Review of The Whim Wham Cafe
After being open for a little over a month, our Editor finally got to sample the delights of The Whim Wham Cafe this weekend.
And what delights they were! Our table was booked for 7.30pm on the Saturday evening and on entry it was pleasantly busy with the teatime crowd. The decor takes inspiration from its location- underneath the railway arches on Whitworth Street West. A easy on the eye mixture of steampunk, victoriana, and dare I say it homeliness! Its rather like that room called a Snug that you only tend to find in pubs that have been around for a while. If Guy Ritchie ever makes a Sherlock Holmes Part Three- he wont need to look much further than this place for an authentic feel of England in times gone by.
There’s no queueing at the bar in this venue, its all table service and all the better for it, creating a much more relaxed and intimate atmosphere especially after dark. This is the sort of place where you’d end up leaving as best friends with the people on the table next to you as there’s no pretentiousness to be found here either!
The Whim Wham Cafe itself is is so much more than what you initially think of when you hear the word “cafe”, the food is all seasonal and local and therefore tastes exquisitely fresh and full of flavour- easily as good as your favorite restaurant, if not better. The menu can also be adjusted to fit with any special dietary requirements too- our editor avoids dairy and was impressed to find that despite ordering the same main course as her dining partner, the dishes arrived at the same time, sans dairy.
The dishes our editor had were a starter of Slow Poached Mackerel in Horseradish and Worcester Liquour with Apple and Beetroot Salad for £4 and for a main course a Dairy Free version of Two Bean Chicken and Wyld Wood Cider Casserole, Broad Beans and Corgette for £8. Both were truly delectable- you can really taste the quality of the ingredients and the chicken in particular just melted in the mouth. Editors dining partner opted for the Pan fried Chicken Livers with Wild Mushroom, Spinach and Cream Sauce. Served on Date and Rye bread for £4.50 for a starter which she confirmed tasted as good as it smelled! She also had the Chicken for the main with more of a creamy sauce.
The Mackerel Starter
The Chicken Casserole
The Whim Wham Cafe is also a Gin Saloon and the cocktails are follow the theme of the unusual and english, with ingredients such as Lovage cordial, Granny Smith’s and Vimto. The later having been actually invented in Manchester, our editor is having difficulty remembering the names of the ones she tried but would recommend them all- cant think why!
There is live entertainment from 10pm at the weekends and dulcet voiced Beki Fishwick was ours on the evening. This eatery exceeded expectations, its clear that the owners- Alix and Jess, have many strings to their bow and know their stuff when it comes to food and drink and are happy to put the work in to make this venue the success it deserves.
The Whim Wham Cafe, Arch 64, Whitworth Street West, M1 5WQ.
Open daily (except Mondays) from noon till midnight, or 2am on weekends.
Find them on Facebook- here and on Twitter @TheWhimWhamCafe
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[...] reviewed the Whim Wham Cafe for VintageManchester.com go read and visit especially if you are Manchester [...]