CityLife

Odder

Odder - new menu's a mixed bag

WHAT was odd about the new Odder menu was the fact that it differed so from online despite the fact both are obviously meant to be the new-look version devised by new exec head chef Mike Wardell.

To further confuse matters, stablemate (or should that be tablemate?) Odd’s menu is different again.

Still Cleo Farnon’s twin establishments have long been CityLife bar faves, so we pressed on in our recurring quest for superior casual dining.  

In a low-risk pincer movement, my arty companion, Thalia, went for a simple, classic pizza, while I had the curry of the day.  

Beans on toast

Neither of us was tempted by the Quick Five Quid Lunch that is only available at Odder, not Northern Quarter outpost Odd.  

This promises you can be served, albeit from a limited menu, within 15 minutes.  

We waited a very long time for our orders, wondering if we were victims of everyone else in a busy lunchtime going for the QFQL!  

Breakfast and brunch menus feature fry-ups and beans on toast, but there is strong veggie/vegan alternative and on Sundays a roast Odder and Odd.  

Well-kept cask

 Mexican and Indian combos and burger towers to share emphasise snackability in what is, after all, a bar with a good range of beers including well-kept cask.  

A couple of pints of Copper Dragon Golden Pippin eased the wait, helped by Thalia’s affable company.

She was less affable about her £6.50 pizza, where the Parma ham and rocket had been cooked to a frazzle, rather than strewn on after, while the inappropriate balsamic dressing had caramelised to destroy the freshness of the buffalo mozzarella topping.  

My curry of the day, chicken jalfrezi, for the same price felt like its sauce came from a proprietary mix.   Pleasant enough but not the epitome of freshness promised by the menu.