Reviews

Here you’ll find details of my many restaurant visits; from Manchester to London and beyond. From Michelin starred fine-dining establishments to local hidden gems, sushi to burgers and all that’s in between.

Although I call them ‘reviews’ I like to think these posts are more like a journal of my dining out experiences.

Chalk Bar and Grill, West Didsbury – Special Preview

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 …

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‘The Splendid Sausage Company’ Bring Quality Bangers To Manchester

The Splendid Sausage Co

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 …

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Friday Food Fight – SE 01 . EP 10 (09/04/2014)

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 …

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Ambiente, Worsley – Unexpectedly Charming Spanish Tapas

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 …

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A Very Special Visit To Mughli

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 …

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Previewing The New Menu @ SoLITA

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 …

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Friday Food Fight – SE 01 . EP 07 (18/04/2014) – Kendal Calling Official Manchester Launch Party!

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 …

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The River Bar & Grill at The Lowry Hotel, Manchester

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 …

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The Spice Club Popup @ A Secret Location, Manchester

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 …

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The Parkers Arms, Newton-in-Bowland – Definitely The Best Of British!

Parkers Arms

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 …

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Beef & Pudding, Manchester (Revisit)

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 …

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Friday Food Fight – SE 01 . EP 06 (11/04/2014)

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 …

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The ‘Honest Burgers’ #BrewBurger @ BrewDog Manchester

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 …

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Zizzi Manchester Piccadilly, VIP Opening Night

Zizzi Piccadilly

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 …

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