Sampa

Ever the enquiring mind, Sampa chief-chef Caroline Martins looks toward southern Spain, focusing on that most underrated of Andalusian vinos: sherry. 

As with everything Caroline does, this isn’t an archaic take on fortified wine. No Withnail wisecracks, no nana’s sideboard. Instead, a finely tuned meal based around dishes that pair with the huge range of sherries available to modern wine lovers. 

It’s a collaboration with the Sherry Wine Council of Jerez, home of all things sherry (sherry is the english pronunciation of Jerez, which comes from with the city’s old Arabic name, Sherish.) Hosting duties fall to Jerez-born Carmen, who presents six or so wines throughout the meal. 

The welcome drink is sherry as spritz, bright and crisp, using Manzanilla over ice with tonic and fresh grapefruit. It’s a strong opener, emphasising the versatility of the Palomino grape. 

Other highlights include the Don José, a dark, full-bodied sip, paired with one of Caroline’s most elaborate creations yet. There’s a wooden bowl of slow-cooked black beans with a sauce made from calabresa smoked sausage and wild mushrooms, otherwise known as feijoada. 

This goes alongside a skewer of ribeye beef, glazed with a tare-style sauce, sat on rice, smoke swirling throughout, topped with pickled red cabbage. Wait, there’s more. Three condiments: fruity piquinho chillies, a cassava-crumb farofa to give a little texture, and a third, sharp chilli. 

There’s a lot happening here, and the Oloroso Don José does a sterling job of holding it all together. It’s dark, dry and slightly nutty, heavy enough to work with this splendid “family Sunday” dish. 

The final sherry is the cream sherry, Bodega Fernando de Castilla, and the most velvety of the lot. It’s paired with a tweaked version of Caroline’s celebrated Mario mushroom dessert, to mingle with the dark fruit flavours.  

Sampa essentially invented Brazilian fine dining in Manchester, thanks to the wizardry of head chef Caroline Martins – gaining a well-deserved nod from Michelin inspectors along the way. This underground space is the perfect place to learn about both new dishes and vintage sherries, reimagined for the late 2020s.