That Café

That café in Levenshulme, Manchester is a little gem that has lay hidden away for far too long! I’m unsure of how long it has been around for but it certainly isn’t a new restaurant and so many people have never even heard of it. Perhaps a lot of people are put off by the fact that it is in Levenshulme but they definitely shouldn’t be.

If you know Manchester at all you will know that Levenshulme has never really been a desirable place, ...
...driving along the A6 (where That Café is situated) you could quite easily miss this quaint little restaurant, it seems hidden behind ivy and the brick work is totally different to the surrounding shops and houses. It actually looks like somebody’s house apart from the fact that there is a sign saying ‘That Café’.
The inside is just as impressive, there are two floors, upstairs is for non-smoking seating and downstairs is for smoking. I like ... more

That café in Levenshulme, Manchester is a little gem that has lay hidden away for far too long! I’m unsure of how long it has been around for but it certainly isn’t a new restaurant and so many people have never even heard of it. Perhaps a lot of people are put off by the fact that it is in Levenshulme but they definitely shouldn’t be.

If you know Manchester at all you will know that Levenshulme has never really been a desirable place, it’s on the up however with the ‘A6 renewal area’ (a government initiative which is intended to clean up all areas along the A6, Levenshulme being one of the towns it runs through) Now Levenshulme is starting to look a lot cleaner and the building are starting to look as if someone has finally given them the clean up they needed! This all started when we found out we were to host the Commonwealth games, and has done the area a whole lot of good.

If you were driving along the A6 (where That Café is situated) you could quite easily miss this quaint little restaurant, it seems hidden behind ivy and the brick work is totally different to the surrounding shops and houses. It actually looks like somebody’s house apart from the fact that there is a sign saying ‘That Café’.
The inside is just as impressive, there are two floors, upstairs is for non-smoking seating and downstairs is for smoking. I like the idea that the two areas are separated by a floor, in most places the smoking section is right next to the non smoking section which makes it pointless even having a non smoking section if you ask me!
The décor is modern with large wooden mirrors hanging on the walls, there is a warm cosy feeling from the moment you walk in the restaurant has a very homely feeling. There is a small bar and waiting area, for you to sit while your table is being prepared the staff take your coat and offer you the menu so you can have as long as possible to make your decision.

I have been three times, once for an off chance meal when we popped in because someone had recommended it to us, the second time was for our anniversary and the last time I took twenty five people there for my birthday.

I’m going to talk about the last time I went because I fell it is a test on a restaurant’s ability when you go for a meal with a large group of people.

I booked about a month in advance, although the restaurant didn’t get that busy on the night itself I wasn’t sure how busy it got during the week (a Tuesday night), the previous two occasions it had been at the weekend and we had only just managed to get a table for two booking a couple of days in advance.
I had to pay five pound deposit per person; this is the norm for good restaurants in Manchester especially since I was booking for 20 people. That set me back 100 pounds, but I was quite happy to pay this considering the quality of the meal I knew I would be getting.
A couple of days before my birthday the restaurant phoned to see if there were any amendments to the number of people I would be bringing. The number had risen to 25 which they said was no problem what so ever.

On my birthday I was the first to get there, they were extremely polite as always and took our coats and asked us if we would like a drink in the bar before sitting at our table. I was a little dismayed at how the table was set out, it felt a little unsociable, four tables in a straight line with a small gap in the middle to allow access in and out. However it is a small restaurant and I think this is the only way they could accommodate this number of people without blocking the rest of the restaurant off for potential customers.

When everyone arrived they took a drinks order and we had bottle of wine a plenty before we could even blink.

The menu itself changes on a weekly basis and there are so many weird and wonderful things to try. There are generally about five or six starters and about seven main courses to choose from. Some items on the menu stay the same for a couple of weeks (if there has been a big demand for them I presume) but mainly it is all change at the end of the week.
They have a selection of meat dishes, vegetarian dishes, fish dishes and sometimes the odd vegan dish is available.
For you to get an idea of what sorts of food are on the menu I will detail what I ate (a meat eating but quite fussy eater who is afraid of trying things that sound too extraordinary! I also don’t eat fish)
For my starter I had asparagus, feta and tarragon pot which is a sort of custard type starter which is absolutely fantastic. Every single mouthful was different from the next and it seemed to get better as I ate it. The only trouble was there wasn’t enough of it (but it was my starter)
For my main course I had Pork sirloin with sage and black pudding stuffing, I am not a fan of black pudding so I asked if I could have it without and they did it without for me. This was served with spring onion mash and seasonal vegetable (mange tout, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots). This was amazing the gravy was fantastic it was really rich and did the mash potato justice; the pork was extremely tender and well stuffed!
And for my pudding (couldn’t believe I could fit it in but I had starved myself all day!) I had cinnamon sponge pudding which was also fantastic; it was served with served hot with almond, pecan and grape jam and cinnamon anglaise this was mouth wateringly good it’s just a shame I was very drunk by this point and can’t remember how good!!

All our meals came at the same time, obviously only four at a time because there were only two waitresses, who were very efficient!
Our drinks were topped up for us whenever needed and whilst we were eating they didn’t interrupt apart from to ask if everyone was enjoying there meal, considering complete silence fell when the main courses arrived I think that spoke for itself!

10 per cent service charge is added to all groups over 8 people, I think this is completely reasonable because the service is of such a high quality.

The price will be some peoples draw back however. A starter costs between 3 and 7 pounds, a main meal about 15 pounds and a pudding about 4 pounds. The bill for 25 of us was 900 pounds!!! That was inclusive of the 10 per cent service charge. That works out at 36 pounds per person which I thought was completely reasonable considering we drank about 20 bottles of wine and the majority of us had a starter, main course and dessert!

All that is left to be said is that I had the best birthday meal ever, the service, food and atmosphere was fantastic and I would recommend this restaurant to everyone!

For more information visit www.thatcafe.co.uk

Or pop in to That Café: 1031 Stockport Road, Levenshulme, Manchester M19 2TB.
Tel/Fax 0161 432 4672

 

...less