Manchester Restaurant Tips by janiebaxter Top 5 Page for this destination

Room: Room with a View

Room serves very good food and the service is excellent. It's a bit pricey but it's not the most expensive place in Manchester. The food is standard modern European but described in a very understated way so you need to ask the staff for more details, which they are very happy to give, or you may well pass by something that is actually very good. For example "surf and turf" is actually monkfish with crispy pork. The grills are very good indeed with plenty of side dish and vegetable options. Normally I'm not too bothered with desserts but they have a really appetising selection of stuff I like here particularly the "milk tray" which should be re-named "chocolate heaven" - a very chocolate torte with very chocolate sauce. Also tempting were granny smith sorbet and lavender panacotta as well as some dessert cocktails.
The wine list is great because it splits the wines into types - big bold reds, medium bodied reds, cheeky reds etc which makes it so much easier to choose.
The best feature about Room though is the building it is located in. Forget the boring new Cloud 23 bar at the Hilton, this place is stunning. It is on the first floor of the old Reform building and has fabulously high ceilings and floor to ceiling arch top sash windows that actually open. The decor is a mixture of modern and retro and the wallpaper is lovely, but the original building is so beautiful it dominates both the bar and the restaurant decor.
The bar is busy and service is painfully slow as most customers come here for cocktails and a bit of a pose so the barmen take their time. Well worth a visit though.
tel +44(0)161 839 2005

http://www.roomrestaurants.com/restaurants/

Address: 81 King Street, M2 4AH

Comparison: more expensive than average

Phone: 0161 839 2005

Price: US$41 and up

Rating: 4

Theme: Eclectic/International

No 4 Warburton Street: An excellent family run restaurant

Hidden away on Warburton Street, a small cobbled street between the car park and Wilmslow Road in Didsbury village, this tiny restaurant serves excellent quality Modern European food. The ingredients are nice and fresh and mostly sourced from the Greater Manchester and Lancashire area and portions are quite generous. We were full after mains but were determined to try the great selection of specially chosen cheeses.
The menu includes traditional dishes such as Mussels in white wine and calves liver, which was lovely and pink and tender.

The wine list is really reasonable and the house wine surprisingly good for the price.
Service is efficient and friendly.

The interior is quite plain and a bit sparse and could be made a more cosy with better furniture and decoration as the food certainly deserves to be served in nice surroundings.
Not a trendy place but worth a visit for the food.

Address: 4 Warburton Street, Didsbury, M20 6WA

Comparison: about average

Directions: off Wilmslow Road between the main road and the car park.

Phone: 0161 445 0448

Price: US$41 and up

Rating: 4

Theme: Eclectic/International

Restaurant Bar and Grill: Consistently Excellent Food and Service

I have been a big fan of this restaurant for years because serves consistently good food, has a great atmosphere and is the height of efficiency. I guess you would describe the food as "Fusion" - a mix of European and world ingredients, with the best of English produce such as cheeses from Lancashire.
It is spacious and the decor is contemporary, but comfortable. Downstairs is a bar which is great for people watching at weekends. The reception staff and bar staff are very efficient and you can get great cocktails. Even when it is busy, you get served quickly at the bar.
Upstairs in the restaurant the kitchen and the waiting staff are super-efficient and friendly. The best place to sit is in the Conservatory with its huge windows.
This restaurant knows how to get everything right!
The same group own a small chain of Italian restaurants in the Manchester area called Piccolono's, which are also very good.

Favorite Dish: The best Duck Spring Rolls I have ever tasted!
Packed to bursting with chunks of fresh Duck, and served with a plum and pineapple dipping sauce and cooked to perfection I can't resist these. Each time I go (which is often) I try to go for something different but.......................
And it's not as though there aren't lots of other fab choices either. Like Thia prawn cakes with sweet chilli sauce or fried chilli squid and other temptations.
My favourite main course is breast of chicken with Malayan spices but the crispy duck and the calves liver are great too.
There is usually a specials menu with 3 or 4 starters and mains, apart from the main menu. Most often the biggest problem is I want it all!

Address: 14 John Dalton Street, N2 6JR

Comparison: about average

Directions: In between Cross Street and Deansgate

Phone: 0161 839 1999

Price: US$41 and up

Rating: 5

Theme: Other

Malmaison Brasserie: Overpriced and Freezing Cold

The Brasserie is part of the Malmaison hotel which, although not in the best part of town, looks nice from outside. It was built in 1904 as a textile warehouse.
Unfortunately, both bar and Brasserie feel they have to keep the not so ambient temperature close to freezing point, so if you like to eat dinner wearing a coat, hat, scarf and gloves you may feel at home here. As Manchester is not known for its heatwaves, and most Mancunians spend all our time complaining about the cold and the rain, these 4 Mancunians didn't appreciate it.
The menu is really bland, with lots of different steaks and chicken dishes. The steaks, which were served on wooden platters, were very ordinary and incredibly expensive. The wine list is also over priced, and the service average.
I guess if you are an undiscerning business traveller on expenses and don't care about value for money you may think this place OK.
Frankly there are far better restaurants throughout the city centre and in the suburbs.

Address: Piccadilly, City Centre.

Comparison: most expensive

Directions: On the way to/from Piccadilly train station

Phone: 0161 278 1001

Price: US$41 and up

Rating: 1

Theme: Eclectic/International

Rhubarb: Great small restaurant in Didsbury

Rhubarb opened in 2003 and got great reviews in the Manchester press so quickly became a very popular local restaurant. It is on Burton Road, West Didsbury, a small part of town that has many good restaurants and bars. Competition is fierce on Burton Road - if you're not really good you won't last. Rhubarb is still busy and you need to book about a week ahead for weekends. For non-English readers the restaurant is named after a very English plant that is edible and often used in English puddings when in season. It can be very sour and needs plenty of Sugar.
The food is Modern British and European with influences from around the world. Steaks are always good, duck spring rolls are popular and their Moroccan style lamb koftas are lovely.
The wine list is excellent. It is not large but has some really good wines at very reasonable prices.
Staff are very friendly and are very familiar with all the dishes on the menu. Some of the staff have been here since it opened.
There are special set menu prices which are really good value for money and these are available early evenings and Sundays. Desserts are good and include Rhubarb when in season.

Address: 167 Burton Road, West Didsbury, M20 2LN

Comparison: about average

Phone: 0161 448 8887

Price: US$31-40

Rating: 4

Theme: Eclectic/International

Website: http://www.rhubarbrestaurant.co.uk

Pizza Express - West Didsbury: Fast, Good Quality Pizza

There are a few branches of Pizza Express in Manchester. Pizza Express have a problem with competition since Croma opened serving better Pizzas in a nicer environment. I have visited the one off King Street, which I think lacks atmosphere nowadays, and the one in West Didsbury. This one recently went through a phase of not being very good but has picked itself up and improved the pizzas and the service in the last few months and my last visits have been very satisfactory. The menu choice is also mjuch better lately.
There is a good choice of pizzas and extra toppings and they now have the choice of the "Roman" which has a thinner base and is nice and crispy. Don't see how this justifies the extra £1 though...........
Service is always fine - this is not a place you spend a whole evening as you are generally done in about 1 hour or so. Wine list is cheap and not bad quality.
This Pizza Express is in the old post office which is a lovely old building with charm and character but can be a bit chilly in winter.
You can't book unless you are a party of more than 6.
Weekends days and early evenings can be a bit too busy with families and too many children!
They are not open much after 11pm.

Favorite Dish: Baked dough balls with garlic are really good appetiser or side.
Pzzas with Roman base are good - my favourites are Pollo ad Astra - spicy chicken, American Hot, and sloppy guiseppe - also quite spicy.

Address: Lapwing Lane, West Didsbury

Comparison: about average

Directions: Corner of Lapwing Lane and Palatine Road

Price: US$11-20

Rating: 3

Theme: Pizza

Ha Ha: A great location by the River

Situated in what is now called "The Left Bank" (of the River Irwell), an area long overdue for smartening up and developing, right in city centre, Ha Ha is a big bright restaurant.
The interior has a natural look creating an organic, warm atmosphere and a terrace overlooks the River. There are plans to build a bridge across the river from the Mark Addy pub on the other side to link to the left bank, which will have more restaurants and bars opening soon.
The food. Lemon garlic chicken - 2 big pieces very tender, rack of lamb served with a blackberry and rosemary sauce and potato dauphinoise - very good. My friends were impressed that they serve thin chips as well as fat ones.
Also on the menu posh fish finger sandwich and baked cod loin with cider butter.
No room for pudding!
Wine list had a good choice and most reasonably priced I have seen in a long time.
Service was uber friendly, however they were not very busy and may have to wait until next Spring to get the benefit of this lovely location.

Address: The Left Bank, Spinningfields

Comparison: about average

Directions: Off bridge Street

Phone: 0845 1262915

Price: US$41 and up

Rating: 4

Theme: Eclectic/International

San Carlo: Popular, Lively Italian

San Carlo opened in 2004 and is probably the most popular Italian restaurant in Manchester city centre, winning Cheshire Life Restaurant of the year 2005/2006.
It is an upmarket small chain with branches in Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester but the food is top quality Italian with a huge variety of simple dishes, traditional Italian country cooking and more elaborate high class food.
It occupies a prime city centre spot, close to Kendals department store, just off Deansgate,
and is a large and well designed space, although loud and bustling rather than intimate and romantic.
The menu includes extensive pizza and pasta dishes, Lobster and Caviar, beef or tuna carpacio, veal and the typical Roman style Saltimbocca.

There is a blackboard with a large choice of daily fish specialities - fish. halibut, dover sole, often a choice of 10 or more fish dishes.

The wine list has 80 varieties of wine to choose from.

The service is efficient but a little too rapid if you want to spend all evening here. The waiters rush to get you in and out as fast as possible which is a bit irritating.

San Carlo is open noon until 11pm every day

Favorite Dish: I like to go here for lunch on Saturday as the fast service allows me to eat without wasting too much shopping time so favourites for lunch are
Spaghetti with shellfish, garlic, chilli, tomato sauce and fresh basil.
Risotto San Carlo - Italian rice, with wild mushrooms, shallots, white wine and Parma ham as well as Seafood Risotto.

Address: 40-42 King Street West

Comparison: about average

Phone: 0161 834 6226

Price: US$31-40

Rating: 3

Theme: Italian

The Lime Tree, West Didsbury: A local Favourite for over 20 years

The Lime Tee was the first quality restaurant to open in West Didsbury. I first visited it over 20 years ago and have been going back ever since.
Very well known and popular locally The Lime Tree has been the inspiration for many chefs who have cooked there and gone on to open their own restaurants in the area.
Staff are very friendly and efficient - if you are lucky you will be served by the lovely Kylie whose bubbly enthusiasm makes the ambience even better.
The interior is nice and contemporary and the space is well used and divided into 3 sections, the nicest being the Conservatory. You can also eat outside in fine weather.
Booking is essential, especially at weekends.

Favorite Dish: There are many great dishes here - I think that the chicken liver parfait which appears on menus all over Manchester was first made here by Patrick, the duck is really good and the Belgian Chocolate Cheese cake is yummy.

Address: Lapwing Lane, West Didsbury

Comparison: about average

Directions: Burton Road end of Lapwing Lane, next to Piccolinos.

Phone: 0161 445 1217

Price: US$41 and up

Rating: 5

Theme: Eclectic/International

The Ghurka Grill: Best Nepalese in West Didsbury

We are lucky enough to have 3 Nepalese restaurants in West Didsbury, all within easy walking distance of each other. However The Ghurka Grill is the best of these. It is always very busy so you need to book at weekends.
The menu is massive and the wine list is much better than most Indian restaurants. The food is great - you get fairly typical Indian dishes then some more unusual ones. It always tastes very fresh - fresh tomatoes and coriander and ginger are used a lot.
Staff are nice and friendly. The sell a good range of Indian beers, including one called Ghurka.

Favorite Dish: Ghurkali Chicken is my favourite dish - I like it hot! This is classed as "hot" and it is lovely and spicy with fresh coriander, tomatoes and chillies. The chicken is cooked perfectly so it is really tender. Sometimes they will make it hotter for me.

Address: Burton Road, West Didsbury

Comparison: about average

Phone: 0161 445 3461

Price: US$31-40

Rating: 4

Theme: Indian