I hadn’t come to Manchester thinking that I would end up at Harvey Nichols, yet I’d never really been to the one in Knightsbridge that I thought Manchester might be the place to try it. Situated just around the corner from the Manchester Wheel, Harvey Nichols’ second floor is home to both a bistro, and the restaurant, with the bistro serving dishes a la carte, and the restaurant serving a set menu.

The menu looked impressive, with two courses priced at £30 and three at £40. I’d rarely pay this much for a lunchtime meal, yet the menu intrigued me.

I sat at one of the tables by the window, and as overcast as the city was, I still managed to get a very nice view of the surrounding area. I even had a small break the dark clouds, parted slightly for some glorious blue sky and sunshine, albeit briefly. With the food on their way, a waiter dropped in with a choice of brown or white bread rolls, and a small mound of softened butter topped with sea salt flakes. Both were not really worth writing home about.

I ended up going with the two courses since I wasn’t particularly hungry and I was surprised when the waitress brought a Wood duck, and pigeon terrine accompanied by a chilli reduction. Strong in gamey flavours and a great way to start the appetite, I would only prefer the reduction (the red ring around the plate) to have a bit more kick. Considering that most of the other people seemed to be either men doing business, or a number of elderly couple I can appreciate the chef’s choice not to.

The first “course” that I ordered was the Pigs cheek hash brown, hand dived scallop, roast cauliflower puree, caper and raisin vinaigrette. I had actually asked the waiter how this was served because I adore pigs cheek (thanks St Johns!) but wasn’t quite sure how it’d be served with the hash brown. I really had nothing to fear with the flesh shredded and mixed in with, effectively a potato rosti, and its strong flavours permeating throughout. “What a winner,” I thought as I enjoyed every bite. The scallop, perfectly seared and soft and the puree and vinaigrette surprisingly working well with the rest of the dishes. With this finished off, I certainly looked forward to the next course…

A Roasted turbot, oxtail ravioli, buttered leeks, carrot puree, forest mushrooms & crab emulsion foam. I have no idea why everyone seems taken aback with foams, and unfortunately as good as the rest of the dish was, I don’t think it really added that much to it. Firstly, the oxtail ravioli, a large hunk of oxtail gently wrapped and the pasta perfectly cooked went amazingly well with the leeks and carrot mixture. Combined with the earthy strength from the mushrooms, that alone would have been enough. However, it seemed that surf and turf was order of the day, and I almost as thoroughly enjoyed every last bite of the roasted turbot, with juicy flakes of just cooked fish melting in my mouth. I thought that the fish was slightly over seasoned, though I know I tend to be pretty fussy about that.

Service was absolutely perfect throughout the meal. I never felt rushed or hurried, nor was I ever sitting around waiting for my plate to be taken away. Admittedly, I don’t necessarily need to have that much of an extravagant meal but I can now cross Harvey Nichols off the list and did so enjoying almost every moment.

Name: Harvey Nichols’ Second Floor Restaurant (Manchester)
Found at: Harvey Nichols, 21 Cathedral Street, Manchester, M1 1AD
Contactable on: Tel: 0161 828 8888 or http://www.harveynichols.com/
TheKua.com Rating: 8.5 out of 10