Review: CockaDoodleMoo, Hazel Grove, Stockport

It’s not often we get a new restaurant in Hazel Grove, so when CockaDoodleMoo popped up in the old Los Amigos site we were all a little inquisitive. Promising to be a ‘meat shack, smoke and grill’ was more than a little exciting for a little village and I jumped at the chance to visit when celebrating my degree results with the parents.

We visited on a Saturday night having booked and were shown to our table promptly. I love the décor of this place; exposed wood and riveted metal give it a real nod to the cuisine they are creating although it does make the place loud. When we visited the restaurant was only half full and we struggled to hear each other over the noise and the other diners weren’t being overly loud.

I chose the smoked scotch egg (£4.50) to start which was served on a bed of barbecue beans. I was expecting something similar to a Manchester egg… a soft yolked egg wrapped in sausage meat with a golden crust. What arrived was a little different, the egg itself was a little overdone but the wrapping of bacon was a nice touch and worked well with the smokey barbecue beans. There was no golden crust and I think this might have finished the dish well.

For my main I went for the classic moo (£8.45)… 6oz chuck burger topped with mont jack cheese and fries. I plumped for a rasher of bacon and curly fries for slightly extra. When ordering we were told the burgers are served medium. This is no good for my burnt meat loving Mother who asked for her burger to be cooked through. We were advised that this was no problem and that the chef could do this for her but I also noticed the menu stipulates that all burgers are served medium. If the chef is happy to cook your burger whatever way you want it, why make a big effort to say you serve them medium?

As the waitress started to walk away my Dad asked what texas toast was? We were told it was like cheese on toast and was something we should definitely try. Mouths watering we ordered 2 servings to share, eagerly awaiting our main courses.

My fries arrived straight, not a major issue and I chomped them down as they were crisp and golden. The burger was 2 smaller patties and not the 6oz stated. It was also cooked all the way through, no pink middle as promised. That said, it was moist and succulent so no cause for complaint here. The bacon was lovely and crisp too, no soggy rashers here. A friend had mentioned that the coleslaw was heavy on the coriander and, whilst it was, I do like coriander so this was a plus for me.

I didn’t photograph the texas toast but this is where things went wrong… what arrived was a plate of warmed thickly sliced white bread smothered in garlic. Not a piece of cheese in sight. When asked the plates were whipped away and returned with, what can only be described as, squirty cheese striped across. I tasted the cheese sauce and it was incredibly bland, not at all cheesy and more like a béchamel white sauce than anything else. Bitterly disappointed that we didn’t get the crispy cheese on toast we had been promised, we fed this back to the Manager. This restaurant is very new and feedback, positive or constructive, should be sought, no? The Manager listened to our concerns and then went to the kitchen. When he returned we were told that there hadn’t been any other complaints that evening but, because we hadn’t eaten the texas toast, he would take them off our bill. A couple of things concerned me with this conversation… I’m not saying they would have had any other complaints that evening, the other diners may have been perfectly happy with their meals. They may also have been the type of diner who didn’t want a fuss, wouldn’t say anything negative, but just not return. I, on the other hand, would rather give feedback. To imply that no one else had complained that evening would also suggest that we had complained which, we didn’t. We merely gave some constructive feedback when asked how we had found our meals. I’m also glad that I wasn’t so hungry that I had eaten the texas toast anyway as, it would appear, that this means it tasted good. How many times have you been that hungry that you have eaten something that is below par? Once again, we didn’t complain about it, we just gave feedback. We also said we would pay, we never asked for said toast to be removed from our bill.

Would I go back? Surprisingly yes! I want to see what the smoked offerings on the menu are like, I want to see how this new restaurant evolves and I like somewhere that isn’t the standard Indian or Italian we have rafts of in the Grove. I just hope the Management team learn that they can’t grow or develop without honest feedback from their diners.

I’d like to think that by the end of the conversation the Manager took on board our comments and did so by sending over a round of drinks for us on the house. The Trip Advisor reviews of CockaDoodleMoo are great, it is now the number one restaurant in Stockport. I really hope I went on an off day and the reviews continue to be positive…

This meal was paid for.