thom

Oh don't get me wrong, Rice isn't somewhere I'd seek out but it does a broad menu of hot, filling food at a cheap price and my (limited) experience is that the quality of dishes varies so there's an element of pot luck. I had a green curry there and a chilli chicken which was actually fine, but a jerk chicken which was a bit tedious. I'm put it in and around the Tampopo/Waggamama bracket (two more places that do a job for me but I'd seldom actively seek out). Weirdly Rice's format (only slightly less contrived than the late and not very lamented mash-themed "Hugo Mash") seems to be thriving and they now have a huge site off Oxford Road plus their spots in The Trafford Centre and, weirdest of all, Selfridges. And yes, try the other rec's, I'm sure you'll find at least a couple of places that tickle your fancy. i tried the soup at An Outlet today and it was actually a rather good earthy chicken and thyme broth. Plenty of Barbakan Norlander dark rye bread with it too. Simple - kind of like you'd want to rustle up at home - but tasty and well priced. I also did Red Chilli again yesterday - nuts and pickled veg on the table to start (free), the enormous and ever-delicious hot poached lamb, boiled rice for two and a portion of moreish spring onion bread. It fed and satisfied two of us (both with serious appetities) and the food bill came in at £14.50 between us. Has to be - on balance of cost against quality and eating pleasure - the best value lunch in town. Cheers Thom

I find Karims a bit meeehhh, but for £5 I guess you can't complain. Also in your history of the fantastic (if a bit pink) Karim's building you missed out it's last but one incarnation - Rothwells! Like the equally impressive Aetheneum it was an 80's style wine-bar that had fallen on hard times and sold shit beer and alcopops to townies, hoolys and both sets of participants from your average grab-a-granny night. I visited it on the odd occassion. Purely for research purposes, natch. For a £5 lunch I'd rather end up in one of the better back street curry houses like Mahabra or Kebabish (though the latter is a tad pricier). Otherwise for a similar price would eating in at Rice (so-so, but a wide-ranging menu and it does a job) or Barburrito (pretty darn good burritos with good fresh ingredients) in Piccadilly Gardens do the job? I think Walrus currently do a bento box for a fiver that might be worth a look, and my hairdresser tells me Ithaca is also currently doing a sushi takeaway for about five quid. On a similar note I'm sure Koreana so whatever the Korean version of a bento box for a similar price point? If you're happy with cafes as opposed to restaurants proper then try the Craft Centre Cafe in the N4 - some very decent soups such as split pea and ham hock on a Wednesday and some decent homecooked specials for about a fiver - or maybe the new An Outlet on Dale St which has a very nice looking LSTD-style menu (not tried it yet). My final top-of-my-head option is... Red Chilli. On the basis that you are lunching with someone for company I say get the poached lamb (£7.50) and boiled rice for two and along with gratis tap water you'll be able to stuff yourself stupid on outstanding food for approx £5 a head. Cheers Thom

Latest rumour (yet to be properly substantiated in any way, shape or form) is that Juniper has "gone". I'm sure that either way the truth will surface during the day so I'll keep you updated. If it is true then I'm rather miffed that I never even got to go! I'm sure we can build this "fact" into a "fine dining in Manchester still struggling" thread but to balance this out I must point out that I tried to book in Abode for a Saturday night with six days notice and got told they're booked out about three weeks ahead of time, and equally I couldn't get in Harvey Nichols either. I did though get in HN on Friday and had a very, very good meal indeed. The main course of halibut with tum te tum was very decent, but the starter (scallop and pigs cheek hash brown) and dessert (an assiette of apple thingy) were absolutely superlative and as good as anything I've eaten in the last eighteen months. Cheers Thom

I know, I was gutted when she told me as we were lining her up to do a demo at the exhibition! Annoying what with her notice period the show timing falls terribly as it is too late for her to truly represent HN but too early for them to be happy for her to promote her new venture. Which, I have to say, sounds fantastic. She always was a top-notch pastry chef and hey who doesn't like cakes. Cheers Thom

Mid-range food? All the usual options. Chaophrya, Sams/Mr T's Chophouse (not exactly light but delicious), Koreana, Red Chilli, Ning (top of Oldham St, nice space and decent Thai/Malay food now), Tropeiro or Pau Brazil (both Brazilian steakhouses), Croma, Piccolino, RBG (for old time's sake!). The choices are endless! But, I have to say that The Modern is not really expensive (£25 a head could feed and water you well) and you could just plump for bar food. Also Harvey Nichols have a £25 deal on at the minute (including weekends) where you get three courses (minimal menu, but good cooking), a bellini on arrival, coffee and petit four and unlimited (probably house?) wine (for a 1 1/2 hour period - drink fast!). Manchester is your oyster or other bivalve of choice! I'll pass on your regards to Andy. I did also see Ben Hood the other day in Picc actually (he hadn't changed a bit.)and I see Dave Hardy now and then on the train - he has his own recruitment company and still keeps up with Snaggy and possibly Sam? Ah, happy days, marooned on Manchester Science Park... Cheers Thom

The NQBR (as it shall henceforth be known) always gets quite good reviews, and to look at it is the archtypal independent, local restaurant. I really WANT to like it, but I always find the food isn't quite as good as I'd expect and it costs about 20% more than I would hope. It's fine, but I wouldn't send people beating down a path to it's door (except in the Summer, when it's lovely al fresco drinking space by the old Smithfield market comes into it's own). Ah, names from the past there! Say hello from me next time you speak to them (and from Andy obviously, you know we run our business together right?). More drinks recommendations? The only other option for tip-top quality cocktails which somehow slipped my mind is Ithaca. Yes it's eye-wateringly bling in there but to be honest I thought the cocktails were outstanding. Better than the Japanese fusion food, which is pretty darn good in it's own right. Lots of special deals on so might be worth a look for girly dinner? Anyway as long as they've kept most of the launch bar team together (the much travelled Shaun etc) then it should still be up to snuff. As well as classics they do some wacky stuff (garnished with a strip of wagyu beef for example, or a grilled baby octopus) and also specialise in Japanese whiskeys which work a treat in Old Fashioned's or Sours. I think that's pretty much it though in terms of real cocktail excitement. There are a million and one places that do decent to good cocktails (Living Room, RBG, most of the decent hotel bars etc) but if you really want a list and execution that wows cocktail afficiandos as opposed to merely some decent tasting and alcoholic gossip-juice then I'd stick to the aforementioned: Socio, The Modern, HN, Corridor, Mojo, Ithaca, Room. If you fashioned yourself a cocktail-crawl around that little lot (it's kind of a walkable spiral around the city) then a good time would be had by all! Enjoy Thom ETA: "Late thirties"?! A mere 35 I'll have you know! I'm assuming your misjudgement of my age is purely because I have achieved so much so young, rather than being because I look haggard, broken and world-weary.

Weren't there "money people" somewhere behind Paul Kitching? And, if correct, presumably they are still there? ← There were indeed. I met the last once with Paul - she owned the actual building and the company Juniper traded under - but I can't remember the name. Also, not sure if that was solely owned by her or a JV with Paul and Katie. I do know though that when Juniper was up for sale it was pitched out to a couple of interested parties for around the £500k mark. At the time Michael picked it up the market may have been moving in the buyers favour but even at a discount it's a fair size figure to meet. I'll pick his brains when I'm down there. Because I'm a nosey inquisitive bugger. Cheers Thom

Do you mean the delightfully-named Hanging Ditch, down on, er, Hanging Ditch? I think it's pretty darn cool actually. The guy who owns it is the ex-manager of the very well run Harvey Nichols Wine Shop (which is just a stone's throw from his new place) and he is also the son of Roger Stephenson (one of Manchester's most noted architects) who helped with the fit out. The space is small and narrow but the huge floor to ceiling windows open the space up. Inside space is limited but the shelves (also floor to ceiling) stock a very decent selection of wine with moderate mark ups and some intriguing finds (so people who know more about wine than me tell me). The outside space (effectively just a rope and poled chunk of pavement) doesn't have the nicest view (carparks/main road/semi-derelict brutal 60's architecture) but somehow manages to feel like a little secret spot in the city. Food is tokenistic (pastries) but the wines by the glass/bottle offer an excellent way to while away an afternoon. Cheers Thom

Isn't it the case that restaurants that have been awarded a star on a short-turnaround after a change of chef or closure had taken on or retained "pedigree" chefs who already had a track record of stars with Michelin (I'm thinking Matthew Tompkinson, Angela Hartnet, Richard Corrigan etc)? I think Gary Marshall made the point on The Michelin thread that although stars are awarded to a restaurant they actually tend to follow chefs? He used the example of Simon Gueller who, from my hit and miss memory, cooked at Racasse, Pool Court and the Boxtree, each of which gained a star as he joined and lost it if he left. I'm 99% sure that although Michael Riemenschneider has taken on two Michelin-starred restaurants he hasn't yet won a star in his own right. No disgrace there though, to be fair he is only 26! Actually forget the stars, I want to know where he gets the finances to acquire two restaurants at that age!? Maybe semi-pro ice hockey paid better than I suspected. Cheers Thom

Hello Mrs Woman, long time no speak and all that. You're in your early 30's already? Whenever did that happen!? Tch... You wait weeks for a Manchester thread where you finally feel you can add some real value and then two come along at once. Like buses. Except without wheels. And you don't have to buy a ticket. And no one smells of wee. Well.... Anyway. Again, most of the obvious bases covered above. I always enjoy Chaophraya, and The Modern and Harvey Nichols would be two ideal recommendations for a girly dinner. Well balanced menu's lovely spaces and nice service. Good views too if you nab the right tables. Personally I appreciate the "non prime cuts" approach of The Modern's menu but the cooking at Harvey Nichols is also very good. Equally as far as cocktails are concerned (bias aside) The Modern's are generally recognised as the best in town, and certainly I think you'd enjoy the environment more than the low-fi fit-out of Socio or the spit and sawdust of Mojo's (or, indeed the where-the-hell-are-we-ness of Corridor). That said the cocktails at Harvey Nichols are also good and I'd also be tempted to at least tentatively offer up Room as an option. I just don't take to the menu (twists on reto dishes etc etc) but I've always found the cocktail list interesting the the execution very decent. In addition the room, the ex Reform Club, is stunning and sitting there looking out of the windows at all the gloriously lit Victorian and Edwardian buildings of King St feels very "'big city". On the downside my last visit but one coincided with an infestation of barflies. I've put you off right? Final point, not withstanding an excellently tongue in cheek review on eggsbaconchipsandbeans (brilliant website!) I also have to add a caveat to Antonio's (sorry Harters!). I'm all for having a proper old-style cafe fry-up surrounded by hod-carriers, cabbies and white van men. I expect every food product to be mass-produced and in a catering pack, and I want no mention of organic and fairly traded. I want fixed furniture and wipe-clean surfaces, and lighting that would shame an interrogation room. I just don't think Antonio's does it. I've eaten there on a number of occassions (at certain times and situations it's the only option) and I just think it's slapdash, dirty, poorly run and all-round unappetising. Don't stand at the counter to order as the state of the salad bar used for the kebabs (are you a proper greasy spoon if you also do kebabs?) was grim of my last visit. For me it is knocked into an absolute cocked had by the famous Linda's Pantry (round the corner on Ducie St - not sure about weekend opening) and even comes in second to the Abergeldie (though they have recently had a refurb and unforgivably taken out there Heath Robinson style tea-maker which was all rivets and steam). Hey-ho, hope you enjoy your night and that all is well with any of the old TRG gang (like The Red Hand Gang but not as cool) you still see. I'm still in touch with Ben Barry and also met up with Dahlia a little while ago too. Ahhh... Memory lane... Cheers Thom

In forum-whoring terms it's actually a classic love triangle as you should see the amount of my time that FISO, the Fantasy Football forum also takes up... Anyway, as regards Manchester fine-dining most of the city centre suspects have been mentioned and fairly appraised, but to add my own two-pennoth-worth: Harvey Nichols: I always liked it (desserts a speciality as the head chef is, unusually, an ex pastry chef) but I haven't eaten there in almost a year and if anything recent reports suggest it has moved on another notch. It gets the highest mark for Manchester city centre in the GFG (for what that's worth) and also the highest in th HN group. Winelist is good too, mainly down to the attached wine-shop in the food market. Abode: I really do like it, which suprises me as I really thought I wouldn't. Some people still don't seem to have bought into the grazing menu but for me, despite the naff "concept" this is where the most interesting food is to be found. Service isn't tip-top but has never actively irked me, and aside from a slightly gloomy room I think it's a strong string to Manchester's culinary bow. Ithaca: I worry about this place: Bling to the nth degree, £4m to build, staff haemorraged at a frightening rate, deluges of marketing texts for special offers, but... the food is still pretty darn good. It's kind of Nobu-knock-off, but still offers the best sushi in town and a passable passing off of the black cod dish. Ignore the eye-wateringly over-done decor and suprisingly poky dining room and just enjoy the food. The French: I think as with reports above (and our own Jay Rayner's review) this is decent if not top-notch classical (very classical) French dining which charges too much and gets away with it because it is the only such show in town. The problem is that if have the inclination and money to enjoy this sort of dining you'll probably have already done so to a higher standard in many other places. Oh, and Bruno, the brilliant Restaurant Manager and all round life and soul of the place has, I think, retired. Juniper: Ohhhh... Thorny issue this. Yes, it lost it's star due to the change of chef and new reports are... mixed. The local reviewers (MEN, Metro, possibly Man Con) raved about it, the paying food-nerd public (including a few of the eGullet regulars) found it a lot less successful. The chef Michael Riemenschnieder, has pedigree, but with his other place (The Abbey in Cornwall) also losing a star he has his work cut out. I want a place like this to work in Manchester and I'm due to go there in the next few weeks so I'll report back! Ramsons: A wild card this, and a little out of town in the burgeoning foodie enclave of Ramsbottom (yes that's the real name). It's out in t'hills of the Pennines on the periphery of the city (Maybe half an hour on the train or similar?) but it's arguably worth a visit as it scores a high 5 in the GFG, was voted their National Reader's Restaurant Of The Year, and also recently picked up Best Restaurant and Lifetime Achievement awards in recent Manchester Food And Drink Festival Awards. The food is Anglo-Italian rather than French, but the sourcing is spot on and the chef Abdulla Nazeem (there's also another chef, possibly on pastry, who is ex-Fat Duck and very well regarded?) is a talented lad. It's informal but serious if that makes sense, and even eGulleers should find enough on the menu to excite them. Also, the Italian wine-list is a labour of love by the owner and is absolutely fantastic. Cheers Thom ETA Ramson's website

To be fair he, or The Abbey, inherited the star from the last chef so he failed to win it rather outright rather than failing to retain it. Not sure if that is softens the blow much... And painting? Yes, sure. How about I do you a bloody great mural of that massive gloomy picture that used to loom over you in Juniper?! You can sit there in your lounge eating your Fray Bentos pie and pretend you're back there with Paul in the kitchen. Find a happy place, find a happy place... Cheers Thom

I echo the congrats to Marc, a fantastic achievement for you and the team! Juniper's demotion was a given I think due to the relatively recent takeover, but Michael Riemenschnider must be a bit gutted to lose a star at The Abbey too. A double-blow. Was it Palmiro and Jem&I that lost Bib's in Manchester? I'm a little hazy as to the exact criteria for a bib (a wooly "good food at reasonable prices" or some-such?) but I think Palmiro has been off the culinary boil for some time (they've lost some crucial personel over the years) and as noted Jem&I is great but is fairly priced but not keenly priced (my last rushed two course dinner there hit £70+). That said when I look at places that have won Bibs around the country I can't help but feel that there are a decent number of places in Manchester, city and suburbs, which should be picking up Bibs (what about that place "The Modern" which I hear so much about...). People may complain about the sometimes illogical and contrary awarding of stars but the distribution of Bibs seems even more patchy and arbitary. Cheers Thom ETA: And yes, I'll pull my finger out and sort that Fraiche lunch in the next few weeks. Does anyone need anything else doing? Maybe drycleaning picking up? A present buying for the wife? Or mistress? Honestly...

Yes, I was going to make that exact same point, eloquently put. Anthony's is a fair shout too. I was there just before Christmas and had a very good meal indeed (not to mention a damn fine Black Forest Martini in the Piazza afterwards!) but if Michelin haven't recognised it thus far then why now? Cheers Thom

I'm going to pool some of the responses above that chime with my own thoughts and then quote that esteemed reality show soul-purveyor Lemar by saying "If there's any justice in the world then": **Sketch goes up to two. *The Walnut Tree gets one. *So does Fraiche. */*Northcote an outsider for a second. -And yes, Juniper to drop it's star (I worry when I find myself in such agreement with RDB...). Most of my fine-dining experiences this year have felt correctly starred (which suprised me) so I think it's largely going to be as you were with no great shocks. That said a trimming of GRH would be timely (and, being cynical, would generate huge PR). Cheers Thom

And if they'd also had a "push for Fosters" button you would have been in absolute Heaven...

The version in The Chinese Food Made Easy cookbook seemed a bit weird as it had slivers of carrot in it and lacked any sort of chilli (which I'm sure was present in the Red and Hot version). So I went with her general recipe for the dressing - garlic, balsamic vinegar (she suggested this as alternative to some Chinese black vinegar), toasted seasame oil, Shaoshing wine and light soy sauce, and a pinch each of salt and sugar - but excluded the carrot and added a splash of chilli oil. She did the dressing cold but I served it up hot (onto cold smacked cucumber - I liked the contrasting temperatures) as again I'm sure that's the way it was in Red and Hot. It was bloody delicious and took five mins start to finish. And if "whacking one's cucumber" isn't a rather fine new euphemism then I'll eat my double entendre. Cheers Thom

Hello there, long time no speak! So they do it at Red Chilli? Excellent, that's on the menu for my next trip then (give me a week or two). Possibly for another thread but have you tried Juniper redux yet? Great reviews and I was on the phone to Michael Rimenschneider only today. All sounds very exciting and I'm hoping to get down next week. Cheers Thom

Get you Gary! We'll get you back on that cold chilli pigs maw before long... I went back for the first time in too long with Jay about a month or so ago and was stunned to see the menus and interior had been completely updated. Gone was the standard red/green/gold Chinese decor and in it's place was an almost chic (if cheap) fit out with lots of dark wood, moody lighting and a bamboo ceiling. It was actually pretty cool. New dishes on the menu were good to see, and generally standards were as high as ever. I can't remember everything that we ate (the waiter tried to stop us from ordering more than two or three dishes. He failed) but we had the fillet beef rolls (like spring rolls but with a soft, maybe rice noodle skin) which were good, prawns with chilli (delish and messy) and chopped lamb ribs (gorgeous fatty little nuggets of chopped ribs on the bones, almost dry crusted with cumin and coriander) and more. All in all it was great, though I did notice that the same chilli sauce (maybe premade en masse?) cropped up on the beef rolls, the prawns, and possibly even one other dish (which escapes me for a moment). It was very tasty indeed, but hopefully not an indication that the food production is becoming too centralised and soul-less. Oh, just remembered, I actually did pop back with a friend about two weeks later. Lamb chilli broth, rice, spring onion bread. The classic combo. No suprises, thus it was arse-kickingly good. I also tried Red Hot and Spice (if that's the right name?) around the corner which is a new Sichuan place with sites in Birmingham and London. It's an upstairs site, the decor is fine, the service is flaky, and it has the most complicated menus I've ever seen (enigma code like multi-option buffets with all sorts of caveats and provisos). In fact on one of the menu's they charged you for food left on your plate to stop you over-ordering which means if you're tight on cash you'd have to eat till you were sick or stuff it in your pants to avoid a surcharge. What about the food though? Well, it was fine. The dry-fried lamb with cumin was (if I say so myself) less good than the near identical version I make at home from that Chinese Food Made Easy book (one of the simplest and tastiest Chinese dishes ever - I eat it weekly), a baked fish dish was fine, but the revelation was the introduction to "smashed cucumber with delicious sauce". Effectively it's chopped cold cucumber (the initial "smashing" with a cleaver is meant to feather the edges of the chunks so they absorb the sauce more) with a hot thin sauce of soy, rice wine, maybe chilli oil, garlic and sesame oil. It's astoundingly moreish and apparently it's a traditional light side-dish to have with hot, oily Sichuan dishes. I shall look for it at Red Chilli, and recreat it at home (it's also in the Chinese Food Made Easy book). For me Red Chilli still holds the top spot, no contest. Cheers Thom

Darn it, I meant to mention some weeks ago that I went here for an impromptu solo lunch whilst in that there London town. I'd barely stepped foot in the bar previously but got attention lavished on me by the restaurant manager et al (formally introduced to the COO etc) which is always balm to my fragile ego. It may have been because I was the only person dining at 12:00, and even by 1:00pm there were only three other tables occupied. This was, I think, a Wednesday and to be honest I was suprised it was so quiet. The detail of the food defies my memory (though I did keep the menu and will post it up if I track it down) but the quality, presentation and service were absolutely outstanding and the quantity of food for £35 was incredible. A red mullet dish stands out as a high point for me, and a fruit salad with turnip (really) in it. Weirdly for me the three desserts (no little poncey "trio" of mini dishes, these were just three full-on desserts) were wonderful. I was in and out in a shade over an hour as I had a meeting downstairs in the bar but without doubt I'll be back to take a little more time over things. Currently one of London's great lunch deals. Cheers Thom

Not strictly city cengtre I know but I'm stunned no one has yet flagged up the (old) news that Juniper has finally been sold and that a new "michelin-starred chef" is coming to Manchester? Crain's news story Shame on you RDB! And shame on Crains actually, as although the restaurant where the chef is from has a Michelin star I don't think said chef was at the helm when it was obtained and nor has he retained it. He's pretty young, and it'll be a stretch to maintain quality across two restaurants as far away as Penzance and Manchester. None the less I shall watch with interest. Cheers Thom

And indeed I did! Well, kind of. After five or six excellent lunches over the last month of two (see my myriad of comments in the Modern thread) I went last Thursday in the company of one Mr Andy Lynes. To be honest, it was towards the end of a very long week and also followed immediately on from a whistlestop tour of Manchester which had included over-strength cocktails in Ithaca and something scary and near-7% in Bar Fringe (no trappists this time) so don't expect details, just (hazy) impressions... I'm still not convinced about the room. But maybe that's just tainted by the wonderful times I had there when Dave Haslam used to run his retro club-nights back in Rossetti days. The space has been changed so little it still feels weird to be dining on the dancefloor. Anyway, despite the promise of the A La Carte I once again fell in line with the grazing menu. I just can't resist lots of clever little mini-dishes. I had (I think) the goats cheese raviolo with herb cream (becoming a favourite), a langoustine dish and a divine crab and scallop mousse with stuffed courgette flower and lemongrass and ginger. And, uhmm... tum-te-tum... some other stuff. Oh, and a knockout dessert. Which escapes me for the minute. Ok, ok, I really need to start taking notes, but take it from me (and the other converts on here) that despite my lack of detail this is seriously good cooking at give-away prices. I know the GM from his Radisson days and he rolled his eyes when I asked him how long they are going to keep doing the lunchtime deal. I'm sure the financials pain him deeply but if it converts people into loyal punters then he's shrewd enough to know it can make all the difference in Manchester's difficult dining scene. When we ate on a Thursday night it was at least half-full. If they can keep anything like this level for lunches and weekday dinners (not to mention weekend lunches as noted by Adam) then Friday/Saturday dinners will be full to bursting and Manchester will have it's first fine-dining success (in culinary and commercial terms) for longer than I care to remember. Cheers Thom Oh, as an aside, I'm really not convinced by the rooms themselves or their recent refit. They are definitely not up to the standard of the fine-dining. And, the first floor cafe-bar can be a bit up and down - a decent place for a light (though not inexpensive) meal with a something-for-everyone menu but really not hitting the heights as it should.

Reprobate Hetherington, first class, reporting for duty Sir!

I'm sensing a grand day out coming on! I've eaten there numerous times (see The Modern Manchester thread) and it's always been excellent. God knows how long they can keep their crazy pricing. Interestingly after my last lunch there which was busy I was with a BBC producer yesterday who was equally gushing about the food but said on a recent Thursday trip he'd shared the room with only two other diners. Either way it tastes good, it's cheap, I say let's go eat it. Cheers Thom

Another lunch at Abode (courtesy of a friendly PR angling for business). How long can they keep doing this insanely good value lunch? We did the grazing lunch menu again (3 courses for £9:95) though naughty Abode - they lumbered us with large and super-complicated A La Carte menu's and only brought the diminutive lunch menus when prompted. To be honest we talked a lot of business so I didn't obsess about the food, but everything I ate was good and much was excellent. Starter was a goats cheese ravioli with herb (thyme?) cream and pea-shoots and assorted salad. Main was guineau fowl, a couple of small but chunky discs with a wonderful jus and some teeny-tiny turnips, carrots and diced pepper and tomato. Dessert was duo of chocolate - white chocolate ice cream (a bit loose) on a disk of chocolate biscuit with a chocolate mouse underneath which was slightly too firm. Lots of bread was supplied too - nice loaves, with lovely texture but I find them a bit lightweight. The concept is that the portions are small "grazing" size but the fact that you get the variety and balance of a three course meal without feeling bloated in the belly or light in the wallet is excellent for midday dining. We had a bottle of Malborough SB for £24, water, and a couple of decent coffees which came with delish petit four for the table (malibu foam shots and some divine salted caramels). The wobble with the desserts suprised me as they have a dedicated pastry chef here who is normally very good. In the early days of enjoying this lunch deal we had shared the space with a mere handful of other diners. Despite the food and the price it is a basement restaurant (bad) in a hotel (bad) in the wrong end of town (bad). Today though thirty plus people had or were dining in the time we were there. Weekends and dinners have always held up and if they crack lunches too this place could thrive. Good for them. All in all an excellent lunch. Nothing to shock and awe I don't think, unless of course you find the fact that you can get refined, clever and technical cooking at knockdown prices in downtown Manchester suprising.... Cheers Thom