Just a forty-minute drive from Manchester, The Moorcock Inn is a favourite amongst foodies on both sides of the Pennines.
Recently awarded a top spot in the esteemed 2022 Estrella Damn Gastropubs Top 50, we knew we had to pay it a visit.
The pub recently merged its two menus into one, combining the bar menu with the restaurant tasting offerings into what equates to a long, glorious list of dishes designed to share – each sounding more indulgent than the last.
An unsuspecting candidate, this old-school Pennine boozer at Norland above Sowerby Bridge looks very ordinary from the outside. In fact, as we pull into the car park behind it, a bit stressed in the torrential rain, we all question whether we’re in the right place.
Image: The Moorcock Inn
We are. A chef in a cap, completely unprotected from the blizzard in his t-shirt and apron, is out there getting drenched. Talk about passion. With much of the menu here cooked over fire, we expect he’s accustomed to it. Wet weather is part of the moorland’s, erm, charm.
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Stood in front of a roaring outdoor barbecue, he intermittently runs the gauntlet to grab what appears to be clumps of hay, thrusting his head into a covered box and emerging with armfuls of the stuff to help smoke and fire the huge charcoal grill.
Billowing clouds are smashed to smithereens by the driving wind and rain without mercy. We leg it past the barbecue, landing safely at the end of the bar – all wooden beams, exposed stone walls and black-as-the-night chalkboards – before being taken to our table in the snug.
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The bar area at The Moorcock Inn. / Image: The Moorcock Inn
Snug it is, enough to quickly forget the downpour outside and de-layer whilst poring over the extensive drinks menu. Yes, it’s a pub, so you’d expect the drinks list to be relatively decent – but this offers so much more.
Experienced sommelier Aimee Tufford has put a lot of love and care into composing it, with a huge number of low and no alcohol beers sitting (quite literally) side by side with quality craft, keg and bottle options. There are stouts, hazy IPAs, lagers, saison – the 0.5 percents happily rubbing shoulders with the twelves.
Wines are mostly organic and low intervention, many served by the glass or carafe, more by the bottle. Elsewhere, there is a good choice of gin, kombucha, sake, cider and more. On it goes.
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Image: The Moorcock Inn
Aimee heads up front of house with her British-Australian partner, Alisdair Brooke-Taylor, the chef. Prior to opening The Moorcock, the pair spent years together at Michelin-starred In de Wulf on the Belgian-French border.
Before its closure in 2016, Alisdair functioned as the right-hand man to Kobe Desramualts. At that time, it was considered in some influential circles to be the third-best restaurant in Europe. Let’s just say, the locals here are blessed.
Crispy potatoes, long-smoked over that fire outside then crisped and cracked in the deep fat fryer, take a pub classic to the next level – served split in a heap with a small dish of yeasty mayonnaise.
A serious hunk of sourdough – loaded with queen scallop, spider crab, grated turnip, chives and sunflower seeds – is turned to an eggy-bread sponge, oozing with salty-sweet roe custard that drips down the sides and swims at its base.
A whole charcoaled flounder, roasted and smeared in butter made from dried mullet roe, is soft and buttery, leant an umami saltiness from the bottarga.
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Sauteed greens dressed in garlic and anchovy bring more of that salty, Southern Italian depth to the table, whilst a plate of shaved celeriac frisee with ricotta salata, capers and mustard lends the meal a smoky, pickled, earthy freshness.
Wood roasted flounder with bottarga butter. / Image: The Manc Group
Crispy pig tails stuffed with pork sausage, jerusalem artichoke and apple sauce. / Image: The Manc Group
Sauteed greens with herbs, heritage Carin peas and a garlic and anchovy dressing. / Image: The Manc Group
Crispy pig tails with apple sauce and artichoke, stuffed with sausage meat and blackened to the point of crumbling, are a literal reminder of The Moorcock’s nose-to-tail dining ethos. Nothing is wasted, as their presence so boldly attests.
Meat here is dry-aged and butchered on-site, using mature, whole animals taken from select local smallholdings that work mostly with the Rare Breed Survival Trust as a preference.
These regenerative ethics extend to the rest of the menu, too. Sustainable fish and seafood are taken from native waters in day boats only, and vegetables are organic, sometimes homegrown in their 2-acre kitchen garden, sometimes foraged.
Very much in the school of forage, ferment, cure and preserve, the ever-evolving seasonal menu champions a host of traditional homesteading techniques- right down to the handmade crockery on which everything is served.
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We finish with both of the puddings (there are just two on the list). In a nod to locale, one is a rhubarb frangipane puff pastry tarte doused in a thick. tangy lemon curd with pumpkin seed praline. The other, a giant plate of choux pastry boldly redefining any interpretation we previously held about profiteroles.
Filled with a squash cheesecake mousse and milk ice-cream, it gives off the slightly cheesy tang of fermentation. All is balanced by a huge drizzle of salty-sweet butterscotch sauce. It’s the pudding that keeps giving, all three of us attack with vigour – only turning over to the rhubarb puff when it’s done.
This is a glorious pub, serving glorious food. This new offering feels wonderfully relaxed, combining the best of both restaurant and bar menus. We completely see what all the fuss is about.
Popular outdoor dining event returns to MediaCity waterfront this summer
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester’s popular outdoor dining concept is back again this summer, and there’s a proper tasty lineup of traders.
Kargo on the Docks, which is MediaCity‘s al fresco dining pop-up, has taken over the waterfront and gardens once again with a fresh wave of local food traders and stunning artwork by Salford-based creatives, all as the sun shines down on Salford Quays this summer.
A handful of Greater Manchester‘s most popular independents have set themselves up Quayside inside those signature re-imagined shipping containers.
Foodies can expect a menu packed with bold new flavours including Caribbean, Lebanese, Mexican, Ethiopian, and Pan-Asian dishes.
Loads of local indie food vendors have taken over the Salford Quays waterfront for the summer / Credit: Supplied
Afro Shack – the sister brand to Kargo.MKT favourite House of Habesha – will be serving fusion food combining East African flavours with indulgent American fast food, while new kids on the block Wok Bros will deliver sizzling, wok-tossed Pan-Asian street food and 100% halal dishes inspired by authentic flavours and fresh ingredients.
Iconic Jamaican dishes will also be on offer from Sunrise Caribbean, while Quiero Tacos will bring slow-cooked Birria tacos, cheesy quesadillas, and vibrant rice bowls packed with the spirit of Mexico.
Last but not least, Mediterranean food lovers can expect juicy lamb koftas, golden halloumi, and richly spiced chicken shawarma from Habibs.
Foodies can expect a menu packed with bold new flavours / Credit: Mark Waugh (via Supplied)
As well as the tasty food on offer, as mentioned, Kargo on the Docks also features a range of artwork and installations from local independent talent – with each container adorned with murals from creatives including Fernandes Makes, Kelly Ma, and Caroline Daly, bringing a feel-good summer vibe to the MediaCity Gardens.
Visitors can also enjoy an art trail display through the gardens, featuring structures designed by, A Studio Called Jane, Luke Passey, and Tasha Whittle.
There will also be a range of pop-up events hosted at the venue throughout the summer, with more announcements to be made very soon, so keep your eyes peeled.
Kargo on the Docks is now back at MediaCity from today (9 May) and will be open Tuesday to Sunday from 12pm-9pm throughout the summer.
Featured Image – Mark Waugh (via Supplied)
Eats
I went all the way to Paris to test out Big Mamma ahead of Manchester’s most exciting new restaurant opening
Daisy Jackson
Hospitality heavyweights Big Mamma Group are finally heading to Manchester, opening a Circolo Popolare Italian restaurant in the city centre – so we nipped over to Paris to see exactly what’s in store for us.
In the 10 years since launching their very first restaurant, East Mamma in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, the group have spread their wings wide.
There are Big Mamma Group restaurants, under several different names, all over Europe – and although they all belong to the same family, each one is treated like a total individual.
Some have maximalist, kitsch interiors with animal print furniture, gilded ceilings and retro prints of men in Y-fronts; others are more traditional trattorias with exposed brick, terracotta floors and crisp white tablecloths.
These interiors are fun, which is so refreshing in an industry which sometimes takes itself a bit too seriously.
On our tour of Big Mamma restaurants in Paris I came across delightful details like a loo wallpapered in pictures of Rod Stewart, a cocktail menu designed like a retro football sticker book, and an ice cream parlour built into an old train station carriage.
Every corner is packed with whimsy and wonder and there’s a whole team dedicated to sourcing these little touches from antiques fairs, second-hand shops and independent makers, stashing them all in an Aladdin’s Cave of a warehouse. Each restaurant even has its own crockery pattern.
East Mamma, one of Big Mamma’s Paris restaurantsNo Entry cocktail barA Big Mamma speakeasyPink MammaLa Felicita food hallLa Felicita food hall
So yes, the interiors in Manchester will be similarly interesting and lavish.
Big Mamma Group has already confirmed that the huge two-storey Circolo Popolare trattoria will be inspired by a Sardinian Festa, meaning cosy alcoves, more than 8000 bottles of vintage booze, and a vast room inspired by an overgrown Mediterranean courtyard.
As it takes shape in Gary Neville’s £400m St Michael’s development, they’ll be moving in big sharing tables, antique trinkets, reels of twinkling lights and even an Italian wishing well ahead of the big launch next month.
But not enough of us are talking about the food yet – this is a restaurant group that sources its produce from 160 different Italian artisans to ensure that everything you’re eating as authentic and delicious as possible.
Food at Big Mamma
While the menus shift between restaurants you can expect hearty bowls of handmade pasta laced with truffle or tomato or cheese, crispy-soft pizzas layered in creative sauce bases (like zucchini cream or black truffle cream, along with their classic San Marzano DOP tomato sauce), and per iniziare starters like giant burrata balls, melt-in-the-mouth croquettes, and slivers of cured meats – all prepared in an open kitchen run by Campanian-born Alfonso Esposito.
And a show-stopper for Manchester will be an outrageous six-inch lemon meringue pie, with a wibbly wobbly tower of Italian meringue on top.
Circolo Popolare will officially open its doors on 6 June – and before then, there’ll be a very limited soft launch where you can snag yourself 50% off your bill. Sign up HERE, with bookings live on Monday 12 May.