Pip Spring Menu Preview

The Manchester Treehouse hotel was first announced what feels like years ago now.  The venue was to be located on the corner of Deansgate, in the former Renaissance Hotel, following a full refurbishment of the property.   

Truth be told, we didn’t know too much about the Treehouse brand until the announcement, so whilst down in London on other business, we called into their branch to see what Treehouse are all about.    It didn’t take long to see that it's a premium operation with stunning décor and real personality, with a level of  food and drink offering which would sit proudly in any dining room.  So, things looked good for Manchester. 

As more info was released about the Manchester branch, it was announced that the new dining offering was set to be named Pip, and would be headed up by locally respected veteran Mary-Ellen McTague.  Our expectations were suitably elevated.  

So after months of anticipation, we finally arrived at Pip on a bright Friday evening to see for ourselves if the standards which we'd been treated to in the capital had translated to our home city.

We kicked off with a couple of cheeky snacks, in this case some Split Pea Chips with Mushroom Ketchup.  Deep fried to a dark hue, stacked up to aid presentation, served with a superbly umami laden ketchup (£5). They were perhaps plated whilst a bit too warm, so had started to fall apart by the time they reached us, but that didn't impact their undoubted flavour.

British Charcuterie is something which has improved no end in recent years, and Pip's representation was lovely.  3 different cuts all of superb quality, served with some thinly sliced shards of toast (£11).  Delicious.

Isle of Wight Tomatoes are the best that you'll find anywhere in the UK, which explains why Pip use them.  These are heightened with Yoghurt, the scent of marjoram, along with a textural addition from scattered sourdough crumb (£9) which was made using the unused parts of bread from the kitchen; a great way for Pip to showcase their sustainable ethos.

Bedlam Farm Asparagus was arguably the dish of the evening, despite it's simple appearance and restrained plating.  Superb quality produce again was the backbone of this dish, featuring perfectly cooked spears, with Smoked Dulse Butter and a neat dab of powerful Mussel Emulsion (£11).  Exceptional.

Now Chef Mary-Ellen is a Bury girl; a town which largely likes to think that it's in Lancashire despite actually being in Greater Manchester for the last 50 years.  So having a Lancashire Hot Pot on the menu is probably a given in fairness.

Pip's sports slow cooked lamb, with plenty of veggies in a lovely gravy, topped with finely mandolined potatoes discs.   The general richness was balanced out with an acidic complement of pickled red cabbage, finished with seasonal greens (£24).  This was a hearty and comforting dish that will be a real customer pleaser and could well feature as a perennial menu item.

Courtyard Dairy Cheese Pie was our next main, and came with some added Cheffy flair. A buttery pastry case with a lovely short texture, filled with an uber aerated cheese filling, seemingly made with an espuma gun. The cheese used was from offcuts which many kitchens would lazyily and wastefull just put in the bin, but again, Pip make the most of such things. Grilled Spring Onion and Tenderstem Broccoli acted as some delicious garnish (£18).

An optional side of triple cooked chips (£6) completed the plate.  Very apt when you consider that Mary-Ellen once worked as Sous Chef at the gastronomic temple which is Heston's Fat Duck; a venue/Chef which instantly comes to mind when you even utter the term 'triple cooked chips'. These were taken a little bit too far in terms of colour and lacked that trademark triple-cooked crunch, but instead had nostalgic memories of home cooked chips which still satisfied.

And moving onto our puddings; Treacle Tart, Earl Grey & Bergamot (£9) was more Heston inspired goodness.  It's a spin on a dish that I recall eating at The Hind's Head more years ago than I'm comfortable about verbalising to be honest!  This was superb pastry work though with a great pastry case, hugging a wonderfully balanced and flavour-layered filling.  Superb.

Caramelised Apple Trifle, Calvados, Bay Leaf Syllabub (£9) was our second dessert, and was crammed with nostalgia and creamy goodness.  Calvados-soaked sponge, a zingy apple, topped with vanilla laden custard, all crowned with candied almonds With a calvados cream/mousse shot on the side.  An elevated spin on a classic.

And with that, our experience drew to an end.  We dawdled about for half an hour over a couple of delicious digestif cocktails, processing the evening's events and the splendid evening which we'd had.  Special mention of the service is warranted, and everybody who served us on the evening was superbly friendly, welcoming and did a stirling job of taking care of us throughout the evening.

And work at The Treehouse is still ongoing.  Before too much longer, a space in the upper floor of the Treehouse will play host to another dining offering, this time driven by Sam Grainger.  We look forward to sharing more about that with you in the coming months as more info is released.

Pip is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, on top of Sunday roast options.