Monday night saw me venturing into a wet and cold Manchester to visit Livebait on Albert Square. Manchester Confidential invited me to try this popular restaurant that has recently been taken over. I’d never been before but had heard of it. I like fish but, in a previous life, I wouldn’t have ordered it to often in a restaurant. My friends are, in the main, not keen either so it isn’t the sort of place I would really get to visit. Luckily my Dad loves fish and my Mum isn’t keen so he jumped at the chance to come along with me. We were shown to our table quickly and I was keen to try the bread with olive oil and dukkah that many bloggers had tried before me. The bread had a lovely crust with a tasty olive oil and the dukkah was a lovely addition. A dried mix of herbs, spices and crushed nuts to dip into… just perfectly tasty with little fuss.
I really do take after my Dad… he, like me, had looked at the menu online and knew exactly what he was going to have. He went for the whitebait with aioli to start and I opted for the salt and pepper squid with dipping sauce.
He was that eager to try his whitebait that he did so before I took the picture! I managed to snaffle one from his mitts and they were very tasty, not too crisp which I saw as a positive. The aioli had just enough garlic to give it a kick without being overbearing. My squid wasn’t too crisp either and, once again, this was a positive for me although I’m sure others would disagree. The batter wasn’t oily either which, one would expect where it isn’t too crisp. The star of the show, however, was the dipping sauce. Other bloggers said the same in that it wasn’t just decanted from a sweet chilli bottle… it had a tangy tomato taste with a nice chilli kick. We enjoyed it so much that we used the last of our bread to mop it up once all my squid had gone. One last point I would like to make about the starters is about the portion sizes, they were perfect. Just enough to whet our appetites.
For mains I opted for the Goan fish and shellfish curry that was served with a mound of sticky rice. I wasn’t sure what to expect having never tried Goan food before but it was a curry of the creamy variety, much welcomed. Surprisingly the chunks of fish were salmon, I was expecting a cheaper white fish to be present but this wasn’t the case. The spice was perfectly balanced against the natural creaminess of the salmon with the clams and mussels a welcome addition. I hadn’t tried clams before so I was eager to try them, very tasty they are too. I had a couple which hadn’t opened so that was a bit of a shame but tasty nonetheless.
Dad went for the seabass with a sorrel and garlic sauce served with a potato galette. I could tell he was disappointed by its size the minute the plate was placed in front of him but he had also opted for a side of cabbage with bacon so all was not lost. Not a fish skin fan, he left this off but it looked crisp as should be. The fish was beautifully cooked and the sauce complemented it well.
Not being a dessert fan (although I would like to add that cake left in their fridge does disappear of its own accord, funny that isn’t it) he opted for a portion of the stilton and manchego cheeses while I went all out with the trio of desserts, it would be rude not to.
One thing I loved about Livebait is that the cheeses were accompanied by their own chutneys, no standard offering of something sweet here. The stilton was served with beetroot chutney whilst the manchego had a membrillo to play with. Just perfect, they were an ideal match.
The trio of desserts were fabulous, a generous size without being overfacing there was a chocolate delice, a vanilla cheesecake with honeycomb and a lemon posset. All were fabulous but the chocolate delice stole the show with a slight nuttiness and amazing salted caramel. Yummy.
Being the new cocktail girl for 4 Manchester Women my evening wouldn’t have been complete without a cocktail of some sort. When my Dad popped out for a cigarette I ordered his espresso and a Kir imperial (only because the elderflower martini was out of ingredients). I loved that the waiter offered to take the espresso outside for my Dad to enjoy too. Such a nice touch and welcomed by a man who is oppose the smoking in bars ban. He politely declined though and chose to drink it with me. The Kir imperial was fabulous with a lovely sweetness from the Chambord but not too much to take away the delicate flavour of the champagne.
All in all a fabulous time was had by us both and the staff were impeccable. An effortless service, nothing was too much trouble but they also left us to enjoy our experience without being too noticeable. This was something that my Dad also noticed, thank you Livebait. When we need more Father/Daughter time we will be back.
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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