Reviews in Manchester

My husband and I had dinner on Saturday 30th March. It was a little tricky to get to as we'd decided to take the car, so for the benefit of future visitors we would suggest parking at the Arndale NCP and take a cab to the top of Old Bank Street. This is a superb venue, when you first arrive through the door you are greeted by friendly staff in the lounge. It felt so warming and informal in the way it is furnished. We were then led downstairs to be greeted by head waiter who gave such a pleasant greeting. The service really is superb, there was always someone attending to your every need, but without being intrusive. The place was bustling with people, with tables of two to larger parties, you could hear the humorous banter and chatter and the background music was just perfect. The menu was my problem, I wanted everything, I even joked could you do me a buffet of taster options ha ha....full credit to the chef as they really have considered their options. We had to start Bury Black Pudding Spring Rolls....oh they were so good, light crispy batter and the black pudding was a soft texture. I've never seen black pudding served like tat before. Mains were steak, trimmed and cooked perfectly in fact my husband said it was the best steak he'd ever had; whist I opted for Vegetable Cobbler with Cheese Scones and enjoyed very bit. It's rare that I get to dessert but found room for Sticky Toffee Pudding with Custard - very moist sponge and the toffee sauce finished it well. Jenny came around and spoke to everyone which I thought was rather a nice personal touch. The decoration is quite informal but you get a mix of dress, so you wouldn't be out of place in a nice dress or jeans. Jenny and Chris your staff have really done you proud, thank you for making our 'date night' very memorable - needless to say we shall be coming again soon with friends and family.

I have been to this restaurant several times with my husband and it's been very pleasant. Last week we went with our children 5 and 7 and were met by who appears to be the manager asking us if we had booked when the place was clearly empty! In the end a lovely waitress showed us to a table and it was fine! Today I recommended the place to a friend travelling from Birmingham , she picked me snd the kids up and once again we went to this restaurant. As we walked through the doors, the same man came over told us instantly there was no room even though the place was virtually empty! I asked him what about all the empty seats to which he said they were reserved( this was 1645) so I'm sure this was not true! I know this place advertises the fact children eat free before 7 so whether or not he didn't want kids there I don't know but it was clear he didn't want us to stay! He was very rude and I will never return! This man turned away about £60 worth of business for what I don't know! He was extremely rude and made it clear from the start we were not welcome! Whoever owns this place needs to know this man is giving this place a bad name!!!! As this is our local we had every intention of eating there often but no never again!!!!!!!

Visited for a meal today. Not impressed with the waiters who were not very friendly or welcoming. It seemed as if they could'nt be bothered. I watched as they dealt with other customers and they could not be bothered showing them to their table or smiling at them. Food was very good,just need to train the staff to smile and be attentive.

Great friendly pub serving fantastic food................ 5 star

Been back tonight ,brill service ,brill food. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx galloway s

Great food lovely friendly staff, going back with friends saturday.

Been in a few times now and i'ts always been good and now they have even more choice, best buffet in manchester

We ate here for breakfast on sunday the 17/3/13 it was fantastic and good value for money my only moan being that there was no beans when we arrived at 10.30 but we got extra sausage we will be back soon ps yummy cakes

Food was amazing, great staff and lovely atmosphere 10 out of 10 :-)

Got to be the worst food and service I have ever had. Curry was slop in a bowl. I couldn't tell the difference between different dishes on the table. I think it must all come from one central slop bucket. The staff were rude and the place has no atmosphere. The only thing that was edible was the rice and that was over priced. There are much nicer places to get a good curry in Manchester. I would not eat here again, even if it was free. 

Recently visited manzil after it was recommended to me by my friends I was pleasantly shocked as to how good it was. The food decor and friendly staff give the place a really relaxing experience. Far better than the nawab, try it you certainly will not be disappointed

We had a great meal here on Friday 8 March 2013. The restaurant is a bit old fashioned but don't be put off as the food is fantastic and the staff are lovely. The restaurant is always full but they always have enough waiters and you never have to wait long for food. They have a separate take away business next door which is separate from the restaurant so you don't have to wait while they do take aways. The menu is basic Bangladeshi cuisine but they do have some specials. I had my favourite mixed kebab followed by a chicken vindaloo and unlike some places where the spices are dummed down a bit you do not get this with the Bilash! The portions are huge but not the prices. Everything is nice; the best Indian restaurant for miles around! Helen

Staff didn't look like they wanted to be there it was Mothers day. It was busy but waited for over an hour for food then when it came 1 of our party didn't get his food and they said they where sorry but they said they would rectify it. But between me and you they forgot to order it, portions where a bit measely and from a first experience won't be going again.

We ate here this evening. It was lovely and excelled our expectations given the location. The food was really nice, no complaints whatsoever. The kitchen is visible from the restaurant and it's always reassuring when you can watch your food being prepared. The best thing about the new far pavilion by far, is the staff - exceptional service, polite, non-intrusive conversation and extremely attentive. We will be returning for a local, good value, enjoyable night out.

Can only be described as a "hidden gem"most presentable food, friendly staff, modern decor and good atmosphere.Well worth a vist.John

This was my second visit to bluebay, although on my first visit the service was slow even when the restaurant wasn't busy I got invited out for a meal and thought I'd give it another go. I didn't have long to wait for a table, but once seated and our popadoms had arrived we got told we would be moved as they needed the table to make a 6, so we had to move tables whilst in the middle of eating... Our starter arrived and we carried on. After some time had passed the table we had moved for had already started eating there meals. More time passed infact it was 2hours!!! Which is pretty shocking and we had no food or been told why were waiting for so long. I had to ask the waiter where our food was. He seemed shocked I had asked.Our food came pretty quickly and whilst eating we then got apologises for our wait but there were a lot of takeaway orders in and they had a backlog! Not one waiter but 2 came and said exactly the same thing. So from no customer contact we had it all whilst we were eating. Now I work in the industry and I'm pretty appauled that my friends and I had to wait so long for our food with no contact from the waiters and then to be told it was because they had so many takeaway orders. This was my second visit both times have not been great and I won't be going again. The food is lovely but the whole evening was pretty shocking.

Boltonian living in Wales gravitates back to Zest whenever she can - a great little find!

We had an ok meal here on 3 March 2013.The restaurant is nice and traditional with a comfortable if slightly old fashioned interior. When we arrived they were hoovering the carpet which was a bit annoying as there were a number of customers seated.The food was nice. We had poppadoms, chicken rani and a fish tikka starter followed by a chicken curry dishes with rice and nan bread. The chicken and fish were lovely as were the accompaniaments. All the portions were a bit small except the bolied rice.We were not impressed with the service which was slow and we did not not find the staff friendly. Some of the food was literally thrown down in front of us. When we asked for sweets they said they did not have any on a Sunday other than kulfi which they said was not like ice cream? I ordered a coffee which I sent back as it was overly microwaved. The replacement was similarly microwaved and was smoking like something out of a Harry Potter film. We would not go back, the food was nice but there are other nicer restaurants in the area with good service and a better choice.