The Ox is better in pastures new
The Ox
Castlefield
December 2009
IT is always good when a pub is pulled back from the brink.
The Lass O’Gowrie in Charles Street was rescued from obscurity a few years ago and went on to win this year’s Manchester Food And Drink Festival award for best pub, and now The Ox, another old city centre favourite, seems to be back to its best.
In the late Nineties, the Liverpool Street boozer was one of the first metropolitan gastro pubs and won rave reviews for its traditional British menu, done with style.
After a number of fallow years and some scathing reviews (including one by this column in 2007), The Ox has a new pride in its kitchen to go with its new association with cattle rather than the spud (the pub was originally named after the Oxnoble potato which was stored in warehouses around here).
The interior always looked good and is particularly appealing at this time of year – the wood, red leather and bare brick complementing the tasteful Christmas decorations to give a warm Dickensian glow.
There are four real ales at the bar – none of them overtly exciting, just the usual suspects of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, Duchars IPA and Black Sheep, but there was an excellent Copper Dragon. They also have a wine list at about £15 a bottle.
New-found success
The Ox now has a decent menu and does a good value Sunday lunch (£12.95 for two courses, £14.95 for three).
From the choice of four starters we had thick, creamy chicken liver parfait with a superior red onion chutney and a rich, flavour-packed leek and parmesan risotto topped off with a poached egg.
The main of braised ox cheek had all been gobbled so I had to content myself with the roast lamb rump with all the trimmings, which was spot on.
The children’s menu choice is not startling but they do a mini version of their tremendous roast beef Sunday dinner.
Two of us went for the three-course deal and had apple crumble with custard and vanilla pannacotta – which were well worth the extra couple of quid.
Service was a little panicky, probably due to the sheer number of people who were crammed into the place (we had put our names down two hours previously to reserve a table). But that is only a sign of new found success.
All of them, I’m sure, were happy to see that The Ox has moved on to pastures new.
The Ox, 71 Liverpool Road, Castlefield, 71 Manchester, M3 4NQ (0161 839 7760, theox.co.uk).
Published: Mon, 07 December, 2009
Comment on this article
You need to be logged in to comment. Login | Register