The Counter House - Sunday Roasts

A genuinely good Sunday Roast is something that’s much tricker to locate than it should be, isn’t it?  Cooked in bulk, that little touch of TLC is sadly lacking more often than not, and I can count the number of truly good Sunday roasts that we’ve had in Manchester city centre on one hand.  Due to that, it’s something which we usually skip when eating out and prefer to do it at home, but we love being proved wrong. 

So, when we got whispers of the lovely folks at The Counter House doing a great roast we jumped at the opportunity to find out first hand, which is of course the only proper way to do anything.  So, down to THC we headed to get ordering!

We kicked off with a few snacks to get things moving, starting with Hummus (£8.50), served with olive oil, flatbread and a dusting of zataar. Which got us off to an untraditional but exceptionally enjoyable start.   Lovely bread, with a nicely textured hummus. 

Halloumi Chips (£8.10) looked fantastic, as you can see from the photo, which I’m rather proud to have taken if I’m being honest!  They were also perfectly cooked, delivering that perfect salty hit, with a trademark touch of squeak that you either love or hate.  We love it though, and this was a winning starter.

Charred Padron Peppers (£7.50) with Korean chilli and lime salt were a simple but delicious affair.  The salt was a game changer, boosting the peppers.  I must have eaten a thousand of these things over the years, but am still to find a single spicy one, so that salt compensated.

But truth be told; we didn’t come for the starters,  we came for the roast dinners, and were ready to eat.   Excitement was high after seeing them make their way from the kitchen pass, topped with a skyscraper-esque Yorkshire Pudding. 

Before arriving we’d already decided on 2 different roasts, one because that’s what we prefer, and two because it gives us more to write about.  That’s one bonus above making a roast at home anyway.  You’d need to be a glutton for punishment to cook 2 different proteins at home, so TCH have your back in that department.

Both roasts came with an array of sides, including roast potatoes, carrot and swede mash, savoy cabbage, parsnips, carrots, and those towering Yorkshire Pudding.  We opted for gravy on the side too, because it made the photos look more professional and we prefer to control the gravy levels ourselves. Now I’m a fan of stuffing with a roast dinner, regardless of the protein.  Contentious I know.  So I was a little disappointed to see that TCH roast don’t offer stuffing (even with chicken one!).  But to my delight, the roast potatoes have a sage and onion esq seasoning which gave the taste of stuffing without it being on the plate.

Roast Beef (£22) was clearly high-quality protein, roasted to an ideal pink medium rare, sliced nice and thinly in generous portion size.  I was starting to question my long-standing decisions over never going out for Sunday roasts. 

The Roast Chicken (£20.50) option was equally as impressive, served as a half chicken, with a whole breast and thigh, so a more than generous portion size.

We felt in only fair to add Cauli Cheese (£6.80) to our dishes, since it’s clearly an elite Sunday roast accompaniment.   Well-cooked cauli in a plentiful portion with bags of cheesy goodness from that sauce, then coloured on top of an intense cheesy hit.  Super tasty.

Now at this point, I’d like to mention the wine service, which way exceeded our expectations.  I should have asked of the gent’s name so that he could get a shout out in this article, but he was thorough, talked us through our wine choices like a pro, giving little back stories to the wines and their producers.  Fantastic knowledge and detail, way beyond what you’d hope for in such an informal occasion. 

After such a hearty feast and a couple of glasses of quality vino, we didn’t really need to order a pudding, but thought it only professional to order one to share, just to show you the delights on offer.

Sticky Toffee Pudding (£8.50) was the obvious choice, so we went for that.  A well baked pud, doused in that iconic Butterscotch sauce, topped with great vanilla ice cream, with the added textural and honeycomb.  As delicious and big as it looks in the photos. 

Whilst we sat and digested our experience, it both conceded that our DIY-only policy around roasts, is probably a bit short sighted.  We’d had a great time, the roasts were genuinely delicious, and best of all, we had no washing up to do either!   We knew there and then that we’d be back for more.

As we were leaving, a friend waiting in the doorway to get a seat.  She assured us later that the vegan option was superb too, and in her own words ‘its great to find a vegan roast that isn’t mushroom based’.  It’s always reassuring to hear feedback which echoes your own, especially since she was there as a paying customer.

** Our experience was gratefully comped **