Reviews

I do enjoy a good market, particularly those that sell food. I’d heard a lot of good things about Levenshulme Market, or ‘Levy Market’ as it’s commonly known as. Held on the last Saturday of each month on the train station car park it’s a community market of local traders selling everything from vintage clothes and gifts to music and …

When I visited Dog Bowl for the first time in May I loved the bowling and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of food being served too. I was invited to check out their new Sunday lunch menu which I happily accepted. Located under one of the arches on Whitworth Street West if you approach from behind as we did …

I’ve returned to Umezushi a few times since my first visit back in March, each occasion was enjoyable but I chose not to write them up since the food was very similar. I couldn’t resist writing about my latest visit last Wednesday though. It was a typically cold and miserable Manchester evening as we rushed the short distance from Victoria …

The last time I visited The Beagle in Chorlton was for the launch of their collaboration with street food collective Guerrilla Eats. In a bold move the pub stopped serving food from their own kitchen and instead relied on various street food vendors to serve their hungry drinkers. That arrangement ended recently but one of those street food vendors, ‘Margo …

Three weeks ago I’d never been to a supper club, having loved my first experience I couldn’t wait for the second last Saturday. This time run by DineInOut, a dining club who organise events in restaurants and private homes. I’d been tempted by several of their previous events but was finally hooked by the cheekily titled ‘On The Game’ with The Drunken Butcher. I’d been following …

It’s no secret that i’m a huge fan of SoLita in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. As somebody who loves to try new places there aren’t many restaurants I revisit regularly but thanks to Foursquare I know I’ve been to SoLita at least 21 times so far this year. Possibly bordering on obsessive? For fear of boring you all to death and …

Despite having eaten 12+ courses at Manchester House on Friday night and rather a lot at a fabulous supper club on Saturday I woke up on Sunday thinking about food. Specifically about The Farmers Arms. Since visiting 3 times in the first couple of weeks after opening it had been a while since I’d last been and i’d seen and …

After spending the seven months since my previous visit to Mughli raving about how good it is and telling everybody to go, I figured it was about time I went back myself to make sure I was right. Last time was a quick, unplanned, late night trip after a gig at nearby Manchester Academy and having already eaten out just …

Caffeine and Co is a tiny, independent coffee shop in Manchester City centre run by husband and wife team Phil and Claire Howells. Over the past 18 months they’ve steadily been building a loyal fan base and were nominated for ‘Best Coffee Or Tea Shop’ at the recent Manchester Food & Drink Festival awards. July saw the opening of their …

The Trafford Centre really isn’t one of my favourite places, especially when i’m hungry as it’s filled with crappy chain restaurants that almost always end in disappointment. The only exception is Yo! Sushi which is where I headed, only to find it closed for renovations ‘until October’. I was furious as it had been October for over 12 hours! Eventually …

Though I hate to admit it and genuinely try not to be, if I’m being honest I have to accept that deep down I’m a bit of a food snob. Especially when it comes to restaurants, chains in particular. I’ve been put off by previous bad experiences but mainly I just find them so bland and soulless. There are a …

Supper clubs are all the rage these days, particularly in London but there have been more and more popping up around Manchester too over the past few years. So it’s perhaps surprising that I ‘d never attended one. After enjoying my first GastroClub earlier in the year I was feeling sociable and booked myself on two separate events just a …

It’s fair to say I was looking forward to Aiden Byrne arriving at Manchester House, I’d made a reservation at the earliest opportunity way back in March for the original opening night of August 8th. But building delays caused it to be pushed back a couple of times before finally opening on September 17th. Unfortunately due to other commitments I …

We wanted to eat somewhere special for our last day in Spain, we were prepared to travel to a bigger town or city but had heard great things about the hotel in the village near our remote riverside lodge. It looked like a nice place from the outside but it was the offer of an 8 course tasting menu that …

As I confessed after visiting Dog Bowl in May, I’m not the biggest fan of bowling, though admittedly this is mainly because i’m not very good at it. I only went to Dog Bowl because I was invited but I actually chose to eat at Manchester’s other ’boutique’ bowling alley ‘All Star Lanes’. Located in The Great Northern on Deansgate it’s …