Review: The Grill at Manchester’s Dakota Hotel

The Dakota Hotel and Grill is the most upmarket thing to happen to Piccadilly’s canal basin in living memory. This elegant hotel, bar and restaurant, one of only five in the world, oozes taste in a way that others fail to match. The foyer is dominated by a huge log fire, and a statue of an Irish wolfhound. Rich, British hues – imagine if Hotel Chocolat did interiors – dominate the walls and furnishings, and the whole place feels like a genuine retreat. Rooms are furnished in delicious textures (cosy velvet, linen, wool), while the bar and restaurant offers more of the same. The bar runs the length of the back of the building serving perfect Manhattans and house blends to the likes of Hugh Jackman. There’s a private, plant-filled cigar garden and outdoor terrace, along side the restaurant. It’s much bigger than you’d expect, yet retaining a sense of intimacy with soft leather booths and private dining rooms spinning off the main drag. When it come to the Grill restaurant, think fail-safe faves: steak and hand cut chips (£25), fritto misto (£10), caprese salad (£10) and smoked salmon (£12), with a couple of less predictable dishes. Monkfish curry (£22), for example, or lamb loin with gnocchi and cashews (£25). They’ve only been open a couple of weeks so far, and the complementary pre-starters (parmesan and caramelised onion mousse, bread dipped in a slightly upmarket take on Dolmio sauce called Venetian sauce) will, I suspect, fade away, leaving the focus on seafood and meat. We share tender scallops (£15) slightly overpowered by an ‘oriental’ collage of slow cooked duck, sesame, butternut squash puree and pork crackling. Pea and ham soup (£7), fillet steak (£33), cooked medium over hot coals and halibut with cep and cauliflower puree (£25) are all excellent. Dessert is basically pub classics; a clumpy creme brulee (£7) and chocolate delice (£8, aka little mounds of rich mousse) which could have done with a blob or two more of excellent pistachio ice cream. Come for the drinks (the ‘fine wine by the glass’ list is exceptional and a whole lot more affordable than it sounds – try the Argentinian Eggo Cab Franc for £8/ £45 or a Basque Txakoli for £6/ £36) and if you’re lucky, sleep over. A perfect city break – even if you only live in Chorlton and the steak’s good too.

Dakota, 29 Ducie Street, Manchester M1 2JL. Tel: 0161 674 9180, www.dakotahotels.co.uk

Image: Christopher Bland