Reviews in Manchester City Centre

After reading all the recommendations, we went to Red Chili to sample their menu. Arrived at about 6pm, a very encouraging sign is that it is already half full. We didn't have to wait long for our table, but the seating was very cramp to say the least. First impression is that the place is too dark; the seating too cramp; like every other person is sitting on the other's lap. With the new trend swinging towards the light and airy feel; this is a step backward. Personally, we did feel claustrophobic. Because there are a lot of people cramming in a very small space; and with A/C off during the first 30 min, it was very very stuffy indeed. We had to wait at least 20 min for our order to taken. And another 30 min for the food to arrive. After all the waiting, the food finally arrived. But there was one dish missing; as before we have to attract their attention to let them know what had happen. which is about another 10 mins. It was a missed order and we have to wait another 10 mins for it. Generally, the food was on the greasy side, but it was ok. Considering there are 7 to 8 service staff, you must think the service would be great. Not so, absolutely no service to speak of; no one even bother to ask whether our food was all right. All the Staff is moving around very slowly as if they were half asleep. No smile what so ever. But they were laughing and joking in the Bar area !? The place is only half full. Imagine what would it be like if it were full. The Manager seen to be doing all the odd jobs except looking after the customers, which is what he is paid for. Let other staff do these miscellaneous jobs. It is not as though they have not got enough staff. After asking for the bill, we have to wait almost 15 mins for the change after they collect it back. Did they think it was their tips? The food is ok, but the seating is cramp; the whole place claustrophobic; the service unprofessional and unfriendly. All in all, not a very good experience. We would not recommend this restaurant to anyone on this occasion !!

The ambience was good and the service was OK but I'm afraid I didn't find their food "authentic" at all (I should know this since I am Korean...) Never heard of Koreans using pineapples in their traditional cooking! Food was overall OK but fairly bland, Kimchi was not spicy enough and a tad bit pricey for the quality. And please, hire at least one person who speaks Korean! This IS Korean restaurant after all.

San Carlo is a must for anyone who enjoys an atmospheric and high quality evening. The seafood is peerless and the wine list as extensive as you will find at this level. We use San Carlos both in an evening and also for lazy (drunken) lunches with the kids and friends - despite its standing San Carlo is fantastic for children as you would expect from the Italians. Cannot speak too highly of this place - go there soon!

Visited Dough for the first time on Valentines. Whilst the Northern Quarter is not the most pleasant area of Manchester it does provide ample parking. Dough however offers a very pleasant dining environment. Modern, minimalist, bright and very clean. The space between tables was more than many restaurants afford their guests and this spacious feel combined with a young mixed gender clientele created the a very relaxed and enjoyable ambience. The staff were very attentive whilst not being overpowering. We were assigned a designated waiter and he was excellent. For starters we shared baked dough sticks served with balsamic vinegar & olive oil and a mango, vine tomatoes and red onion salad dressed with basil infused olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The salad in particular was excellent. Throughout the evening the ingredients were fresh and very tasty. Our pizza main course was served with perfect timing. We eagerly consumed the Funghi and American options. In our opinion the pizzas were on a par with the Olive Garden and far superior to other Manchester restaurants we have dined at. The big difference and clearly important at the moment was the low prices charged by the Dough. To pay so little for such a pleasant dining experience mans we will be going back again and again. A great night.

Me and my girl friend went to Fu's on Valentines night,the restaurant was very busy but the quality of the food didn't suffer and we had a really enjoyable meal (salt and pepper chicken was lovely), we've been disappointed on previous Valentines night but not this time at Fu's, so Thanks for making our night really enjoyable Mr Fu and his staff.

Sapporo Teppanyaki - Awesome food, brilliant service, fun, flames and flying fried potato, done! I went for my birthday on the 4th of feb, just need another excuse to go again! If your considering going all i can say is - just go, you wont regret it! Its gone straight to the top of my favourite places to eat out list.

After reading reviews on Koh samui i decided to treat my best friend to a meal as she has been my support through really bad times over the past year. I knew she loved thai so thought i would take her out to say Thank you. The meal we had was lovly and the service was great. As i like to eat out alot it was important to me that the food tasted good, which it did. However, when we received the bill, i noticed that i had been charged £6.45 for some plain fried noodles. I could understand paying up tp £3.00 for some noodles in restaurant but not almost £7.00 - you wouldn't even get charged that in London! I told the waiter serving us thinking there must have been some misake but they said that's how much it costs. They were very polite about the situation which is more than i can say for their manager! We asked to speak to the him but he was too busy eating in the restaurant alone to come and talk to his customers. In the end, i paid the bill as he had no intention of coming over to us. When were leaving, i told him that i will be writing a bad review, not on the food or service but on his attitude to which he laughed and said o.k! I was disgusted by this because he obviously didn't care one bit. We will not be returning there due to this and will be letting as many of our connections know about this. Thank you for your time.

We have been coming to this restaurant for over ten years (no joke) and after having tried others in the area I would not go anywhere else. The surroundings are clean and warm - nothing trendy but the food is fresh, hot and excellent value for money. The staff are always extremely courtesy and friendly. Of all the chinese in Manchester this is far my favourite

we found giraffe through a mention in Heat mag, and decided to go after work. Firstly, the staff were brilliant, made us feel really welcome & talked to us about the menu and made some recommendations etc - we chose well, nachos to share as a starter which came with all the usual toppings but taster fresher than i remember from elsewhere, the chicken schnitzel burger (how massive??) and the spicy turkey enchilada which had the boyfriend quiet for 10 mins. we had a couple of cocktails in their 'barbuddy' 50% off thing midweek and overall an excellent night and i would highly recommend this place over any other restaurants in the area. it's got the x factor for sure!

Had the most awesome night here for my 40th birthday. The atmosphere was brilliant and the night couldn't have been better. Good food and great entertainment. All the group had a fab night out and I would definitely recommend this venue.

Having read excellent reviews and heard good things from friends regarding Croma I was thoroughly disappointed. The food was cold and staff rude and I don't intend to ever revisit. Having been a resident of Manchester for some time I can verify that by choosing Croma you are choosing 'not that cheap and not that cheerful'. With so many other restaurants offering exceptional food and calm ambience around the city you really have no reason to stop off at Croma...plus I've just found out it's 50% off at Living Room in January AND 50% off at Dukes Bar & Grill Jan/Feb, both come with high recommendation!

I went to this restaurant last night with my husband and 2 friends. The Wharf Restaurant is inside the Castelfield Hotel. When we went in the reception of the hotel and through to the restaurant and thought it was closed. We had booked the table for 9pm and there were only 2 tables occupied. We were led to believe that this restaurant had a varied menu but we were only offered a sheet of A4 paper which had 4 choices for each course. My husband had the crabcakes and the other 3 of us had leek soup which was nice but was cold. We all chose a different main course and the salmon was the only one of the gammon, steak and chicken that wasn't overcooked and dry. It took 25 minutes to receive our drinks and when we asked to see the menu to order desserts we were told the kitchen closed at 10pm so we couldn't order any. We were also asked to pay cash rather than card. The decor was OK but the room was cold and small. We won't be going back there again and won't be recommending it to others.

I have been to this restaurant on several occasions and this family-run restaurant is the most authentic Japanese restaurant I have been to in the UK. This is no small compliment given that if I eat Japanese food, I do so with friends who lived in Japan for over 4 years. They are impressed with the menu and even more by the food. And the staff are great, genuine people.

I have been here several times with work for our usual Thursday lunch treat, the lunch deal is well worth it and the food is really good quality. The service is always quite and friendly. We have tried nearly everything on the menu between us and there have never been any complaints!! Love it!!

I heard a lot about this place through friends and when i went it was a great disappointment. After hearing such good things i was expecting brilliant food but it was bland and over cooked the steak was tough and bland and the pickled cabbage on the hot pot had no taste i will not be returning and wouldn't recommended eating here. I believe there are better places in Manchester for this sort of price

I booked a table here for friends a few weeks ago. I'd been here many a time and never had a bad dish. It smelled good as we sat down but we all walked out when we realised that Red Chilli sells shark fin soup. I've only just heard about the effect the demand for shark fin soup is causing, many sharks will be extinct in 15 years. What a shame. I hope they remove it from the menu soon so we can return.

Certainly can recommend the fishcakes starter with sweet chilli sauce - these were definitely home made. Portions are large in comparison with the price. Everything is made fresh. The chef is very friendly as are the other bar/kitchen staff. Chef will even come personally to ask if everything is OK with your meal and, will even serve the food to your table himself. A very relaxed atmosphere in a traditional pub with modern decor. Well worth a visit!!

I could quite easily wax lyrical about the talent and creativity that Robert shows in his menu for far longer than I care to write and certainly for far longer than you’d care to read…... However Robert Owen-Brown may be the Angel of the north, but his front of house staff are beyond redemption! This was our second visit to the Angel, or more accurately, the Angel’s second chance. Like many other customers on our first visit we’d experience a few mix-ups and just like those other customers, we’d put them down to teething trouble. So after a four month gap, we were sure they’d have been resolved. I fortunately, was lucky enough to be notified payment was still by cheque or cash only, so I came prepared. My party arrived 15 minutes early for our table. We were seated at our table after spending a few minutes helping the staff find our booking (which eventually was done by spotting my mobile number in their diary - next to a name that who ever had taken the booking had managed to invent). After two truly wonderful courses, we were presented with the desert menu and after a few minutes, the waitress returned to take our order, or so we thought. We were actually informed that we weren’t allowed to have dessert, as they needed the table back in five minutes for another party. After going back ‘to check’ a second member of staff came to the table to reiterate that they needed the table back and told us that we had been informed that this would be the case when we booked the table. Having booked the table myself, we weren’t. We were then told that it was house policy to only allocate an hour and a half per service. Weather the waiting staff had simply forgot to mention the 90 minute turn around on tables (both on the phone and when we were being seated) and were then too inept to perform their regulation 90 minute service even with the extra fifteen minutes we had given them by arriving early, or they had invented the whole story to cover-up a double booking. They stood there and lied to us. I can forgive mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes; it’s how you handle them that matters. When I get something wrong, I hold my hand up, I don’t lie to cover my own arse! Robert, over the years, myself and guests have provided you with well over a hundred covers at all three of your Mancunian pubs. Sadly, courtesy of you staff’s inexcusable behaviour, tonight’s visit will be our last! Needless to say when we were asked by the maitre d' if “everything was OK” I’m sure you can imagine our response.