STREET URCHIN

MANCHESTER • STREET-URCHIN.CO.UK

Once rundown, but now gentrifying, the central Manchester district of Ancoats has become something of a culinary destination recently, thanks to restaurants such as Mana — the city’s first to earn a Michelin star — and, on the neighbourhood’s fringes, Street Urchin.

Kevin and Rachel Choudhary, the couple behind the latter, rejigged their operations to reopen over summer, after months of offering only takeaways. The menu is emailed to diners, and a jungle of plants now separates the tables, softening the otherwise minimalist space. Were it not for the masked staff, a meal here, G&T in hand, sunlight streaming through the floor-toceiling windows, could almost pass as ‘normal’.

The Choudharys describe their restaurant as an ‘English market diner’, although the menu also contains a mash-up of international influences, with dishes based around what ingredients are seasonal and readily available.

An earthy starter of rabbit and sorrel croquetas comes with a punchy carrot salad, while crispy sardines laced with katsu sit on a moreish curried mayo. It’s the mains, however, that show flashes of wizardry. My seafood bisque is silky, rich and dark, dotted with hunks of fried white fish, sweet clams and mussels, and a big wedge of bread for mopping up. The whole sea bass, meanwhile, is slathered in a buttery, garlicky, caper sauce you’ll want to lick off the plate. This is the kind of restaurant that’s helping Ancoats raise its gastronomic game. Three courses with cocktails and a bottle of wine around £90. Helen Warwick