Reviews

I was recently invited to the Hard Rock Cafe in Manchester to sample their relaunched ‘Legendary Burger’ menu. I generally turn down similar offers for a variety of reasons but mainly because they’re often not places i’m interested in visiting. However, as a bit of a burger connoisseur and a fan of rock music I thought it would be an interesting opportunity …

Last month, The French restaurant in Manchester’s Midland Hotel reopened with superchef Simon Rogan in the kitchen. I had the pleasure of being the first customer on the very first lunch service which went amazingly well as you can read here (I won’t go into detail about dishes that were exactly the same as this visit). I’ve been desperate to return ever …

I grew up in Horwich, a small town, part of Bolton in Greater Manchester which has a disproportionate amount of restaurants in the town centre for some reason. Most of them are situated on either Lea Lane or Winter Hey Lane just a few streets away from my childhood home. I have fond memories of early Italian & Cantonese dining experiences there …

I have a long and ever-growing list of places I want to visit, one that’s been hovering around the top for a while is The Parkers Arms in the Ribble Valley near Clitheroe. I know the area well having visited Nigel Haworth’s country pub ‘The Three Fishes’ in the nearby village of Mitton many times. The Parkers Arms reputation has been …

Recently I visited Mughli in Rusholme, Manchesters ‘curry mile’. It was late and a last minute decision following an event at the Manchester Academy as we felt like a change from our usual post gig Indian restaurant, Zouk. I’ve always loved the vibe around Rusholme but never found a restaurant where the standard of food quite lives up to it. …

I don’t claim to be an expert in Japanese food, in fact, i’ll probably never be an expert in any cuisine since my tastes are so wide and varied. I have been fond of Japanese food though since visiting an amazing restaurant in Barcelona almost 10 years ago. It’s a cuisine I have neglected in recent years until a very …

Regular readers will know I’m a massive chilli freak; I put loads of fresh chilli in pretty much everything I cook at home and use chilli powder and cayenne pepper like salt. When i’m out almost everything ‘hot’ isn’t hot enough for me; Nando’s ‘Extra-Hot’ just isn’t and Almost Famous suicide sauce certainly didn’t make me reach for a noose. …

Last Tuesday I had the honour of being the first guest through the door to eat at the newly opened Simon Rogan @ The French restaurant in the Midland Hotel. When I first heard that Simon Rogan was to open a Manchester restaurant I was ecstatic, my trip to L’Enclume a couple of years ago reamins one of my most …

T&Cake is a modern café just outside Huddersfield in the pretty village of Almondbury, West Yorkshire. They serve interesting sandwiches and small snacky dishes along with a huge selection of bespoke teas, coffee and loads of cake. It’s owned and managed by Stephen & Tracy Jackson who gave up running a fine-dining restaurant after 20 years to follow their dream. …

Last Monday one of my favourite Manchester restaurants SoLita launched their new lunch menu, on paper it looked like fantastic value so I paid them a visit to find out. The menu is available on weekdays  and currently contains 11 items priced at £5.95 each as well as Fries (£1.50) and Sweet Potato Fries (£2.50). I’ve no doubt that this will …

I’ve sort of wanted to eat at Almost Famous for a long time, sort of. I was certain that i’d love the food (based on photos, reviews and general reputation) but equally sure that I wouldn’t be able to deal with that whole ‘oh so cool’, ‘hey look at us, we’re so frickin edgy’ attitude. Not to mention the hipsters that eat …

Despite it being the talk of the town for most of 2012 and knowing that i’ll absolutely love the food I am still yet to visit Almost Famous in Manchester for various reasons. I’m not a hipster, I’m not really a fan of queuing for food but mainly because their marketing really annoys me. However, I couldn’t resist visiting ‘Miracle …

I’ve had many a big night out in Liverpool which required a full English breakfast the next morning. Despite being a food geek (obviously) and if i’m honest a bit of a food snob, for some reason it has always been at the same old dodgy greasy spoon which makes the losers cafe on The Apprentice look like The Ritz. …

I love good food but that doesn’t mean i’m obsessed with fine-dining and Michelin stars. I’m just as excited by simple food cooked properly using high quality ingredients. When looking for a place to stop at for lunch somewhere on the route back from Etrop Grange I somehow came across Chorlton Green Brasserie. It only opened in October 2012 but …

I first heard about chef Ernst van Zyl late last summer, the more I read about him and saw his stunning looking food the more I was desperate to go and try it. However, as I had a pretty fully booked end to 2012 I decided to test my willpower and wait until January before paying him a visit. Mrs …