The old stock exchange space is a cracker. It’s seen various restaurant iterations over the years, and each one has been blessed with sitting beneath those stunning domed ceilings. You just can’t match this kind of historic presence with modern plasterboard. It’s a very special room and is unquestionably one of the grandest, most impressive, and stature-laden dining spaces in the city and well beyond its borders.

And as the ultimate icing on the cake; we chatted to Daniel Schofield just before Christmas, and were told that the infamous teles which marred the dining room in its previous guise, would be removed. So, I’m now happy to formally report that they have indeed finally been banished .

Lighting was perhaps a bit dark, hence the slightly muggy real life non-touched-up photos. But then most people don’t sit taking photos of their dinner like we intrinsically have to.

And could some added décor make those hugely tall walls look a bit more complete? We think so.

All in all, it’s decent value considering the entire package level. We splurged on the wine as per usual which was entirely our choice, so including service charge the total bill came to £475 for 3 people, about half of which was shamelessly just on wine. It could be done a lot cheaper though.

It's more or less what you’d expect to pay for a night out in this vein.

Very little. We left feeling as if we’d got what we’d paid for. Expensive can still be good value.

High quality produce delivered simply and classically is the ethos here, much in keeping with the Schofields’ cocktails.

Snacks were obligatory when ordering; Hand Raised Pork pie (£6) was a generous slab with well-seasoned pork ground to the right texture, with lovely jelly and a nice short pastry.

Montgomery Cheddar and Anchovy Straws (£7) were intensely cheesy, with interesting savoury notes from the anchovy. Simple yet delicious.

Chicken Liver Parfait (£5) was ridiculously good value for money, and could work as a starter for somebody less greedy than us. Silky, blushing parfait, piped onto a tranche of truffle bread and butter pudding, with some Sauternes jelly for that trademark classical flourish. Outstanding.

We moved onto the starters; Steak Tartare with Beef Fat Yolk (£16) was really good, and an improvement from the recent press/soft launch. Superb quality chopped beef served with a beef fat yolk to add bags of richness, topped with some delicate leaves and shallot rings for an acidic pop to rein in all that richness. Delicious.

Sea Trout (£14) came served in uniform slices, with dots of horseradish, some pickled fennel, and some soda bread on the side to complete the dish. Fresh, clean, light and superbly enjoyable.

Main courses/sides landed and we headed for one of our favourite things from the preview evening. The Pressed Chips (£7) are already on their way to becoming a signature. Layered/pressed/confit chips are not a new thing, despite everybody acting otherwise after a now-closed Stockport venue started selling them a while back. But they’ve been around for decades. Their crunchy exterior texture and saturated seasoning are unrivalled. We also went for the Ogleshield and Mangalitsa Hotpot side (£7), which was hearty and filling despite the small demeanour of its Staub cast iron vessel.

The Ex Dairy Steak (£55) was cooked perfectly with huge beef flavour in keeping with retired bovine protein, which has finally caught on in the UK after eons of it being the norm in Spain. In another upgrade from the press launch, it’s now sauced with a super-unctuous, shiny, gelatinous gravy. Perfect for mopping up with those chips.

Rabbit Suet Pudding (£24) was a hit. Comforting and packed with meat, served with silkily refined mash, glazed carrots and a sherry/mustard sauce to bring it all together. In keeping with the cold outside.

Lamb Chops with Caper Sauce (£29) were great quality protein, but more about these later.

Our wines for the evening were the currently trendy Assyrtiko, in this case a 2021 Theopetra Estate Malagouzia (£49), as picked out on the evening by our fellow diner and wine expert Jen Frost, who's ‘sommed’ at some of the city’s best dining rooms. Layers of pineapple and tropical fruits, with a touch of mint. Fresh and zingy with oodles of minerality. To match our red-friendly main courses, we hit up the 2017 Joseph Swan Cuvée de Trois Pinot Noir (£92). Think USA does Burgundy! Light in colour and body yet easily stood up to the massive beefy notes from the steak, with herby, spicy and savoury nuances via that bit of ageing.

With the savouries done, Profiteroles (£11) were sauced at the table for some theatrics, and are always a crowd pleaser. Dainty choux buns filled with cream and doused in chocolate sauce.

Also ‘sauced’ at the table, with whiskey rather than rum, was the Macallan Whisky Baba (£12). Well baked baba with plenty of whiskey, in keeping with tradition, albeit with a Highland nod. Chantilly cream finished the plate as you’d expect.

But our favourite dessert was the Blood Orange Tart (£10). The filling was just about set, giving a fantastically light mouth feel, in contrast to the short snap of its pastry. The zingy, well balanced flavour profile also paired amazingly well with our iconic dessert wine;

Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes is available by the 75ml glass (£70), assuming that it’s not sold out by the time you read this! It's great to see it served it by the glass in MCR, as it’s a staple in tons of nice London places. The world’s greatest sweet wine, bar none, and the ideal way to end any evening.

In many ways, simple food is harder to pull off than more intricate stuff, as there’s just no place to mask imperfections.  A few dishes felt on the cusp of being seriously good, but just need a bit more fine-tuning, and Im sure that will come in time.

The chops were a bit messy in butchering and also presentation.  The still excellent rabbit pudding lacked a bit of salt.  The profiteroles were a touch overdone, and the baba was a bit dry and needed some syrup dousing back of house, before it was handed over to front of house for that final Macallan bathe.

Our service was handled by the superbly personable Maria, who took top-class care of us for the whole evening. Even our Editor’s leftie cutlery setting was remembered from the press launch. Details.

But then you come to expect this when front of house action is overseen by Eleanor Bristow; who anyone in the know will tell you is absolute Manchester hospitality royalty, and an all-round lovely human being. She recently scooped a prestigious Catey in the category of best hotel restaurant manager, not just in Manchester, but nationally. That’s all you need to know about the quality of service here.

Efficient, friendly, informal yet precise, down to earth, and above all, genuine. It gets no better.

Spotless.  There is no better service anywhere in the city.

Tom Kerridge’s iteration of this restaurant just didn’t quite hit the mark. It felt overpriced, the TVs wrecked the ambience and classy feel of the room, with portions a bit on the small side. It just didn’t ever truly do it for us and based on Big Tom’s relatively short occupancy, it clearly wasn’t doing it for a lot of other people.

Now though, the price points are correct, the menu is small but focused, largely on things which Manchester just wants to eat with no fuss and a real emphasis on simplicity yet quality, across the board. The drinks offering is, as you’d expect from anything bearing the Schofield name; top class on any metric. Cocktails are classically driven and the wine list is compact yet complete whether you want an affordable Transylvanian Pinot Noir, or a bottle of 2004 Petrus, the most iconic red wine on earth for a mere £5900.

If we were Hawksmoor’s management, then this place’s quick development would worry us a little bit, as the offering is quite comparable. Similarly high meat quality, a grander dining space, a marginally better drinks package, with better front of house. Add the footballer links to it, something which Mcr loves, and this is a legit winner

Still a few fine-tuning food related snags, which are only to be expected after just a few weeks.