Oh my! What a night! ๐ On Friday night it was time for Walshyโs 30th celebrations, we stayed at the Midland hotel in Manchester with valet parking, fine drinks, sumptuous surroundings and all so that we could visit The French, a luxury dining restaurant with Head chef, Simon Rogan. The restaurant was established in 1903 and was one of Britainโs first Michelin-starred restaurants; the interior was bright and clean, the colours were soothing and there were two crystal chandeliers both of which took 8 weeks to hang, so was the precision needed to create the perfect sphere which is the result of the painstaking process!ย
We settled down to our three and a half hour experience and were immediately impressed with the level of service and attention to detail that was inherent in everything that the restaurant staff did. The sommelier was on hand as soon as you started perusing the wine menu, the meals were delivered and served with care and affection and each course was announced before we began to eat, to expand our enjoyment even further; everything adding to the enjoyment of the night, Iโve never felt more welcomed in a restaurant.ย
tracethebase and I shared a fine bottle of Hungarian red wine (Egri Bikaver) with our meal which was served in the most beautiful carafe and our glasses were kept full to the perfect level by the ever attentive staff (always on hand, but never overbearing) and a glass of expensive port with our cheese course (Warreโs vintage 1997), both of which set our taste buds alight and added a glint to our eyes! Itโs worth mentioning that the Sipsmithโs gin, that I carried into the restaurant untouched, stayed untouched for the entire duration of the meal, such was the quality and enjoyment of the whole evening.ย
The hotel and the cocktails, the wine and the port, the starters, main courses, breads, cheeses and desserts were all of the highest level. It was an experience that I would recommend to anyone and I havenโt been able to stop thinking about it since! Now Iโm looking for any, literally any(!), excuse to get back there and do it all again.
