Beef tartare on a flattened croissant and a Vimto dessert are among the attention-grabbing dishes at Counter, the theatrical new venue from chef-restaurateur Andrew Sheridan which opens on Monday (9 November) in Manchester city centre .
Billed on its website as ‘unapologetically and consciously creative’, Counter mixes and matches ingredients and techniques from around the world. The restaurant is the second Manchester launch in quick succession by Andrew’s Open Restaurant Group, following Arcadian in Didsbury, which took over Gary Usher’s Hispi in August.
Counter’s ‘dining without boundaries’ menu lists dishes like flatbread starters topped with tandoori carrots, Iberico pork or crab and bisque; mains of satay chicken or slow-cooked Thai lamb shoulder, and sharing plates including monkfish ‘curry club’ and whole turbot with brown butter, capers and preserved lemon. The most eye-catching dessert is the Vimto 1908, a trifle which pays tribute to the soft drink created in Manchester.
Andrew says: “For us, great cooking isn’t about sticking to rules or defining food by where it comes from. It’s about taking the best flavours, textures and ingredients from around the world and bringing them together in ways that surprise people. We start with great produce, take inspiration from different food cultures and have fun with it, creating dishes that are bold, playful and full of flavour.
“Manchester is creative, loud and full of character, and we wanted Counter to reflect exactly that. It’s a place where great food meets a sense of occasion, without ever taking itself too seriously. Whether you’re joining us for lunch or dinner, we want Counter to feel like a natural part of the city, somewhere you come back to time and time again.”
Andrew’s ORG is currently on a roll as the most dynamic restaurant group in the northwest after a series of openings this year, and with a second edition of Counter already lined up for Birmingham city centre in the spring.
Meanwhile, one of Manchester’s most successful restaurants of the past decade, Simon Shaw’s tapas flagship El Gato Negro, opens a spinoff today called El Gatito in Salford’s Media City – whose occasional nickname ‘Costa del Salford’ is most appropriate in this case. El Gatito serves many of El Gato’s signature dishes, along with filled focaccia sandwiches at lunchtime.
