Tartuffe at Side Street Kitchen

Tartuffe takes pride of place in the kitchen space at Side Street, one of the most impressively styled-out multi-purpose venues in all of Manchester. 

They humbly describe themselves as “a little bistro in Manchester”, but Tartuffe is much more than that. 

The team has spent the last year or so dazzling the eating-out public with not only the best roast chickens in the city, but some laugh-out-loud brilliant smaller dishes. 

Case in point, the mini chicken kievs. Unless you’re landed gentry, you undoubtedly scoffed these as a kid, and – let’s not retrofit the past – enjoyed them too. This version taps into the joy of childhood memory but replaces Bernard Matthews’s mechanically separated meat with actual high-end chicken, and a parsley aioli fit for a duke. When Black Mirror do an episode about chicken kievs, these will be the heroes of the tale. 

Similarly, the hash browns play with the theme of nostalgia levelled up. The fried potato blocks are hot and crunchy, like you remember, but hey, let’s stick some caviar on top because why not? 

These are eye-catching ideas, sure, but it’s more than just novelty. The dishes are fun and playful, but quality and concept come first. 

Everything is as smart and elegant as it can be. The anchovies are flawless, little slivers of tangy deliciousness, marinated in urfa chilli and preserved lemon. 

The octopus is an excellent rendering of the eight-limbed beast, made with a lobster and fennel escabeche and saffron aioli. It’s an ideal sunny weather dish, grilled lightly and fresh as it gets. 

As for the main attractions, you could choose meat – today Matthew, I’m going for a half rotisserie chicken, cooked in garlic and thyme butter – or a highly recommended vegetarian option: kale-stuffed rotisserie squash, covered in pangrattato (essentially crispy garlic breadcrumbs). Texture, taste, quantity, all boxes ticked. 

And let’s not brush over the quantity. You won’t leave hungry. These are old-school Sunday roast portions, where your grandparents would feed mini-you the exact same amount as your hulking 6’6 uncle. Piles of roast potatoes (with the best crunchy coating imaginable), buttered greens, root vegetables and a whopping great Yorkshire pudding that you should fill to the brim with gravy immediately. 

Sunday lunch at Tartuffe is special. It combines the comfort and heft of your childhood roast dinners with the skill and swagger of a pre-Knorr Marco Pierre White. Highly, highly recommended.