Winsome has been much anticipated on the Manchester food scene, not least because chef Shaun Moffat was pretty much the toast of the town during his time as executive chef at the Edinburgh Castle gastropub in nearby Ancoats. Rather than being attractive in a sweet, innocent way, as the restaurant’s name suggests, Moffat’s style – or swagger, to be more precise – is elegant but plentiful modern British cooking, featuring a scoop of Fergus Henderson, a nod to Mark Hix, a dash of London’s Quality Chop House and a teeny touch of Toby Carvery.
Think meaty things, saucy things, big bowls of crunchy roast spuds and exquisite oversized yorkshire puddings. Pork with rhubarb ketchup and freshly baked parker house rolls to drag through warm butter or hollandaise. Asparagus with a dippy egg for starters, or mussels and trotters on toast. Bread-and-butter pudding with brandy custard. You get the gist. This is Cool Britannia wearing a napkin bib with a side portion of rhubarb jelly and custard for pudding.
