"It's immediately obvious that luxury is the intention here"

Medlock Square is shaping up to be a more than exciting destination for leisure, even if you're not a football fan.  The scale, quality and pace of development down there is quite simply mind blowing.   There's already a few operators ready to welcome you down for a lovely experience, but the flagship of them all is Zadie's, up on the 5th floor overlooking the Etihad Stadium.

We were invited down to the Zadie's press and influencer preview event last Friday evening, so promptly marked the team invitation calendar as busy.

As soon as you land it's immediately obvious that luxury is the intention here. The tables and booths are all pristinely fitted out, the lighting and audio systems are clearly high end and all encompassing.  Theres a live band playing and the whole vibe is wonderful, along the lines of an NYC jazz club, albeit a very swanky one.  

We first headed over to the stunning bar and took a stool to enjoy some pre dinner beverages, or even treat is as a destination in its own right and call in for just drinks.  The lady behind Medlock Square's entire drinks operation is Cressida Lawlor, who's one of the city's very top experts in all things wet led.  We always love the theatre of watching the guys play their trade up close and personal.   Our table became ready, so we headed over to take a seat and get properly involved.

Menu wise, the ethos in play here is Itameshi, a fusion of Japanese and Italian cuisine which has been a thing over in Japan for decades, driven by a time whereby Italian produce was really expensive in Japan, so locals replicated traditional Italian dishes using Japanese produce.

We started with Prawn & Sesame Toast (£9.5), generously topped with both prawn and also black sesame, accented by some lively tomato & kimchi sauce for that fusion driven seasoning.  Most of the tables around us were ordering this, and you can see why.

Bluefin Tuna 'Pizza' (£10.5) was a clever play on a dish that is now largely a globally generic dish, despite it's roots in Napoli, and the pizza scene in Japan is as strong as anywhere in the world.   Zadie's snack version is 2 mini pizza bases, topped with wonderful tuna, truffle balsamic and micro wasabini rocket.  An early flavour explosion.

A clear pending customer favourite is Zadie's Chicken Karaage (£14) which ticked all the boxes.  A crispy coating, tender, juicy, succulent chicken thigh within, doused in a lovely apple Gochujang sauce, which was reminiscent of a Buffalo sauce despite being called 'Mayo' on the menu. A wedge of caramelised lime on the side worked wonders when squeezed over the chicken.  This one will be a nailed on crowd pleaser.

Crispy Salmon Nigiri (£16) was next over the pass, with its cripsy rice base, topped with more great quality seafood, and finished with the bite of chipotle, all balanced off with a tasty soy and honey glaze, with some pickled ginger on the side.

Lamb Rump (£31) was possibly the dish which showed off that Itameshi concept the best.  Two slices of perfectly cooked tonkatsu lamb (minus crumb), infused with oregano, cooked expertly with melting fat and sharp seasoning.  Oregano Mozzarella Cream with a deliciously fresh smashed cucumber salad on the side to complete the plate.

I must be honest, for our second main I initially planned to order the Bavette steak as I preferred the sound of the garnish, plus we never want to take the mickey when not paying the bill.  But when tables around us started to be served with the Wagyu Sirloin Tagliata (£71), we were suitably impressed with how it looked and promptly followed suit.  Great quality Wagyu aggressively seared to still leave a rare centre, served simply with a pot of basil chimichurri to spotlight the quality of the beef.  Sure, it's a bit splurgy, but sometimes a spot of luxury is needed and this delivered just that.

We fancied a couple of solid sides to pair well with both mains, so from the comprehensive menu we picked out some sauteed tender stem (£8.5), which had the perfect bite, cooked quickly to retain its vibrancy, and seasoned up with chilli and garlic.

Roast Potatoes (£8.5) followed and were a delight, generous in portion size and super crispy.  They were flavoured with some sesame glaze and a pop of chopped chive and finished off both proteins to a tee.

The final section of dinner arrived, and it's always one that we look forward to.  Zadie's White Chocolate Cheesecake (£10), was a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds, with huge creaminess and great texture, served with zingy yuzu-driven granita to add well-judged balance.  We've carried out a lot of write ups this week, and it's taken me until now to notice how often I use the words such as texture, acidity, and balance.  They are all essential elements in most great dishes, sure.  But, note to self; don’t be same.

Our second sweet plate was Nonna's Tiramisu (£9.5), and clearly it doesn't get any more Italian than that.  Here it was super classic in preparation with no Japanese twists at all, served in a more than ample bowl to give you a huge portion.  Layers of sponge fingers, sweetened mascarpone, and a generous topping of cocoa power to add a bitter note to all the cream.

We ordered one last cocktail whilst enjoying half an hour of post dinner reflection.  The Pandan Grasshopper (£12) delivered a perfectly dessert matched hit with aromas of coconut, mint and biscuit-esque pandan liqueur scent, complete with super intricate glass which looked amazing but must be an absolute nightmare for the kitchen porters to avoid breaking.

Before heading off we popped outside to Zadie's own dedicated match day area, which has perfect views over the whole stadium with super comfy seats complete with cup holders!  This space suggests that on top of being a standalone restaurant, Zadie's also has ambitions to become a match day entertaining space too.  So watch this space as Zadie's no doubt matures in the coming months.  Medlock Square looks set to become one of the region's must visit destinations, and Zadie's is the jewel in its crown.

** Our experience was gratefully comped **