Hawksmoor Summer Lunch

As with any city in which it operates, Hawksmoor is one of Manchester's most loved venues and for good reason.  It's always one of our go-to destinations across the UK when in search of a reliably outstanding lunch or dinner, so we were delighted to be invited down to sample their new lunch menu. 

We had; Hawksmoor Caesar which is a classic Hawksmoor dish that we religiously order as a side to our steaks when visiting of an evening, but this was also the perfect lunch time starter.  Light, fresh, and utterly delicious as always.

Smoked Mackerel Salad was another perfect Summer plate.  Outstanding quality smoked fish with perfectly boiled potatoes, wrapped up with a stunning dressing to tie it all together. 

35 Day Dry-Aged Rump Steak is likely what most people will order from this menu though, and we were no exception.  It's the same superb quality protein for which Hawksmoor is now legendary, cooked like a dream with a generous side salad, and some exceptional chips.  Soft in the middle, but glass-like and crunchy on the outside.

Our second main was the Big Matt Burger, which is a clear spin on your favourite fast-food burger.   Clearly though, this was on another level in comparison to that.  Great beef patties, superb buns, all the usual familiar garnishes, and was just a huge and very well assembled masterpiece.  We also had chips with this course too, as much as we usually like to order everything different to showcase things as best possible. 

Special note goes to the lunch deal drinks offering, which features a selection for just £6 each. So whether you want a beer, a glass of Rose, a cocktail or a prosecco, Hawksmoor have you covered for a bargain price point on the drinks options!

Onto the puds and Sticky Toffee Sundae was a delight.  Rich, creamy, generous in size, with layers of pudding, ice cream and shards of toffee to give it a bite of texture.  It’s just absolutely perfect for that indecisive Summer sun outside on Deansgate. 

And finally, peanut Butter Shortbread.  Buttery goodness from the well executed shortbread, filled with peanut butter and a creamy hit from that Cheffy rocher of ice cream.  A wonderful combo of temperatures,textures, and of course flavours.

Some extra icing on the cake is that Hawksmoor’s lunch menu costs just £19 for a main course, £23 for 2 courses, or an astounding value for money £26 for 3 courses.  It’s available Monday to Saturday inclusive. 

So whether it’s a working lunch, a Summer date, or a cheeky treat, Hawksmoor’s new lunch menu is a delicious excuse to dine out without breaking the bank. Walk-ins are welcome, but bookings are recommended.  Can you think of a better combination of quality and value?

** Our experience was gratefully comped **

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Hawksmoor At Home - Sunday Roast

Now everybody knows all about Hawksmoor.  The London based bovine paradise which made it up to Manchester a few years back, selling top end steaks, top shelf wine, with some of the best cocktails that you'll sip anywhere in the land.  Giles Coren rated it as the best restaurant in Manchester at the time.  Clearly he was being more than a bit controversial and Southern-centric, but still, they do a sterling job.  Simple stuff, done really well, using the best produce.  All pretty straightforward really. 

As per many places, they've offered at home kits for some time now with a variety of options.  Most of the boxes contain both wine and cocktails, and of course top quality cow.  This is Hawksmoor, after all so you're hardly going to specifically look for a falafel wrap or kale salad.

Almost shamefully, we have a freezer full of steak at the moment amidst some mid lockdown impulse buying, including a ton from one of Hawksmoor's main suppliers.  So, couldn't justify shelling out on more steak and hence instead we opted for their Sunday Roast offering of roast beef. 

The box hit our doorstep on the Friday, so waiting 2 days to get into the kitchen wasn’t going to be easy.  Could a Friday Roast be an actual thing?  We briskly opened the box to check over our haul yet somehow had to wait until Sunday to get our cook on.

Sunday landed.  Pre -roast we started with the bundled cocktail which was an Ultimate Dry Martini; a 200ml bottle, so enough for two measures.  Well balanced, made well, just as you'd expect it to be served in house.  We even used a proper Martini glass and some preserved lemon, just to be fancy. 

The above torturous delay was more than worth our patience.  The ample wedge of 35 day dry aged rump roasted up like an absolute dream to blushing perfection, and the roster of the semi prepped sides was effortless to finish at home, even after a large Martini.  Hawksmoor's 'Ultimate' roasties, super sweet roasted Chantenay carrots, properly buttered greens, a decadent cauli cheese, the all-important Yorkies, and some extra rich bone marrow gravy completed the ensemble.

The wine was a 2018 Mas Montel Petite Syrah (French Durif).  Bold and hefty with bags of red fruit, cherry, redcurrant and just a nod of oaky smoke.  Idyllically paired up with the roasted protein which it was picked out to meld with.  This bottle retails at about a tenner and you'd pay £34 + 12.5% service whilst sat at a Hawksmoor table. 

It's great to see decent vino being used in food boxes.  All too often in DIY boxes they include a dodgy five quid bottle of plonk which would never see the actual restaurant wine list.  Hawksmoor are doing things properly though.

With the main course and wine dealt with, can you honestly think of a better pudding on a Sunday afternoon than a classic apple crumble and custard?  Hawksmoor's was a fine performance; apple cut to just the right sized dice, cooked to a perfect texture, hugged with a dreamy apple sauce, topped with substantial chunks of popcorny crumble, and a creamy custard which came laced with bags of vanilla pod. 

At this stage it's worth noting that the cocktails alone would cost £24 on the dine in menu, plus that 12.5% again.  So doing some maths, you'd pay £72.50 for just the drinks if you ate out.  The at home box including delivery was £75.  So based on some booze biased logic, your food in the home kit is essentially free, in a way, kind of.  If you want to justify £75 on Sunday lunch for 2 at home. 

We think that it's a bit of a bargain in all seriousness, and the only thing that wasn’t well-done, was that stunning beef!