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Aubaine Manchester

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Aubaine Manchester
CLICK HERE TO BOOK ONLINE or Tel. 0871 246 5694
Selfridges, Exchange Square, Manchester, M3 1BD [map]
Highly celebrated French restaurant on the top floor of the Selfridges designer store with a cafe on the lower ground floor
Aubaine Manchester
 
 
 
 
Aubaine Manchester - overall reader reviews
food
price
service
smartness
overall:
most popular dish: 35 Day Aged Rib Eye Steak (£21.50)
 
 
 
 
Aubaine Selfridges Manchester - our reviews
Memories of the Alsace & Unfinished Alsation Wine (Nov 2011)

Trusted Reviewer "Without trying to sound too flash, we get about it in our office. We run websites for various cities in Europe, eating out almost every day, and have had some amazing meals this year at highly celebrated Michelin starred places in France, Switzerland, Sweden and Liechtenstein, so it's great credit to Aubaine, that when we did our usual end-of-year reminisce in the office, all four of us who dined there on this freezing November evening, selected it as our favourite of 2011.

Of course, technically it's not the best food we've had in Europe but nor does it claim to be. It is however, the meal that hit all the right buttons for four of us more than any other, amongst so many other contenders. Seeing as we claim to be 'restaurant critics' as opposed to 'food critics', this is a good sign. It's fantastic quality casual dining, simple French dishes executed so brilliantly that we were talking about it to anybody who cared to listen for weeks after our visit.

Located on the top floor of Selfridges, you have to walk through the posh department store to find the restaurant. A separate cafe from the same operator is set to open on the ground floor, next month.

Aubaine - Duck Egg Salad
Aubaine - Wild Mushroom Friand

Aubaine can boast one of the best views in the city with its floor to ceiling windows overlooking The Manchester Wheel, The Triangle, Shambles Square and The Printworks. Whilst the current kit out is only temporary ahead of a refurb, hence the "Aubaine Pop Up Restaurant" sign, it still boasts a very chic, modern feel whilst incorporating an almost French farmhouse charm.

We had our table booked for 6pm, although probably spent half an hour chatting and catching up over drinks whilst completely overlooking the menus, which are written in both English and French. The staff, who were amazing throughout, friendly warned us that as the department store closes at 8pm, we would probably be pushed for time if we didn't get a move on and place an order. So, with that in mind, a selection was quickly made, with helpful guidance from the waiter, and two bottles of wine were requested.

The starters arrived promptly with the Wild Mushroom Friand & Duck Egg (£8.50) a really impressive dish, presented so well that it produced that "wow" factor moment before you tuck in. It didn't disappoint. The egg was perfectly cooked and the flavours with the Hollandaise sauce, spinach, and wild mushrooms, which had a nice vinegar zing to them, was complemented by the flaky puff pastry, which brought everything together brilliantly.

The Octopus Carpaccio (£9.50) was massive and its fennel and olive oil dressing complemented the delicious taste, although the large green chili that sat on top was passed around the table to a more adventurous diner.

The Beef Carpaccio with Truffle Vinaigrette was slightly expensive for a starter at £14.50 but tasted fantastic nonetheless.

Which brings us on nicely to the prices. Whilst the main courses start at £10.95 (Feuillete of Goat's Cheese) and rise to a reasonable £23.00 for the Beef Fillet, the majority of dishes are quiet expensive, with an average price of £18 and a whopping £3.95 for side dishes (French Fries, Dauphinoise Potatoes, Roast Fennel & Tomato, Spinach, Mix Leaf Salad, Broccoli, or Ratatouille). On top of this, there's a further 12.5% service charge, the highest we've encountered in town and a quick reminder this is a London chain. It's "discretionary" of course, but when the service is hard to fault, as it was, even the tightest of Yorkshiremen would be hard pushed to ask for it to be taken off the bill.

Aubaine - Chicken Supreme

Aubaine - Lemon Sole

The main courses continued the pattern of aesthetically pleasing, beautifully cooked dishes. The Lemon Sole (£21) was a large portion, grilled to perfection and served with greens and a delicious fresh tartar sauce. As it came complete with bones, we played on national stereotypes and passed it to the Faroese member of our party to fillet. Whilst he did a good job, there was still a fair few sharp bones hiding amongst the tender white meat, which ruined somewhat the initial enjoyment of such a well cooked dish. That's a problem with ordering fish to be fair.

The Free Range Pigs Cheeks (£15.50) were equally delicious if somewhat less beautiful on the eye but easier to eat. Served in a tasty Dijon Mustard sauce with Spring greens, they come highly recommended and represented Aubaine's French influences perfectly.

The same can be said about the Corn Fed Chicken Supreme (£16.95), served with leeks and morels in a delicious sauce, this was healthy French food served as it should be.

The highlight of the meal though, had to be the 220g Beef Fillet in Béarnaise Sauce (£23.00). It was arguably the best we'd tasted in Manchester city centre, and we've certainly eaten a lot before making that statement. It was cooked to perfection (medium rare) and the quality of the meat was top notch.

Having dined in a critically-acclaimed "top restaurant" within the city the previous night, and being served what can only be described as a JD Wetherspoons standard steak, it came as great relief to Danny, who is dating a vegetarian, that Aubaine was able to remind him with this cut, why the carnivore in him loves red meat so much. He treated each mouthful as if it was his last. The crispy shallots and Bearnaise sauce were also delicious and the sauce was mopped up with the tasty fries which came in a chip shop style cone.

Aubaine - Steak
Aubaine - Pigs Cheeks

The selection of patisseries for dessert were also terrific and were presented on a slate for us to choose from. They all looked amazing and even if you were fit to burst, it would be hard to turn these down. We all chose different cakes (Chocolate Eclair £3.95, Moelleux £5.95, Gateaux Maison £5.95 and Double Chocolate £6.50) and, without sharing, each of us proclaimed that we'd certainly chosen the best one. They certainly finished the meal off a treat and you could quite easily visit Aubaine, or its new sister cafe downstairs, just for the patisseries alone.

The service had been brilliant, friendly and efficient throughout. The fact they knew we only had one and a half hours to finish the meal, also ensured we were promptly served with little wait in between courses. Sadly though, towards the end of meal, things went down hill fast despite the best efforts of the restaurant staff.

The security guards from the department store repeatedly kept sticking their heads into the restaurant from around 7:30pm and by the time our desserts arrived, they were practically a permanent fixture hovering over us and willing us to eat up. The restaurant manager and extremely good Latvian waitress literally told them to back off at one point, much to our amusement.

No sooner had the last bite of dessert hit our mouths and we were more or less being frog marched from the premises, uncouthly necking what was left of an excellent bottle of Barbera D'Alba (£22.50) and very reluctantly leaving behind half a bottle of Andre Scherer Pinot Blanc (£28).

The staff at Aubaine were visibly embarrassed and very apologetic for our quick ejection but, on snaking down the store, floor by floor, to the exit, you could see the department store staff cashing up their day's takings. It was obvious why security had been so eager for us to leave before 8pm.

This fundamental problem is where Aubaine needs some help from its landlord. A separate entrance has been muted, as is the case at Harvey Nichols across the square, which is very much needed to increase night time trade. As it was, we came away from a meal, more memorable than another we had enjoyed at a Michelin star restaurant in the Alsace a few months earlier, only to be talking about the half drank bottle of wine, ironically from a vineyard in the next village." ~ restaurants of manchester 27/11/11 (visited on a tues evening)

Aubaine - Steak

food
price
service
smartness
overall
"excellent"
"london prices"
"brilliant throughout"
"modern french charm"
"highlight of the year"

 
 
 
Aubaine Restaurant Manchester Selfridges - members' reviews

Trusted Reviewer "Having heard great things about Aubaine from Restaurants of Manchester, it seemed the perfect choice for a very rare lunchtime catch up with my brother, who I have not seen in a while. It's a beautifully decorated, bright and floral restaurant, set on Selfridge's top floor, and replacing the ill-fated Moët Restaurant (which was always incorrectly pronounced 'Mo-ey', by the staff who worked there - you'd think they'd have known better). It was very quiet, as was the department store itself, on the Monday lunchtime we visited, so we had the sole attention of the waitress, who, despite a few mistakes and oversights, was very friendly throughout. The Octopus Carpaccio (£9.50) and Timbale of Crab (£12.50) starters were fantastic. My brother proclaiming the crab to be the best he could remember having. Both dishes were full of flavour and went well with the fantastic French Pinot Blanc. The main courses continued the level of quality, my brother's Lamb Rack (£19) cooked perfectly and tender, and my Roast Cod (£18) with fennel and red wine braised squid was absolutely fantastic. Sides are expensive at £3.95 although the French Fries were delicious. We were stuffed by this stage, however the choice of desserts, examples of which are presented to you on a slate rather than a menu card, looked so tempting, we opted for a Chocolate Eclair and some sort of chocolate cake. They were as equally fantastic as the first two courses.

The prices are actually quite high for Manchester, especially as they whack on a further 12.5% service charge, of which the waitress did not really deserve on this visit however you certainly get what you pay for. My main issue is that, despite the great view and beautiful set up, the restaurant is not in the same category for ambience as the fine dining restaurants you would expect to pay such prices at. Because of its position within a department store, it resembles more of a cafe set up (which is Aubaine's background) than a top end restaurant. There is also an Aubaine cafe located on a lower floor of the store, which also looks beautiful and would be worth visiting just for those patisseries alone. That said, the food was a lot better than many top end restaurants I have visited. Whereas I would probably visit those every now and again for a special meal, Aubaine seems worthy of a more regular return, however the location and price would put me off slightly and I'll probably only end up going back when I have another rare lunchtime catch up with friends who've not yet visited it. " - Matthew, Manchester ~ TRUSTED REVIEWER (8/5/2012 ~ visited on a Monday lunch)

food
price
service
smartness
overall
"excellent"
"slightly expensive"
"friendly but mistakes"
"bright and floral"
"fantastic"

"We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch at Aubaine. The decor is contemporary, modern and stylish. You get a great view of the city centre through the floor to ceiling windows. All of the food we ordered at Aubaine was excellent, in particular the Rib Eye and Fillet Steaks. The presentation was great and portion sizes very good. We received exceptional service from all members of staff that served us. They were keen to ensure we enjoyed our food choices and were keen to recommend food and wine for us. They were very attentive throughout the whole dine. It is not somewhere to come for a cheap and cheerful lunch, but the food is freshly prepared and very tasty. It is a reasonably priced, casual dining, French restaurant. The drinks prices are what you would expect for a Manchester city centre restaurant. All in all, great service, wonderful food and we would defintely go back again" - Angela Mistry, Bolton ~ member since Nov 2010 (15/4/2012 ~ visited on a Sunday lunch)


 
 
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Disclaimer: All information correct 1/9/2011. RestaurantsOfManchester.com and ManchesterRestaurants.com can not be held responsible for any differences experienced at the premises listed. All images and information © 2002-11 PrideOfManchester.com