It was a smart move, too, on my part to dine there twice in the opening weeks - a chance rarely afforded me.
Food critics don't often get the opportunity to check out consistency. It's always a one-off judgment, as if we gauged Man City's season on that rare 4-0 away victory without enduring those endless months without a goal from open play at Eastlands.
David Gale came back to Manchester from New York a few years back originally to be chef at the Rossetti Hotel, just along the road from City Inn - his allegiance to the Blues encouraging his decision, poor chap.
I turned up to review, believing him to be at the helm but, like cagey Sven, he was still awaiting clearance - in his case from previous employers Selfridges. As it turns out, he already had a strong squad on board - the Gale Force? - and the meal was terrific, but the second visit was even better, the front of house staff tightened up in the airy dining room.
This is a discreet environment, lots of drapes and cream leather, chandeliers and pale-green pastels, with well-spaced tables, so the solitary high-flying business diner doesn't feel like Bill Gates No Mates.
I never felt unaccompanied on my return. Crazy Viking, her braids out of Valhalla, rampaged out of the Manchester monsoon, ready to pillage the menu. After a restorative Singapore Sling (in a bar whose nerve had recovered), we both felt fish was appropriate.
From earlier acquaintance, I recommended the little round tower of chilli and coriander-pocked Whitby crabmeat and CV went overboard for its subtle Japanese-influenced underlayer of pickled ginger and wasabi mayonnaise. At £7.95, it was the most expensive starter on the menu but already seems a signature dish.
I expect my carpaccio of monkfish (£6.50) will hang around the a la carte, too. A crazy pavement of tiny, thin wafers of raw fish was delicately fresh-fishy. Accompanying it, in a citrus dressing, was a zingy salad of golden tomato, coriander and samphire (yes, they have it here unlike at the Hale eaterie of that name reviewed here recently).
Imaginative
We were eating off the a la carte, but it is possible to mix and match with the 'Kitchen Menu', which offers two courses for £9.95 and three for £14.95. There is also an imaginative Garden Menu which trounces most vegetarian options in town
We ordered, off a hit-and-miss list, albeit with lots of wine by the glass, a bottle of slatey, raspberryish Loire red for £6.95 - Charles Joguet Chinon Cuvee Terroir (the great sculptor's/winemaker's name is attached to it, but he is no longer involved in the concern).
Our waiter, after some hesitation and Crazy Viking brandishing her ceremonial axe, agreed to chill it slightly and it was all the better for it. Perfect for summer drinking, it was just 12.5 per cent. One innovation I like here is the listing of alcoholic strength alongside each wine. Less chance of being Shirazed by that extra glass!
CV
Fish of the day (grilled Dover sole on my first visit, halibut on this occasion) looks a promising if pricey bet), but CV demands the meat that is denied her on those endless longboat expeditions to Greenland and the land formerly known as Ultima Thule.
So she had the rump of Welsh lamb (£15.95), allowing me a raid on her fricassee (sic) of fresh peas and broad beans. Hooray for the bow to seasonality the kitchen obviously shares with the feeling-threatened Malmaison Brasserie across traffic-hectic Auburn Street.
The lamb was pink and succulent but a little characterless. The same couldn't be said of the Stornoway black pudding that accompanied my roast tenderloin of pork (a little dry the pork, but that is the way of things). The subtly spicy Hebridean black pud formed part of a terrific assemblage with the calvados butter sauce and apple and celeriac rosti (£14.95).
As for puddings, best to flash back to Visit One, where for £5.25 apiece the pannacotta and fondant were both fine. I was a bit tentative about trying a mint pannacotta at Uppermill's Dinnerstone and was glad I did.
Ditto with the City Café's lemongrass and ginger variant, which was accompanied by poached summerfruit. The chocolate and orange fondant with a chocolate malt ice cream was a simpler treat.
All those flashbacks and consorting with Viking Princesses make me feel like a Timelord. I have a feeling, though, the future is bright for the City Café and David Gale.
City Café, Auburn Street, Manchester (0161 242 1000, cityinn.com)
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