It perhaps involves imagination to compare the new Victor’s restaurant in Hale with those in that desirable enclave of Long Island, but the food is worth a visit
If it requires a leap of the imagination to equate Manchester’s Spinningfields with Manhattan, then making a connection between Hale and the Hamptons needs the thought processes of a J K Rowling.
Nonetheless, the creators of the spectacularly appointed and uber-fashionable Neighbourhood bar and restaurant in the heart of Manchester’s riverside business quarter took their inspiration from the ‘casual fine dining, luxury ingredients and industrial chic aesthetics’ of what’s currently big in the Big Apple. So when a sister operation, Victor’s Eatery, opened its doors in one of the North West’s most affluent ‘burbs, Long Island’s south fork villages, boasting some of the most expensive real estate in America, ‘obviously’ came to mind. Natch.
Victor’s presents itself as a big bucks transformation of what used to be the capacious Chinese restaurant Man-Zen, marshalling the considerable cutting-edge talents of Bernard Carroll’s design team which bizarrely - when you think about it - has created the first warehouse in the history of Hale and then slotted a restaurant and bar into it boasting plenty of those aforementioned industrial chic aesthetics. The result is striking - exposed brick work, integrated arches, austere unclad windows, factory-style pendant lighting hanging from weathered wooden ceiling beams - and all the more so since, after all, this is Ashley Road, Hale.
But it does work, for the plain functionality of the backdrop served to enhance the colours of the bottles above the well-stocked cocktail bar and the reflected glint in the top-quality tableware. At 5pm on a Thursday evening - well, just about evening - the only time we could get a table (and only if we promised to let it go again by 7.30pm) the place was buzzing.
The menu is an eclectic list of high-end fashionable dishes, heavily influenced by Japanese cuisine, particularly among the appetisers, and including a clutch of attractive pasta options (truffle ravioli/seafood linguine/wild boar bolognaise) available in starter or main course portions. Mrs K began with chirashizushi salmon with marinated ikura (£7.50) from the raw bar selection, while I chose squid salad (£7). The former, deconstructed sushi ‘scattered’ in a bowl, yielded fine slices of tip-top salmon sprinkled with its marinated roe, a spiral of oriental radish and a morsel of toasted rice and sesame. No doubting the quality of the fish, but without a dressing of lime, soy or perhaps a dab of wasabi, the overall flavour was somewhat bland. It was a similar story with the squid which, though nice and tender, arrived on a bed of shredded Chinese leaves and not quite enough mint, mango and chilli to liven things up.
The main courses, however, were outstanding. I chose halibut fillet, expensive at £25, but the fish was pure white, soft and moist and delicately flavoured. The accompanying bisque sauce, sweetcorn and sweetcorn purée, cherry tomatoes and deep-fried baby courgette complete with its flower, not only harmonised beautifully with the fish rather than overpowering it but also produced a gorgeous palette of colours.
Given that we had to ask what the dish described on the menu as ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ actually was, its subsequent arrival was not only a revelation but sensational. Though the term had completely passed us by this last quarter century or so, Jacob’s Ladder is apparently the popular term in this country for short ribs of beef; that is the cut from between the bones that requires careful slow cooking. Victor’s version as served to Mrs K, proved to be a stairway to foodie heaven; thick, juicy, meltingly tender and full of beefy flavour. Two generous ‘steaks’ came with delicious Brooklyn brown ale sauce, a scattering of crushed peanuts, chives and chilli, a swirl of potato purée and what we guessed was a blob of bone marrow; marvellous value for £17. We shared side orders of fries seasoned with chipotle salt and crunchy courgette ribbon fritters with sriracha hot chilli sauce for £3.50 a throw.
We rounded off by sharing a square of rich, dark and decadent chocolate pavé with miso ice-cream, a scattering of crushed peanuts and a miniature bottle of foamy malted milk. The wine list is short-ish and well chosen, but prices are stiff, though that probably won’t bother a significant proportion of Victor’s clientele. Whites on the main list start at £24 for a Languedoc viognier and reds at £26 for an New South Wales Riverina shiraz. We plumped for the house Jarrahwood Chardonnay, a pleasantly drinkable Aussie - £4.55 for 175cl and £19.50 for the bottle - from the ‘wines by the glass’.
Victor’s Eatery, 169 Ashley Road, Hale,
Cheshire WA 15 9SD. Tel 0161 928 4651.
