The Daily Telegraph
William Sitwell reviewed two restaurants from a trip to Manchester, revealing two sides of the city’s “generally fabulous dining scene”. Kaji – directed by chef Steve Smith, formerly of the Ribble Valley’s Freemasons – is a Japanese live-fire venue “manned by a collection of burly lads. It’s all tummies, bald heads, tattoos and heat.”
Sadly, the joint is a travesty of “the noble name of Japanese cuisine”: William was so incensed by the “sickly sweet kimchi ketchup” and “sticky tomato ponzu” that he repeated the adjective “vulgar” in consecutive sentences. Worse still, he said, “Kaji is a Japanese gaff without sake. Which is like opening a British pub in Tokyo and forgetting to put an ale on tap.”
Pip, by contrast, is a “great-value tonic… a charmingly colourful and comfortable space” in the lobby of the new Treehouse hotel, from chef Mary-Ellen McTague, “a sort of Alice Waters of modern-day Manchester”. The highlight was a “fabulously good” Lancashire hotpot – “an elegant version of this classic dish”.
William Sitwell - 2025-05-11The Times
Jay Rayner enjoyed his lunch at the latest venue from Mary-Ellen McTague (formerly of Aumbry in Prestwich), who is “not just a terrific chef. She’s a skilled restaurateur who knows how to create spaces that people want to be in” – this time in the unlikely setting of a hotel on an “unforgiving Salford corner”.
“Her food always has high-end finesse, but it’s never prissy,” and here it lived up to Jay’s expectations, starting with snacks that included her ‘split pea chips’ – or as he described them, “mushy peas that have got tired of knowing their place and are making a successful stab at greatness”.
Lancashire hotpot, a “sticky mess of long-braised lamb and onions”, is served with pickled red and buttered green cabbage and “the masterstroke, an oyster mayo”, which harks back to old recipes that suggest adding an oyster to your hotpot. “Desserts include the stunning treacle tart McTague first developed at the Fat Duck on Heston Blumenthal’s watch, which is like re-meeting an old friend.”
Jay Rayner - 2025-08-24
