Weekends are made for indulging, so, last weekend we made a visit to Manhattan Grill, a modern steakhouse overlooking West India Quay.
It was much quieter than we were expecting for a Saturday evening - usually not a very good sign, but at least that meant that we didn't have to wait long for our food to be served...
We perused through the menu and ordered a few starters to share. I also ordered a cocktail - Londinium 75, made with Hayman's Sloe and Dry, lime champagne and passion fruit syrup. I do love anything sweet and bubbly.
We ordered three different starters to share, which was served in a large sharing plate.
We both really liked the seared black pearl scallops, which had a nice, springy texture, and was served with pea puree and crispy chorizo. The baked blue swimmer crab cake was good as well - thick, juicy and moist on the inside.
No euphemism intended.
The king prawns were cooked in garlic butter and served with a mixed salad - although the flavour was nice, they were unfortunately a bit overcooked and had quite a rubbery texture.
For mains, we ordered the Greekstone Kansas USDA Black Angus Fillet (6oz) - cooked Medium, because WK gets a bit queasy about the sight of blood in his food...
Yes, he is 'one of those' diners...who also happens to be my best friend, so I do let him off...occasionally.
The roasted black cod was really tasty, cooked in a mirin-miso sauce. A lovely thick fillet which was very moist and succulent. This was served ginger bok-choy and rice.
We also ordered a side of creamed spinach, which again was not great - spinach was basically drowned in cream and very limp and overcooked. Was not a pleasant feeling in the mouth...
I was advised to save room for dessert prior to my visit, and so we did, and ordered three different desserts to share.
I love pies, so the pecan pie was definitely on my list - it didn't look too bad, although I felt that it was a bit too dry, and I think that it would have been better if the clotted cream was substituted with ice cream. Crumble is another of my favourite dessert choices - but sad to say, this one was another let down... it was just all a bit too mushy, and the crumble at the top was not crisp enough.
Despite my disappointment with the two desserts, I did however like the Quay Lime Pie. Creamy, zesty and sweet, with a nice crumbly biscuit base.
One out of three... the dessert-lover in me let out a little sigh.
Service overall was prompt and courteous, and our waiter was very attentive throughout the evening.
In terms of food, it was a bit inconsistent and considering the prices, one would have expected better.
Overall however, still a pretty pleasant experience, although I'm not sure that I'll be rushing back anytime soon...
The Cheekster, signing out x
