Manchester is one of the best market towns in the country. If it isn't the weekly farmer's markets…read moreor the Sunday carboot and flea markets, it's the specialist markets that take place around the calendar. Apart from the now very famous Christmas market, my next favourite annual event has to be the Fine Food Market, usually held between September and October every year in St Ann's Square. This is one event that no epicurean in their right mind would miss. Bringing together some of the biggest talents and producers in the North, expect to be fed by the best restaurants in town and offered some of the best home grown produce in the country. According to the government website, 'speciality meats, smoked foods (fish, cheese, meats and poultry) cheeses, chutneys, pickles, black puddings, ice cream, specialist ales and sloe gin' are just a very few items on sale here.

If you're a fan of hog roasts, paella, wood-fired pizza and vintage-style tea shops, head to the…read moreManchester Markets on St Anne's Square before it disappears again. A mooch around the market is the perfect way to liven up an otherwise dull day at the office (or living room, if you work from home, like me), so as soon as the clock strikes 1pm, get yourself there. You're going to spend, on average, about a fiver for takeaway food from one of the stalls but portions are good - especially at the Hog Roast stall, where they'll ram your baguette so full of pork and apple sauce you won't know where to start. As well as food, you'll find a number of stalls selling art and hand-crafted decor for the home, plus vintage furniture and clothing in the market's main indoor area; The Orangery, where you can also see/hear live music at certain times throughout the day (check the signage outside for more details). I'm really impressed with this little market. It's brought a much-needed injection of 'quaint' to the city centre. I wish it was here all the time!

Sweet Sensations brings up that nostalgia in me that makes me long for the days when I would buy a…read more20p bag of sweets in a small paper bag on my way home from school. Honestly, those days did once exist. And they were brilliant, let me tell you. We're talking bon bons, liquorice, chocolate buttons and far more besides. I love all of those things. They also sell a range of drinks, crisps and chocolates that are more like the regular confectionary you find nowadays. Sweet Sensations is located in the bustling food hall in the Arndale Centre.

Good variety of meat at reasonable prices. Was hoping to find some offal, alas not much on offer…read more Probably not much demand in this day and age. Bought some Welsh lamb chops and a couple of small black pudding rings. The sausages looked a bit tired, the British beef selection looked appealing.

The Arndale's saving grace is some of the food stalls tucked away in its market area. The High St…read moreMeat Market is decked out in red and is two or three times the size of a normal butchers shop. There's so much meat here! Also, weirdly, loads of eggs. Back to the meat. If you'd like something a bit better than those tired bits of packaged meat you buy in your local supermarket, then this butchers is a good place to start. Alongside your normal buys like chicken breast and sausages you can also get Welsh lamb chops and Scotch beef fillet. And the eggs. Six free range eggs for 99p. Good times.

The Cheshire Cheese Company has finally made it to City Centre! I've been a fan of their cheeses…read morefor quite some time, but always had to make the trek to the Trafford Centre to get a taste, or order online. Now they've got a setup smack dab in the middle of the Arndale, and I couldn't be happier - though I'm certain my midsection is going to get puffy fast. I can never resist buying in bulk to get a bit of a discount, and usually go for the spicier varieties. My favourites are: El Gringo Chili Lime & Tequila; Caramelised Rioja & Onion Cheddar; Jamaican Jerk Spicy Gourmet Cheddar; and the classic Black Bob Extra Mature Cheddar. Those are just the standards for me, but there's always something new to keep you coming back for more. They come out with new flavours on a monthly basis, and with about 12-18 cheeses available to taste test, you're bound to find something you love. They've also got a large selection of wines and chutneys to pair with the cheeses you get. I've had some tastings of the chutneys and they're quite flavourful, but the cheese is what keeps bringing me back for more. If you see me walking out of here with 5 wheels of cheese, just try not to judge me...and help me find some crackers.

The food was amazing! We got cod fish and chips and shrimp. The people who work here are great, my…read moregrandkids asked for a thing of ketchup and the guy who works here got them one and said take a lollipop too. They have two picnic tables outside and a whole bunch of flags. They also have a sink to wash your hands.

I love Whales Fishmongers. It's such a welcome antidote to how depressingly generic the Arndale can…read moresometimes be. This fishmongers is down at the end of the Arndale markets, a 360 degree stall of everything fishy. The selection of fish is incredible, with well known fish like tuna, cod and salmon tucked alongside more exotic options including squid, halibut and many more. Getting served is a bit of a free-for-all. It's all about catching the eye of one of the fishmongers, who after you've made your choice will de-scale and gut the fish in front of your very eyes. I needed some prawns and mussels to pop into a fish pie. The guy serving me popped a good few extra in the bag just to be nice, and I had an amazing amount of goodies for just £3. Whales Fishmongers boasts excellent service with an eye-catching and interesting selection of fish.

I left this as feedback on the hotel chocolat website. They didn't allow it on their website which…read moresays all you need to know about them. I bring you to their '100% happiness guarantee'; it's a lie. I am now posting exactly the same review here, on my social media accounts, on my NHS work notice board (where I work), the library and other places. Policing people's reviews is the snakes that run this company. Hi Hotel Chocolat, It is upsetting to write this. After researching the velvetiser for a few weeks, and reading almost but almost wow'ing unreal reviews, I was thoroughly underwhelmed by mine. The product is more of a phenomenal marketing exercise than a stand alone great product. Yes I know the vast number of reviews are ecstatic, but then againpeople are ecstatic about watching QVC all day long. I really do not know what to say without sounding too rude, but it simply is not very good at what is meant to be very good at. The drink product is neither frothy or luxurious (a word your website is rampant with), and nowhere near decadent. My first warning bell was the use of the term barista grade. This means nothing. I have tried many hot chocolates around the world, the barista grade ones are usually the worst, average at best. The ones made by grannies in a lovely apron, just before bed, are the best. I am sure Hotel Chocolat has a firm fan base (we should note here so do the Kardashians) and loyal staff so I do not wish to provoke any hostile emotions from my email. I really don't want to, but I wish to return my order. It is an absolute shame. I was absolutely, thoroughly looking forward to the best hot chocolate I had ever tried. That's what you implicitly promised. To me, the product your machine produces is not that, nowhere near that. I have been a hot chocolate drinker ALL my life. As a grown male, I have NEVER tried a cup of tea or coffee. I drank hot chocolate when no one drank hot chocolate. The only other thing I drink is Horlicks (another grandma favourite). Now I want to come onto something which expands on the lack of ethicality. I wrote to the company asking how to return my package. This was their reply: "Thank you for contacting Hotel Chocolat. You have up to 28 days to return your unwanted items as long as you obtain proof of purchase and they are unopened/unused. Please let me know if I can assist you with anything else. Kind regards, Customer Happiness Team" I have deleted the name of the customer service responder. Naturally I asked them, I am not allowed to open the box at all, let alone try it? How am I meant to know if it is what I want? It's not cheap for what it is after all. But that's how they trap you, and trap you is what they want to do. The website goes on about 100% happiness guarantee. But there are no specifics. This is an intentional, unethical, omission. There is no time period for returns, there is no method for returns, there is nothing. This is what it says: 'All of your purchases are covered by our No Excuses Guarantee so if you're not 100% happy with our products or we miss an important delivery date, we guarantee that we'll immediately put it right for you - refunding, replacing or issuing you with a Gift Card as appropriate. In addition, we guarantee to make good any mistakes with honesty and a positive solution that works for you. We never want you to lose faith in Hotel Chocolat and will always go the extra mile so you know how important your custom is to us.' I have to say this is puffed up nonsense, in the true to form hotel chocolat way. They do not care about your happiness, nor putting things right. They only care about keeping your money. They are thieves in this regard. They make promises before sales they cannot keep after sales. Many will say this is true about all companies, but I would disagree. Many companies are trying their best to make a shift to more important customer services and management. This is what makes it more shameful that hotel chocolat promises the same but delivers the absolute opposite. A bit like their product. For example over Christmas the vast majority of stores allow extended returns and refunds. Refunds made to the gift recipient. For money. Hotel chocolat? Oh no. They don't do that. If you have received a gift, you can get a gift voucher for hotel chocolat. So that's basically £100 of gift vouchers (for a unwanted velvetiser) to spend in their shop. Where's that clearly stated in the 100% happiness guarantee? It isn't. Mine was a gift from my uncle. Luckily he can return it, but you should all be aware of that. And the company, if they were indeed ethical as they insist, would make sure you were aware of that. A two faced company? Definitely. Thieves? Given the less than mediocre product, absolutely. Here to help you? Not in the least. I just hope no one squanders their money, be promised 100% happy, and really get nothing. read the negative reviews, they are real.

Hotel Chocolat is a shop specializing in chocolate, in recent years they have grown, even coming…read moreclose to Thorntons, who was founded 77 years earlier, and also have a store in the Manchester Arndale, but Hotel Chocolat has a much more upper market, pricier vibe, it makes Thorntons look like ALDI, to its' Waitrose. Hotel Chocolat looks more of a high end store, instead of all being packed in, as it is in Thorntons, it is more spread out, with chocolate packages being smaller, and more expensive. here, you can't expect to get a sample of chocolate as often, as you would in Thorntons. In general, the packaging of chocolate is a lot smaller, and high end too with some cool varieties, but still for the price it doesn't reflect value for money, especially for me, and I'm not a big eater of chocolate in the first place. Chocolate is one of life's naturally gluten free products, and it is only when they go adding lots of rubbish to it (Thanks KitKat) or it is made in a factory that handles gluten (Thanks DairyMilk), it doesn't become gluten free. Most chocolate here will be fine, but I would always recommenced checking first. If your looking for a gift, this is a nice shop to go to, but still it isn't a place you would come, just to pick up chocolate for yourself as it is far too posh and pricey for that, and although it is a reasonable store, I just don't get the hype about expensive chocolate, if this was called Hotel Coffee, I'd probably score a lot more, therefore I feel I can only go to 2 stars.

To celebrate my work not able to get rid of me, I went to this lovely little placec in arndale as…read moreit is meant to be low in sugar, non diary and non gluten - another word maybe guilt free sweet desserts! I ordered 2 raw cheesecake (strawberries and lime / pineapple and ginger) meaning it can be eaten by vegans and 2 slices of cakes(pistachio and orange/chocolate) non gluten. Each of these slices were £3.00 to £3.50. The cheesecakes were ok but it isnt as good as wild food cafe in london, where the base was cruchy and the filling of the cheesecake is actually creamy and not grit-ly. However their cakes were moist and delicious especially the pistachio and orange cake. I could definitely have another slice of this!

Simone's is a health bakers with some gluten free food, located in the Arndale Market, which is one…read moreof the only areas of the Arndale in Manchester with smaller, independent businesses, without having to go outside the Arndale Centre into the likes of the Northern Quarter. I called here after being advised to come here from my waitress at Druckers on their gluten free situation. They basically have fake grass outside as you walk in, which is interesting decor. Inside, it just seems pretty plain and the range is quite poor for gluten free, and even for normal foods in general, they're didn't seem to be much there. Other than probably two cakes which didn't sound or look fantastic, that was about it and in the end, I decided to walk away quite upset so sadly I hate to be rude, but I can't understand what others see in this place, for me it just disappointing hence sadly deserves a single one star.

I purchased a crate of MonaVie. I was a little skeptical before hand, but after using the product I…read morewas totally convinced. They taste great and they really helped my lifestyle. 100% recommended. Thanks