What’s a building made of reclaimed wood, corrugated iron and brick that looks like a farm outbuilding doing in the middle of Manchester’s sleek and stylish Spinningfields? This is The Oast House; bringer of beer, food and BBQ meats with a hearty dollop of good times thrown in too.
Part of the Living Ventures family, this is their most relaxed and quirky of venues – but looking past the reproduction vintage you can still see the well oiled operational style of Living Venture; well trained staff, detailed concept with great design, decently stocked bar (it’s not just the beer you’d expect) with a good wine and champagne list.
Like other Living Venture venues, the Oast House serves both drinks and food – indeed it’s hard to ignore here when there’s a giant BBQ right outside the front door; the heavy, meaty smoke drifting over the outdoor door seating and creeping through the massive open doors, ensuring everyone is hungry before they’ve even contemplated finishing that first pint
To start there’s a choice of a deli counter – lots of different cheeses, meats, dips and fish to build your own board. These come with homemade sides including pickles, piccalilli, chutney and bread – all exceptional quality. Try the two year Lancashire- the best cheese they have a mature, punch in the mouth type of cheese.
You can have a salad at The Oast House, but with that big fat BBQ outside, you know it’s about the meat – steaks are charred and are smoky, perfectly cooked, juicy ribeyes. There’s stunning hanging kebabs that are cooked with a sweet chilli sauce and you can even get a whole chicken with crispy, salty skin off the rotisserie.
All the mains are served with chips – even if you’re just going to the Oast House for a drink you should have the chips. Many places bang on about ‘properly seasoned,’ but here they most definitely are – salty, herby, crispy, make sure you get more than one portion because you won’t share these. Same goes for the corn on the cob – this is actually the best corn I have ever had. Fact. Charred on the BBQ, slathered with butter, loaded with salt – on my, you truly have to taste them to believe how good they are.
The mighty hanging beef kebab
The Oast House offers a great alternative to the stylish, slick bars of Spinningfields; it’s a place you can kick back, relax and have a good time. There’s usually a guy playing jazzy things on the piano, the tables are communal and a sense of fun and frivolity pervades the place. The Oast House: home of fun, good food and a great night out.
