Set though a striking yellow door at the back of a sports bar in the Northern Quarter, Sampa lives in a basement setting and is based around a circa 10-person Chef's Table, which as you know I absolutely love and seek out wherever I can.  For those with a profound interest in food and want to see exactly what's going on, the pass bench / chef’s table is the best way to dine in my opinion.

Passing through the sports bar contradicts the food driven feel of the dining room.  I guess that most wouldn’t mind, and many could easily argue that it's part of the appeal and surprise.  But no doubt borrowing Calcio's basement also allows Sampa to keep their prices down too.

Straight to it; a 12-course tasting menu costs £58 with boozy pairings priced at £35.  That's not a misprint either.

Based on all things considered; the quality of produce, the solid cooking, the sheer amount of food, the polished props, the small number of covers, and the Chef's table style dining experience; it's quite simply logic-defying value for money to be honest.

I literally cannot think of anything meaningful here, and nor can our objective score card.  And whilst not a criticism; it's too cheap, end of story, and my only reflection is that Sampa should see their own value a bit more and not undersell themselves.  I'd have paid an extra £20 per person for this experience, no questions asked.

Quite often when you see venues selling a 'tasting menu' at a low price point, the first thing you think is 'this is the kind of place which shouldn't be selling tasting menus', and most of the time the hunch is correct.  Tasting menus are only really properly pulled off by Chefs with a complete and varied arsenal, and I'm pleased to report that this appears to be the case here despite the humble price points. 

We kicked off with some superb quality house made charcuterie, with the traditional Brazilian accompaniment of fresh lime.  It perhaps sounds a touch edgy but makes perfect sense in reality.  Fat and acid are best buddies, after all.

Next came a hefty wave of snacks, starting with a perhaps slightly kitsch yet superbly delicious 'soup', served in an espresso cup, paired with a well cooked, skewered prawn.  The highlight of said snacks came in a smoke-filled box which was opened at tableside for some added dramatics.  It's the kind of surprise which social media and articles such as this semi spoil, but not to worry.  A smoked quail's egg sat atop a mini vol au vent case, stood out for us.  Vol au vents need to make a general comeback, to be frank.

Up next on the snacks was a lovely trout tart, with Requeijão cheese which acted as saucing.  And finally came another tart, filled with smoked Lancashire cheese and Chuchu; a Brazilian fruit which tastes somewhere in between cucumber and squash.  Delicious, and it's not very often that we say this, but the snacks added a couple of new items of produce into our culinary memory bank portfolio.   

We moved onto the proper courses, and things set off with one of Caroline's trusted favourite courses; superbly cooked Orkney Scallop with heart of palm and cassava, served in a scallop shell and finished with an espuma driven sauce.  It's easy to see why this is a staple of Caroline's menus, both visually and on the taste buds. 

The following fish course was a beautifully rolled tranche of Hake, a rich and glossy Moqueca stew, with some substance and a carb hit from some Purple Potato.  Delicious and absolutely Brazilian in character.

Mallard Duck, Brazilian Stroganoff and Okra was a visual treat, topped with an intricate moulded tuile.  This was served with bread; in this case a lovely pao de queijo which came accompanied with an array of compound butters.   

The Ex Dairy Cow main course was simple, stripped back and confident, with the quality of that barely cooked protein shining brightly.  This dish came with a pot of Feijao Tropeiro rice and acai berry, which was wonderfully scented with superb textures throughout.  I'd have happily eaten another bowl without any argument. 

Next up was the end of our savoury courses; Garstang White cheese with the option of 2 honeys, both from Dan and The Bees.  The classically proven combo of cheese and honey was as enjoyable as ever, and was more evidence of quality produce sourcing.

Laranja Lima and Clementine was the ideal switch up from salt to sugar; a sorbet filled half orange with lovely acid/sugar balance and a good mouth feel, with more novel presentation coming into play.  

And to bring the main menu to an end we were treated to 'Dormouse' chocolate, guava and forced rhubarb, which is Caroline's most recognisable dish, and probably the most visually striking of the evening.  You probably recognise it from socials as 'The Mushroom'.

However; the snack tart shells were all a bit thick and were also part of the petit fours too, so watch the repetition.  The prawn/soup presentation needed compacting onto a smaller platter, or just the prawn skewer sitting on the espresso cup, the hake was a bit undercooked, and one of our cuts of beef was full of sinew, and its sauce was a bit gloopy.

Service is handled largely by the Chefs themselves, as you expect at a Chefs Table.  Some charming assistance came from Chef's husband who apparently isn't from a hospo background at all, which surprised us based on his natural fluency and a clear love of taking care of people.  Even a couple of customers who turned up absolutely hammered 20 minutes into service, who then had to leave abruptly, were treated with the utmost respect and courtesy. 

Whilst we didn’t really have a chat on the evening, it's clear that Caroline is a lovely lady with an infectious laugh and bags of charm. Her other half who runs the FoH action is similarly personable and a natural at the art of service. 

Nothing comes to mind based on the nature of the venue.

Until the evening of this visit we'd never eaten Caroline's food before.  We've been well aware of her ever since she arrived in Manchester, but the stars never really seemed to align in terms of calling in to do our own reccy of her skills at the various pop ups which she's driven in the city.

Anyway, since I get carte blanche in this section unlike the more professional ones above, humour me for 250 words please.  So ahead of our visit, every single 'review' on socials was glaringly positive, with one enthusiastic person comparing it Heston's 3 starred Fat Duck.  As seasoned veterans, we know that such things are usually a sign that people are quietly being paid/fed for free, rather than it being a reflection of any educated truths.

It's been painful seeing scores of Instagrammers, TikTokers and bloggers get invited into Sampa to no doubt do them a selfless 'favour' and help spread the word about how good the experience is.  In the same breath these same people often like to remind you of how important it is to support our small independents, yet also gladly take free meals from every single well-funded corporate and mid ranger who opens or launches a new menu, usually without even leaving a tip.  Hypocrisy. 

We say that the real best way to support small indies is to visit them off your own back, pay the bill in full, and then share the experience on your socials anyway to spread the good word.  Basically; put your money where your mouth is rather than taking it from other peoples' pockets, and cut the self-promoting jabber.  Within an hour of posting Sampa just on my miniscule/non work related personal Facebook, 3 couples had planned a visit, never mind how many of our 2 million annual readers will read this article and do the same.  And so they should.

But the issue with excessive 'influencer' presence is that it actually cheapens a brand rather than enhances it, as the kind of people who want spend £100 per head on dinner on a random Wednesday evening, are probably reasonably clued-up and can spot a comped advert over a legit review a mile off.

All things considered, Sampa don’t need to hand over excessive freebies to 'influencers', as they have influence themselves by doing a really good job at a crazy price point.  If anything, Sampa are promoting the influencers by sharing their content!  Sampa would serve themselves well by remembering that and not selling themselves short when inviting people to eat for free in the future. (OK, that was 353 words!).

So yeah, Sampa is a great experience which truly offers something that’s unique in the city, and the value for money is absolutely remarkable.  Anyone in the city and beyond owes it to themselves to get booked in and find out more, first hand.