Flight Time / September 2016

32 / 132

32 SEPTEMBER
Manchester’s latest dining sensation is reinventing
Chinese food and dishing it up with bundles of style
at the cool and creative Tattu
Having visited Manchester countless times,
I’ve built up a bit of a love/hate relationship
with the restaurants dotted around the city’s
Chinatown. Dinners over the years ranged from
glorious feasts of authentic dim sum in packed,
raucous restaurants to grim bowls of mysterious
gristle served up by bad-tempered waiters.
Tattu, a new addition to the city’s flourishing
Asian dining scene, does things differently,
however. For a start it’s located well outside the
Chinatown area and is by far one of the coolest,
most intriguing Asian restaurants I’ve ever seen.
The venue acts as a restaurant-cum-bar and it’s
CONCIERGE RESTAURANT TIME
“I was more than happy to admit that the electric-pink cherry tree, beneath whose branches we
were about to dine, was an absolute triumph…”
Feast from
the East
in the dark-wood, downstairs drinking part (all
leather seats and nautical flourishes) that we
begin before ascending to the main event; the
striking upper-floor restaurant.
Now, I’m not normally a fan of fake foliage,
I can never understand why you’d eschew the
real thing for some plasticky monstrosity, but I
was more than happy to admit that the electric-
pink cherry tree, beneath whose branches we
were about to dine, was an absolute triumph.
And from our booth, we could take in the whole
restaurant, packed with hip groups of friends
and stylish couples.
Our waiters for the evening were fun,
knowledgeable and charming. Founders and
brothers Adam and Drew Jones have selected
a great team, and we could see that included
the bar, too, as a refreshing Orient Expression
cocktail (ginger, Opihr Gin, coriander and
cardamom) arrived.
Before long, our table was groaning with dim
sum.Wagyu dumplings were sublime, and fat
parcels of sweet potato, salty sweet with maple,
cinnamon and soy shouldn’t have worked, but
were quickly wolfed down. From the small plates,
seared tuna and a Peruvian-fusion scallop ceviche
were highlights and barely left space for mains
of smoky shitake mushroom and tofu noodles
and crispy char siu pork (both delicious).A couple
more cocktails later and we were on to desserts;
Cherry Blossom – meringue, candied cherries
and candy floss – was the perfect finish to an
excellent meal.
Tattu Restaurant and Bar
Gartside Street
3 Hardman Square
Spinningfields
Manchester
M3 3EB
0161 819 2060
WORDS ADAM DUXBURY