Randall And Aubin Manchester

Randall & Aubin have been kicking up a storm down in London’s Soho for over two decades, gathering up countless rave reviews and loyal patrons. A few years back the owners decided this stately space on Manchester’s Bridge Street, close to Deansgate and King Street, would be the ideal location for the first Randall & Aubin restaurant outside the capital.

And it’s finally here. However, patriotic Mancunians can relax, this is more than a mere copy. It’s over twice the size of the original branch, with plenty of unique elements, perfect for high-end Manchester diners looking for a touch of class.

Seafood is what’s on offer, the freshest in the city, cooked using time-honoured methods. The restaurant itself has a traditional but timeless feel, all gleaming tiles and thick marble surfaces. If it weren’t for the huge disco ball the fixtures and fittings wouldn’t feel out of place in Victorian England.

The menu is almost aristocratic in its simplicity

The food follows suit. No silly gimmicks or nods to fly-by-night food trends, the menu is elegant – almost aristocratic – in its simplicity. Fish, soups, salads and meats are all on offer, and while ostensibly a seafood restaurant, no expense is spared on sourcing the finest ingredients for the non-poisson dishes, with high-quality beef ageing on the premises and every item made from scratch each – yes, even the mayonnaise.

The Assiette de Fruits de Mer is a fine place to begin. An ice-filled platter containing oysters, prawns, cockles, clams, mussels, scallops and whelks, all gloriously fresh and full of colour. You’ll notice everything is treated with a delicate touch so vital flavours aren’t cooked away, instead you get a whistlestop tour of bodies of water, from local rivers to the Atlantic ocean.

The grilled Manx queenies scallops and tuna carpaccio are well-worth sampling, both impossibly light and with artful dashes of classic flavours. The scallops arrive in their small half-shells, coated in a moreish drizzle of caper, lemon and garlic butter.

Head chef Ed Baines said the roast chicken would be his final meal, were he facing execution

But the stand-out dish has to be the half rotisserie chicken. Corn-fed, free range, and a bargain at just £10, you’ll struggle to find a better chicken anywhere else in the city. Marinated in garlic and parsley butter, the meat tumbles apart at the slightest touch, while the skin is thick and crispy, and even comes with a small amount of cheese, resting in the crevices.

I’m told co-owner and head chef Ed Baines said this roast chicken dish would be his final meal, were he facing execution. Let’s hope that never happens – it’d be criminal to deprive the world of such delicious food. Randall & Aubin in a word? Exquisite.

Photos by Lennox Paul-David