The food critic Jay Rayner was spotted hanging about in Manchester last week, eating his way about town as he often likes to do.
This time on his visit TheGuardianreviewer popped into Climat – a new sky-high restaurant on Blackfriars boasting panoramic views of the city.
Having landed in our midst just before Christmas, its sister restaurant‘s Michelin pedigree, top-notch wine list and regularly changing sharing plates quickly got locals excited. In fact, such has been the hype that, in less than a month, the team is already pulling in national critics.
According to Rayner’s (mostly) glowing review, it’s hard not to fall in love with the food here. Or rather, fall in ‘adult love’, which we assume refers to something much grander.
Hailing small plates like ‘hash browns topped with whorls of taramasalata” and ‘a vol-au-vent filled with lamb keema’ as the source of said love, his ebullient review praises the puff pastry on the 70’s classic and even goes so far as to advise fighting ‘over the last lamb-fat-glazed crumbs’.
Image: Climat
Image: Climat
Working his way down to the large plates, he hails the chef’s preference for ‘grown-up touches of bitterness’ – raving about smoky aubergine that’s been ‘roasted until it has surrendered and slumped’ and a ‘purée of lime pickle, which clings to the edge of a plate of spiced gurnard’.
However, it’s not a complete rave. He does note that ‘not everything works’, commenting that a ‘risotto is so desperately sludgy, I find myself wondering whether it came from the same kitchen.’
Still, even this critique comes with a caveat as he adds that ‘there is at least a toffeed chewiness to the roasted Jerusalem artichokes with which it is topped’ before admitting it was pushed ‘to one side.’
He’s also got a lot to say about the entrance to Climat, which is somewhat hidden at the top of a shiny Blackfriars office block.
Opening with the brutal assertion that ‘no one will ever write romantic poetry about the entrance to Climat in Manchester’ he calls it both ‘blunt’ and ‘austere’, which seems a little harsh. Surely Jay should know by now that we Mancunians have got a lot of time for the blunt and austere. Especially when it conceals such a shining jewel.
And as for the price? He concedes that ‘the bill for all this is not small, but it feels justified’ before adding you can ‘just come and sit at the counter, have a couple of plates and a good glass of wine, admire the view and leave with a less than ravaged bank account.’
We’ll probably be sticking with the latter, for now at least, as we’re still feeling a bit skint after Christmas. If you’ve got money to burn though, Jay Rayner is right – you could do worse things than spend it here.
Feature image – Climat
News
More than 100 ‘unsafe’ counterfeit Labubus seized in Oldham
Daisy Jackson
More than 100 counterfeit Labubus and accessories have been seized in Oldham, the council has announced.
The Labubu dolls – a plush collectible with giant smiles and bunny ears – have been seized because they are fake, and unsafe.
The haul of 104 Labubus has been given a street value of between £800 and £1000 – but if they were the real deal, they’d be worth more than three times as much.
The poorly-made figures were being sold for a fraction of the price of a real Labubu, which are manufactured by Chinese company Pop Mart (it’s set to open its second Manchester store in the Trafford Centre next week).
Oldham Council’s Trading Standards team said it seized the counterfeit Labubus from local businesses and found that they were unsafe and poorly made.
Officers raised concerns about the safety of the dolls, which had small parts such as eyes, hands and feet broke off easily, creating a choking hazard.
What a genuine Labubu should look like. Credit: The Hoot Leeds
They were also missing legally required safety marks such as the CE or UKCA labels, and lacked the name and address of a UK supplier, which is another legal requirement.
Councillor Elaine Taylor, Oldham Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Licensing, said: “Oldham Trading Standards carries out regular checks to help keep unsafe products off the shelves. In this case, these counterfeit toys failed safety standards and have now been removed from sale.
“We know it can be tempting to buy toys that look like a bargain, but parents need to be extra careful. Fake toys like these may be cheaper, but they can put children in real danger if they’re not made to strict safety standards.
“If anyone has concerns about toys they’ve purchased, or if they see unsafe products on sale locally, we’d encourage them to get in touch with Trading Standards through the Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.”
Council publishes list of central Manchester roads set to be resurfaced this summer
Emily Sergeant
A list of roads in Manchester that are set to be resurfaced before the summer is out has been published.
Manchester City Council recently asked residents in the region what their priorities were for their community and what issues they wanted to see tackled – and for many, the answer was the quality of the road surfaces.
Since then, the Council says it has been ‘engaged’ in a long-running programme of improvement works throughout the borough.
Now, with just over a month of the summer season left, it has been confirmed that some vital resurfacing works are due to start over the coming weeks in north and central Manchester, bringing a range of improvements to key district roads along with it.
First up, from Saturday 9 August, Hollinwood Avenue is to be resurfaced.
The Council has published a list of Manchester roads that are set to be resurfaced this summer / Credit: MJ Richardson (via Geograph)
Anticipated to take six weeks to complete, this work will be carried out during weekend closures from 8am-5pm, with the road remaining open during the working week.
The closure area will be between Greengates Roundabout and the Oldham boundary at Owler Lane, and a signed diversion route will be in place while work is carried out, and access for residents will be maintained at all times.
Then, starting from Saturday 16 August, resurfacing works will begin on Moss Lane East, between Alexandra Road and Princess Road.
Work will take place between 7am and 5pm on weekdays, and 8am and 5pm on weekends, and during the works, the road will be completely closed – with a signed diversion route in place and access for residents maintained.
As always, disruption is expected and the public is encouraged to plan ahead / Credit: Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)
These works are expected to take six weeks to complete, and as with all resurfacing projects, residents should expect some disruption and may need to plan ahead.
The Council is aiming to keep disruption to the public at a minimum, where possible.
“We know how important it is to our residents that key roads are well maintained, which is why were glad to be able to deliver this latest round of improvement works,” commented Councillor Tracey Rawlins, who is the Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment, and Transport at Manchester City Council.
“I’d like to thank people ahead of time for their patience during the course of these works and would advise them to check when closures will be in place and where the diversions are.”
You can find more information on the resurfacing works on the Council website here.