The Black Friar x House Of Suntory Garden Launch

If you know your way around Manchester’s food and drink scene, then you’ll already know that The Black Friar is one of the city’s most loved pubs.   But if you’re not yet aware, then please allow me to enlighten you. 

The Black Friar is an iconic Salford pub, sat on the corner of Trinity Way and Blackfriars Road, which was adorned with a luxurious refurb in 2021 following independent takeover by the gentleman who is Mr Neil Burke.  The interior is homely, cosy, and feels like the perfect place to let a few hours pass by via some quality hospitality from Neil’s strongly assembled team.  In short, it’s one of the city’s best pub experiences.

Most recently, part of the exterior has been transformed into to a Japanese themed sakura oasis named the Suntory Garden, in collaboration with the fantastic House of Suntory; purveyors of some of Japan’s finest whiskys, gins and vodkas. 

Whilst the thought of sitting in a ‘garden’ in Salford/Manchester during March, may not seem like such a bright idea on most days, rest assured that you couldn’t be in a cosier place.  A well covered space with lovely Japanese lanterns, cherry blossom trees everywhere, and plenty of heaters to keep you toasty.  We were largely unaware of the rain and gales outside, until we left!

In conjunction with the Suntory Garden opening, a new food menu has also been launched, so we couldn’t wait to return and explore the new menu, with contains some absolute stars.

We started with a couple of snacks, in the form of Spring Pea and Goat’s Cheese Arancini (£8) were Spring on a plate.  Fragrant, light and super fresh, with well cooked rice within, cased in that all important crumbed exterior for the perfect crunch. This was a true crowd pleaser. 

The Herb Crust Green Lip Giant Mussels (£8) were next to the table.  Gratinated mussels, cooked in their shell with dots of chill and Nori mayo, were a flavour pop in the mouth.  The kitchen releasing the mussel from its shell before gratinating could have made them eat a bit less messily, but this didn’t detract from them being delicious.

Whipped Smoked Cod’s Roe Crumpet (£14) was a fine looking plate, and special note of the kitchen making their own crumpets, something which is seldom seen in a world of bought in baking.   The crumpet itself was generously topped with a delightful whipped cod’s roe, along with some pork cracking for a textural hit and a bit of palate freshening lemon and chive. 

Burrata and Balsamic Fig Chutney (£10) added some lightness to our menu choices.  A simple plate which still delivered on flavour via a quality burrata, a lovely fig chutney brought sweetness and texture to the plate.

We also made our way through the entire list of Suntory inspired cocktails, of which there are 6. 

All 6 are priced at £12/£13, but if you head down to the Black Friar for Saturday Suntory Sessions between 3 and 5pm, they will priced at a mere £8 all Summer long, which is obscene vale for cocktails of this quality, making them surely some of the best value drinks in the whole city centre.

Next up were the mains, and we resisted the urge to order one of their locally-famous pies, instead opting for Braised Beef Shin Cannelloni (£34), which was substantial, hearty and looked great to boot.  Superb freshly made pasta, filled with shredded beef shin in a lovely sauce.  A reassuring chunk of perfectly cooked beef fillet added even more beefiness, finished with a lovely velvety sauce which evidently contained a lot of love and labour.  Truly indulgent. 

Lamb Shank Kleftiko (£29) was our second main course, and it took us straight back to our Greek holiday last summer in Santorini, defying the wind and rain outside of our cozy, well heated Japanese-vibed shelter.  The lamb protein fell away from its bone with next to no intervention, coated with a great tomato sauce.  Garnish was a lovely potato stack, infused with the spicy notes of moussaka.  Defintely order this!

At this point we were full, properly full, after being been very well taken care of.  The Black Friar’s web page states ‘Stop by. Settle in. Gorge oneself’.  We’d 100% already achieved that mission here, but felt it only right to try and fill the well documented ‘separate pudding stomach’ aswell. 

After some debate, we agreed to stay professional and share a Raspberry and Lemon Drizzle Knickerbocker Glory (£10), despite wanting to again order most of the menu.  Layers of punchy lemon curd, sponge, raspberry jam and ice cream, topped with a blowtorched meringue and candied peel.  The perfect, light, refreshing way to end any gorging!

So, the Black Friar’s Suntory Garden looks set to become one of the city centre’s favourite Spring/Summer locations.  The vibes are lovely, the food is hearty and of great quality.  And those £8 cocktails justify a visit on their own!

** Our experience was gratefully comped **