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Mamucium Restaurant Manchester
AddressHotel Indidgo, 6 Todd Street, Manchester, M3 1WU
Phone0161 359 7498
Directionsmap Barsbars    Nearby Hotels hotels

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Mamucium Restaurant Preview
Chris ~ Restaurants Of Manchester (Thursday 6th December 2018)
 
Mamucium Restaurant Manchester Review Mamucium Restaurant Manchester Review
Mamucium Outside Mamucium Restaurant
   
I've previously been massively ranty about London setups coming up here and rehashing their product without judging market demands and tastes.  They often just slap a photo of Bet Lynch on their placemats, because a Manchester themed restaurant will endear their offering to us nice friendly, rain soaked Northerners, via a wave of cute Manc passion and loyalty, right?  No, in fact, it's usually just massively patronising.  Why not open a place in London and call one of their cocktails 'The Big Ben', served with jellied eels, and have a photo of Del Boy behind the bar to remind you not to fall off it after a few jars?  Because it would be hideous down there too, is why.  Anyway, I have limited space so will halt the already-run 132 word rant….

A little over a month ago, we had the pleasure of having a cuppa with Executive Chef Andrew Green, who gave us a pre-launch overview of Mamucium (Ma-Moo-See-Um), which you can read here.   Anyway, before you know it, December lands and along comes said launch; the restaurant offering at the new boutique Indigo Hotel next to Victoria Station, operated by the massive IHG hotel group.  IHG boast some of the best brands in the hotel game, such as Kimpton and their flagship Intercontinental label.  In short, it’s a well-funded operation which does things to a high standard.  They are based in Buckinghamshire despite the worldwide presence, so would we avoid another Manchester theme park restaurant?  We were invited down to take a closer look.

Straight out of the blocks you notice that they've done a great job of not feeling like a typically sterile and soulless hotel restaurant.  Mamucium is proudly emblazoned on the outside wall and has its own entrance etc, so you don’t need to worry about aimlessly traipsing through a hotel foyer whilst trying to look like you know where to find the restaurant.  Once inside, its uber-industrial, with exposed ceilings, lots of brass, lots of Edison blub lighting, and it looks great to be frank.
 
Mamucium Restaurant Manchester Review Mamucium Restaurant Manchester Review
Pankhurst's Revolution (£10.50) Arkwright's Mill (£10.50)
   
We sat and ordered a couple of cocktails, as you do.  Pankhurst's Revolution (£10.50) jumped out amidst a list of established classics.  Made with Zymurgorium Cherry Bakewell, a hint of Vimto, topped with Prosecco; it was a very Manchester affair, full of fruit and was very well balanced, with a bit of Italian occasion to it.  Its bee laden straws, another Manchester touch, were  made of paper, perhaps lending to the current anti-plastic movement, but perhaps more suitably as a nod to Manchester's rich history of paper mills?  The latter sounds more cultured, so I'll go with that, as much as it's probably untrue.  Arkwright's Mill (£10.50), named after England's first cotton mill, right here in Mcr, was a less feminine tipple made with malt Whisky, orange marmalade, then finished with smoke.  It was robust, rich, and fitted the season and outside weather perfectly.

The food menu is scattered with the finest produce from Cheshire, Lancashire, and of course Manchester.  Our region is home to some of the best produce in the country, and we need to celebrate that fact more.  Go to London's top dining rooms, which are clearly some of the best in the land and in some cases the world.  See how much London produce that you come across.  Pretty much none, is the answer.  It largely comes from Lancashire, Cumbria, Cheshire, Scotland, and Cornwall.  Let them go on about local produce all they like.  Top places use the best, not the most local.  It's just fortunate when the best and local are the same thing.
 
Mamucium Restaurant Manchester Review Mamucium Restaurant Manchester Review
Smoked Cheshire Beef Hash (£8.50) Pan Seared Scallops (£10.50)
   
Smoked Cheshire Beef Hash (£8.50) was rich, a bit like Cheshire in general.   It was soft and comforting, sauced by a softly poached egg, with a fantastic spiced umami-bomb via the ketchup.  It was like a refined yet still suitably rustic culinary blanket, making you feel warm and satisfied.  A far cry in execution from the fondly remembered thick soup like corned beef hash, served with HP and 2 slices of Warbies toastie which my Mum cooked once a week when I was a kid in Bury.  My Scouse Editor who was also in attendance recalls a drier version from her childhood, which set off some debate. Either way, hash is a northern classic regardless of regional differences.  Childhood memories and flavours are massive factors in how much you enjoy a dish, and this plate had bags of that.  Outstanding.

Our other starter was Pan Seared Scallops (£10.50), with sweetcorn, romanesco, chorizo/crumb and beetroot.  The scallops were cooked perfectly, with some smoke and meatiness from the chorizo nuggets, sauced with sweetcorn puree, backed up with good texture from the crumb. A leafy garnish was my only minor gripe.

It's worth bearing in mind that this was one of the first services, and hence it's probably unfair to even be writing a review at this stage.  Front of house were running about like worker bees, and at times appeared to be more than a bit under the kosh, but never did their smiles disappear, showing true northern staunchness throughout, and the chefs in their open kitchen always looked in control.
 
Mamucium Restaurant Manchester Review Mamucium Restaurant Manchester Review
Lancashire Hotpot (£22.50) Goosnargh Chicken (£18.50)
   
Lancashire Hotpot (£22.50) was made with Herdwick lamb, a breed which is native to and synonymous with  Cumbria.  The dish was more 'Flavours of Hotpot' in truth.  I feel for the staff when they get tickets for this one, as they are seemingly required to point out to everybody who orders it, that it's not a Hotpot per se, but is 'deconstructed'; a food term which should have died in 1997. It was a fine plate though, with all the ingredients and flavours of a Hotpot, only, well, deconstructed.   The salt marsh fed lamb was cooked pink, seasoned on point, and came with lovely balls of potato and puree to complete the Hotpot components.  A stunning leaf wrapped ball of shredded lamb was an added bonus. 

Mains chapter 2 was Goosnargh Chicken (£18.50), which is without debate the best quality chicken in Britain.  The late and great Reg Johnson himself would have been proud to see this dish on any menu.  The Dauphinoise potato, the best kind of potato, was spot on, with hints of Blacksticks blue cheese, which seasoned it subtly and gave the potatoes that signature orangey/yellow colour.  The poultry was cooked until moist and ate beautifully, but the skin could have perhaps been crisper.  Oddly, this was the 3rd time that Id eaten Chicken and Dauphinoise on the same plate, in a restaurant, in the last month.  This was by far the best iteration, despite yet another kitsch leafy garnish.

We were already happy at this stage in honesty.  Solid cooking, clear skill in the cocktails department, a great use of that local produce, dishes which Mancunians actually want to eat, for on any occasion, with something for every taste.  Only puddings could let things down now.  But they didn’t.
 
Mamucium Restaurant Manchester Review Mamucium Restaurant Manchester Review
Chocolate Marquise (£7.50) Manchester Tart (£7.50)
   
Rich Chocolate Marquise (£7.50) was as smooth as silk, topped with a dehydrated slice of orange, which perhaps could have done with more dehydrating to make it properly crisp.  The depth of flavour in the chocolate element more than compensated, with some lovely tempered chocolate attached to each side.  And Manchester Tart (£7.50) just had to be on the menu didn’t it?  Flavour and execution wise, it was tip top.  Silky custard, a pastry with adequate snap/shortness, topped with fruit, coconut and mini meringues.   I'd prefer an individual tart rather than a slice though in honesty, but still, it was a pleasant piece of pastry work to end the meal well on.

So, Mamucium has won us over already.  Sure, there's a Manchester twang to everything from the décor, to the straws, to the produce, the latter of which is showcased to perfection.  But the Manchester tie ins are done properly, without tackiness, detached from my grumpy rants in the first paragraph.  It strikes the Manchester market friendly balance of quality, informality, accessibility, variety and local familiarity, pretty much perfectly across the board.  The safety net of being based in a boutique hotel which will always need a restaurant and has on tap custom, will only help them too.  Chef Andrew Green is clearly in his stride here, producing food which arguably tops that of his previous kitchen residencies, offering flavours which northerners will recognise and love, put on the plate via his strong classical background with plenty of modern spins on things.  Its early days with a few little creases to steam out, but I suspect that Mamucium will become a go-to name in the Manchester dining scene in the months and years to come.

And that hash starter.  Well, that warrants a visit in itself.  A couple of days after we did this review, when this misplaced closing paragraph was added, we mulled the best and worst dishes which we've had in town all year, as we tend to do every December.  For pure flavour and total enjoyment, the hash starter probably one of the top 5 dishes which we've had in Manchester all year.  Praise doesn’t get much higher.
 

Mamucium Restaurant Reviews
Restaurant inside Hotel Indigo close to Victoria station. two AA rosette winning Chef Andrew Green will be heading up the kitchen, focusing on Northern Dishes. ~ Restaurants Of Manchester (June 2020)


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