Mr Cooper's House & Garden @ Midland Hotel, Manchester

Mr Cooper’s House & Garden, Midland Hotel, Manchester (Still With Simon Rogan)

Unless you’re planning on eating at Mr Cooper’s House & Garden in the next few days this review is kind of pointless.

Simon Rogan has packed his bags and will be leaving Manchester before the end of October. Both The French and Mr Cooper’s are being left in the capable hands of their current head chefs, Adam Reid and Robert Taylor.

When I returned to Mr Cooper’s House in early summer it was very much still a Simon Rogan restaurant. Though I don’t expect things will change immediately.

Outside Mr Cooper's House, Midland Hotel, Manchester Outside Menu

Mr Cooper’s is situated within the Midland Hotel but accessed through the side door. Meaning you have to open them yourself, unlike when you visit the French with its fancy doorman.

Jay Rayner hates the decor but I think it looks great. From the plush bar and ‘house’ area.

Inside Bar Inside

To the even more inviting ‘garden’ area, where we chose to sit.

Inside Tree Inside Mr Coopers House & Garden inside

We kicked things off with very good freshly baked sourdough. Served with smooth whipped butter and sea salt.

Sourdough

And fantastic ‘Oxtail Croquettes’.

Crispy on the outside with succulent slow cooked meat and smoked marrow inside. The English mustard mayo on the side gave them an extra kick, not that they needed it.

These would be an amazing pub snack.

Oxtail Croquettes
Oxtail Croquettes

I was slightly disappointed when my starter arrived and I saw it only contained three prawns.

But all was forgiven when I took a bite. It might have been small but it more than delivered on flavour. The juicy buttermilk fried prawns came with sharp pickled fennel, sweet pear and the most amazing kimchee purée. A brilliant combination of contrasting flavours.

Buttermilk Fried Prawns & Kimchee Purée
Buttermilk Fried Prawns & Kimchee Purée

Mrs FoodGeek’s ‘Pea Bavarois’, was much more subtle but also very good.

A light pea flavoured, perfectly set cream. Surrounded by an assortment of interesting flavours and textures. Including mint jelly, potatoes and parmesan.

A delightful summer dish.

Pea Bavarois, Agastache Jelly, Jersey Royals & Parmesan
Pea Bavarois, Agastache Jelly, Jersey Royals & Parmesan

My main course was a hearty rump of Herdwick lamb with a Swiss chard gratin and spiced lentils.

The lamb was just about pink, I’d have liked it cooked slightly less. The lentils were incredibly tasty but it was all about the rich meaty sauce, it joined all three elements together wonderfully.

Herdwick Lamb Rump, Swiss Chard Gratin & Spiced Lentils

Herdwick Lamb Rump, Swiss Chard Gratin & Spiced Lentils
Herdwick Lamb Rump, Swiss Chard Gratin & Spiced Lentils

There was a lot going on with Mrs FG’s main course.

The main event was the Cumbrian rib steak, cooked a beautiful medium rare. It was accompanied by a perfectly formed ravioli filled with tender brisket and very tasty beetroot fritters.

Again the intense sauce brought everything together in perfect harmony.

Cumbrian Rib Steak, Brisket Ravioli & Beetroot Fritters
Cumbrian Rib Steak, Brisket Ravioli & Beetroot Fritters

Our sides included smooth and buttery potato purée and creamed kale, spinach and bacon. The latter had more cream than most desserts.

Creamed Kale, Spinach & Bacon
Creamed Kale, Spinach & Bacon
Potato Purée
Potato Purée

The first courses were enjoyed with a very good Italian red. Spicy with a hint of sour cherry that worked so well with the red meat. Really good quality for a relatively low £26.

Red Wine

I can’t resist ordering a Crème Brûlée when I see one. Which isn’t often enough these days.

This one came with charred pineapple and rum flavoured jelly. They were nice enough but the brûlée itself was excellent. It’s a classic for a reason people, don’t stop making them because they’re not cool anymore!

Pineapple Crème Brûlée, Anise & Rum
Pineapple Crème Brûlée, Anise & Rum

Mr’s FG’s dessert was more disappointing.

Firstly, the menu was misleading. It promised ‘lemon doughnuts’, but actually only contained one. And that was a rather sorry looking, overcooked dough bullet on the end of a spoon.

The glass of vanilla yoghurt with gooseberry compote was pleasant enough but felt small and overpriced at £7.50.

Vanilla Yoghurt, Gooseberry Compôte & Lemon Doughnuts
Vanilla Yoghurt, Gooseberry Compôte & Lemon Doughnuts

We finished by sharing a selection of British cheeses. Nice variety, good quality and generous portions. Interestingly, it also included raisins, salted pecans and savoury black sesame scones.

British Cheeses
British Cheeses

Cheese always means beer. Mr Cooper’s house beer is brewed by local brewery Tweed. Although it’s not great I’ll always choose beer over wine with cheese.

Tweet / Mr Coopers Beer

Although it was fairly busy service was immaculate. Generally speedy and our waitress was incredibly helpful and friendly.

And lemon doughnuts aside, the food was excellent too. Like the decor, Jay Rayner hates the variety in the menu but for me that’s a highlight. I like being able to mix and match dishes and ingredients from different continents and cuisines.

I don’t expect they’ll miss Simon too much as with his other establishments Mr Cooper’s was surely never a priority. It appears to be in very safe hands with Robert Taylor anyway. I’m looking forward to returning and seeing how he puts his own stamp on the place.

Date of visit: 21.07.2016

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