The Jane Eyre
Ian Jones, Food and Drink Editor
The Jane Eyre has always been one of the best bars in Ancoats and following a recent refurb, it’s looking and feeling better than ever.
The staff here are great. Genuinely great. Even on a Friday evening, there’s a welcoming, relaxed feel, largely down to the sense that front-of-house have time for everyone, no matter what they want. This in turn means a more genteel punter – couples on dates, and small groups of old friends, rather than hen parties and extras from Booze Britain.
When you walk through the door, it just feels grand. The ceiling is much, much higher, due to some high-end architectural wizardry, no doubt, which makes it feel more like some of the city’s most awe-inspiring spaces. It turns out they’ve been working with PHAUS, the fit-out team responsible for great spaces like Erst and Contact Theatre.
It all means a more sophisticated feel for the bar, plus a focus on high-quality cocktails. This means the welcome return of the Breakfast Boulevardier, a star of The Jane Eyre’s first ever menu, not to mention a favourite of one of the UK’s better food critics, Marina O’Loughlin.
The latest drinks menu is an exercise in sophistication. The Merchant Navy is a blend of spiced rum, velvet Falernum, pineapple, almond and lime, balanced down to the atomic level. Every spirit is high-class, every ingredient as fresh and unadulterated as it gets.
They’re all excellent but if push came to shove, which it wouldn’t do here, Sweet Jane is the one, especially for these winter month. It’s a dark but cheerful mix of bourbon, amaerna cherry and bitters, with notes of seasonal fruits and spices flitting around each mouthful.
The food menu is small but expertly formed, consisting of impressively rotund Gordal olives, a fanned-out selection of gloriously fatty Iberico salchichon and trio of truly excellent cheeses. Your palate may vary, but I defy anyone not to place Slack Ma Girdle, near the top of the Top Cheeses list. It’s soft to the point of lewdness, with a buttery flavour and a tang from that wonderfully mouldy rind.
The Jane Eyre’s revamp works hand in hand with its menu. A stylish bar deserves equally refined cocktails and this new menu delivers some of the best in Manchester.
