When: Saturday 8th October 2011
Where: San Rocco, South King Street, Manchester
Who with: My fabulous friend Amy.
Me and my friend Amy had a gal-date at San Rocco last weekend. Food, wine, cocktails and a massive chin-wag was the order of the evening. We reserved a table for 19:30 and although we turned up a little early, we were seated in a nice little couch area where there was olives to nibble on and they brought us a bottle of wine which we had ordered upon arrival (Pinot Grigio Veneto - which was fit to say the very least).
My friend who has an unashamedley fussy palette chose spaghetti bolognese, I, more adventurous (of course, do you expect anything else?) selected the 'Coda di Rospo', medallion of monkfish with cherry tomatoes in a garlic and white wine sauce. I also ordered a rocket & parmesan side salad.
This meal truly was amazing. I ate every last morsel on the plate. The portion size was generous, although you can't really see it in the picture, it was 4 pieces of monkfish, one on top of the other in two piles, with cherry tomatoes and onions layered on top. If i'm honest, I'm not a big fan of onions, so I just pushed them to the side so if I have any complaint at all (and it really is nit-picking) is that it didnt say on the menu that it came with a great big dollop of onions on. The rocket & parmesan salad, simple though it was, was lovely and a nice accompaniment to the monkfish. The restaurant also brought a nice balsamic vinegar to dress the salad with.
I could have eaten that meal twice, not through hunger, but because it was so good.
A bottle of wine, one garlic bread with cheese, two main courses, side salad and two desserts came to around £55, which is very reasonable considering my dish alone was £15 for the fish. I would absolutly go back again.
After San Rocco, me and Amy walked up to the top of King Street and went to cocktail bar and restaurant, Room. This is a stylish place, and not really one to be seen after being drowned the rain, which was our case unfortunatley! But we laughed it off and tried to make a dignified entrance. The doorman asked us how old we were (oh the shame!) but didnt really press us the way they do when you go to a nightclub.
My first cocktail choice was a Pornstar Martini.
If I hadn't wanted to try other cocktails for reviewing sake, I would have ordered this drink repeatedly all night. It was so delish. This Pornstar Martini consisted of Vanilla vodka, passion fruit, butterscotch, pineapple and a champagne shot on the side. It was a little on the pricey side, £9.50 a pop, but oh so worth it.
I also tried Room's signature cocktail, a Roomberry.
This was also lovely, Strawberry, Chambord and Champagne. As you can see it came with a strawberry and cute twirly stirrer. This one was £8.50.
I would also revisit Room again, and would love to go back very soon. For the rest of the evening I also sampled their Bellini (peach) and then continued to re-order the Pornstar Martini, but be under no illusion, the cocktail menu is impressive, offering a variety of types, unlike All Bar One which offers a paltry 4 or 5 cocktails.
All in all it was a great night! I highly recommend San Rocco and Room for anyone to try, whether you are a Manchester native or visitor, and if you do happen to go, let me know what you think!
No comments:
Post a Comment