The Midland Hotel needs no introduction. If it does then Google can elaborate better than I ever could.  Under those grand arches at the hotel’s entrance is a newly placed vintage Rolls Royce, in keeping with its surroundings and the general history of said hotel; as much as that’s not directly related to the restaurant itself.  It does however set the mood for the opulence that’s about to follow.

So, you walk through the foyer and reach the doors to The French, and are instantly transported into a place where you can’t fail to feel special.  Modern blue booths accenting the historic 120-year-old ceilings, embellished with the now iconic chandelier, all sat within a legendary dining space that has more history than any other in the North.  It's just a magical place to spend a few hours.

The side tables are perhaps a bit small, not that we were sat at one because we were gratefully sat in our ‘usual’ booth.

The music was a touch loud at times/on certain tracks during the evening, which led to some guests also being loud .

We gladly handed over £145 a head for the tasting menu, plus £95 for matched wines.  It’s just what you pay these days but generally, such occasions are not supposed to be a regular thing though right?

No service charge is added though as much as we tipped 10%, and the menu is all-inclusive of coffee and water, etc. too, so there are no worries about the bill stacking up once upsold extras are bolted on, as is usually the case at such high-end places.

Wine markups run high in places.  I’ve said it 100 times so don’t need to over-elaborate but will.  Would you really expect to pay the same cash for the exact same product if one was purchased in Harrods and the other in Asda?  It just is what it is, in all honesty.  Something has to cover the bills for that grand hotel.

Expectations are always high when visiting such esteemed places, and after sitting at the #1 spot in our Top 10 best restaurants for the last 10 years, as in The French’s case, those expectations are amplified further.

It was great to see some proven and now expected staples still on the menu, starting with the bespoke Pollen Bakery bread and house-made beef butter, served with the claw-like spoon that used to accompany the now-retired tater 'ash dish.  Always pleasing, and the bread is now lightly toasted to bring some added texture.

Snack wise, the croustade/pie has also been elevated.  It’s bigger, much bigger, and evolved into a cheese and onion pie in terms of taste profile.  Croustades appearing on every single tasting menu snack course across the land are getting a bit tiresome, but this was outstanding.  Substantial in both physical weight and mouth feel, with a superlative cheese and onion taste burst.

The new raw beef and horse radish on fried bread snack took us back to The French of 2013 when the menu showcased a certain raw beef dish, which Mark Birchall can probably take as much credit for as Simon Rogan did back then.  Still delicious.

The cold cuts section is still on the menu, only it’s now served as separate episodes and plated with some added tableside theatre.  The salmon was fabulous quality on top of being ideally smoked, and the pork was similarly high quality but is now glazed before your eyes for yet more server interaction.

The Scallop was cooked as little as possible, carrying some char on top, to retain all that sweetness and freshness, balanced with fermented tomato, nicely finished with some herb oil.  A confident, minimalistic, and ultimately flavour-packed plate.

Next over the pass was Grilled Cornish Cod, with BBQ brassica and mussel topped with a mini quenelle of top quality N25 caviar, again sauced at the tableside.  This dish was right up my street. Fresh yet buttery and decadent.

Welsh Rhug Estate Deer with salt-baked beets was sauced at the table by Adam himself and was a main course fitting of the occasion.  Autumnal to a tee, focused around that top quality protein, robed with a stunningly acid-balanced sauce.

Now we love a good cheese course, especially when it’s plated above and beyond a few slices of cheese and garnishes on a plate.  Here said course was compiled with Stichelton cheese, walnut, prune, and apple.  A cheese course, made into a proper dish.  Punchy and full on, but a great way to end the salt-based courses.

Baked custard with Cheshire raspberries and nutmeg was presented a few tiers above how the menu description led us to envisage it.  A multi-layered scarlet-laden delight, with endless variations of textures and temperatures, garnished with a pretty berry tuile.

Tipsy Cake is another course that’s now expected to appear.  Fortunately, it was, and is now served as a slice of loaf, doused with Salford spiced run and some grated lemon, which again added a new dimension to the plate via its wonderful scent.

But; the chickpea cracker snack was a bit flat, lacked texture, and was well overshadowed by the other two snacks. And do you need two cracker dishes in the snacks anyway? That said I did pine for the now retired Henry’s Cracker.

As delicious as it was, the ham cold cut didn’t eat very well due to the size of the tranches and needed a knife, not just the mini serving fork that it came with, to break up without creating mucky fingers. Thinner slices perhaps?

And the grater used to zest the tipsy cake’s lime garnish looked a bit naff at tableside. A nice wooden-handled front-of-house Microplane would fit the bill and look a lot slicker.

The French has continually served up not just the best service in the city for 12 straight years but has also delivered the best hospitality to boot.  And there’s a difference between the two things.  Service is what you do, but hospitality is how you make a guest feel, and ultimately, a barometer of dining on this level is all about how the whole experience makes you feel, not just about what’s on the fork.

Being honest; we were a touch nervous ahead of our visit on this occasion as there’s been a huge wave of staff changes at The French over the last 12 months, and it’s the staff who make that experience happen, elevating things from doing everything correctly on a tick-boxy service point list, to making the guest feel like a million dollars every single time they visit.

But soon after arrival, our anxieties were put to rest via a warm smile and an impromptu glass of quality Polish fizz.  Service was broadly handled by the Chefs, which has always been a touch that we’ve loved since its inception a couple of years ago when finding staff was nigh on impossible.

Bring back the handbag table hooks for the people who don’t have a booth seat to sit their bags on.

We’ve visited The French at least twice a year for the last decade due to a mix of personal and professional visits.

During that timescale we’ve seen it grow, fall back during transitional periods, then then elevate itself again once settled. Through all of that as previously mentioned, it’s been a constant at the #1 spot on our prestigious Top 10 restaurants in Manchester list and has continually delivered the best all-around guest experience in the city.

But the food on this visit was hand on heart, the best that it's ever been during any of our approximate 25 visits since 2013. The new menu is an ideal balance of proven and familiar dishes, albeit elevated in most areas with some new additions to keep things fresh and progressive enough to warrant those repeat visits.

Things have improved drastically in Manchester’s dining scene over the last decade or so, with a couple of real stars emerging over the last 12 months. But still, we honestly can’t see any true contenders to knock The French off its perch as the best all-round experience in town.

Watch the repeat ingredients. Bring back the bag hooks and Henry’s Cracker.

The steps leading up to the famous and iconic hotel set expectations and anticipation from the moment that you arrive. The newly embellished foyer adds to said anticipation, and then you arrive at The French itself. Palatial ceilings, steeped in history, brought up to date with some grey paintwork, modern furniture, impressive lighting, and a soft rock driven soundtrack.

You just know that you’re in a special place that’s clearly stunning.

The side tables are perhaps a bit small, leading to the requirement of tray stands sitting next to them.

£125 for a high-end tasting menu in an iconic hotel that’s bang in the middle of the city centre; it’s the kind of price point that you can’t complain about unless you have no understanding or appreciation for the work which has led to said menu landing on your table.

Also, no service charge is added either; a rarity even in lower mid-rangers these days.

Wine markups run high in places.  I’ve said it 100 times so don’t need to over-elaborate but will.  Would you really expect to pay the same cash for the exact same product if one was purchased in Harrods and the other in Asda?  It just is what it is, in all honesty.  Something has to cover the bills for that grand hotel.

Pollen Sourdough and Beef Butter has become a true staple. A bespoke recipe baked to spec, with the new addition of a lovely onion broth carrying bags of flavour. A great start to the party.

Next up; the all-important snacks; ‘Fish pie’ croustade was as good as ever. I could eat half a dozen of these. Some of the best croustades in the country so high praise, since everybody’s doing a version of them at the moment.

‘Henrys Cracker Sandwich’, in a nod to Adam’s son, was exceptional in execution and flavour. One sweet and one savoury cracker, sandwiching a lovely cheese, allium, and nut filling. It’s a single (perhaps 2) bite which has everything in terms of balance and big flavour.

And a new snack course was an eel and tongue lettuce wrap. I still recall eating tongue regularly as a kid when my Mum put it into butties. At the time I didn’t equate it as being actual tongue, from a cow’s mouth. Until on one occasion I saw the butcher slicing it freshly to order for us. I refused to eat it for years afterwards, but fortunately have gotten over the shock. Absolutely delicious and most of the best food resonates with childhood memories, in my opinion, and much of Adam's food does just that for any northerner.

The transition between snacks and proper courses arrived in the form of Smoked Salmon and Ham. Sliced at the table with some lovely fresh pickles and mustard. Smoking and pickling are two of my favourite things in the world. Very few foodstuffs can’t benefit from the processes.

Scallops with Peas and Gooseberry was a rendition of an off-menu dish which we had the pleasure of trying around a year ago, and has moved on since. Daisy fresh, super sweet scallop with great acid from the berry, and freshness of peas in a lovely sauce pulling it all together. Plus it looked stunning which always helps.

Cornish catch of the day was Turbot, which is always a good place to start any fish dish. Superb quality flat fish, garnished with a BBQed asparagus spear, sauced/foamed with an espuma gun at the tableside for some added theatre.

Roasted Welsh Chicken, I assume from the top class Rhug Estate, was served with local Cinderwood turnips and a barley stew, crowned with bags of Microplaned truffle for that unmistakable scent and opulence. A handsome dumpling sat on a side plate for some sauce-dipping carb. For those who remember Adam's time on Great British Menu, this was a tasting menu sized version of his winning Chicken main course, and still just as tasty and comforting in said compact form.

The cheese course was next assembled at the tableside; St James cheese blowtorched, topped with a stewed prune, a textural element via some cracker, finished with honeycomb. Another simple yet super-tasty plate, with great produce acting as the keystone.

The main after course was Baked Custard and Strawberry, topped with a glass-like strawberry shard. It just screamed seasonality and we loved this dish. Again, it had everything. Savoury, sweet, soft, crispy, cold, room temperature. Fantastic.

We ended with the Tipsy Cake, which has become another staple Adam Reid course that can surely never come off the menu. A simple dish which is far from high end patisserie, containing just 3 elements yet always manages to satisfy. You start looking forward to it 2 courses before it lands, which is a testament to its formative place on the menu.

Coffee and Sweet Treats ended things off, as should be the case on any menu. It’s also included in the menu here, so you don’t need to worry about dropping an extra £7 per head, as in most high-end places.

The chicken dumpling was a bit gluey and heavy, rather than being cloudy and Chinese bao-like, which would have felt a bit more refined. One half of the table disagreed with this point.

The jelly on the sweet treats section was challenging, with a bitter, almost metallic finish. No amount of sticky wine could balance it. Bring back the sea buckthorn ones Chef! All of the table agreed with this one.

The French has continually delivered the very best service, not only in Manchester city centre but in the immediate region. The front of house team, headed up by the always fantastic Eleanor, deliver accurate, seemingly informal yet still sharp, detailed and accurate work, with a continual smile and charm. You’ll feel right at home and at ease, whilst the team work tirelessly and seamlessly around you. Wine service is promptly undertaken ahead of food landing, course intros are entertaining and informative, clear downs done with minimal fuss, and everything runs like a clock. Pinpoint.

Our wine service was expertly handled on the night by new team member Jen, who was previously based at Grape to Grain Wine Merchants, and also led the wine list consultancy for the launch of the now Michelin Assiette awarded District, up in the NQ. Jen is a star, and you can expect to see a lot more from her in the future, we suspect.

It was also great to see a continuation of the kitchen team serving the dishes which they prepped, and we truly hope that it continues even once staffing shortages pass. As much as we all assumed that they would have already done so what with it being mid-2022. Anyway….

Nothing at all, as much as Im trying to nit-pick just to make myself somehow sound credible and clued up.

After so many visits and fantastic experiences over the years, there’s still no complete restaurant experience in Manchester which can truly compete with Adam Reid at The French.  The food is driven by flavours which you could happily eat every day, and no other dining room in the country delivers this high end North West driven experience, all presented in a modern and accessible way.  You could go at least once a month and not get bored with the everyday yet elevated flavours, either just as happily popping in for a casual yet swish dinner wearing jeans and t-shirt, or arriving to make a special occasion of it with a posh frock on.

Very little as per usual.  Maybe bring back the table bag hooks.

Menu Box By AR Preview

I don’t know about you, but in our house it's been a solid 12 months of DIY food boxes, Netflix, online wine tastings, along with some daydreaming on Trivago.  The main social event of the week; getting dolled up to eat at a place that you've wanted to go for ages, has been superseded by waiting for a courier to knock after you've tracked their location on the app all morning, to be handed a cardboard box full of produce that you’ll cook and then eat whilst adorned in a set of PJs.  Possibly speaking for myself there? 

Now since spring 2020, everybody's been posting photos of said cook at home boxes on social media, and there's been a clear improvement in the nation's home crockery standards and plating skills.  A cheesy polka dotted affair with excessive herb oil garnish, has progressed to modern stonecast plates, hosting food that’s been presented with a bit more care and light-handedness.

One of the first decent level food boxes back in the day was from Manchester's very own Adam Reid, who started doing his Great British Menu, to finish cooking at home.  We loved it, and were over the moon to see him carrying on the DIY boxes after that, launching as Menu Box by AR.

Now we have a perhaps silly policy to not repeat Chefs' boxes, as to cram in as many different ones as possible in between now and us actually eating in dining rooms again.  So until now we've not returned for more of Adam's wares, although each week we excitedly wait for the menu to be released so we can at least enjoy it vicariously.  Sure, when this palaver is all over many places will carry on with their food boxes, but the places who do it properly will intrinsically stop and focus more on serving customers in person, not virtually. 

When I say 'properly' I mean the restaurants who actually produce the food boxes, in their own kitchen, by their own Chefs.  A large chunk of boxes out there are now produced in massive generic offsite prep kitchens, by staff who have nothing to do with the restaurant which the box is 'from'.  Crucially, they often don’t use the same produce that the named eatery uses, and bang out 1000's of boxes a week on behalf of tons of restaurants, just using that restaurant's recipes and then share the profits.  I'm not a fan of this because more often than not, you can usually tell that the contents of the box have next to nothing to do with the restaurant whose name is slapped on it.  But each to their own I guess.

No such issues here.  Adam's boxes are produced in the kitchen of The French by the man himself.  We were lucky enough to have a socially distanced Zoom chat with Adam and his restaurant manager Eleanor in said kitchen earlier this month, during which he was indeed prepping his own boxes.  So you can be sure that these are the real deal and you'll get a true taste of Adam Reid at The French ahead of the doors reopening one day soon.

Menu Box by AR is delivered on a Friday but don’t need to be consumed on the day of delivery.  Just remember to unpack the box on the day and follow the storage instructions. So the day after our courier drop off we got into our own kitchen to finish things off. 

The menu started as it often does in the restaurant, with some of the signature beef butter and bespoke Pollen Bakery sourdough.  Whack it on a plate.  No skill needed at all, but a nice plate can make you look semi talented.  There's little more you can say about this dish which hasn’t been said already.  It's as good as any sourdough you'll eat, and that butter is always tip top.

Next up was Brown Onion Soup, with 28 hour sourdough and truffled rarebit.  A spin on French Onion Soup, topped with a giant cheesy crouton, laced with super fragrant truffle. 

A fantastic broth with tons of layers and a real depth of flavour.  It was a cinch to prep too.  Heat the soup lightly, toast the back of the bread, top the other side with the rarebit mix, then grill until golden.  You're supposed to pop the toast into the soup to soak it up a bit, but when you're spending 2 minutes taking photos, you don’t want to be getting things too soggy.  Suffice to say, the bread was dunked about 3 seconds after these shots were taken.  Putting the critical head on; was bread needed on two back to back courses?  Possibly not, but when you're lounging about in those PJ's, bring on the carbs I say.  These things have elasticated waists for good reason.

Main course was Aged Cumbrian sirloin, caramelised cabbage with Garlic and Lovage Mayo.  High quality beef with stunningly rich fat, which came pre-seared, garnished with a slice of braised/charred cabbage, which was topped with a garlic/lovage infused mayo and the best finishing ingredient on the planet; crispy onions! 

I dress at least 50% of home cooked food with them, only I buy the big sacks from the supermarket because they are cheap and passable.  Like my cooking in general.  Clearly, Adam's were on a different level. Perfectly sweet and crunchy, with no sign of bitterness as you too often get when they've been fried for even a few seconds too long.

The sauce was stunning and again super flavoursome.  When a sauce turns up to your house as jelly, you know it's going to be riddled with boney goodness.

To finish it was Medjool date pudding, brown sugar and tamarind sauce, with clotted cream.  Basically, a Cheffy sticky toffee pudding, elevated to make it just that little bit more interesting.  The rich dates created an indulgent and moist pudding, with an even richer sauce carrying the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness from the sugar and tamarind.  A dollop of clotted cream gave it all some lightness and kept the sweetness in check, then the whole thing was finished with some citrus butter for that added lift and zing. 

In the cooking notes, Adam suggests eating this course with a brew.  No PX, no Tokaji or a fancy sticky wine pairing here. We ignored this guidance and opted to finish our meal with an Espresso and truffles to perfectly recreate the restaurant experience.

So another great box of DIY action from Manchester's main man.  As touched on earlier in the prefix blurb; you could taste Adam's cooking even though it was finished in a far less capable kitchen following the vac packing and courier trip.  For me, this authenticity is super essential with any high end food box. 

The only downside of me writing these dishes up for you is that they likely won't appear in the menu boxes again since the menu changes weekly.  So, perhaps not repeating menus from the same Chef was a stupid policy after all?  Not to worry, you can be pretty sure that every week your box of choice will be prepared with the same love and true to form quality. Due to some poor planning on our part we forgot to order the specially created Gusbourne wine selection, so on realising our mistake just paired the dishes with bottles from one of our favourite yards.

With the end of lockdown and normality apparently close to hand, do yourself a favour and get yourself one of Adam's DIY boxes. They are genuinely some of the very best out there, and we've had a lot, an awful lot, over the last 12 months.