Gordo: The Vertigo Review

Gordo’s Editor, Sir Jonathan Schofield of Rochdale and Old Trafford, told Gordo to go and review Vertigo over the weekend and have it ready for Monday. Checking the menu, it looked good: putting Gordo off slightly was the fact that this restaurant was previously Ithaca, a place of great promise and no management.

Vertigo, for Gordo, is a fine addition. The chef, needs simply to follow Coco Chanel’s advice to ladies leaving the house: Look in the mirror and remove at least one accessory.

The food at Ithaca was always good, very good in fact. Watching the place slide down a slippery slope into bankruptcy wasn’t so great.

So, it was interesting to see that the place has been re-opened with everything remaining the same apart from the seating, which has been replaced by chairs that you can actually get into without slipping a disc.

This is a sign of good management.

Arnie would have insisted on a complete refit with Lalique crystal and Hérmes table cloths before he opened. The place is still pretty flash but the whole attitude to simply polishing the place up and letting the food do the talking is, to Gordo’s mind, simple common sense. Mind you, when you guys have made a few bob, for pity’s sake get rid of those light fittings.

But this time we were doing things differently. One of Gordo's dining chums was under ten years-old.

Front of house sets the scene for the evening; a couple of very good looking ladies greet you, with charming smiles, much intelligence and a lot of grace. The waiter for the evening, a Kiwi lad, is professional, personable and can have a chat. The only complaint here is slightly too much wine pouring going on.

Apart from that, he knows what he is up to. Gordo is in for an early dinner on a Saturday night; over the first thirty minutes the place is filling up with a relaxed, knowledgeable crowd. It’s a good place to sit and relax. The staff are great with kids; Arthur, six and expert with other people’s IPhones, is looked after like royalty.

Gordo’s ravioli of lobster and salmon in a bouillabaisse consommé (£10.50) is a big bugger; well constructed, good pasta, the salmon bullying the lobster somewhat. The consommé could have done with having been sent to Gordo’s primary school in Salford to toughen up a little while we're at it.

Breads were excellent; white, brown and Mediterranean. Quality butter.

Arthur’s mum dithered over the asparagus and scallops. After what seemed an age, she ordered the asparagus and got the hand dived Ayr scallops with caramelised cauliflower puree, confit pork belly, 12 year-old balsamic vinegar and almond gazpacho (£11). The scallops were excellent and the marriage of confit pork belly works well, but this is a substantial dish which would do well as a main course; it’s too full on as a starter. It looks fantastic on the plate mind you.

Gordo’s main course of duo of Goosnargh duck (£20.50) came as a roast breast (great meaty flavour, skin crispy, leg as ‘confit’ en croute with a bed of sauerkraut (not as sharp as the real stuff, more shredded and pan-fried cabbage finished with a little cream; nice) and juniper juice. The breast was'nt pink enough for Gordo, and the confit leg had been wrapped in a bloody big Chinese spring roll affair, which was way too stodgy; a really light crispy filo parcel would have been great, with a little more duck fat in the confit to improve ‘mouth feel’.

Arthur’s salmon and chips were spot on; the charge for this and his lobster ravioli was £13.50, well done the management for that; very French. His salmon was cooked perfectly, slightly translucent in the middle, good cooking that.

His mother’s duo of middle white pork with Bury black pudding, truffle candele, baby leeks, apple foam and quince juice (£18.50) was overpowering. Great ingredients, but simply too much going on.

The bacon wrapping the pork is too thick; this leads to it not being crisp enough, which leads to being too fatty. It can be easily rectified by using pancetta, preferably from an English supplier like Richard Woodall. It will be more subtle in flavour, crispy without overcooking the excellent middle white pork.

This part of the menu delivers plates that don’t really require sides, but we had triple cooked chips (great), slow roasted chantenay carrots (OK, but Gordo prefers big’uns peeled and well done), spring greens (fab) and dauphinoise potatoes (as good as Gordo’s, ie, brilliant). All at £3.95. All good choices for the grill items, which cover chicken, tuna, sirloin, fillet and lobster. Good things have been heard of the meat here, by the way.

Whoever is in charge of the pastry section needs a proper pat on the back. Ice creams can compete with anywhere in Manchester; Gordo can report on a lemon soufflé, with sharp raspberry ice cream which had a see-through ‘biscuit’ shot through with poppy seeds sat on top. Not an obvious mix with the ice cream but worked an absolute treat. All puds are£6.50.

This was all washed down with a rare bottle of Domain Ott Rosé (£55) from the South of France; not quite the same as drinking it in Club 55 in St Tropez, but Gordo had a bloody good try. The wine list is of a high standard, although it doesn’t tell us the years, which matters with French wines in particular.

Vertigo, for Gordo, is a fine addition to the Manchester dining scene. Gordo will be back. Ian Armstrong, the chef, perhaps needs simply to follow Coco Chanel’s advice to ladies about to leave the house: Take a look in the mirror and remove at least one accessory.

His ingredient buying can’t be faulted, his cooking is good, but when he launches his next menu, he should take a look at the main course section and deliver less and then he may well find himself offering more. You should try the place if you’ve not been though. 

And this review opened up an interesting debate on Manchester Confidential, and in the office: should children be allowed into reataurants like this - that is, ones at the higher end?

You could argue that restaurants, especially more expensive ones, are a place for adults only; a retreat. Others would say it's a matter of behaviour. If the child sits still, has good table manners and is comfortable with the environment, then they have every right to be there.

Where do you stand? Arthur's better company than many people over 40 that I've dined with and showed better table manners.

I know which side I'm on.

ALL SCORED CONFIDENTIAL REVIEWS ARE IMPARTIAL AND PAID FOR BY THE MAGAZINE. £1000 to the reader who can prove otherwise, and dismissal for the staff member who wrote a review scored out of twenty on a freebie from the restaurant.

Vertigo

36 John Dalton Street
Manchester M2 6LE
0161 839 9907

Rating: 14.5/20
Food: 7/10
Service: 3.5/5
Ambience: 4/5