River at The Lowry, Manchester

A dark gloomy evening can only be cheered up by arriving into a warm and inviting, newly refurbished River restaurant at The Lowry. Taking solace from the storm outside, we headed to our table overlooking the banks of the River Irwell before settling down to experience a fine dining evening in one of Manchester’s 5 star hotels. Now, when it comes to dinner suggestions, The Lowry hotel would never usually come up as an option, and I feel that’s because I’m not hearing much talk about River restaurant and it’s not getting the credit it deserves.

Walking into River, I felt instantly at ease. The touches of burnt orange throughout the colour scheme made it feel homely and comfortable as well as being hard lit; I cannot bear these bijou restaurants where it feels like you’re eating in the dark! From the offset, the service was impeccable and didn’t fade or falter throughout the evening. In fact, they couldn’t do any more for us and even when the dining room started to fill up, they kept us updated on lengths of time it may take for dishes to reach us. The attentiveness was lovely, and each person who came to the table was jovial and gave wonderful explanations of the wine and the food. A credit to the restaurant, they really did make the evening run smoothly.

Bread and butter is a classic start to any meal and lately, I’ve been noticing a trend that each restaurant is trying to out do each other with trying to convert a simple butter into something quite outlandish. I don’t know about you, but I love a salty and creamy butter at room temperature that spreads easily on a hunk of bread. We were presented with a basket of three artisan breads alongside two pots and what looked like two plump and juicy cherry tomatoes. A little surprise came when we were told that the tomatoes were actually tomato butter and completely edible. Very clever and something that I have never seen before. A bowl of Wignall’s Yallo rapeseed oil was a unusual choice to go with bread, but the Lancashire based Wignalls Farm have not only developed a smooth and flavourful oil, but their ethos with protecting the bees makes the brand a wonderful choice for a Manchester restaurant. The bowl that took me into that stratospheric mouthgasm was the whipped Lancashire Cheese Custard. A taste sensation, this creamy and indulgent whipped melty cheese spread quite literally was to die for.

I’m one of those people who study the menu for an age before I go to the restaurant, knowing full well what I want before the wait staff even ask. I must admit that I struggled with choosing. Each main dish was jumping out to me with the common theme of classic hearty dishes running through the menu. I eventually settled on my choices, and unusually for me, both were red meat. Starting with the Squab Pigeon served with crispy pastilla, celeriac, kale and goat’s curd. It’s not often that I have pigeon but I found this plate to be my favourite of the evening. Rich and flavourful, the pigeon couldn’t have been cooked any better and it almost melted in the mouth. The tarteness of the goats curd balanced the flavours out well and I could have eaten this twice over. On the other side of the table, the remaining bread was being put to good use with the Chicken Liver Parfait. On the menu, this is classed as a snack but was kindly brought out as a starter. Served with two crispy slices of toast and a jammy chutney, it went down a treat

Heading onto the main course, I could already feel the toll of the bread and that delicious pigeon but I was really looking forward to the arrival of my Cheshire Farm Lamb Rump. A Lowry signature dish, I would recommend this to any person who visited the restaurant. I’m a sucker for lamb and as it is my favourite meat I am very particular about how it’s cooked. It needs to be just that right shade of pink, melt in the mouth and tender to which The Lowry have absolutely nailed this. My plate was full of rump with braised rib, carrots, roasted onion and mint sauce (which I believe should go on every meal). A traditional meal done properly and one that I thoroughly enjoyed alongside a bowl of the creamed leeks with bacon. Also on the table, an 8oz char-grilled Cheshire Farm rump steak served with peppercorn sauce and triple cooked chips. The steak was cooked to perfection, medium rare and fell apart under the knife whilst the bone marrow butter melted over the tender meat.

You would think that would be the end but of course, we all know that we can make room for dessert. I wanted something light and fresh, something to cleanse the palette but for the sweetness to take the edge of the savoury. Reading through the menu, my eyes were drawn to the very Mancunican Bee Centre Honey; a perfect finish to the evening. Now, I am a little confused as to what came out on my plate as when I have seen other reviews for this dessert, what I received looks nothing alike to others. As you can see from Charlies post, the dessert looks vastly different to what I was offered. Maybe this was due to ingredient levels, or they have changed things over within the few weeks that our visits took place however it has now given me a bit of a memory lapse as to what I ate. All that springs to mind is the delightful combination of honey and caramel with a fresh tartness from the parfait and redcurrants and a creamy richness of the chocolate balls. We also tucked into the Brillat Savarin Cheesecake packed with apples and blackberries and an apple crumble sorbet. Another tangy yet sweet balanced flavour that rounded off the meal perfectly.

I’m really looking forward to making more visits to River at The Lowry as it was nothing short of excellent. Thank you for a wonderful evening with a perfect menu.

My meal was provided complimentary but all opinions are my own.