With an alluring modern British menu set in a smart but laid back environment, One 88 Kitchen and Bar will be hoping to tempt customers out of town as well as offering locals somewhere to meet and enjoy quality food.
They’re such a classic starter ingredient it’s always nice to see something a bit different with scallops, and in our first dish they were perched on dry fried, curried aubergine, lending richness and the warming spice of cumin to the tender and generously proportioned morsels. It can be easy to undercook or over-oil aubergine but they were well judged and not too overpowering to take too much attention away from those delicious plump pieces of shellfish.
Our other starter was an attractive display of razor thin beetroot slices and whipped balls of goats cheese. The sweetness of the beetroot was allied with grilled red onion and they balanced nicely with that creamy cheese and toasted hazelnuts.
There’s a pleasing simplicity to everything on the menu at One 88. Dishes rarely draw on more than three or four main ingredients, and with that level of directness you appreciate two things a little more- the quality of the ingredients and how also they’ve been treated. The crisp, finely scored skin on our line caught, perfectly pan fried sea bass demonstrated that attention to detail deftly. It’s a casual environment to dine in here, but you can tell head chef and co owner David Gale is taking his food quite seriously.
Better still even, the rump of lamb could not have been roasted more adeptly, and a touch of feta punctuating the accompanying grilled courgette and potato salad offered a delcious twist on more tradionally British flavours of mint, lamb and glossy gravy.
If mains had been a celebration of their meaty centrepieces, then the warm raspberry bakewell tart really brought its pastry to the fore. A delicate, moist yet crumbily shortcrust served the perfect slightly savoury counterpoint to sweet poached peaches and baby pink raspberry sorbet. A pretty little plate that left you wanting seconds, which is always a good sign with desserts.
Our other pudding was, of course, all about chocolate. Saucy warm sponge, crowned with a dollop of slowly thawing salted caramel ice cream, the perfect thing to drunkenly dive in to after a finishing off your wine.
The aim of the guys behind One 88 is to provide a venue that can cater for the community, so you’ll just as likely encounter a hen do sipping cocktails, a date night enjoying a bit of a treat, or regulars tucking in to a full english the morning after. And for me that vision is becoming realised, making a trip out to Whitefield you’ll find a very warm welcome followed by genuine quality on the menu at reasonable prices and a fun and casual environment.
One88 Bar and Kitchen
188 Bury New Rd, Whitefield, Manchester M45 6QF
0161 280 0524
