Aubaine can boast one of the best views in the city with its floor to ceiling windows overlooking The Manchester Wheel, The Triangle, Shambles Square and The Printworks. Whilst the current kit out is only temporary ahead of a refurb, hence the "Aubaine Pop Up Restaurant" sign, it still boasts a very chic, modern feel whilst incorporating an almost French farmhouse charm.

We had our table booked for 6pm, although probably spent half an hour chatting and catching up over drinks whilst completely overlooking the menus, which are written in both English and French. The staff, who were amazing throughout, friendly warned us that as the department store closes at 8pm, we would probably be pushed for time if we didn't get a move on and place an order. So, with that in mind, a selection was quickly made, with helpful guidance from the waiter, and two bottles of wine were requested.

The starters arrived promptly with the Wild Mushroom Friand & Duck Egg (£8.50) a really impressive dish, presented so well that it produced that "wow" factor moment before you tuck in. It didn't disappoint. The egg was perfectly cooked and the flavours with the Hollandaise sauce, spinach, and wild mushrooms, which had a nice vinegar zing to them, was complemented by the flaky puff pastry, which brought everything together brilliantly.

The Octopus Carpaccio (£9.50) was massive and its fennel and olive oil dressing complemented the delicious taste, although the large green chili that sat on top was passed around the table to a more adventurous diner.

The Beef Carpaccio with Truffle Vinaigrette was slightly expensive for a starter at £14.50 but tasted fantastic nonetheless.

Which brings us on nicely to the prices. Whilst the main courses start at £10.95 (Feuillete of Goat's Cheese) and rise to a reasonable £23.00 for the Beef Fillet, the majority of dishes are quiet expensive, with an average price of £18 and a whopping £3.95 for side dishes (French Fries, Dauphinoise Potatoes, Roast Fennel & Tomato, Spinach, Mix Leaf Salad, Broccoli, or Ratatouille). On top of this, there's a further 12.5% service charge, the highest we've encountered in town and a quick reminder this is a London chain. It's "discretionary" of course, but when the service is hard to fault, as it was, even the tightest of Yorkshiremen would be hard pushed to ask for it to be taken off the bill.

The main courses continued the pattern of aesthetically pleasing, beautifully cooked dishes. The Lemon Sole (£21) was a large portion, grilled to perfection and served with greens and a delicious fresh tartar sauce. As it came complete with bones, we played on national stereotypes and passed it to the Faroese member of our party to fillet. Whilst he did a good job, there was still a fair few sharp bones hiding amongst the tender white meat, which ruined somewhat the initial enjoyment of such a well cooked dish. That's a problem with ordering fish to be fair.

The Free Range Pigs Cheeks (£15.50) were equally delicious if somewhat less beautiful on the eye but easier to eat. Served in a tasty Dijon Mustard sauce with Spring greens, they come highly recommended and represented Aubaine's French influences perfectly.

The same can be said about the Corn Fed Chicken Supreme (£16.95), served with leeks and morels in a delicious sauce, this was healthy French food served as it should be.

The highlight of the meal though, had to be the 220g Beef Fillet in Béarnaise Sauce (£23.00). It was arguably the best we'd tasted in Manchester city centre, and we've certainly eaten a lot before making that statement. It was cooked to perfection (medium rare) and the quality of the meat was top notch.

Having dined in a critically-acclaimed "top restaurant" within the city the previous night, and being served what can only be described as a JD Wetherspoons standard steak, it came as great relief to Danny, who is dating a vegetarian, that Aubaine was able to remind him with this cut, why the carnivore in him loves red meat so much. He treated each mouthful as if it was his last. The crispy shallots and Bearnaise sauce were also delicious and the sauce was mopped up with the tasty fries which came in a chip shop style cone.

The selection of patisseries for dessert were also terrific and were presented on a slate for us to choose from. They all looked amazing and even if you were fit to burst, it would be hard to turn these down. We all chose different cakes (Chocolate Eclair £3.95, Moelleux £5.95, Gateaux Maison £5.95 and Double Chocolate £6.50) and, without sharing, each of us proclaimed that we'd certainly chosen the best one. They certainly finished the meal off a treat and you could quite easily visit Aubaine, or its new sister cafe downstairs, just for the patisseries alone.

The service had been brilliant, friendly and efficient throughout. The fact they knew we only had one and a half hours to finish the meal, also ensured we were promptly served with little wait in between courses. Sadly though, towards the end of meal, things went down hill fast despite the best efforts of the restaurant staff.

The security guards from the department store repeatedly kept sticking their heads into the restaurant from around 7:30pm and by the time our desserts arrived, they were practically a permanent fixture hovering over us and willing us to eat up. The restaurant manager and extremely good Latvian waitress literally told them to back off at one point, much to our amusement.