Rope & Anchor Restaurant
Paddock Lane, Dunham Massey
Altrincham, WA14 5RP
Telephone 0161 927 7901

This relatively new restaurant is about ten minutes drive from Altrincham and close to the village of Dunham Massey. Their website is worth a visit. This is part of the Deckers Group who run the excellent restaurant at Sale Water Park. Having undergone an extensive building refurbishment, the place has a wooden (Scandinavian?) style look and feel with mood lighting.

We had booked a table for 7pm on Saturday and the place was already quite full, although the staff told us this was one of their quieter evenings. We were warmly greeted and sat at a table for two in the middle of the restaurant. It felt a little tight on elbow room as I could easily reach out and touch most of the other diners who surrounded us. Because there is no cloakroom facility, coats were draped across the backs of the diner’s chairs. There is a living flame gas fire, which creates a nice atmosphere.

We had little difficulty locating the correct bottle of wine, but after a couple of goes the helpful manager, Alistair Black, got us sorted with an excellent bottle of Chilean Merlot.

There is a specials board plus a daily printed and dated full a la carte menu; a nice touch. Although there are tiger prawns and houmous to be found I would class this as good British food.

There are Monday to Friday offers of 2 courses for £12.50 and 3 courses for £14.95. However, at the weekend the a la carte reigns supreme. There is plenty of choice and variety, but some of the dishes are a little pricey.

For a starter I had homemade tomato and tarragon soup served with warm brown bread and my companion had baked goat’s cheese served on spinach and bacon. Both were very good.

For the main courses we had chicken coq au vin served on mash and rack of lamb with dauphinoise potatoes and veg. These were full of flavour and very well cooked.

For dessert we shared a passion fruit cake with ice cream and pouring cream. This was a lovely way to finish the meal.

The service was unrushed, friendly and efficient. Our fellow diners all seemed to be enjoying themselves and the restaurant had a nice feel to it. The meal cost £65 so it is not cheap. However, the food was good and the portions were ample.

Will we return?

Yes, I think I would like a visit at lunchtime.

Our verdict

Atmosphere: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Food: 9/10
Value for money: 7/10