Lemon Meringue Cronut
Fress
If you ever wanted to consume a weeks’ worth of sugar in one sitting, then I would highly recommend you get yourself over to Fress for one of their dangerously delicious cronuts. The cronut is the love-child of a croissant and a doughnut which is made by shaping all butter pastry into a round before it is deep-fried and filled some sort of filling and finally rolling it in sugar. My favourite is the lemon meringue filled with tart lemon curd. Id recommend you share one among a few of you or eat it by yourself and submit to the subsequent diabetic shock – It’d probably be worth it. – Kate Tighe
Custard Tart
Galloping Major @ Oddfellows on the Park
I literally cannot stop thinking about this dessert which was part of the 7-course tasting menu at the on site restaurant of Oddfellows in the park down in Cheadle. You can read my full review here if you like, but in short, this was hands down one of the most delicious desserts I have ever had the pleasure of stuffing down my gullet. The pastry was thinner than bone china and perfectly crisp, with a sweet, silky custard filling which was utterly orgasmic. The black cherry ice cream on the side was a real winner too. – Kate Tighe
Baby Back Ribs
Cane & Grain
They’re back baby! Happy to say that the Cane and Grain ribs are back on top form much to the delight of me and everyone here in the Finest office. Feel like C+G have gone back to their roots with the ribs and gone back to the method of cooking them in sauce (rather than separately as they did before) which ensures a juicy texture and deep, succulent flavour. I’ve been in three times this week already! – Joe Wilson
Estella Damm at The Foundry Project
Okay so you’re probably thinking you’ve already had a bit of Estrella and so why is it in this list? Well, I can assure you that you’re not going to have had a bit of Estrella as good as the one found at the Foundry Project – unless you’ve been to Barcelona recently that is. It’s the only place in the UK that has proper Estrella tanks, straight from Spain so the beer is extra crisp, extra cold and extra brilliant. I had some on Tuesday and it was the best beer I’ve had all week. – Ben Brown
Rump Steak with Café de Paris butter
Volta
Volta is one of my favourite restaurants around, and what makes it even better is its proximity to my house. They have added a few new dishes to the menu, so I popped down one cold Wednesday night for a couple glasses of mulled wine and some small plates. The rump steak with café de Paris butter (melted butter with garlic, mustard, thyme) was a real winner. Cooked to perfection with a nice pink middle and smothered in garlicky butter- I found it rather difficult to share. I want to give a shout out to the harissa roasted carrots too which, served with hazelnut dukkha and date puree, held their own among the other dishes rather than being a humble side dish. Top Marks. – Kate Tighe
Croquetas de Jamón
La Bandera
This week was actually my first time trying traditional Spanish food and I really enjoyed it. The Jamón Croquettes had to be my favourite, they were so beautifully rich and full of so much flavour, the ham inside was cooked to perfection and just completely melted in your mouth, you could tell the filling had been cooking for hours as the meat was so tender. Next time I’ll 100% be ordering the whole dish for myself and not to share! If you’re looking for typical traditional Spanish food in Manchester, La Bandera is the one! – Ellie Edginton
Sweet Potato Korroke Bao
Japanese Junk
One of our favourites Cottonopolis have opened a pop-up Japanese Junk Stall down at Hatch so we went down to give them a try! I decided to go for their Sweet Potato Korroke Bao, something a little different. Served with chili jam and tempura onions, the dish was everything! The sweet potato was seasoned so well, and combined with all the extra toppings and served on a steamed bao bun, it was dreamy! – Ellie Edginton
