"After hearing that Michael Caines restaurant in Manchester was serving the menu that Executive Chef Ian Matfin had created to represent his North East roots, on BBC2's 'Great British Menu', we thought we'd pop along to try the 7 course £75 tasting menu. Whether or not Ian was working on the Monday we visited was a question answered with, 'yes, and Michael Caines is also in the kitchen tonight too as our restaurant manager is off''. Now, on three of our previous visits the double Michelin Star celebrity chef had been present and joined us for a chat, however we seemed to get the impression this was just a standard reply to impress the customers. That said, whether Michael, Ian or his deputy cooked the Taster Menu made no difference as we were blown away at how much Michael Caines at ABode is head and shoulders better than anywhere else in town.

We know many people who have commented on how the decor at Michael Caines lets the place down, and whilst we can't see much wrong with the furnishings, the dark basement setting probably does prevent this fabulous restaurant being a household name in Manchester like Simply Heathcotes, Le Petit Blanc or even Bill Wyman's Sticky Fingers were. But, as we've always argued when putting forward the case of not employing PR teams ourselves, actual customers are more important than brand identity - and where are those other three celebrated restaurants now? Precisely! Michael Caines at ABode certainly enjoys the custom, you have to book a table well in advance for many nights and on this showing, it's not hard to see why.

The service, despite the possible white lie about who was in the kitchen, was exceptional - the staff here certainly buy into Michael's vision of making fine dining available and affordable to all. They are extremely smart, professional and as knowledgeable about the menu as the kitchen staff, yet they remain incredibly friendly and personal, taking time to chat and joke. A massive contrast from the stiff collared formal silver service of The French at The Midland, arguably Manchester's only other restaurant serving food of technical quality.

And so to the menu, the Terrine of Ham Hock, served with pease pudding and parsley jelly, was large enough to be served as a starter in a two course meal, and the flavours of the pease pudding were incredible. The hock itself was delicious, one of the main highlights of the menu, and you can imagine, had Ian won the competition, the returning troops from Afghanistan who would have enjoyed this dish as part of a banquet, would have been equally as impressed - a real taste of Britiain!

The Braised Turbot with mussels and basil butter sauce was not only exceptional, but the best fish dish we've ever had. This reviewer has spent many years working in the Scandinavian fishing industry too, so you get the idea of how good it actually was! Again, the portion size was big enough to be served as a main course rather than one of seven. And by the time the perfectly cooked Fillet of Beef, with mushrooms, lardoons and deep fried marrowbone in red wine sauce arrived, we were almost asking for larger chairs. Again, the beef, was top notch and worth the visit alone - the chef really was on top of his game tonight!

The dessert, a treacle tart with lemon curd yoghurt and a blackberry smoothie was nice but a little too sweet my liking and there literally was no room left in our stomachs for the petit fours that followed, although those that we managed to eat were deliciously tasty. Not realising that the menu came accompanied with a flute of Champagne, we ordered a bottle of Michael Caines Blanc de Blancs Champagne (£42.50), which seems to have increased by almost £7 since last year. It was a fantastic choice and just one of 27 Champagnes to choose from. If you wanted something cheaper, the wine list was equally impressive with prices ranging from £21 (Ponte Pietra Pinot Grigio Rosato 2007) and 10 being available by the galss (from £5 for Ponte Pietra Pinot Grigio Rosato 2007).

Overall, the price of £75, whilst hefty when you consider everybody on the table has to order from the same menu, is very expensive, you can't argue paying that for the food served up. The normal evening a la carte menu is reasonably priced for food of this quality - £20 for the Slow Poached Halibut upto £24 for the Cheshire Sirloin Steak. A Grazing Menu allows you to try smaller versions of Ian Matfin's expert creations for less (£5.50 for the Terrine of Vegetables upto £12.50 for the Cheshire Sirloin) and there's usually plenty of offers on Restaurants Of Manchester too (click here for the current offers). And whilst the staff deserve it, an automatic service charge of 12% leaves a bitter taste for many - the only restaurant in Manchester to charge this much.

We often get asked, what is the best restaurant in Manchester, and it's certainly down to personal choice - you can't really compare like for like - however Michael Caines is certainly the most technically proficient, and fully deserved to win the Restaurants Of Manchester award for Best Restaurant in Manchester 2008-09 at this year's Pride Of Manchester Awards. It's probably Manchester's best hope for a coveted Michelin star and when you consider that Ian Matfin has worked in Gordon Ramsay, Raymond Blanc and Michael Caines top restaurants together with other Michelin star establishments, it can only be a matter of time before he brings the much needed accolade to Manchester. We'd argue though, that if they get rid of that stupidly greedy 12% automatic service charge, you'd struggle to win any argument for another restaurant, regardless of personal choice." - restaurants of manchester 9/6/08 (visited on a monday evening)

"'One of the problems with reviews of celebrity chef owned restaurants is they are often written by journalists based on free meals at launch parties and the like, where the star man dons his whites for the night, wins rave reviews and then only ever returns to the same restaurant for similar evenings. For that reason, we decided not to review the out-of-this-world food at the opening night of Michael Caines new restaurant in the basement of the Abode Hotel at Piccadilly. Instead, we returned a few weeks later.

Having seen the friendly double Michelin starred chef working earlier that morning in the MC Cafe upstairs, we returned at 9:30pm with the expectation that the evening menu would be the work of Ian Matfin, the restaurant's normal Executive Chef, who has worked alongside Gordon Ramsay, Raymond Blanc and Terry Laybourne, as well as the previous six years with Michael in Devon.

On venturing down the stairs to the basement restaurant of Michael Caines at Abode Manchester, you're instantly greeted with four colourful photographs of Debbie Harry. Other photographs from Brian Aris adorn the walls, including many of The Rolling Stones, David Bowie and The Who. The decor is impressive, dim lighting complements the beautiful dark wood and brown colours with a fitting soundtrack of lo-fi music that the likes of Lamb and Mr Scruff would be proud of. Come to think of it, we could have actually asked Mr Scruff (real name Andy Carthy) his opinion, as he was dining on the table opposite.

The service throughout was friendly and faultless - the staff certainly earned the 11% 'discretionary' service charge - and took time out to chat to each customer, either on a personal level or to help with the menu, which offers a superb concept similar to that on offer at the likes of the Novotel's inferior Elements restaurant. Together with the normal Starters, A La Carte and £55 Tasting menu's, there's a 'Grazing Menu' which offers a delicious mouthful of each dish for less than half the price (a minimum order of 2 dishes is required) and this is also available at the stunning marbled Champagne bar, which sits comfortably next to the restaurant, and from which we opted for a bottle of the surprisingly good Michael Caines branded house Champagne - great value at £34.95.

Unlike the excellent MC Cafe upstairs, prices are on the high side (the five main courses ranging from £18-£22), however for food this divine even the tightest of Yorkshiremen wouldn't raise a grumble (although many cynical Lancastrians may question that statement). And it really was divine - our meal was the best we'd ever experienced in Manchester city centre - the impressive Ravioli of Spinach and Parmesan (£5), served as a single raviolo with herb and garlic purée and a tiny poached quail egg in rosemary cream, was fantastic and was also the highlight of our previous visits. The frothy Jerusalem Artichoke Soup, with its white truffle oil, was also worthy of mention (£4.50).

The Best-End of Herdwick Lamb (£20) was fantastic, served with an onion and thyme purée, fondant potato and a tapenade jus that also won praise from the couple on the table next to us. The Honey Roast Goosnargh Duckling (£18) was beautifully cooked and presented with apple galette, baby turnips, garlic confit and a Chinese five spice sauce. The small village outside of Preston seem to produce every single duck, chicken and goose being served in Manchester's restaurants, but there can't be many served better than this!

We ordered the desserts from the Grazing Menu (£5) instead of the larger a la carte option (£8.50), together with a highly recommended Blazer (£6.60), the signature dessert cocktail, rich in cognac. These were delivered by the chef himself, which sadly, from a review point of view, turned out to be Monsieur Caines once again. It was now 11pm, confirming our perception that he's the hardest working man in Manchester, determined to bring the first Michelin star in over a decade to the city. The desserts alone would go someway to winning that accolade - he explained the Chocolate Orange Confit Mousse was his signature dish, one he'd learnt as a youngster working in France from his mentor Bernard Loiseau, a winner of the coveted Michelin 3 stars. Hopefully Michael can be a good enough mentor to Ian Matfin for him to be able to produce dishes this good when he's not around. In saying that, it wouldn't surprise us if he'll still be there every time we happen to visit - after all, this is the man who was back in the kitchen a fortnight after losing an arm in a car accident in 1994. He'll probably split his days up working in Exeter in the morning, Manchester at lunchtime and Glasgow in the evening!" - restaurants of manchester 1/4/08 (visited on a monday evening)

"This was our second visit to Michael Caines at Abode (see previous review below) and once again the staff went out of their way to make the occasion special. We were greeted and shown to the bar and settled with menus, with help offered if needed. Whilst in the bar a succession of staff walking past recognised us and greeted us like 'regulars' despite this only being our second visit. We opted for the fabulous grazing menu and were delighted when the sommalier offered to match wines again for us to every dish. This time we opted for three starters, one main and one dessert each. Each starter/main course dish impressed - the Risotto remains a particular masterpiece - but again the desserts, whilst lovely, were nothing extraordinary - this is an area of the menu that could be improved. The wine choices were inspired and good value - we love the fact that they don't opt for the expensive wines - however, as it was Mr B's birthday the sommalier recommended a couple of optional special choices but was always careful to ensure the price was known in advance and to offer the cheaper alternative. We both have healthy appetites but the flavour combinations and different textures of the Grazing Menu do satisfy and we certainly didn't go away hungry. The bill was accurate and our waiter was quick to emphasise that the 12% service was optional - based on the service we received we were more than happy to pay this. Again a lovely evening and one we look forward to repeating!" - melanie bryan, wigan - TRUSTED REVIEWER since Sep 2008 (28/4/09 - visited on a fri evening)

"We visited Michael Caines Restaurant on a Saturday. We were staying in the hotel and visited the Champagne Bar in the late afternoon before getting changed and returning for dinner in the adjoining restaurant. The receptionist had confirmed our reservation again upon check in and must have called down to the bar when she saw us walk past her as we were greeted by name and treated to a complimentary glass of champagne and tasting dish of fresh berries which was a lovely touch. The mixologist attended our table himself and made suggestions to tailor cocktails to suit our individual preferences.

Upon returning for dinner we were again greeted by name and shown to a reserved table in the bar area. As it was a special occasion we decided to order a bottle of Rose champagne. The somalier was extremely helpful recommending a medium priced bottle that he considered represented best value for money. He was right, it was superb.

The menu was interesting. We were told that it changes regularly to take advantage of local seasonal produce and that was certainly reflected in the dishes on offer. There were 3 menus for us to choose from. The Tasting Menu with specially selected dishes, the full size A la Carte Menu or the Grazing Menu. Our friendly front of house manager took time to explain the menu to us himself. We were advised that if we wished we could mix and match from the A la Carte & Grazing Menus. In the end we opted for the Grazing Menu which is half size portions. We had 2 starters each; 2 main courses & 1 dessert and were absolutely full at the end (we both have healthy appetites!). We asked if the somalier could match a glass of wine to each course and, whilst they apparently normally only do that at lunch time, he was delighted to agree. And so began our gastronomic feast.

We started with Scallops for Mr B and Crab Mousse, delicately presented inside a courgette flower, for me. Both looked fabulous and tasted absolutely wonderful. We moved onto Wild Mushroom Risotto (for both of us) and, having travelled extensively in Italy, I have to say that this was exquisite - quite the best we have ever tasted! Next came Bream for Mr B and Lobster for me. Delicate, carefully balanced flavours and wonderful. Then we moved onto Lamb for Mr B and Steak for me. Cooked to perfection, melt in the mouth and bursting with flavour. Mr B is a true lamb conoisseur, generally choosing this at every restaurant, and he can be quite critical. This time he sent his compliments to the chef! The accompanying choices of wine were perfectly matched and we were delighted with the somalier's choices.

After a short break, during which we enjoyed a conversation with our neighbours about the fabulous food and attentive but discreet service, we moved onto dessert - Hot Raspberry Souffle for me & Rice Pudding with Basil Coulis for Mr B. The souffle was divine, tangy, light, fluffy and flavoursome but the rice pudding was slightly disappointing - as Mr B said, nice but nothing special. With dessert the somalier recommended dessert wine which I accepted and he wasn't in the slightest bit put out when Mr B asked for an Armagnac instead - immediately offered a great suggestion.

Coffee was accompanied by a Fruit Sorbet with Coulis (a dessert in itself) and home made truffles. so, our verdict - superb and well worth a visit. We shall be recommending to friends and family. The staff are friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. They don't try to steer you towards the most expensive items and when our bill came we were very pleasantly surprised. Around £80 for all that fabulous food & £40 for the superb wines. Our bottle of Champagne was excellent quality and £59. Service was attentive, friendly and discreet and we had no issue with paying the reasonable 11% service charge - whilst it is automatically added they do stress that it is optional - a nice touch. Would we go again? Absolutely!" - melanie bryan, wigan - TRUSTED REVIEWER since Sep 2008 (21/8/08 - visited on a fri evening)