Before I start let me tell you I love the Violet Hour. It may be an awkward place for me to get to on public transport but I will always make the effort for such amazing cocktails. With the introduction of the tram system to West Didsbury, this has made life a little easier and I snapped their hand off when they invited Charlie and I to their first birthday party and new menu launch. Yes, they now have a food menu! I fear I may be spending far too much time here in the future…
We were greeted with several glasses of lovely prosecco. I love sparkling wine and champagne, I swear I could drink it all day if I had the money or the lifestyle. This prosecco was lovely and refreshing but not too dry.
After this we were invited to a try some of the Violet Hour’s new cocktail menu. It is a shorter version of the previous offering with some of the firm favourites still in play such as the backstreet batida. This is a personal favourite of mine served in a tin can with a passion fruit flaming on top. The choice is still a vast one and I bet you can’t come here and have just one, there are too many to tempt you to try more.
First up for us to try was the beautifully pretty Penelope Pitstop, dusted with hundreds and thousands it was lovely and pink! The drink itself has a lovely milky base from the half ‘n’ half but a boozy alcoholic kick to boot from the Finlandia and Cariel vanilla vodka. It gets it’s lovely pink colour from a sweet raspberry syrup. Perfect for those of us with a sweet tooth.
The menu is the most quirky I have seen, and I’ve seen a few. It is printed on a brown paper bag and features, small plates, bigger plates and a selection of sharers. We got to try minature versions of the bigger plates and this pulled pork sandwich was really good. I was a little unsure of violet ‘slaw’ AND burger sauce but it actually works really well. The pulled pork was soft and ‘melt in the mouth’ as it should be and a sweetness lingered from the brioche bun. Lots of places are doing pulled pork at the moment and this is just as good as it’s rivals.
Something else as good as it’s rivals are the burgers. Provided by the best butcher in Town, Frosts in Chorlton, the patties are a perfect blend of beef and marrow served up pink with cheese, crispy bacon and burger sauce. The burgers we tried were slightly overdone but still wonderfully juicy, they were actually perfect for me. I’ll definitely be back for more.
My absolute favourite thing on the menu, and something I didn’t get a picture of because I scoffed it too fast, was the Yorkshire puddings with blue cheese and chilli jam. Perhaps it’s a Yorkshire thing but I would never think to serve a Yorkshire pudding this way, but wow, it was perfect. The salty cheese and the spicy jam mixed with the crispy fatty pudding, I’m salivating just thinking about it.
Ever the sweet tooth I was mesmerised by girls walking around with this cocktail… pink with a piece of shortbread on the side? Does it get more perfect than that? This little beauty turned out to be a vanilla flip made with Appleton 12yr rum, drambuie, vanilla and strawberry preserve. An interesting blend of flavours but just delicious.
All in all a perfect night and the perfect way to celebrate their 1st Birthday. I can’t wait for them to turn 2!
We dined as guests of the restaurant. This has in no way affected my review which is an honest account of my dining experience.
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