I had spotted a mention of Manchester Seafood in a Birmingham newsletter (I Choose Birmingham) a few months ago and had bookmarked it as a place to visit when I got a chance. I checked my emails in April and spotted that they were doing a Wowcher deal (2x 3 course meals with a glass of wine for £24), so I snapped it up and made a note to check the diary to see when we had a chance to check it out.
We (me and my partner in crime, Dan G) put a date in our diary for a Friday in June and I gave them a ring to book. Speaking to them on the phone was a little confusing... The voucher had stated I had to book, but I was told on the phone not to book as they wouldn't be busy on a Friday at 7pm. Intrigued, we popped down last Friday to check it out and see if they were right.
First thing to note is that it's a little hard to find if you're not too familiar with the area around the Arcadian. The venue is located on the opposite side of the road from the Ibis and in the middle of one of the alleyways. From the outside you can see the seafood tanks (with live lobsters, crabs, fish and eels for sale to the public), but they have a sign on the floor stating that the restaurant is inside. Go through the shop and you will come to a small eating area with a few tables and a bar.
We were seated right away (they were right - there was only 5 other sets of diners when we went in) and our voucher was duly taken from us. We were asked if we would like to order any drinks (apart from our free glass of wine) and presented with their set course menus to choose from. It's worth noting that the venue provide free WiFi, which is great as it's a signal black hole in there.
As I love seafood, we opted for the tofu and pork soup to start and 2 different kinds of crab dish for main. Dessert normally offers ice cream or fruit salad, but on this occasion they only had the fruit. The pork and tofu soup was A OK, but it was just an appetiser. The star of the show came in the form of two huge brown crabs (one fried with chilli and vegetables and one served in a ginger sauce).
These were truly epic. You are given a nutcracker to really get into the shells, but you could taste the freshness of the crab. We had a giggle trying to not get too messy (impossible!) whilst we were snapping and cracking different bits to get to the delicious crab meat inside. I preferred the crab with chilli (although there was so many chilli flakes, the vegetables were a bit tough to eat without having streaming eyes and a runny nose).
Dinner was finished with a plate of fresh melon coated with sugar (I have no idea why the did this), but we were completely stuffed after the crab. The staff were friendly and attentive throughout (they replaced our side plates which we had put bits of disregarded crab shell about 3 times during the meal) and we didn't feel that we were treated any differently because we had a voucher.
The downsides are the decor of the restaurant (it's certainly not posh, but it is clean) and the fruit platter (we figured this would be more than just melon), but the amazingness of the crab easily outweighed these two negatives. If you like your seafood you can pop in and purchase crabs, lobsters and all sorts of sea based deliciousness from the shop. If you can't be bothered to cook these at home, however, a trip to Manchester Seafood's small hidden restaurant is highly recommended. Have the crab! read more