It's hard not to love Andrew Nutter, he's funny, charming and has bags of enthusiasm for everything. He's also incredibly hard working for he is the chef-patron behind Nutters, surely the most successful restaurant in... Rochdale. That's not a typo (or a joke), and before you double check the TFL website, it's not a lesser known stop on the underground network either, but is what we 'southerners' call 'up north'. That in itself explains a few things for the portions are massive, the prices extraordinary and the welcome warm. It is also a huge success story.
Just to back up a little, Andrew Nutter was seemingly born with a saucepan in his hand for he was runner up in the National Junior Cook of the Year in his very early teens and offered a job at the Savoy Hotel aged just 15. After three years at the Savoy, two years in the Michelin kitchens of France, he worked briefly with Gary Rhodes at the Greenhouse before opening his own restaurant, Nutters, aged 21. He's now also a regular on TV, stared in his own Channel 5 show 'Utter Nutter', and has several best selling cook books to his name.
The restaurant itself is set in what was once a private house but could equally have been a church or a school, and is simply enormous, accommodating a bar area, the restaurant and two function rooms. The extensive grounds and the views from the dining room add an extra layer of relaxation to the experience. Lunch service gives way to an incredibly popular afternoon tea service which in turn gives way to dinner. It's a restaurant that is always on the go.
You also find on arrival that you get two Nutters for the price of one, for overseeing the front of house is Andrew Nutter's father, Rodney, who came out of retirement (previously a butcher) to help with all aspects of Nutters and who seems to have more energy than most men half his age. He lends a nice personal and friendly touch to the service.
He's also responsible for the wine list which offers real bargains throughout. As Rodney explained to me, there's no wealthy tourists (like in the Lake District) and the glamorous Northern footballers reside in Cheshire, not Rochdale, so if you don't offer real value, you simply wont sell any wine. If I lived anywhere near Nutters, I would move in simply for the wine list.
Andrew's been running his own place long enough to have his own distinct style, and while there are nods to French cuisine, there's a greater nod to his local roots as 'black pudding wontons' and 'Nutters Suet Pudding' suggest. Other plates however have a more universal nature such as salmon with asparagus, and brill with Lancashire cheese, that both appeared on our menu. The highlight for us however was, without doubt, dessert where Nutter had made up a board especially for us. Framed in a chocolate window and entitled 'A Few of our Favourite Things', eight mini desserts greeted us including a special dessert on there for Moo (see pictures below) and a Grey Goose sorbet (definitely a favourite thing). This was a wonderful dessert board and we made a remarkable job in mostly clearing it despite having eaten so much already by that point.
Just to back up a little, Andrew Nutter was seemingly born with a saucepan in his hand for he was runner up in the National Junior Cook of the Year in his very early teens and offered a job at the Savoy Hotel aged just 15. After three years at the Savoy, two years in the Michelin kitchens of France, he worked briefly with Gary Rhodes at the Greenhouse before opening his own restaurant, Nutters, aged 21. He's now also a regular on TV, stared in his own Channel 5 show 'Utter Nutter', and has several best selling cook books to his name.
The restaurant itself is set in what was once a private house but could equally have been a church or a school, and is simply enormous, accommodating a bar area, the restaurant and two function rooms. The extensive grounds and the views from the dining room add an extra layer of relaxation to the experience. Lunch service gives way to an incredibly popular afternoon tea service which in turn gives way to dinner. It's a restaurant that is always on the go.
You also find on arrival that you get two Nutters for the price of one, for overseeing the front of house is Andrew Nutter's father, Rodney, who came out of retirement (previously a butcher) to help with all aspects of Nutters and who seems to have more energy than most men half his age. He lends a nice personal and friendly touch to the service.
He's also responsible for the wine list which offers real bargains throughout. As Rodney explained to me, there's no wealthy tourists (like in the Lake District) and the glamorous Northern footballers reside in Cheshire, not Rochdale, so if you don't offer real value, you simply wont sell any wine. If I lived anywhere near Nutters, I would move in simply for the wine list.
Andrew's been running his own place long enough to have his own distinct style, and while there are nods to French cuisine, there's a greater nod to his local roots as 'black pudding wontons' and 'Nutters Suet Pudding' suggest. Other plates however have a more universal nature such as salmon with asparagus, and brill with Lancashire cheese, that both appeared on our menu. The highlight for us however was, without doubt, dessert where Nutter had made up a board especially for us. Framed in a chocolate window and entitled 'A Few of our Favourite Things', eight mini desserts greeted us including a special dessert on there for Moo (see pictures below) and a Grey Goose sorbet (definitely a favourite thing). This was a wonderful dessert board and we made a remarkable job in mostly clearing it despite having eaten so much already by that point.
cocktails in the bar first
Bury black pudding wontons, chicken liver parfait, smoked haddock suppli ball
Crispy lobster and basil fritter, with Jerusalem artichoke and truffled fregola
Steamed salmon fillet served with blood orange, pink grapefruit and new season English asparagus
Fillet of brill with a Lancashire cheese and garden herb crumb served with a chive veloute
Seared Limousin beef fillet, slow roasted rib, and Nutters suet pudding and wilted spinach
Dessert: A few of our favourite things
one for Moo
and one for Mr Goosey
Nutters restaurant has never advertised but has built up a thriving business partly on the back of its larger than life chef Andrew Nutter. So not only has he built a restaurant, but he's built a brand too and we're thrilled to see him doing so well, because we, like so many of his Rochdale customers, are nuts about Nutter.
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related links
Nutters restaurant website
Andrew Nutter on Twitter
Return to homepage
related links
Nutters restaurant website
Andrew Nutter on Twitter
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