City Café

Gordo makes his mind up about David Gale’s City Café and City Inn

Date Published: 24/10/2007

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David Gale could have a row with a mirror. And, dear reader, it would be the fault of the mirror. David is a very fine chef, with stints at some interesting places, including Soho House. Gordo first met him properly when they were introduced at a function. Within ten minutes there was a difference of opinion that was breaking out into war. Gordo met David a second time and got on well with him. It was in Selfridges Food Hall in Exchange Square that appeared to be going down the pan.

David turned the place around within a relatively short space of time. Today, when you pick out the lobster, or indeed the fantastically dressed crab you have David to thank for it being brought in live and dealt with on the premises. His attention to detail is enormous in its breadth and he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of his subject.

The place is so fresh it makes you want to hang your washing up in there. It does need to have the lighting in the evening thought through again. It’s too bright and ladies don’t like it.

David has joined City Inn, the new hotel opposite Piccadilly Station as Executive Chef. He has been given a light, modern room in which to showcase his abilities which is lovely for lunch on a sunny day. The place is so fresh it makes you want to hang your washing up in there. In the evening though the lighting needs to be sorted. It’s too bright and ladies don’t like it. If they had their way, it would be candles all the time: hides a lot of sins by all accounts.

The tablecloths are white, starched and luxurious. The knives mean business and the bread and butter is the proper kit. One brown roll, baked with cranberries, was chewy, crunchy, slightly sour: it should have been placed on top of a basket of autumnal produce, on an altar.

The Maitre D’ at Gordo’s fourth visit was Lee Webster who was pleasant, helpful and on the ball. A delightful young lady, Shannon Lowe (half Irish, half Scottish, talking American) was very impressive. Staff in general seem motivated and well trained across the hotel, it shows in the way these two looked after Gordo and the Manchester Confidential Editor on this, the last visit.

Starters were celeriac soup, crispy cured ham, blue cheese croutons (£4.95), roast veal sweetbreads, confit duck, button mushrooms, broad beans (£6.95) and finally Morecombe bay potted shrimp, toasted sourdough, baked tomatoes, preserved lemon dressing (£5.50). Jonathan Schofield (the said editor) found the soup thinner than it needed to be, whilst Gordo’s sweetbreads would have been perfect except the plate was cold and, strangely, the dish was a little dried out. Gordo isn’t exactly sure what happened here but if he had got to the dish prior to these mistakes it would have been a belter.

The shrimps were simply the best that Gordo has had. The difficulty in this is the seasoning. Once everything has been brought together, the chef has to judge the seasoning on the basis of how’s he going to chill it next. Gordo for one has never got it right. This was perfect, the shrimps were glowing gently with flavour. Three or four baby tomatoes, roasted and served at room temperature made a fantastic friend whilst the lemon dressing was the touch of genius. It’s rare that a chef adds something out of the blue to a classic dish like this and makes it work. David has done it here.

Smoked pork belly, lavender honey glaze, savoy cabbage, caramel apple juice (£14.50) and roasted English beef with cottage pie, foie gras butter and roast parsnips (£18.50). Gordo has had the belly pork before. Jonathan muttered ‘bloody fantastic this cabbage’ and ‘God, this belly pork is done well’. Gordo loved it when he had it on the opening night.

The ‘roast beef’ was in fact a thick slice of fillet, of very superior quality cooked ‘bleu’. It was strange that he wasn’t asked how he likes it done, as it happens if he had known it was fillet that’s what his preference would have been, but he can see plenty being sent back if they the staff don’t enquire. Maybe it was a simple slip in an otherwise faultless service, which, by the way, would have got us out of the place in one hour flat if we’d wanted. The beef fillet sat on spinach. which was seasoned just loudly enough to bring out the beefiness of the fillet whilst the foie gras butter made the two tango. The roast parsnips. Cor blimey guvnor. Gordo absolutely bloody loved the pair of them to death. Richly sticky and ever so slightly crunchy on the outside, melting on the inside. Delightful. Oh yeah, there was a perfect cottage pie, one inch across served with it. Great, but weird.

Don’t bother with the side dishes. Whilst an enormous cauliflower cheese (£2.25) was great if a little liquid, it was unnecessary.

Gordo ate pudding on his own, the Editor having to do something disturbing with chartered surveyors. Cappucino cheesecake, mascarpone foam, pistachio and chocolate biscotti (£5.25), was clearly one of young Caroline Shaw’s, the pastry chef, better creations. This girl is a star, Gordo was at a dinner cooked by her a few weeks previously where she was presented with a well deserved Star Award. Her Manchester tarte sundae that night in the company of the Crush PR massive nearly made Gordo pass out.

A bottle of Beaujolais, 2005, Clos des Vieux Marronierres (£15.95), apart from being great value was perfect for a lunch of this kind. Gordo likes a good example of this stuff with a couple of years on it, you find a little more finesse than you should at the price range, blackcurrants and plums that have been massaged with a little bit of velvet.

The double expresso (£2.25) was a wimp.

The last three dinners here have been exceptional. Mr Gale, who interestingly offered that other fine chef Mr Owen-Brown ‘outside’ at the opening night of the Food and Drink Festival, has now found his feet and has the team in the kitchen on rare form. They can, in Gordo’s opinion, only get better.

A Gordo Go.

To read the Young Star Chef awards story click here.

Rating:	17.25/20
Breakdown:	8.75/10 Food 4.75/5 Service 4/5 Ambience
Address:	The City Cafe City Inn Piccadilly City 0161 242 1000 www.cityinn.com Everyday noon-2.30pm (Sunday 3pm), 5.30-10.30pm