The Ox, Manchester Had my Friday lunch there this week. I wandered in, picked up what I thought was a menu, and sauntered up to the bar reading along the way, only to be intercepted and guided to a table. Fortunately, I could see the bar from where I ended up, so I could answer the drinks query. Chicken piri piri was new potatoes, a spicy tomato sauce with bits of chorizo & gammon and some green leaves I never identified, with two nicely grilled chicken thighs on top. The dominant flavour in the sauce was the chorizo, but it was tasty enough, if a bit salty for me. Overall, not at all bad. Choice of pop was Landlord, Pedigree, Wobbly Bob, Old Speckled Hen, and Boddingtons. Leave aside the Boddingtons - I haven't had any since the recent change of recipe, and for ten years the stuff was undrinkable. The weakest beer is the Landlord, which was jolly tasty, but two pints contain more alcohol than I like at lunchtime. Looking round, there was a sea of halves and soft drinks. The bill was £13.50 or so, duration was about an hour and twenty minutes, so I got back to work an hour and three quarters after I left (oops). The 'sandwiches' seemed very popular, but some girlies by me left some (too much, methinks - they should have shared one).