There are few places in Manchester?s centre that are as charming as Sam?s Chop House, a haven of Victoriana in a 21st century city. The below-street-level timbered bar, with its olde-worlde fittings and characterful warmth, is as good a room to drink in as any in town. The dining area ? a tiled jewel every bit as pretty as the centuries-old Paris bistros tourists go so wild for on holiday ? is even better, and for years it had food to match.
I vividly remember my first visit in 2005, when I was left awed by an incredibly simple but immaculate plate of smoked salmon, seasoned only with capers, egg and spring onion. An award-winning roast dinner followed: generous slices of stunning beef, gravy made from the pan juices, one crisp giant of a Yorkshire pudding, beautifully cooked buttery veg and that ultimate restaurant rarity ? acceptable roast potatoes.
I went back time and time again for the roast when I lived in the city centre. The portions were monstrous but I?d order other courses when I felt manly enough. There was the legendary brown onion soup, cooked for three days ?til rich and sumptuous, and deeper than a poem by Sylvia Plath. There was the house-made corn-beef hash, a luxurious take on the tinned working class favourite; comforting and tasty enough to be a serious contender for a death row last meal.
It wasn?t entirely consistent, but the fabulous surroundings and wine list were always the perfect plaster for any cracks. Sam?s was, quite simply, the best place to eat lunch in Manchester.
Last week, after a two-year hiatus*, I decided it was finally time to go back.
The usual crowd was in for a quiet Tuesday lunchtime. A few City-types enjoying business lunch over a bottle; an old retired couple trying admirably to conquer a full three courses. Not wishing to spend too much money or be full to bursting, we elected to just have two courses and drink beer.
My hanger steak carpaccio had decent flavour and went well with a watercress, radish and horseradish coleslaw, but it felt more like sandwich filling than a complete dish. Certainly, it would?ve been more interesting between two thick slices of white bread, and I probably wouldn?t have felt so cheated by the portion size.
My wife?s starter of scallops with ham hock and a butternut squash pur?e was better but similarly uninspired. The pur?e was sickly sweet and the scallops, though well-cooked, were dismally small. The combination of hot scallops with fridge-cold ham hock and lukewarm butternut squash was slightly disconcerting.
(We did take pictures of both of these, but they were crap, so I?m not going to bother putting them in.)
Pork belly from Wilson?s Farm, Helmsley slowly braised then roasted with mustard swede, black pudding mash & finished with a light pork sauce & crispy crackling
One disappointment I experienced on an earlier visit to Sam?s was a dish of belly pork that was absolutely delicious but didn?t have any crackling with it, which sort of defeats the point of pork belly as far as I?m concerned. Seeing crackling specifically mentioned on the menu this time, I couldn?t resist giving it another go, and I found myself disappointed all over again.
The skin itself was fine, though nothing more than that; the pork was very dry. Stodgy black pudding mash and somewhat out-of-place slices of mustard swede completed the dish. In a lot of pubs this would be adequate fare, but not in Sam?s, a place that one critic once said did ?cooking like your mother wished she could?. I can?t imagine many keen home cooks being proud of this.
8oz 28-day aged Pennine Hills prime sirloin steak with a slow-roasted seasoned plum tomato, a garlic & thyme-roasted flat mushroom, Chop House chips & peppercorn butter
The best bit of the meal was probably the chips served with my wife?s steak, although in a world where the triple-cooked variety is becoming increasingly common, they?re nothing to write home about. The steak seemed to be a lovely piece of beef, but of course in this meal of letdowns it was unevenly cooked; one half the requested medium, the rest more or less well done. It wasn?t a patch on the steak I remember ordering from here back in the day.
The bill came to ?66, which included three-and-a-half pints of Stella Artois and a 10% service charge. This seemed rather expensive given the quality of the food and compared to what we?d be able to get for the same price elsewhere in the city (a far better meal at The Mark Addy, for example). It was by no means a terrible experience, but it was thoroughly average.
In the past, when I went to Sam?s Chop House, there was always a bit of magic about the place. If something wasn?t right, there was normally something else to make up for it; at the very least, there was the feeling that next time it would all be right again.
Regretfully, on this visit, the magic was gone. Unless it?s just for a drink, I don?t think I?ll be going back.
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Food: 9/30
Service: 5/10
Dining Room: 4/5
Experience: 5/10
Overall score: 42/100 (OK)
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*In case you?re scratching your head and wondering why I stopped going if I loved it so much, I had to cut back a lot on restaurant visits between 2009 and 2011 as I saved up to buy a house and pay for a wedding. It?s only been open season again since August and now I don?t live in the city centre, lunch at Sam?s is no longer as convenient as it used to be.
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Source: http://foodstotrybeforeyoudie.wordpress.com/2012/02/17/restaurant-review-sams-chop-house/
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