At the moment South Manchester is absolutely buzzing with great independent restaurants, bars and cafes. I feel like sometimes we’re just too spoilt for choice! With the food and drink scene booming in places like Chorlton, West Didsbury and Altrincham, I was excited to receive an invitation from Morley’s of Hale to an exclusive blogger event with the WeBlogNorth crew. I’d never been to Hale before and was excited to see what was in store, travelling just that little bit further a field than what I would usually do.
Hale is a delightful little village just on the very edge of Altrincham. I hopped on the tram from Stretford and took a glorious 10 minute stroll in the sunshine from Altrincham tram stop to Morley’s itself.
There was a definite Mediterranean feel to the evening, in both the tasteful decor and menu. This all made sense when we were told head chef, Alessandro Aversano, has roots in Naples.
The menu had a great mixture of small plates, salads, freshly baked pizzas and grilled meats and fish including both tuna and monkfish, which was a nice surprise to see.
We were treated to some wonderfully fresh tasting Nocellara del belice olives to start, served on ice, in a martini glass, they really woke up the tastebuds!
And then followed to main event which we had all been eagerly waiting for – sour dough stone-baked pizzas. All hand stretched to order and baked in a specially imported Italian oven. I decided to order the Pollo – a mixture of soft chicken, spicy chorizo, and delicious sweet red pepper drops, with extra mozzarella, naturally. Apologies in advance for the pizza pictures spam.
Accompanied by some incredibly moreish truffle and parmesan chips and some creamy aioli dip for my crispy crusts.
We then got to sample a dish from the grill, an impressive looking chicken hanging kebab, with super-soft jasmine rice, roast pepper harissa sauce & a fresh salad garnish.
This was all washed down with a beautiful strawberry and basil margarita as it just so happened to be World Tequila Day, how could I resist?
Suitably stuffed and extremely satisfied, I took myself downstairs to take a look at The Oche Club an a unique gaming space for darts enthusiasts with fast-paced multiplayer games and ground-breaking dart-tracking technology. Great for groups and something a bit different to try after a meal.
A huge thank you to Morley’s for inviting me down for the evening, it was a wonderful experience. I’ll be back soon to try to monkfish.
Get yourself there & try it yourself: Morley’s, 106-108 Ashley Road, Hale, WA14 2UN
The Manchester Tart 