/FOOD&DRINK
FOR more than 90 years, Manchester’s Freemasons Hall has been something of a mystery to most outside the brotherhood. Built in 1929 and largely untouched until recently, the grade II listed Bridge Street building was opened as a meeting place for the region’s Masons, and has remained in continuous use as such since.
Aside from the odd open day or private booking, its impressive inner sanctum had rarely been glimpsed by the wider public until its multimillion pound redevelopment into a food, drink and events space was completed last year.
What a canvas to work with: all towering ceilings, ornate plasterwork, oak panelled walls and polished parquet, which have been preserved or repurposed to spectacular effect.
Masons Restaurant and Bar, the first restaurant to open inside the newly-renamed Manchester Hall, works every inch of the building’s original features to its advantage. A grand set of oak windows, taken from the front of the building, are now set into an interior wall, while an old organ previously stationed in an upstairs lodge room has found a new use as the reception desk out in the lobby.
A stylish art deco design scheme gives a few knowing winks to the building’s history, too. A chequerboard tabletop - a nod to the traditional black-and-white mosaic floor of many Masonic lodges - takes pride of place in a private dining booth, overhung by a lighting fixture featuring the society’s all-seeing eye emblem.
A mural of forget-me-nots worn as a clandestine badge of membership by persecuted Freemasons in Nazi Germany blooms above another booth. Green foliage trails from clusters of potted plants perched on the whitewashed brick walls and vines are entwined around gilded shelves of spirits above the marble bar; secret society meets secret garden.
There’s no such flowery embellishment on the menu. Fittingly for a venue so veiled in mystery, it gives little away - ‘pea and leek tart’ is about as illustrative as it gets. Choices such as lamb rump and Gressingham duck breast are offered up with no more explanation than that, neither on paper nor by the staff, unless questioned. Our waitress, Magali, knows the menu inside out but it’s up to you to ask.
Behind the deceptively simple descriptions lie some accomplished and creative - if a little retro - dishes, from a team headed up by local lad Nathan Wightman.
A lobster spring roll starter (£7.50), from the day’s specials, is a golden ingot of filo bursting with sweet lobster meat, served with a little coffee cup of bisque, velvety and heady with saffron, to dunk it in. Plump Scottish scallops (£11.95) sing of the sea on their bed of samphire, with a smoky undertow from pancetta and some crackle from two pastry-wrapped black pudding wontons. A purple viola garnish is pretty, but pointless.
By the time mains arrive it’s starting to feel like a trolley-dash around the party food aisle (this, from me, is no criticism), with a duck samosa accompanying the Gressingham duck breast (£20.95), served in two blushing pink halves with spears and crisp ribbons of parsnip. It’s a hearty and playful plateful that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Served more simply are Menai mussels (£10.95); a bit puny themselves but generously portioned in a big bowlful of creamy marinière sauce.
Desserts don’t stray too far from the classics. There’s none of the brioche butter pudding that my pal had set her heart on left, so we round off the meal with two sticky toffee puddings, their deep, dark sponges drenched in thick, fudgy sauce and topped with chocolate tuiles and berries.
My only regret is not leaving the car at home to get stuck into the port flight (£15) or to summon over a visit from the martini trolley.
Service is warm, charming and intuitive, up there with the very best in Manchester, and the atmosphere is buzzy but laid-back. In short, it’s exactly what owners - the same team behind Manchester Hall’s redevelopment - promised it would be.
“Enjoying fantastic food shouldn’t be an intimidating experience and Masons’ ethos will be to combine attention to every single detail in our cooking with the most welcoming personal service,” director Deepa Parekh said when it opened last October.
“Masons isn’t a stuffy venue, but a place to unwind and relax with friends and colleagues in the heart of the city.”
Soon to be joined by acclaimed Indian restaurant group Dishoom and pan-Asian bar and restaurant Fable, Masons marks the start of a promising new lease of life for this beautiful old building.