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Radisson Blu Edwardian, Manchester Hotel recently upgraded its in-house restaurant to match the iconic features of its palazzo-style home. Housed in the gorgeous Grade II*-listed Free Trade Hall, Peter Street Kitchen is the result of that ambitious, multi-million-pound investment and makes fabulous use of the space therein.
Peter Street Kitchen brings fabulous shared and private dining experiences to the restaurant. It overlooks Manchester’s vibrant Peter Street (adjacent to St Peter’s Square, where the new Emmeline Pankhurst statue stands), with some gorgeous colonnade seating by the windows and a unique circular, shared dining space in the middle.
The Edwardian Hotels London’s Service Excellence Director Amir Jati – responsible for the private dining revolution – spearheaded the change after delivering on the hugely successful openings of the May Fair, Leicester Square and Monmouth Kitchens. With Peter Street Kitchen, he injects new life into one of only two city centre hotels in the city to have five-star status.
Peter Street Kitchen currently has a well-earned 5-star rating on TripAdvisor with 109 reviews so far (87% gave a five-star rating, and 10% gave a 4-star rating). It comes in sixth in Manchester – out of 1,789 restaurants in the city. We were lucky enough to attend the launch, which was a star-studded event with some great samples of the menu. We were invited to try the restaurant’s Japanese brunch menu and we were glad to return to try the full experience.
In general, the menu can be described as Japanese, with inspiration taken from Mexican cuisine. It’s a great mix and one we were looking forward to.
We were greeted as usual by the gorgeous palazzo-style facade of the building, which truly is a local landmark. We arrived early and were asked to take a seat in the bar while we waited for the kitchen to open.
The bar is small, but with its impressive Ionic columns and squat Japanese barrels, it’s definitely a feast for the eyes. Even at midday, the bar had a healthy crowd. Only a few of these were waiting for brunch, so it was fair to assume most of them were not diners. It’s certainly a very trendy place to drink, and I expect it’s the sort of place to come for cocktails and pre-dinner drinks. Its location near the Albert Hall makes it a perfect location to grab a drink before a concert.
Our wait wasn’t very long at all, and we were escorted to our table in no time. The hosts were warm and laidback, but everything about the bar and restaurant exudes friendly professionalism. You really do feel at home.
We were taken to our table in the rounded shared dining area. This is a clever piece of architecture, contrasting circles with crisscrossing lines to fill the vast space. The fusion of the Free Trade Hall’s iconic original features with contemporary Japanese elegance makes the space feel airy and commanding. Wood and stone serve to ground the decor.
Peter Street Kitchen Lychee & Raspberry FizzWhen we took our seats, we were presented with a signature Lychee & Raspberry Fizz cocktail, and lemon and chilli edamame beans to nibble on while we looked over the menu. Our server explained how the brunch worked: you can help yourself to cold starters, you order a main course from the menu, and you share the dessert selection, with drinks poured freely throughout for the prosecco or champagne packages.
The lemon butter and chilli sea salt edamame were crunchy, citrussy and just a tad spicy. They were a great savoury counterpoint to the sweetness of the cocktail. I was so impressed, I’ve made my own chilli salt at home for quick, fiery snacks.
The cocktail, meanwhile, was lightly floral, sweet but not overbearing, and pleasantly sparkly. While we enjoyed this, we were served champagne and water – so there was little risk of going thirsty.
The cold Japanese delicacies are located at the far end of the room, beyond the sweeping white breadth of the dining enclosure. There’s a decent choice available, so we had to resist the temptation to try everything and be too full for the rest of the meal. They are relatively small, though, so if you’ve a healthy appetite, you should be able to try a few.
First we tried the creamy avocado tartare with spicy and tangy schichimi. I loved this. The two ingredients worked well together. Beware, though, the schichimi was fiery! You can spread the chunky avocado onto the crispbread for a perfect appetiser.
Next up: we tried the succulent yellowtail sashimi with spicy yuzu soy. This was velvety, meaty, slightly citrus and hot, but a much subtler kind of spice than the schichimi sauce. This was my partner’s favourite of the cold small plates, and right up there in my top three.
The beef tataki was really delicious. A gorgeous blend of savoury flavours, with the decadent truffle ponzu shining through, this was my own favourite of the bunch.
The first veggie option was the roasted aubergine flatbread with rocoto chilli and wasabi sour cream. We kept some room for our mains so didn’t try this one, but it looked really good all the same.
This was a nice alternative to the beef tataki in truffle ponzu: tuna sashimi with truffle ponzu mayo. It’s a creamier, richer sauce, given that it’s mayonnaise-based, but that’s offset nicely by the crisp flatbread which absorbs some of that oil. The tuna was exceptionally fresh and had lots of taste. It’s a much subtler dish than the beef.
There were two salads on offer. The first was the salmon skin salad. Now, I’m unashamedly a fan of salmon skin. Done right, it’s crispy and nutritious. Done wrong, it’s a slimy nightmare.
Thankfully, this salmon skin was magnificent. It had flaked fillet in too, but the crispy skin was the best part of it, for me. You could certainly skip the skin and try to go for fillet alone, but I think you’d miss the benefit of those crunchy sheets of silver skin. It was served with delicious tosazu, which is a kind of fermented vinegar, giving it a nicely refreshing flavour.
The last cold dish was the blanched spinach and hazelnut salad with white goma (sesame) dressing. It was earthy, nutty and creamy. I love spinach and I love hazelnuts, so this was an unexpected treat.
For our mains, my partner had the signature chicken and waffles. This was a sweet but not overbearing concoction of crispy buttermilk baby chicken with maple butter, puffy waffle and chilli maple syrup – the last adding a nice contrast to the sweetness. The chicken was tender, the batter was really good and the waffles were relatively light. I’m not really a carbs person, but even I would eat this on a cheat day.
Meanwhile, I had the sake-baked eggs with wasabi-rubbed ribeye. As a meat lover, I was not disappointed. The steak was so tender and perfectly cooked, I was glad I ordered it. The egg was soft on top but crispy at the edges (no mean feat) and the yolk oozed deliciously over the pink meat strips once broken.
It came on a lovely bed of cheesy (Monterey Jack cheese, to be precise) spinach and crispy kale in just the right amount to not overpower. It was really good, and I would return for this dish alone.
A selection of desserts rounded off the meal – bringing a nice, fulfilling close. You certainly won’t feel like you’ve gone without at the end of this experience.
The mochi (on the left) were fantastic. These are gooey rice cake balls with ice cream in the middle, served on sticks. The coconut was possibly my favourite, although my partner liked the salted caramel one best. There was a yuzu one too, which was lightly citrus and a little sour, and definitely a flavour to try if you haven’t tasted the fruit before.
We also had a decadent passion fruit crème brûlée with coconut sorbet and umeshu jelly (made from a Japanese fruit liqueur). This was fruity and sweet, but with an unrivalled mix of textures. It was crispy on the crust, with melting ice cream and custardy insides. The jelly was a quivering delight against its crisp and creamy companions.
Finally, the third and final dish in our dessert assortment was the kuro goma (black sesame) cheesecake. Its toasted sesame flavours were almost savoury, with a unique nuttiness, that was well matched by the quenching hassaku orange sorbet and fresh summer berries.
Given that alcohol is included in the price (starting from £35 per person), this really is an exceptionally priced experience. If you want to try the restaurant’s signature dishes without forking out for à la carte prices, this is the way to do it.
More information
Peter Street Kitchen’s Rikyū Brunch start at 12.30pm on selected Saturdays. All packages include a cocktail on arrival, edamame beans, cold starters, a main course, and the shared dessert selection. Prices start from £35 per person:
- The Koten package includes a sake bellini cocktail on arrival for £35pp.
- The Puremiamu package includes a Yuzu Osaka cocktail with wine and prosecco throughout for £55 per person.
- The Tokusen package includes a Lychee & Raspberry Fizz cocktail on arrival and champagne throughout for £70.
Other events and set menus are also available at other times, in addition to the à la carte.
For more information and bookings, visit peterstreetkitchen.co.uk.
