A renowned food critic has applauded a new Manchester restaurant just months after singing the praises of another new addition to th city's food and drinks scene.
Jay Rayner has praised bistro Kala as a restaurant that "quietly feeds you well" just four months since it opened King Street.
The smart dining spot, dubbed 'Manchester's Neighbourhood Bistro', is the latest brainchild of chef and restaurateur Gary Usher which was part-funded by diners who helped Gary to crowdfund £100,000.
They raised the incredible amount of cash in 11 hours - smashing a world record for a Kickstarter campaign in the process.
The city centre restaurant, which is part of Gary's Elite Bistros restaurant group that also includes Hispi in Didsbury, serves up-to 55 customers a time who can tuck in to dishes such as braised featherblade of beef with watercress, pickled walnut, truffle and parmesan chips or roast cauliflower, butterbean mash, salted lemon, green chilli, toasted almonds.
In his review for The Guardian , Rayner said: "Usher's restaurants don’t serve ground-breaking food.
"He's not attempting to leap boundaries, or draw attention to himself through his deft cooking.
"He's just serving up the kind of classy, appealing food you’d like to eat repeatedly, and at a reasonable price. And where the hell is the story in that?
Rayner also referred to Usher's 'neighbourhood' line adding: "Usher may talk down his little neighbourhood bistros, but people seem to love them, and want one of their own.
"Rightly so. With a trip to Manchester planned, I scan the available possibilities. The city has many of those. But I keep clicking my way back to the menu at Kala.
"No, there really is nothing extraordinary about any of these dishes. There is no story.
"Except for the much bigger one, which is this: the health of a restaurant culture is not defined by a baby-handful of glittering temples to gastronomy flogging platefuls of overwrought ambition and memories.
"It's defined by places like Kala quietly feeding you well."
And Gary seemed pleased by the latest review, taking to Twitter with a series of posts expressing his excitement.
He began: "F***ing decent that init. Soooooooooo f***ing happy."
Gary then went on to repeatedly chant the restaurants name before adding to his 26,000 followers: "G’Wannnn KALA YOU F***NG DANCER!!
"The Kala review is so important to us.
"Right anyway, Off to @kala_manchester to walk around it in a tweed waistcoat & other ostentatious garments such as neckerchief.
"Swirling a big brandy glass in one hand & holding a big cigar in the other. Copy of the @jayrayner1 review under my arm whilst greeting guests."
We think it's fair to say he's pretty happy.
Rayner also used his latest review to mention The Spärrows which he visited back in May.
He described the space on Mirabel Street, near Victoria Station, which only seats ten people on a dead end street again as an "extremely small but perfectly formed restaurant."
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