Reviews

Last Wednesday I attended the launch of ‘Chalk Bar and Grill’ the latest addition to Didsbury’s ever growing dining scene. I didn’t actually intend on blogging about it, and this certainly isn’t a ‘review’ since all I ate were canapés. But since I enjoyed them so much and was impressed with the place in general I thought i’d share my photos …

It seems hot dogs are the new burgers in Manchester with several new places offering ‘dirty’ or ‘gourmet’ versions of the humble street food. The latest being ‘The Splendid Sausage Company’ who recently took over the Jack Spratt site on John Dalton Street. They invited me down to have a look around and sample their sausages. I never made it …

They say time flies when you’re having fun. Friday nights have certainly been flying by since B.Eat Street started running their ‘Friday Food Fight’ events at Upper Campfield Market. Amazingly last week was the tenth and there are now just two remaining! It was my sixth time (plus the ‘Cook Off’) and just as much fun as ever. First stop, Flavours …

These days, us bloggers are often criticised for accepting ‘freebies’, personally I turn down far more than I accept but when I do it’s with a completely clear conscience. Partly because they’re not actually ‘free’ at all, we provide publicity to the restaurants which otherwise would have cost them far more than a bit of free food. More importantly, good blog posts take a …

It’s become something of a tradition to take my Dad to my favourite restaurant of the moment for his birthday. Recent years have seen us visit Ramsons, Aumbry and the Parkers Arms. Generally it gets harder to top the previous year but there was only ever one contender this year. I’ve visited Mughli several times over the past 12 months and am yet …

It’s hard to believe now but when popular Northern Quarter restaurant SoLITA opened in the summer of 2012 there was actually only one burger on the menu. As their popularity grew so did the number of burgers on both the main menu and regularly updated specials board. Although I’ve enjoyed many of them over the past 18 months, I was pleased to see the new …

It’s always a good Friday at B.eat Street’s ‘Friday Food Fight‘ but for episode 07 it actually was Good Friday! What better way to commemorate Jesus’ crucifixion than with amazing street food? Not only was it a four day weekend but the weather was stunning too, Manchester was looking fabulous in the sun. The Beetham Tower opposite Upper Campfield market – the home …

The Lowry Hotel is rightly regarded as the best in Manchester but its restaurant hasn’t always had the same reputation. Marco Pierre White failed with ‘The River Room’ almost 10 years ago while it’s replacement, ‘The River Restaurant’ was apparently excellent between 2006 – 2010 but has had mixed reviews in recent years. It’s those reviews that had stopped me visiting previously but when I heard the restaurant was …

There are only 2 places i’ve struggled to get a reservation at more than The Spice Club; one was the best restaurant in the world at the time Noma and the other, Heston’s 3 Michelin starred The Fat Duck. The Spice Club isn’t a fine-dining restaurant though and there’s no celebrity chef attached, it’s an ‘underground’ supper club run by Monica …

I was asked by the people behind the Britain’s Best Bites website to plan my own foodie road trip around some of the ‘must-try’ food producers in the North West. The Parkers Arms immediately came to mind and became the focal point of the entire trip. Set in the beautiful Ribble Valley, chef Stosie Madi serves stunning food and is …

A few weeks ago I was invited to try Manchester’s hottest new pub/restaurant ‘Beef & Pudding’ during its soft launch period. I liked it so much I returned the following day to eat my way through some more of the intriguing menu. Starting with a glass of Prosecco and a tin of giant, juicy Gordal olives. The ‘Starters’ are perhaps …

Friday Food Fight is all about good food, good music & good drinks, you know the score by now i’m sure (but see here if you really don’t). I wasn’t actually planning on eating at EP06 since i’d been to BrewDog for their Honest Burgers popup, but after missing out of EP05 the previous week couldn’t resist it, especially as I …

Being rather fond of burgers and beer I was naturally excited by talk of a beery, beefy collaboration between BrewDog and London burger experts ‘Honest Burgers’. Particularly when I heard the details; it’s made with two of my favourite BrewDog beers, Punk and 5am Saint as well as their smokey stout, Paradox. I’ve not yet had the pleasure of eating …

I’ve loved Twitter for the past 6 years but never more so than when a random conversation led to an epic Sunday afternoon feast. I wasn’t even part of the original conversation either, it was started by Mal of Fire and Salt BBQ. He was in America at the time and casually mentioned that he’d seen burger places using potato rolls …

I recently broke one of my own self-imposed rules by accepting an invitation to the VIP opening night of Zizzi’s new Piccadilly restaurant. My stance on ‘freebies’ is that i’m happy to go to places i’d be likely to visit anyway, something I can’t honestly say about Zizzi who appear to epitomise everything I dislike about chains. In fact, I …