Restaurant Örme

There’s nothing better than a chef with ideas, and Örme’s head chef has enough for two or three restaurants, easy. Jack Fields, who co-owns this Michelin-listed bistro with his partner Rachel Roberts, drives his staff up the wall with his daily adjustments and fine-tuning, forever searching for the perfect dish. Headache for front of house, sure, but an Epicurean delight for the tastebuds. 

Out there in Urmston, Örme opened as a tasting menu restaurant in 2023. A line-up change or two later, the focus has shifted to small plates, local lad Jack’s solely in charge of food, and Rachel looks after drinks along with front-of-house vino brainiac Nicola. 

The place itself isn’t easy to get to, tucked away in a sleepy Greater Manchester suburb. But behind the tasteful deep navy frontage is a seasonal, low-waste dining experience more ambitious and more memorable than anything for miles. 

The soundtrack is all your favourite indie classics. Not the corny ones, the good ones. It doesn’t take long to realise Örme is another example of that time-honoured music-lover-to-food-and-drink-fanatic trajectory (a path trodden by your humble narrator and half the chefs and hospitality figures in Manchester). 

In that sense, it’s very Manchester, without being shouty about it. The wine descriptions are some of the most evocative I’ve ever come across, while the dishes are considered and complex, with an often startling level of detail. 

Case in point, the chunkiest ‘scampi’ you’ll ever see, except it’s actually hake and monkfish. Jack’s reasoning: monkfish used to be sold as a substitute for scampi because it’s meaty enough to pass for langoustine. Very progressive of the saltwater community. After brining, it’s marinated in tarragon, chives and lemon, then seasoned salt-and-vinegar style and served with a curry mayo, like God’s own chippy. 

Jack’s menu is full of these playful form-bending ideas, such as a wonderfully smoky ‘risotto’ made with charred sweetcorn rather than rice, finished with basil pesto, nuts and goat’s cheese on top. 

My personal favourite is the mussels, although you’ll want to keep some bread to one side for scooping up the sauce. These are steamed in fennel and white wine, with a bouillabaisse-style French stew created from the resulting stock. They, and there are plenty of them, arrive in a chorizo and red pepper sauce that’s deeply, madly rich. Vatican-level rich. 

Oh, and it’s only £12. The suburbs have other benefits too. Most items come in at around a tenner or so, with only a couple of main-course-style dishes breaking the £20 barrier: the sticky sweet-and-sour spring lamb and the roasted hake. Both are well worth it at that price point, the mark-up would be eye-watering in a city centre location. 

Örme’s spiritual peers are the likes of Erst, Bangkok Diner’s Club, Where The Light Gets In and Portfolio – that vision-led mix of uncompromising and approachable that the Northern food scene is doing so well at right now. Get stuck in before Jack changes the menu beyond all recognition. Again.