Katsouris Deli and Café, 113 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 2BQ

The intense sunshine rendered Manchester completely unrecognisable. Tired and hungry after an active morning exploring the shiny MediaCity and The Lowry, and then enjoying a drink in the courtyard of Mr Thomas’ Chophouse, our stomachs were rumbling and we were in need of sustenance. Quickly.

I was still in the midst of my temporary vegetarianism, and beginning to get a bit fed up at the limitations this was imposing. We tried a high street sandwich chain, but the shelves were disappointingly empty given that it was far past lunchtime.

This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Lee had a plan. With his trademark quick pace he decisively led us to Katsouris, which was a feast for the senses. The busy café had delicious looking food everywhere! Everything smelt so good and immediately we were overwhelmed with choice. There were carvery options, a huge salad bar, extensive boards detailing exotic sandwiches and behind the counter were a whole selection of sweet treats and cheeses. It was amazing!

Unsurprisingly this deli is a Manchester institution. It is close to Lee’s heart, having originated from the World famous Bury Market. The building looked grand on Manchester’s busy Deansgate, but the interior was functional. Normally huge queues snake around the large room, but here our lateness proved a real advantage as the queues were small and tables were not too hard to find.

It was the perfect place to take a grumpy reluctant vegetarian. Whilst the others went for hot meaty sandwiches (heeding the warnings that “a half is not small” and therefore spending only a couple of quid each), I splashed out on a Vegetarian Meze Platter for a princely £4.95.

I was rewarded with the largest plate of food that I have seen in a very long time. All my favourites were on there: grilled halloumi, Greek salad, spicy couscous, spicy pepperdews (my absolute favourite), stuffed vine leaves, hummus, tzatziki, mediterranean vegetables, sundried tomatoes, and olives. Vegetarian heaven! I couldn’t believe my luck, and hoped that I’d have space for it all, when suddenly there was the extra bonus of warm ciabatta added to my already heaving plate.

Needless to say, every item was full of flavour and tasted authentically fantastic. The value for money was astounding and the variety made me feel joyful.

I now wish I lived in Manchester. Katsouris absolutely made my day.

The Commonwealth Kitchen, 25 Northumberland Avenue, London, WC2N 5AP

It was a moment to savour – I had finally discovered an exceptional restaurant in the most touristy part of London! Minutes from Trafalgar Square, The Commonwealth Kitchen is the holy trinity of special, affordable and fantastically located. Part of the Commonwealth Club, K had the pleasure of having visited previously due to her Foreign Office connections. If you weren’t in the know, you’d walk right by, (perhaps reflected in the fact that we were the only guests in the restaurant on a Tuesday night). However, the restaurant is open to non-members, and a long running special offer on this website, or the alternative of a bargainous set menu, makes it incredibly good value.

The restaurant is modern and sleek, but retains character with its artwork and eye-catching features, including a huge clock elevated over the dining room. We may have been the only diners in a large space, but it didn’t matter – the nicely designed circular booth counteracted the vastness of the room, and the friendliness of the staff ensured the atmosphere was relaxed.

We chose from the a la carte (which changes monthly), although the set price menu would also have been absolutely fine. Even though the menu was short, it offered many exciting options, even for me, the temporary (and somewhat reluctant) vegetarian.

We’d barely received our excellent glasses of Chardonnay, and Slovenian Quercus Pinot Bianco, when we were treated to complementary nibbles of parmesan palmiers, and a tasty hand-made crisps. This nice touch was followed by another, when we chose from a selection of beautifully presented bread. Far more exciting than your usual selection, I had a chilli option, and K some pain de campagne (country bread). The excitement didn’t end there; as we were then presented with an amuse bouche of a cherry tomato stuffed with mozzarella, which was simple but special.

Finally, we got onto mains proper. My chilled cucumber and mint soup was good for the warm evening, and presented like a drink! The richness of Westcombe cheddar scones (which were three cute little squares of sesame seed topped cheesy goodness) were a scrumptious contrast to the cool minty flavour.

K’s Soya barbeque Rhug estate pork belly, with pickled Norfolk radish, green tea and apple puree, was prettily presented with bite sized pieces of pork, topped with delicate slivers of radish.

We’d both opted for vegetarian main courses. K’s bubble and squeak, with glazed shallot, caramelised English chicory and butternut squash, had a brilliantly home-cooked flavour, but my main course won the prize for the best presentation!

This is NOT dessert

 

Looking like a sweet cheesecake with a raspberry coulis, my tastebuds were confounded by the deeply savory St Tola goats cheese cake, with beetroot, toasted pine nut hollandaise and swiss chard. Truly, this had top marks for presentation, and was a huge portion size, especially considering the richness of the creamy cheese, which was tempered by the beetroot.

Utterly stuffed, we didn’t have room for a dessert, but our curiosity got the better of us. We’d both been eyeing up the suitably summery strawberries gratin, blondie, champagne sabayon and balsamic ice cream, and finally decided that sharing one between us wouldn’t hurt (we convinced ourselves that portions would be small).

We were of course wrong, as a very generous portion of dessert (which looked like a main course), arrived. It was just too tasty to be concerned about being full. The sweetness of a blondie (a sugar version of a brownie of course), a foamy sabayon and coolness of the ice-cream was utterly divine with the strawberry pieces. It was a fantastic dessert – far more exciting than options found on most menus.

All in all, this really was one of the best meals I’d had in a long time. Being vegetarian hadn’t been an issue at all, and the entire experience was lovely from start to end. The staff were exemplary and all the food had been exciting and extremely tasty. I will certainly be coming here again!