Cafes & British Restaurants

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Manrai - The Quays, Concordia Street, LS1 4ES

"Set away from the hubbub of Swinegate, past the Malmaison hotel and adjacent to the new Quays development, Manrai exudes a relaxed sophistication and it’s smooth ambience immediately washes away any fears of being crammed against a smoky, noisy bar. The upstairs bar consists of three sections: two with conventional chairs and tables and the third, central area, of lounges and low tables. Its lighting is dim, suffused with the gentle light of tea candles and even after a hectic week (or weekend) you can feel as though you live like this all week. The service is liquid smooth, the glassware curvaceously attractive and the experience feels sybaritic. And best of all, the drinks aren’t stupidly expensive: in fact, they’re not expensive at all.

After our pre-dinner drink we headed down to the restaurant. With the same quiet lighting as at the bar, floor to ceiling windows shrouded in soft white curtains, crisp linen and flawlessly set tables the restaurant carries over the laid back tone of the bar. The price of the food is comfortingly reasonable and the menu is extensive enough to please the pickiest of palates. The wine list also accommodates all tastes and price ranges and the wide range of both old and New World wines by the glass means that even if you are driving you need not go thirsty.

We both started with seafood: I had the special Whitby crab and prawn spicy salad and my partner had the Shetland mussels. My salad was delicious with decent size prawns and the mussels were plump, juicy monsters in a spicy ginger, coriander and coconut cream sauce. For main course my partner had the Scottish fillet steak which was perfectly cooked to order and I had the confit duck leg with Toulouse sausage, garlic and leek mash and thyme jus which was a perfect classical balance. The duck was tender and moist and fell away from the bone. We had a side salad that cut through the richness of my duck and sausage perfectly.

We passed on dessert and shared a cheese plate consisting of a selection of three cheeses with crackers, fruit bread and walnut butter. It was ideally proportioned, but the cheeses were a little on the cool side. Personally, I would prefer to have just one or two regional cheeses and have my cheese experience extended somewhat. As it is the cheese plate at Manrai is unlikely to challenge many palates.

I suspect that there may have been some staffing issues on the evening we ate at Manrai, as the service was flawless and unobtrusively attentive for the first part of our meal but fell away somewhat after our main course. By this time the restaurant had become a lot busier and the fact that the maître d’ was dressing and clearing tables indicated that something had gone awry. I hope that some unusual occurrence had caused this and that on any other evening a diner could enjoy the superb service of which the staff is clearly capable from start to finish.

The only mildly irritating aspect of the evening was the apparent lack of a smoking policy. The cigarette smokers around us did not bother us at all, which suggests a commendable air conditioning system, but when a gentleman at an adjacent table lit up a post prandial cigar it was definitely noticeable. Perhaps a subtle note somewhere suggesting that diners refrain from smoking cigars and pipes until they retire to the bar would not go astray.

Manrai presents a lovely smooth environment with great service and delicious food and the price was more than reasonable. I will definitely be eating there again and recommending it to anyone who asks.

The bottom line: £75 for two including drinks and tip.

When you’d go there: special occasions – anniversaries, birthdays, and visitors – any excuse really!" - Alex Pritchard

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