My wife and I recently celebrated our anniversary at That Cafe, previously one of our favourite restaurants in Manchester. On arrival, the reception was tepid at best, in marked contrast to our numerous previous visits. When we were presented with the menu (at that time, their Xmas menu), our hearts sank. An array of quite frankly weird concoctions were presented. We are not unadventurous, but some of the combinations looked as though they simply could not work, and so it was. The starters passed off OK, with seared scallops (very, very few) with rocket salad and a terrine. However, the main course was another matter. We had struggled to find anything which we fancied amongst the ever more bizarre array of options, eventually opting (grudgingly) for rump steak. Now, call me old-fashioned, but for approx Ł15+ for a main course, I don't normally expect to see rump steak, but fillet or sirloin. However, we thought, it must be pretty good rump steak. But no, it was awful. Small, gristly, tough and worse still, utterly tasteless. Even worse still, it sat on a bed of what was described as chorizo polenta, but which amounted in truth to a revolting goo. It was easily the worst main course we have ever had at a restaurant of any repute. The situation did not improve with the arrival of the desserts. I opted for the safe option of a selection of cheeses, which were OK, but the portion was miniscule. However, my wife opted for a meringue dish, comprising two obviously shop bought, cheap meringues, with some custard and raspberry secreted about them. It was shocking. As it was a special occasion, we tried to enjoy ourselves as best we could, in fact making the quality of the food a source of entertainment in the end! However, this did not make up for our disappointment. We were appalled to be treated with such contempt by this once fine establishment. We will not be returning anytime soon.
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Jan 3rd, 2005
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