It was a horribly rainy and windy Saturday evening so we thought we might end up alone, but we would be proven wrong. The place was crammed full when we arrived around 8 pm and we had to wait for about five minutes to get a table. I was happy to sit down in the warmth and wait, and I prefer a busy atmosphere so it wasn't a problem to us.
Cornerhouse's vegetarian selection is pretty average, like most student focused places in Manchester. For a starter a ordered a Wild Mushroom Macaroni Cheese (£6.75). It was like any macaroni cheese but with a nice mushroom addition. Creamy, cheesy and with some crispy flakes of perhaps of roasted cheese on top. A good starter, although a bit heavy for me personally.
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| Wild Mushroom Macaroni Cheese |
My dinner company had the Albondigas (£6.75), which in English means Spanish meatballs in a tomato and chorizo sauce with bread on the side. It looked nice and he enjoyed it, but thought it could be more spicy.
I didn't really understand why it came with two! large chunks of bread, but I guess if you're hungry, that might be what you want. We were happy with one, between us.
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| Albondigas |
I was already half full when the mains were served, but I blame my current abnormal metabolism rather than the starter. It was Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagne (£9.25) and consisted of taleggio, mozzarella, a rocket and parmesan salad and a big chunk of garlic toast.
Oh, let me tell you, this was beautiful. As a lover of butternut squash it would be hard to let me down, and this certainly didn't. The smoothness of the butternut squash, the hint of spinach and the rich cheese was just an amazing combination. I actually wished that I hadn't had the starter after all, although I loved the lasange, I struggled to finish it.
For pregnancy reasons I didn't eat the parmesan salad and of general bloatedness I didn't eat much of the bread, but I had a small bite and it was really nice.
A picky side note however - and this is more of a general problem I find with vegetarian dishes and doesn't just concern Cornerhouse - is that it's just too much carbohydrates. With all due respect to cheese, and the regular reader knows I love it with all my heart, it isn't a great source of protein alone. As a veggie you normally end up with a starter poor in protein, you have a main dish full of carbs with bread on the side and if you go for a pudding, that's nothing but even more carbs. A little bit more imagination would definitely stand out and be very much welcomed. With that said, let's move on.
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| Butternut Squash & Spinach Lasagne |
Jon ordered the Barbeque Pulled Pork Sandwich (£10.25) that was served with a BBQ sauce on a white bun with horseradish coleslaw and a bowl of chips. I had a nibble of the coleslaw and with its strong taste of horseradish, it was great. He thought the pork was excellent; tasty and soft. However, the dish didn't really work in terms of the pork and coleslaw being served on a distinctly average white bun, which was lifeless and tasteless.
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| Barbeque Pulled Pork Sandwich |
The next best thing I had after the lasange was an Indian Summer (£3.75). It contained Fentiman’s ginger beer and fresh strawberries, with the emphasis on fresh, and strawberries - pure love to express it simply.
I was happy to find non-alcoholic cocktails on the menu and always give an extra plus when there are more options than just the standard selection of soft drinks.
Jon had the local Oyster stout which he enjoyed much more than Guinness. The Cornerhouse has a very good selection of local beers and lagers.
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| Indian Summer |
All-in-all we had a nice evening, and this was one of the few times in the past months that I didn't have to get up and eat halfway through the night. That's always something.
Vegetarian selection: 6/10
Vegetarian food: 8/10
Non-vegetarian selection: 6/10
Non-vegetarian food: 6/10
Service: 6/10
Value for money: 7/10
39/60
Vegetarian food: 8/10
Non-vegetarian selection: 6/10
Non-vegetarian food: 6/10
Service: 6/10
Value for money: 7/10
39/60
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