Tag Archives: Manchester

I’m a big fan of a decent burger, even more so after Burger & Lobster a couple of months ago. So when looking for somewhere decent to eat at The Trafford Centre last night (a challenge in itself) I thought i’d give Gourmet Burger a try. It must be good if it’s called Gourmet Burger right? Well, the menu looks …

I love seafood so I was naturally excited to hear about a new seafood restaurant opening in the ever growing Northern Quarter area of Manchester. My excitement was only slightly dampened by the distant memories of the last seafood restaurant I visited in Manchester, ‘Livebait’. The less said about that one the better. I was happy to read several good …

OK, cards on the table from the start: I LOVE Jamie Oliver. I have practically all of his books and I watch all his TV shows (well, all his cooking shows anyway, I just couldn’t bring myself to watch Jamie’s Dream School). I’d like to think it won’t have any impact on this review and i’m judging purely the food …

I’ve never been to a Russian restaurant before and hadn’t really ever thought about Russian food if i’m being honest. I am however always keen to learn about new cuisines so was very interested when I heard a new Russian restaurant had opened in Manchester with genuine Russian owners/chef and cooking authentic cuisine. St. Petersburg restaurant is situated a short walk from Piccadilly train …

“Be prepared for a unique experience at the UK’s first self-service beer venue.” The words of the Taps website, not mine. Although I can confirm that my experience certainly was unique  i’m not sure it was in the way they intended when they came up with that statement. Yes it was the first time that I have sat at a table with …

Even in a year where I visited one of the best restaurants in the UK, L’Enclume and the best restaurant in the world Noma my first time at Southern Eleven last July was one of my highlights on 2011. I’ve been desperate to go back ever since and yesterday I finally made it. If you don’t know about Southern Eleven it’s an American …

I’m a big fan of ‘Afternoon Tea’, what’s not to love about tea, cake & sandwiches? Afternoon Tea With A Twist I heard about ‘Afternoon Tea with a Twist’ at Beluga, the twist being that instead of tea you are served with cocktails and for a double twist they’re poured from a tea pot! Needless to say I was sold …

After two previously successful visits to Michael Caines @ The ABode Manchester I was very much looking forward to sampling the new Grazing menu. It didn’t live up to those previous visits though and whilst I appreciate it was much cheaper than the regular menu it still has Michael Caines name behind it so I would still expect the food …

24 Bar & Grill is named rather unoriginally after it’s address, 24 Princess Street, Manchester. It occupies the basement of the Arora Hotel which was previously home to the fine-dining restaurant ‘Obsidian‘ which I visited in  late 2009. After walking down the stairs I remembered more and more of the Obsidian visit, the familiar bar hasn’t changed too much but …

When I heard that Aumbry was holding a ‘Gruffalo Lunch’ it was the perfect opportunity to take my 2 young Gruffalo loving children to one of my favourite restaurants. We arrived at the restaurant in Prestwich to find it packed full of small children crawling around the floor, the dining room decorated with Gruffalo pictures and paper cups everywhere. It …

I arrived at Vertigo knowing very little about it other than they claim on their website to be a ‘fine-dining/modern cuisine’ restaurant and the reason for my visit, that they were nominated for 2 awards in the Manchester Food and Drink Festival 2011 awards. For ‘Best Newcomer’ and their head chef Ian Armstrong was nominated for the ‘Chef of the …

I’d visited The Grill On The Alley several times previously and always had a great time. In January I even chose it above any restaurant in Manchester to take a couple of friends for their Christmas present. Unfortunately this visit was close to my worst experience in a restaurant for a long time. There were just so many problems, some of them fairly minor …

I love seafood so was very excited to try Livebait, i’ve always longed for a great seafood restaurant that didn’t require journeying to the sea. Housed in a Grade II listed building both the exterior and interior is very impressive. They also claim to serve fish that is ethically sourced and support sustainable fishing policies in line with the Marine …

* This review was written at a time when I didn’t feel comfortable taking photos of food in restaurants. That has all changed now so I hope to revisit with my camera at the ready soon! * The more I heard and read about Aumbry before I arrived the more excited I got. The head chefs are Mary-Ellen McTague & …