Campagna at The Creameries - Conjuring Italy in Chorlton
- Rebekah Spratt
- Mar 13, 2022
- 4 min read
Having flourished into somewhat of a Manchester institution, Mary Ellen McTague’s neighbourhood bistro, The Creameries, has gone through an Italian renaissance.
To mirror the elegance of its new, simplified menu - it is divine.
This new golden era of dining sees McTague collaborate with new head chef, Mike Thomas, to create Campagna at The Creameries. In a mutual admiration of fresh, seasonal and locally sourced produce, this next chapter of Chortlon’s much-loved local haunt is inspired by the dishes found in Southern Europe.
Bringing years of expertise to the fore, Thomas’ menu combines the skills of techniques developed in notable London restaurants such as Bright, Rochelle Canteen, Leroy and northern stars, such as Stockport’s Where The Light Gets In and Manchester/Cheshire’s Honest Crust.
The result is a relaxed, maybe even rustic interpretation of Mediterranean cuisine, designed to be easily accessible for all.
Campagna at The Creameries will also work in close collaboration with local suppliers such as Littlewoods Butchers and Cinderwood Market Garden, who will grow fruit, vegetables and herbs especially for Campagna.
The wine list features carefully curated bottled and 'keg' wines, with a focus on luscious, low-intervention Italian wines - all of which match perfectly with Mediterranean dishes.
Bread also plays a suitably stellar role in this fresh beginning - and that’s exactly where we started. Making our way to our seats, not a single diner was able to pass by the eye-catching tray of just-baked ‘focaccia’. And thankfully, it wasn’t far behind us to the table.
Delightful, fluffy layers of warm, bouncy sponge are encased by a crisp, salted crust. Be sure to pair this with the Sicilian olives - and don’t forget to save some focaccia to dip in the lemony oil.
Next to arrive was the panisse with rosemary and salt. This life-affirming little number is at once creamy, crunchy and admittedly addictive. A French-inspired street snack akin to chips, this Provencal delicacy is made from chickpea flour and a generous amount of butter - and honestly, worth the trip to Chorlton alone. Tell everyone.
Under this new style of Creameries dining, you're most welcome to turn up and get comfortable, order some wine and happily graze on focaccia, olives and panisse alone.
Or, you can indulge further into the menu.
Which, as it happens, is chalked up onto a blackboard and updated according to local, seasonal produce. On our visit, one rainy night in February, that meant starting with a selection of winter salads.
First up was the roast Jerusalem artichoke with shredded cabbage, celery, Yorkshire pecorino and truffle oil. A treat to the senses, allow the decadent scent of truffle oil to prelude a medley of textures; featuring fresh salad, doused in a dressing that succeeds with the marriage of earthy truffle and tangy pecorino.
Our second salad took the form of candied beetroot, whereby fuchsia-pink, fleshy roots had been softly roasted - long enough to release inner honey-sweet flavours - and then left to cool, before finding itself served winter-cold with slithers of apple, kohlrabi (also known as German tulip) and a hint of peppery horseradish.
As delicious as all this was, all of it, however, was displaced by the rather breathtaking dish that succeeded. The fazzoletti with walnut sauce.
Fazzoletti, or mandilli di seta, (originally from Liguria, a crescent-shaped coastal region in northwest Italy ) translates literally to ‘silk handkerchiefs’. And if you take nothing else from this review, just know that the elegant simplicity of a silk handkerchief could construe more simile than words ever could.
Within one dish, chef Thomas has created the very manifestation of all that Italian dining embodies. Thick, tulle ribbons of fresh pasta are encompassed by a rich, creamy walnut sauce and laced with delicate shavings of chalky cheese and crushed walnuts.
It is all at once simple, charming and heart-warming. Unadorned, yet effortlessly decadent. An enigma, and one that has left me intoxicated ever since.
Elsewhere across the more meaty side of the table, talk of the pappardelle with beef shin ragu engulfs like wildfire. That is to say, just as pappardelle means ‘to gobble up’, Campagna’s beef ragu will forever remain a talking point as one of the most pivotal dishes of the night. Contrary to what many might consider a 'traditional' ragu, there’s no tomato in sight here. Instead, rich, meaty flavours envelope streams of pasta like a comforting jus, as slow-cooked bites of beef await a hearty scoop of the fork.
The penultimate course offers a choice of three; meat, fish or vegan.
Our plant-based option featured sweet, aromatic braised fennel, with chickpeas and a golden rouille of egg-yolk, saffron and cayenne pepper. The fish option is similar, but served with clams, instead of fennel.
Instead of the fish or vegetable option, guests could also opt for plump, confit duck leg, with braised puy lentils, salted radicchio leaves and prunes.
A meal as wholesome and hearty as this could only be rounded off with dessert. At Campagne, this bears either; a platter of Courtyard Dairy cheeses (Lancster, award-winning); a Mediterranean red wine baked pear, with creme fraiche and green walnut honey; or hazelnut torte with zabaglione cream.
We opted for the latter. With a dense, yet buoyant sponge (nutty in flavour and toasted in aroma) and a delightful tub of tart, whipped cream - the torte was perfect for someone who would usually find sweet things too saccharine. Campagna at The Creameries is open from Thursday to Sunday, and honestly, you would be hard-pressed to find somewhere as utterly charming to while away the evening.
Campagna at The Creameries, 406 Wilbraham Rd, Manchester M21 0SD
Open Thursday & Friday 5pm -10pm, Saturday 12 - 10pm, Sunday 12 - 5pm
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