Street Urchin

Street Urchin opened its doors a couple of weeks ago. It’s on the corner of Port Street and Great Ancoats Street in the Astley Building. It’s retro styled dining with antique cutlery, cotton knapkins and menus on blackboards, but the food is bang up to date.

Sunday last weekend, 3 hungry chaps visited in between attending performances for MIF and GM Fringe.

The menu is predominantly fish but other tastes are catered for. We went for the brunch, but ended up mixing it all up.

The beef cheek and potato croquettes were a good sharing starter. The battered cod with mushy peas and tartar sauce was the first main course. The batter was perfectly light and a garnish of pea shoots was a nice touch.. The second main was a Haddock omelette (from the brunch menu) which also came garnished with pea shoots.

This too was delicious and light as a feather on the palette.

Our friend who made up the trio,  had a whole herb roasted poussin, with chick pea, root veg and preserved lemon salad with a basil dressing.  All prepared in house and was according to him, a total delight.  Excellent value too at just £14.50.

The menu here isn’t large but that makes it even more attractive as you know each dish is lovingly prepared especially for you. 

A side of chunky chips (more accurately wedges) completed things. None of us had room for a dessert.

Washed down with an excellent Rose taken from the comprehensive wine list, we couldn’t fault the restaurant in any way.

Husband and Wife team Rachel and Kevin are very much involved and offer, together with a small team, lovely, friendly service throughout.

At the moment only the ground floor is open, but an upper floor will be following soon.

Paul Schofield for Canal St Online

Published: 18-Jul-2019 (5491)