Promising to give The Cafe Rouge a second crack of the whip, I found there was an opportunity to do just that in between a matinee and evening show at The Lowry Theatre today. It is a Saturday, and as many people had obviously had the same idea, many of the restaurants which adjoin the Lowry Outlet Mall, and overlook the theatre were receiving a long string of would-be guests. As I waited with my companion in the Cafe Rouge queue, larger parties were being turned away, as it seemed they were only allowing those with table resevations through to dine. We stood our ground however and on our turn we were given a small unobtrusive window table for two by the door.
Since my last visit I had learned that Cafe Rouge belongs to a larger company called The Casual Dining Group, with other restaurant chains such as the Italian-themed Bella Italia (conveniently located next door to this cafe) also a part of this group. My heart sank a little, as this meant only one thing: mass-produced, microwaveable fast food pretending to be gourmet dishes! However, we were here, and I was still prepared to treat the experience with an open mind.
I declined a starter this time round, opting instead for a dessert - I had found a separate dessert menu on an empty table and purloined it. I really do not understand the logic behind issuing a separate menu for desserts. One wants to and mostly needs to choose the entire meal at the start surely. If only wanting two courses - which I did - then why do I need two menus? Baffling! My companion however opted to have Garlic Mushrooms for her starter which she enjoyed greatly.
Our main courses arrived together. My companion had chosen Poulet Breton. Roast chicken with a melange of leek, mushroom and courgette in a herb and wine sauce. The chicken looked lovely, however the vegetables looked soggy and mushed. My companion ate them nevertheless! As for myself, I had chosen salmon. A 'supermarket-sized' salmon steak, burned and crisp on the underside, but tender and moist in the middle arrived with a portion of new potatoes, a little samphire (which was delicious) and three short stumpy pieces of woody asparagus which were quite frankly raw and inedible. The Bearnaise sauce which was served in a small side dish was palatable but not authentic.
My dessert arrived shortly after both of us had shown signs that we had finished, and the first remarkable thing about this was its size - or should I say, its lack of size. I had opted for a rhubarb and ginger crumble which was served with vanilla ice-cream. The single dollop of ice-cream atop the crumble was actually the largest part of this dish. The round 'container' in which the crumble was served was the exact same length as the bowl part of the dessert spoon they had furnished me to eat it with! Furthermore, the rhubarb contained within was once again very hard, chewy and undercooked!
Once again we had coffee and tea to finish, and once again our waiter was most apologetic that our experience was marred by undercooked food. This does not however, do enough to convince me that a third try is in order. No, thank you Cafe Rouge, but enough is enough! Your waiting staff are knowledgable, polite and cuteous; I do not however, enjoy raw and undercooked food, and since all your kitchen staff really need to be proficient in is knowing how to work a microwave, I shall not be patronising your cafe / restaurant again.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 31/8/19
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