After opening its first operation in Glasgow, Alston Bar & Beef soon proved to be a roaring success – leading to it opening its second operation in Manchester’s Corn Exchange, after popular demand for the perfect prime of beef in the city centre.
The Tweed Valley Beef comes from accredited farms in Alston’s original home of Scotland, which ensures the beef is of the finest quality with the prime cuts offering the most succulent flavours.
As well as offering a stand out selection of steak, Alston has one of the largest selections of gins available in the city which includes a number of their own gin infusions, each individually garnished and served to perfection. The 1837 bar is named after the construction date of Manchester’s original Corn Exchange building, the prohibition-style bar is the perfect place to sample the selection on offer.
To learn more about their January offering, the One Manchester team headed down to Alston Bar and Beef in the Corn Exchange. A popular alcove in Manchester, The Corn Exchange is home to a number of great food and drink venues, including one of our favourites, Mowgli’s.
With a magnificent entrance on the side of Chapel Street, Alston Bar and Beef, the venue manages to feel airy and expansive, despite the lack of window space. This is achieved through beautiful, open-plan design with geometric accents and monochromatic floor tiling.
There are a couple of private dining areas, however, and we were welcomed to ours by our friendly host for the evening, Gus.
Concealed behind a minimalist, sliding room divider, our private dining area was set against a long, mirrored wall – broken up with some shelving to accommodate an impressive array of copper pots and porcelain tableware.
Sitting down, we were invited to enjoy one of the restaurant’s own gin and tonic. We opted for the orange and vanilla, which was only slightly sweet but refreshing and offset with a marginally bitter tone, then the rosemary and thyme, which was full of soft, herbal harmony.
Then the first courses arrived. The vegetarian/vegan option was a pyramid of cauliflower pakora. Crunchy, fried batter encased the cauliflower, and despite a preconception that this vegetable is quite often bland, this dish was full of flavour.
We also loved the oxtail croquettes with celeriac puree, fresh horseradish and pickled red onion. For the mains, we went for the beef, well done. Juicy and tender, this was cooked to perfection and served with red wine jus and, of course, triple cooked chips.
For the vegetarian/vegan option, the pearl barley risotto was a delight. Rich and filling, the dish was served with sundried tomatoes, black garlic, basic and vegan parmesan.
Alston Bar and Beef Set Menu
Monday – Thursday 12pm-6pm, Friday & Saturday 12pm-4pm
1 Course for £12 / 2 Courses for £15 / 3 Courses for £18
