Where the Light Gets In — Restaurant in Stockport

This restaurant underwhelms and is very pretentious. The 9 course tasting menu plus an amuse- bouche of duck broth is overpriced at £110, the amount shown on our bill not the website, and lacks imagination and flair. There is neither style nor elegance in the courses served. I suspect the ethos of sustainability overshadows any aspiration to a full Michelin Star as opposed to a green one. Each course, served approximately 20 to 25 minutes apart, and is given an explanation by the server, without which we would indeed be wondering what it was all about. But to start at the beginning. The amuse-bouche is served as you arrive at the foot of a metal staircase, so anyone with mobility issues please note, behind which is a barbecue so one hand rail is very hot, inside wood tables and chairs adequately spaced but note two of them are in full sun (WTLGI – yes I get it) if it’s a sunny day, pretty uncomfortable to eat at and nowhere to move them. The toilets are up another flight of stairs and the sink outside the toilets is two planks of wood which slope together, do I detect style over substance? On to the food itself; the main event after all. First is a pickle plate, six pieces a little bigger than a thumb nail and two carrots (dried?) about 2 inches by a ¼ inch with three spots of black garlic. Two oysters follow which were admittedly tasty then chunks of sourdough (from local Yellowhammer bakery) with duck rillette are next. Kholrabi with a gooseberry puree follows; gooseberries from a chap in Marple (sustainability). Cornish mackerel in a corn chowder was I felt a bit odd, we were told it also had mussels in it; my portion had half a mussel but for the life of me I couldn’t find any more. Then the main event; confit of duck leg finished somewhere to render down the fat and crisp up the skin. Needless to say neither mine nor my husband’s was rendered or crispy, such a classic rooky error, just undercooked fat – yuck. Finally an upside down plum cake which was admittedly light in texture but hardly palate cleansing. Oh and a cobnut macaron. Cheese is extra. Drinks? A 125ml glass of wine is between £12 and £19 and a bottle somewhere between £69 and £110, soft drinks and beer £6/7. Stockport’s finest (tap water) is free and plentiful. Regretfully I cannot recommend this restaurant nor, probably to their relief,...

Very Disappointing. Really wanted this to be good. Eaten at plenty of places with taster menus both michelin starred and not. They always challenge your palate and thinking, often I like most dishes but the odd one I dont like is part of the experience and usually I can appreciate the effort and inventiveness going into them. However not here. It seemed like a hotch potch of things thrown together, very simple and often just simply didnt taste nice i didnt see attempts to pair flavours in an unusual or interesting way apart from in the minority of decent dishes, the dishes I did like were mainly the desserts which were very good and the excellent sourdough bread which came with a tasty kohlrabi dish u could mop it up with, there was also a confit yolk dish which was the highlight near the end. But the tasteless bowl of curds with some flowers on top and the mackerel floating in camomile water with some blackberries were truly awful tasteless affairs. Some of the more simple flavours like smoked eel and crab on a cracker were OK/inoffensive but nothing great. There was lack of seasoning across all the dishes and we all left feeling a bit disappointed having been to another foraging type restaurant in Cumbria called the forestside which this place needs to take some tips from. The wine flight was interesting and care had been take to select the wines and great to see a non alcoholic one as well, we tried and liked both flights, a bit disappointed in the volume we got and had to ask for a bit more of one however the staff kindly obliged. The chefs were very laid back (as they didnt seem to need to do much) and rushed their explanations of the food and origin like at times like they werent bothered apart from the main chef who's venture this must be who was very engaging. Finally I cannot believe such a place doesnt have any beer or other drinks for someone who doesn't want the drink flights or to drink wine. I have never been anywhere where we cant get a beer and this was disappointing for one of our party who just drank water all evening. At one point early in the meal we were looking for the cameras to see if it was a joke on us but sadly no. Other people seemed happy though so maybe it was just us. Ambience and surroundings were excellent....

I enjoy Michelin star resturants and my boyfriend and I had bought this as a Christmas present for each other.

On entering this hidden gem there was a sweet card from WTLGI team.

Warm and friendly atmosphere, sitting at the kitchen bar was at first a little on show as all the other diners were faced towards the kitchen but staff put you at ease and we were able to see the preparation and teamwork and passion of the team.

There were reviews of too much explanation with each dish but I enjoyed the detail and finding out about the produce.

The wines were beautiful and rare and a treat in their own right. They did not always quite compliment the food as the wine flight was given over a few dishes but very well chosen and some of the best wines I have tasted.

The juice pairing was... an experience. They had really tried obviously with the explanations, the root beer was palatable but the rest were a struggle to drink. Earthy mixes which didn't add to the dishes, I wish I had stuck to water, I wanted them to work but they just didn't add anything.

The courses were a great mixture of current foods and the talent of the chief and their team. They are magicians making the common potato and the turnip one of my favourite dishes and introducing me to stingray and its melt in the mouth ribbons.

Sadly the main course of duck was just so rich we couldn't eat it, an interesting cooking method, but not, well, cooked.  I enjoy duck but this was too blue and paired with little to tone this down.The parsnip with it was lovely however.

The dessert of rhubarb pie was a little disappointing, chocolate on valantines would have been prefered. Though cliche, it could have added to the meal and some  bitter chocolate creation could have cut through the heaviness of the duck.

The use of a stout and an ice cream that was hand churned from the curds was a treat and greatly enjoyed.

The addition of the service charge for a table for 2 left a bad taste however as the pricey meal also had optional additions such as a cheese board or coffee which were not included. Maybe SC should be left to the diner to decide.

It's quirky tasting menu only is an experience, and mostly a very enjoyable one, a fresh new take on farm to folk, but if u don't like the menu it's an...