weekends as it gets very, very busy. Whilst we were there they were constantly turning people away or getting them to eat at the bar. If you are going at a busy time ask to have a table upstairs (if you don't have a pram!) as the downstairs in in the constant draft of the door - ok in summer, but not in Jan!

Pps -  and what about Baby Q? A star. Slept the whole way through, even when a fat Spanish senora practically sat on the pram. What's that about babies in restaurants (at lunch anyway)?

Price for three set lunch menus (bread and three plates £8.95), three a la carte plates, three puddings, one pint of beer, one bottle of beer, one san pellegrino limonata, two carafes of filtered tap water (50p donated to Alder Hey hospital) and one hot chocolate - £69.95


Value for money - 8/10
Service - 9/10
Atmosphere - 9/10

Total - 35/40

Salt House Tapas, The Salt House, Hanover Street, Liverpool L1 3DW - 0151 706 0092 - @salthousetapas
http://www.salthousetapas.co.uk/

Tebay Services - M6 - Cumbria

Zipping about in their fancy cars, discovering new parts of the country and enjoying themselves along the way was a dream our forefathers held close to their hearts. The architecture of service stations such as Forton on the M6 is testament to this with its tower restaurant and futuristic space ship design.

Forton Services - with thanks to Geograph.co.uk

Service stations were once a place of wonder and joy, where the British family stopped off on their long trek across the UK and were often greeted by hostesses in fancy costumes. Restaurants at service stations were pricey affairs aimed at executive businessmen on expense accounts and were kitted out with furniture by Terrance Conran with viewing platforms to watch the cars flying past. So how come service stations have become the home of overcharging, fast food and toilets that smell like a student's underpants after a two week bender in the middle of summer? And why is visiting one akin to having your soul sucked out?

All is not lost though. If you enjoy travelling and want to put the wow back into your wanderings, then there is the offer of hope in the form of Tebay Westmoreland Services. Located on the north and southbound sides of the M6 in between junctions 38 and 39, Tebay is located at Tebay in Cumbria and is a mecca for any tired traveller.

Owned by a local family all the food in their cafe is actually made by their chefs (wow, I know!), with most of the food being sourced locally with a huge emphasis on free range and organic - indeed, the lamb and beef are sourced from their own farm next to Tebay southbound. There's a proper hot food section with delights such as lamb hotpot and big, rich scones. At the Northbound services the cafe looks out over the duck pond offering cheery respite for the road weary traveller.

Tebay Services and the duck pond (with thanks to motorwayservicesonline.co.uk)

Tebay is not only great for a sit down meal, but also includes a fair trade cafe, food to go such as hand-made sandwiches (which are very generous and look like the door steppers my Dad used to make), the usual papers, sweets, mags, a boutique plus my favourite place along the M6 - the Westmoreland farm shop.

Although an unusual place to have a farm shop Westmoreland is never empty - and no wonder with all the delights they have to offer. The shop houses a fine selection of chutneys, jams, honeys, crackers, chocolates, fresh fruit and veg, charcuterie, dried goods such as pasta, a deli counter and a brilliant butchers. My advise if you're hungry is to grab one of the Cumberland pies from the deli - fandabbydozzy - the pastry crisp and salty and the meat all moist with no hint of gristle.

The shop champions local and artisanal produce and is a brilliant place to pick up delights such as Mr Vikki's chilli pickles, Tweesdale Honey, Richard Woodall's cured meats and cheese from the Swaledale Cheese Company, plus more unusual items such as smoked garlic. Tebay's Westmoreland shop now has over 40 regular local suppliers and the list is ever-growing.

Compared to the usual service station suspects the prices at Tebay are on a par - plus there is no extra charge for the feel good factor that the money you spend at Tebay is supporting the local economy. At Tebay there is no neon lighting, nasty plastic or sticky lino - the design has been thoroughly thought out with exposed wooden beams, natural stone and the cafe in the northbound station has a roof of weaved willow interspaced with little white lights. These services are like a massage for the soul and will help you unwind before the next round of traffic jams, road works and surprise diversions.

Tebay has been awarded a raft of awards including the 2009 Grand Prix of Gastronomy by Egon Ronay, Annual Loo of the Year 2009 and and Best Local Retailer by Radio 4's Food and Farming Awards and boy do they deserve them.

Tebay is so good I often try to find an excuse to travel that far up the M6, however with so much to offer there is really no excuse needed. Remember not to miss Tebay between Junc 38 and 39 (Tebay) signposted Tebay Westmoreland - and miss out the cheap and nasty chains such as Welcome Break and Moto. Happy travelling!

Tebay Services, between Junction 38 and 39 of the M6, Tebay, Cumbria - 01539 624511.
http://www.westmorland.com/tebay

Ps - for those Southerners who wish their travelling experiences could be graced with glamour and good food, Westmoreland Ltd (the company who run Tebay) have just won planning permission to start work on another service station on the M5 just outside Gloucester - should be opening in 2013.

Teacup - Manchester

Teacup has been serving vegetarian fare, cakes and coffee to the trendy young hipsters/hungover heads of Manchester's northern quarter for the last couple of years. Originally called Cup (against the wall) it was not only a tea and cake emporium, but was a place to pick up select vintage china, LPs, Mr Scruff-obilia and funky t-shirts (Teacup is owned by Manc DJ Mr Scruff).

However times change and Cup has now become Teacup, the walls and floors have been painted brown, you can no longer buy cups (apart from Mr Scruff mugs) and the trendy t-shirts and vinyl have made way for ever more tables as the need for cakes and coffee in Manchester's northern quarter grows - though the Mr Scruff-obilia is still there is full force.

Teacup gets very busy and it can often be a struggle to get a table, especially at about 12 noon on Saturday when the trendy hipsters have crawled out of their Urban Splash studio flats, fallen into some very-trendy-without-being-trendy clothes and finally opened their eyes and smelt the Tea(cup).

Cup of tea for one

I have to admit it was in this state that I stumbled in to Teacup; however I first had to endure the boy's erratic driving from my parochial hillside village. To soothe my innards I ordered the Superfood Porridge made with proper milk (don't even get me started on the ethics of soya) and a side order of blueberries. The boy made a usual beeline for the organic Dippy Eggs and Soldiers and a fresh orange juice.

Organic dippy eggs and norlander rye soldiers

Service was a little slow, though we were in no need of rushing - two of skinniest hipsters I have ever seen seemed to have ordered the whole of the menu just before us, which took up all the kitchen staff - or so it seemed (surprisingly they finished it all too).

The porridge was good; properly cooked, no lumps and the berries made a brilliant contrast, their sharpness cutting through the soft cream and sweet agave syrup with ease. The boy's dippy eggs were soft and unctuous with no watery bits of uncooked egg, though the norlander rye soldiers (from trendy local bakery Barbakan) had gone a little mushy - this seemed to be more from the amount of butter on top rather than anything else.

Super food porridge with blueberries

After a stressful day in Manchester town centre, a late lunch saw me back once again at Teacup - more on the request of little brother than anything else. Needing to feed the beast in my tummy I opted for the Soup and Sandwich combo, little brother just had sandwiches as did the young architect.

The beetroot soup had a brilliant horseradish kick, but came out a little cool from the kitchen. The sandwiches on the side were very generous, but so I expected it to be for the £7.50 I was paying. The falafal sandwiches that accompanied the soup were the best sandwiches I have ever tasted - little mint leaves combined with spicy jalapenos freshened up the whole carb/legume overload and lifted the whole affair.

Soup and sandwich combo

Compared with the fantastic falafal sandwiches the young architect's Sheep's Cheese sandwiches were a bit of a sorry affair. The red onion marmalade couldn't be identified at all and neither could the spinach, the amount of cheese was far too much for one person to consume and the sandwiches must have been sitting on the pass for an age as the cheese had set and become rather rubbery and tasteless - for £3.95 we would have expected more care and thought. Mother's Tomatoes and Mushrooms on toast was flavourful with crisp toast, but at £3.85 the portion was really small.

Sheep's cheese sandwich

To cheer up the young architect we chose to have cakes and coffee afterwards. Teacup's Hungarian Seed Cake is a masterful dense affair full to the brim with poppy seeds, however I have had this cake before this time the candied peel seemed to be missing from the slice I had and it was worse off without it, there was no freshness or fragrance to the cake.

Little brother's brownie was a moreish and dense slab, the texture contrasting brilliantly with the inclusion of crunchy roasted hazelnuts. The young architect was in for another disappointment with her vanilla cheesecake, which was overly stodgy and sickly sweet. Seeing as each slice had cost us £3.50 on top of what we were paying for lunch, we were now feeling rather out of pocket.

Vanilla cheesecake

Breakfast had been a great affair and apart for £3.20 for a small glass of orange juice was really good value. On the other hand lunch was much more pricey and for what we were served, not great value at all. Especially bad value at Teacup are the cakes, juices, milkshakes and smoothies.

Whilst Teacup is ticking all the boxes in terms of style there seems to be some massive holes in the value and the taste departments - maybe like many frequenters of Manchester's northern quarter style is more important than substance.

In all I will return to Teacup, mainly because they have the best porridge in town and the boy loves dippy eggs probably more than beer or suet (I know!). Plus the coffee is better than most places, they serve organic local and free-range wherever possible, the service is very friendly and the breakfasts (minus the juices) are very good value. I would think twice before popping back in for a piece of cake or lunch as I think there are places that offer better value for the type of food served.



N.B. Teacup is starting an evening menu of meatballs (veggie and meat) on Thurs, Fri and Sat evening after 7pm.

Breakfast cost for porridge, dippy eggs, coffee, tea for one and orange juice: £14.00
Lunch cost for four mains, three cakes, two coffees and one smoothie: £36.10

Value for money - 5/10
Atmosphere - 6/10
Service - 7/10
Food - 7/10

Total - 25/40

Teacup, 55 Thomas Street, Manchester M4 1NA - 0161 8323 233 - eat@teacupandcakes.com
http://teacupandcakes.com/

Simply Yu and You - Horwich

Gordon Ramsey - a shouty, crinkly faced, telly-monger and not someone I usually consult for anything other than how not to speak to other people. However female solicitor is a fan of some really trash telly and mentioned that Mr Ramsey had recently bestowed Yu and You Ribble with the title of 'Best Chinese Restaurant,' therefore we should probably nip over to the Horwich branch to see if we agreed with him.

Simply Yu and You is tucked away on St John's Street, around a corner off Winter Hey Lane in Horwich; thankfully the solicitors had done their research, presented their case and led the way.

Any winner for a restaurant is service, and the staff at Simply Yu and You made us feel like kings, or more fittingly emperors. Though service was clumsy (dropped cutlery anyone?), the staff were very friendly and knowledgeable; something many places could learn from - hope you're taking note Vermillion.

Having never visited the main Yu and You, or indeed watched that rapscallion Mr Ramsey's programme, I have no idea how Simply compares. At first glance the restaurant is very stylish; with a bright blue up lit bar, granite panelling and flock covered menus. In contrast the actual restaurant part is somewhat 'bedroom wallpaper from Homebase,' but the main thing has to be said that the small space is clean and they have at least made an effort.

The menu is a little shorter than a standard chinese restaurant's, plus seems to be much more simplified than the Ribble restaurant's version; though unfortunately the prices don't much match this simplification. The question was, why does Yu and You think the people of Horwich need a simpler menu?

Starters came out reasonably quickly, though female solicitor's didn't come out until we had all but finished ours - something she used to her advantage by nicking off our plates. If we hadn't been 'sharing' we may have complained, but portions were big enough and when it did come out they were very apologetic.

Mini duck spring rolls

The boy's vegetable spring rolls were nice enough, crispy pastry no hint of oil; but he was very jealous when female solicitor's mini duck spring rolls arrived, there were four compared with his two - and they weren't that mini either! Once again I chose the squid, was cooked well but nothing special and did have an oily aftertaste. However the winner of the starters was male solicitor's salt and pepper spare ribs - the only word I have to describe these are soft and lip-smacking - yum!

Lip smacking spare ribs

For mains the boy's beef with green pepper was good, female solicitor's predictable sweet and sour pork was predictably alright - good compared with the stuff you get from the chinese takeaway, not mind blowing, but for once a sauce that is both sweet and sour, not just cloyingly sweet.

Sweet and sour

Male solicitor was vying for first place again with his Thai style crispy king prawns - the sauce was lovely, however his prawns were slightly overdone and chewy. My steamed sea bream was cooked to perfection with the flavour of the fish delicately skipping across my tongue, the crispy noodles a great contrast in texture - however the dish was spoiled by the soy sauce; instead of a complimentary, slightly salty flavour the sauce overpowered the delicate fish and left me gasping for water: therefore no winners on the mains front.

         

Steamed sea bream

To finish off we ordered the fruit fritters; too oily, not worth mentioning and not worth the £4.95 we paid for the them no matter how good the presentation was (thought the server had managed to knock over both towers bringing them to table, we restyled them for the photo).

Fritters

Simply Yu and You is better than the takeaway but seems to have simplified not only its menu, but also it's award winning cooking style - however not its prices. Although the service is charming, the food isn't worth the prices charged; whether this is a reflection on Gordon's taste I am unsure, let's hope the Ribble restaurant is worth eating at - the Horwich one certainly isn't.

Price for four starters, fours mains, two sides and a pudding - £72.25

Value for money - 6/10
Atmosphere - 6/10
Service - 8/10
Food 5/10

Total - 25/40

Simply Yu and You, 2 St John Street, Horwich, Bolton BL6 7NY - 01204 698600 - http://www.simplyyuandyou.com/

The Northern Quarter Restaurant - Manchester

Ladies who lunch - this title has never applied to me before; however with a reunion of old school friends on the books and a need to fill our bellies elegantly, but without the usual 'Ladies Who Lunch' price tag, we popped in to The Northern Quarter Restaurant for the Sunday Lunch menu.

The Northern Quarter Restaurant - with thanks to largemanchester.com

The Northern Quarter Restaurant has been a Manchester stalwart for the past few years and has been one of my favourite places to eat: good, local food presented elegantly and artistically - so you can imagine how much I wanted to show off my find to my old friends.

The Norther Quarter is a mix of classic restaurant and funky minimalism, rather like the part of town it's located in - a mix of up and coming young professionals, arty somethings, Icon-reading design fashionistas and tramps. TNQ serves 'gutsy fresh food whilst using prime local ingredients with added flavours of the med and beyond' and styles itself as 'funky but not frightening.' Question was, would the meal frighten us?

We took advantage of the Sunday lunch menu - £11.95 for two courses, £14.95 for three and ordered with anticipation; however we were left hungry and waited a good 30 mins for our starters to come out. If we hadn't been bowled over by them, there would have been words.

Egg and black pudding

My squid panzanella salad was heaven - a classic marriage of soft tomatoes, well cooked squid, tiny but potent basil leaves and slightly soggy in a good way bread - each mouthful was a burst of flavour on my tongue and I was genuinely delighted. Burlesque Dancer's eggs with black pudding skipped out with a perfect poached egg paired with a brilliantly made hollandaise (which she was cursing whilst slipping in to her skimpy show outfit later that evening).

Tongue tingling, taste bud tantalising panzanella

Thankfully there wasn't too much of a wait for the mains - long, but quicker than the starters, I think the wine kept us happy - well, we were ladies who were lunching!

Young Student and the Welsh Harpist had gone traditional style and ordered the roast beef - nothing on the plate was wrong apart from the slightly overly fatty rib eye (yes I know it's fatty, but this was a little more than you would expect), however there was nothing exciting about the dish and it only ticked boxes for being large and warm and Sundy-ish.

The sunday roast

On the other hand BD's and my bourek with cucumber salad was yet another tongue tantalising delight with crisp pastry, tasty filling and a zingy refreshing salad that cut through the creamy filling. The only problem with the dish was that it was a smaller size than my starter (which wasn't the biggest). Ok if you're going on stage in a bikini in the evening, not so good for anyone else; especially when cocktails would feature heavily after we left the restaurant.

The bourek

If the food was hit and miss then the service was dire. Usually service at TNQ is swift, sleek and very knowledgeable - but we were left lacking for any attention. Catching the eye of a staff member was like catching Katie Price at a Women's Institute meeting in a twin set and we were left waiting for what seemed like an age for anything we asked for. I'm a fan of continental style lunches, but even if this is a modern British restaurant with Mediterranean influences our two course Sunday lunch lasted three hours - with 30 minutes involving us having to repeatedly ask for the bill.

And when the bill came? I am disgusted to report that TNQ has started to add a 'discretionary' 10% service charge to the bill, nothing cheapens a place more in my opinion - I don't like being told or 'reminded' to tip, I'll tip when I think the experience is worth it. What did we do? We were terribly British and just paid it; no one in Britain likes to complain unless it's afterwards and on a blog.

Where once I was singing the praise and hailing TNQ as a Manchester gem, I am sorry to report that the food from Anthony Fielden's kitchen has gone downhill and the service has left the piste altogether and fallen into a drift from which it can't get out of. For the price we paid, the food was of an alright standard, I just wouldn't want to eat there full price these days - and the service: it wasn't worth anything.

PS - I returned a week later with Little Brother to give TNQ a second chance and have to say the service was just as poor and the food lack lustre, even the panzanella had become overcooked, terribly awful, tasteless and a lot smaller.

Sunday lunch: Two courses £11.95, three courses £14.95 (12-7pm)

Love lunch: Two courses £9.95, three courses £14.95 (12-7pm)

Price for four starters, four mains, a bottle of wine and the 'discretionary' 10%: £74.58

Value for money: 6/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Service: 5/10

Food: 7/10

Total: 25/40

The Northern Quarter Restaurant, 108 High Street, Manchester M4 1HQ - 0161 832 7115

http://www.tnq.co.uk/