I LOVE a good steak. When we wanted to meet friends for food last night I was very happy that we settled on Blacklock Manchester. Nowadays, it turns out lots of food places are closed on Mondays in Manchester. That is worth knowing if you want to go out to eat at the start of the week. We were unaware (we’re not from Manchester, we’re here on a petsit).
Blacklock is not only open, they do a special Monday deal, selling some of their meat at butcher’s prices. I was definitely sold on trying them out when I heard that and I thought I’d do a Blacklock Manchester review post as food reviews always go down well on Inside Laura’s Head. I enjoy writing them too.
My Blacklock Manchester review has been done off my own back. Our bill was paid for by myself and our friends. Blacklock did not know I was going to write a review on Inside Laura’s Head. I always declare at the start of a review if it’s gifted.
The restaurant
We arrived at five past seven and our friends were already there, having a drink at the bar. We were seated straight away and the staff were really attentive, and kept filling our water glasses throughout the evening.
The decor inside the restaurant is dark and atmospheric: low light; dark wood; leather booth seating; exposed brick walls. Not the most original, but classic, with plenty of room and lots of ambiance.
Blacklock Manchester was busy when we arrived for our 7:15 booking. There were a very small number of free tables but enough people to create an atmosphere. This always makes a meal better in my opinion. It’s also a good sign when somewhere is busy. Some of my worst meals have been eaten in empty rooms!
The Monday deal likely lead to Blacklock Manchester being busy, so the offer is clearly working out well. It took about 45 minutes for the food to come out to us. For steak cooked to order, that’s absolutely fair.
The drinks
J had a lager and enjoyed his beer. I ordered two cocktails. Firstly, I had the luna colada, their take on a pina colada, made with Havana Club rum. I followed that with a lemon drop collins, which was absolutely delicious and tasted just like the sweets.
The main event: food at Blacklock Manchester
Blacklock is, ultimately, a steakhouse. If you’re veggie, it’s probably not the place for you. They do do a barbequed cauliflower chop at £12 and most of the sides are vegetarian friendly (other than the beef dripping chips!) but, unless you’re with big meat eaters, you’ll probably find Blacklock isn’t the best if you don’t eat meat.
If you do like meat, get to Blacklock! Honestly, our steak was one of the best I’ve ever eaten. For my Blacklock Manchester review, we took advantage of their Monday deal and went for a 300g fillet steak, which cost us £30.
My friend’s husband choose prime ribs at £48.75 for 650g (normally 10.5/100g). My friend chose their fillet steak from their normal menu at £22. All four of us really enjoyed our steak, which was cooked to perfection. Obviously we were asked how we wanted it: we went for medium for our fillet.
For sides, J and I chose to split the beef dripping chips, 10-hour ash-roasted sweet potato, and kale and parmesan. They didn’t actually bring our kale. We asked for it to be removed from the bill.
The chips were perfect: crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle, and the super-soft sweet potato was absolutely delicious. I do love sweet potato so as long as it’s cooked properly. That was always going to be a winner for me.
It felt slightly strange that all of the veg was uncooked-the kale and the broccoli especially I would have ordered if it had been roasted, rather than raw. I guess people aren’t really going to a steakhouse for vegetable sides though, right?
Desserts at Blacklock Manchester
We all went for white chocolate cheesecake for dessert, as it’s Blacklock’s main dessert. The cheesecake comes out in a massive container and their menu says they dish it up until you say stop.
They didn’t, they gave us two large scoops each and then left. But those two scoops were enough for two people to share, and we got two between the four of us.
My friend has a strawberry allergy. Not only did the compote come separately in a little tub (plus a dish so her husband could separate his portion to have the berries) but the waiter produced a pot of rhubarb compote for her instead. That was very thoughtful, and really appreciated.
Blacklock Manchester’s cheesecake was more like a deconstructed cheesecake. It had massive chunks of digestive biscuit, like the biscuits had just been broken up, plus scoops of the cream cheese topping, and big chunks of white chocolate flakes.
It was really tasty, but we all agreed we’d expected a proper cheesecake with a buttery biscuit base and a thick layer of cream cheese, and it wasn’t what we thought we were getting. I enjoyed it, but wouldn’t feel the need to order it again.
How much was the bill for our Blacklock Manchester review?
Our whole bill was £234.05. That’s for two fillet steaks, a lot of prime rib, three beers, one glass of red wine, four cocktails, four sides and two desserts. That includes the Blacklock Manchester service charge.
Whilst that’s not super cheap, I think it’s really reasonable for the quality of the food at Blacklock. I can recommend Blacklock for a fancy meal for steak lovers. I know I’ll happily go back in the future.
Have you been to Blacklock? Does my Blacklock Manchester review make you want to check it out?
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