the oast house

having never managed to venture as far as oast house in spinningfields, a quiet, sunny thursday evening seemed a perfect opportunity to see what this ‘house’ had to offer; plus, with this british weather you have to grab every opportunity to eat’ al fresco’ when you can! as we walked into the rustic setting, with the sun shining and the scent of the most mouth-watering food taking over, i began to hear the faint sounds of a classic oasis song playing in my mind, only to realise that it was the live band on stage outside! how fantastic. i couldn’t wait to look at the menu, as i could already taste summer in my mouth from the overwhelming aromas from the crowds outside, who already had an array of hanging kebabs and deli boards to devour in front of them. oh, bring on the menu please! i must say that as a person with particular taste (my mother would have described this as a ‘fussy eater’), i am not often left overwhelmed by choice on a menu; touché oast house, i was drooling over your menu for what felt like hours. i finally decided (and my stomach could barely wait any longer) for a haloumi hanging kebab. i was not disappointed. sat outside, sun was shining through my glass of the freshest prosecco, the most beautiful setting, fantastic food and the sounds of some of my favourite oasis, james and snow patrol songs was almost unimaginable; i thought they only did this in the movies. the hanging kebabs delivered something that so many other restaurants in manchester have failed to do, create a fantastic taste for something that could have easily be seen as a ‘gimmick’. i urge you never to walk past the oast house, and think that the kebabs look great but probably aren’t up to the mark on taste, you will be so wrong, go give them a try, they are beautiful. now, i don’t remember the last time i wrote a review on a food and drink experience out without a single thing to have a little moan about, but i can honestly say that the only negative was not giving this place a try sooner. the atmosphere is second to none, and the staff are so welcoming and friendly, you instantly feel like a regular there. perfect. my quiet thursday night however didn’t seem to go to plan, the music and the atmosphere sucked me in, and i have no shame in reporting that i sat outside the oast house, with my boyfriend’s suit jacket draped across my shoulders until the night was no more; who could walk away when you might miss another fantastic cover of oasis, after all, i couldn’t leave before they played wonderwall. thanks oast house for a quiet after dinner night that turned into an evening i can now never forget.

dinner and drinks

my husband and i called in on friday afternoon just for a drink but we actually stayed for something to eat. the bar staff were very attentive, as soon as anyone went to the bar they were served straight away although it was busy as always. in particular david, charlie, matt and sam were exceptional and very friendly we stayed until around 8pm although we were only going to stay for a couple. in the past we have always sat outside but so pleased it was a bit cold outside otherwise we wouldn't have got to meet such lovely people.

the oast house is always a good place to go in the sunshine, but that also means big queues at the bar on busy evenings/ weekends (which can be frustrating if you’re trying to order food too).

the hanging kebabs are always a good choice, and on this occasion we had them, the spring rolls and also the cheese sharing platter. the white sangria was good and my friends were impressed with the gin selection.

although there was quite a bt of construction work going on (and there has been for some time now), we still enjoyed sitting in the sunshine and having a cool beer otr two before going on to a gig. the service was quick and the facilities were clean. happy to return and would recommend to others.

so to begin with, it's been a long time coming!

i had seen this place a few times while passing by spinningfields and always thought it would be a great place to sit when the weather's nice because of their unique outdoor section that kind of reminds you of an old barn.  i however assumed that it was a pub so never thought to try the food because there's a few good food options in spinningfields.  anyways, moving on...

so one day a friend of mine suggested we go to oast house, he told me that they had amazing kebabs but for once i wasn't in the mood for meat so i wasn't too excited.  either way we went and i decided to order the vegetable option kebab which was a halloumi cheese kebab with vegetable couscous.  it didn't sound that exciting and i've never been a big fan of couscous but nevertheless, i was in the mood for halloumi.

when the dish came i was shocked.  it surpassed all my expectations.  i was expecting a few pieces of halloumi with a bit of couscous but this was different.  the halloumi came as huge succulent chunks on a hanging skewers with beautiful, lush mushrooms inbetween amongst other veg such as yellow peppers.

the couscous was incredible.  big scrumptious balls of couscous like i've never previously experienced (i hate that grainy couscous).  the texture was perfect and to top off the dish.  there was a side of garlic butter that you could pour onto the top of the skewer.  it then ran through the halloumi and veg and then dropped onto the couscous that soaked it all up.  

when i had my first spoonful of the halloumi with the couscous after it had sucked up a bit of the garlic butter... lets just say my taste buds were truly satisfied!  you could taste the the perfectly grilled halloumi with a lemony, garlicky tinge carried through by the soft and absorbent couscous balls...

the next few minutes were a blur as i was engulfed in total food satisfaction which is incredibly hard to put me through if meat isn't involved but this really hit the spot!

i haven't tried anything else yet but although it was simple, it was magnificent so this alone did it for me!

after eating at the oast house, well... my taste buds were shocked at the flavour and the amount of detail that was put into the meal, i had the hanging donner kebab and...just...wow!

it’s very game of thrones and i found it a terrible shame that my fellow inhabitants of the teepee hadn’t come in suitable dress, as i could have had a rather authentic role-play session (i am of course, daenerys targaryen, mother of dragons.)

a recent experience of attempting to dine out on a saturday night without a reservation would teach me not to do it again.  we wondered around for what seems like an eternity on empty stomachs put off by the waits of at least an hour at most decent places.  eventually we settled on oast house, as there were tables free outside and we couldn't wait any longer. not having had a kebab for a while i was looking forward to it although it wasn't a conventional kebab.  served hanging and the fries at the bottom with garlic butter on the top, which was allowed to drizzle over the meat and coat the fries, this looked good when it arrived.  by this point we were ravenous.  we ordered both a chicken and a beef hanging kebab.  the meat was well grilled and surprising juicy and not overdone.  the garlic butter on the chips was indulgent and we couldn't get enough of them. we also ordered an italian deli board consisting of parma ham, pastrami, roast peppers, olives and oast-dried tomatoes.  it was

my excitement at the arrival of the chicken kebab was second only to that of my partner, when she saw the waiter pour garlic butter over it.

we all loved the oast house. i have recommended it to about five people since, and can't wait to go back. those chips will be on my mind for some time to come...