Diverse dishes . . . the menu at Cornerhouse has a variety of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern options.
Cornerhouse.
Manchester, England.
Between £4.95 ($8.10) and £8.25 for a main course.
If ever there was a symbol of Manchester's rejuvenation, then Cornerhouse is it. The city, formerly known as a grim, industrial hellhole, has become a thriving, artsy hub. And if it's culture you seek, Cornerhouse has it in spades.
A former furniture store next to Manchester's Oxford Road railway station, Cornerhouse has been converted into an arts complex. It is now something of an institution among Manchester's trendy set. It's a registered charity and its patrons are actress Helen Mirren, artist Damien Hirst and the Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle. It attracts BBC workers from down the road, acting and literary types as well as the pre-theatre and pre-cinema crowds.
The Palace Theatre is diagonally opposite and the cinemas are in the building. There are three screens and all specialise in art-house and independent cinema. A quick browse through the session times shows this is not the sort of place to go to watch Transformers 2 with your giant bucket of popcorn.
The eating takes place on the first floor. It's a stylish cafe, with a fizz in the air and plenty of conversation. Some mooch in front of their laptops, others meet for casual business or dates.
The walls are covered in bizarre artworks. A poster-ish painting of a man, made from metal plates, spray can in each hand and paint splashed over his jeans, sits opposite another image of a superhero on the phone, captioned: "Please help me."
Expect to see chaps in berets propping up the bar and waiters sporting dreadlocks. Homogenous, this place isn't.
It's undoubtedly a cool place to be but it represents very good value. All main dishes come in at well under £10 a head and the food is quite good, too.
The menu is eclectic but if there's one theme tying it together it's Mediterranean, however, the menu goes beyond the usual definition of Spanish and Italian to take in Moroccan and even Israeli-influenced combinations.
For example, there's a meat mezze featuring olives, a selection of cured Mediterranean meats, smoked salmon bruschetta, hummus, tuna and black olive pate with toasted pita. It costs £4.95 for one, or £9.95 for a two-person portion.
The most interesting options are on the mains menu, however. A Moroccan-style meatball tagine - lamb meatballs with Moroccan spices, eggs, apricots and olives accompanied by citrus-scented couscous - costs £7.95 and comes in the proper tagine pot. It's done better in Marrakesh but it's still good here.
Vegetarians are well catered for. Many menu options are meat-free, and it's not just the stock standard fare of vegie burger, vegetarian salad and lasagne. The dishes are inventive - there's a version of the tagine and a vegan pizza available, for example.
Cornerhouse isn't just a cafe and cinema, it's also a gallery complex. There are three floors of galleries in the old building, all free. Exhibitions change regularly and promote up-and-coming artists from the local area and abroad.
Drinks prices are all pretty reasonable, too. A coffee costs £1.55, the most expensive bottle of wine is £14.50 and there's a good range of cocktails that are well-priced.
Cornerhouse, 70 Oxford Street, Manchester, phone +44 (0) 161 228 7621, see cornerhouse.org.
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