Touting a zero waste policy is one thing, but at The Creameries you can tell they really mean it.
There was nothing much that needed mending at Mary-Ellen McTague’s Chorlton caff, but a slight refocus of priorities means you won’t be queuing for your morning loaf anymore, instead probably fighting for a table at teatime.
A new £35 set supper offers five great-value courses, dedicated to locally and ethically sourced sustainable and seasonal ingredients, it’s probably the most fun way to save the planet that I’ve come across yet.
The revered in-house bakery will no longer be selling – however don’t despair gluten fans – they’re still open for starters and you can crunch, tear and dip crusty slices with abandon. Posh butters are well accounted for, but goat dripping is where the action is these days.
Like dragging a fried dumpling over the top of your curry mutton, this is guilt-inducing grease, that quite frankly you should be eating not just reading about. Pretty pickles of autumn’s best bits will cut through that richness, best be careful though, there’s plenty more yet to come.
Thankfully those infamous split pea chips are still on the snacks menu, sided by a slurp of mushroom ketchup. You can also fight over matchstick potatoes dusted in dehydrated lime pickle, which somehow seem peculiar and familiar in equal measures. No worry about any of these things going spare when I’m around anyway.
Cured pastrami-like pigeon is another creation you really need to try, here it’s arranged alongside radish, cucumber and Cais Na Tire cheese. Crown prince squash soup, made glossy and tangy by Killeen goats cheese, envelopes a little treat somewhere between pierogi and ravioli. Quite frankly you could chug the stuff down like some sort of savoury milkshake it’s so good.
On that note a ridiculously drinkable Californian Tendu is one of an insightful set of pairings that makes the matched wine flight highly advisable. Helpfully served in litre bottles that won’t hang around long, think all those fresh descriptors that good whites should be.
Kim McBride passionately oversees an expertly procured selection of natural wines. Most recently sommelier at erst in Ancoats, McBride also worked with McTague at Aumbry, and is clearly revelling in her new position here as Restaurant Manager.
Menus will change regularly, but this week the main course means pies. For meat-eaters, satisfyingly flaky pastry houses a layer of liver parfait, buttered cavalo nero and plump partridge breast. Otherwise opt for a classic butter pie with a side of bonfire-night-staple black peas, things don’t get much more Lancashire, or seasonal in fact, than that.
Stumping up for the cheeseboard supplement results in a plate of pleasure from the award winning Courtyard Dairy. We earned an oozing slice of the aforementioned Baron Bigod brie, as well as Corra Linn manchego, plus inventive accompanying chutneys of burnt cabbage and quince.
Even a certified cheese-tooth should fully expect to be blown away by dessert though. On my previous visit the dairy-based delights of bay leaf set cream and elderflower parfait both amazed. This time ‘pupton’ of bramley apple and whey caramel, with a boozy splash of Pedro Ximinez jelly, gratifies me like a grownup ice cream sandwich.
Drop in for lunch or settle in for supper and enjoy exciting and ethically produced food, with a wide range of exceptional natural wines. The news from The Creameries seems to be ‘expect a bit more of what we do best.’
The Creameries
406 Wilbraham Rd
Manchester
M21 0SD
Lunch served 12pm – 2.30pm Wednesday – Sunday
Supper served 6pm – 9pm Wednesday – Saturday
