Time for an update! Last night I experienced Soup Kitchen for the first time in two ways. I know…read moreyou know I've experienced it before, but a) it's been ages and b) I've never been to the gig bit downstairs or eaten meat here. 1) Gig. ACE. Just wonderful. Great atmosphere underneath, and I mean FAR underneath, as in you have to look high up to see peoples' feet going past the window. Crazy, non? Lots of places to sit, which is great for me as I'm way too old to stand up at gigs for extended periods of time and I hurt my foot this week. #passtheprunes Fab sound and a lovely way to see lesser known bands. Oh, and did I mention it was free? Yes, we like free. 2) Meat. ACE. So for a mere £6, I got a big ol' juicy cooked-pink-in-the-middle burger pile of brilliance in a giganto bun with gherkins, salad and all kinds of amazeballs sauce. The chips where somewhere between wedges and fries - long story short, they were MASSIVE. Ketchup was offered and we got a generous ramekin of the stuff, and it was served on a rustic wooden board. It ain't just about soup! My maid of honour had the same dish, while Fiancé and Jemma G both had a soup coronation chicken combo. Their sandwiches were lovely, soft, deliciously spiced and had proper hunks of chicken (I tried it of course), and the satay soup was peanutty, flavoursome and creamy (I tried that too). Top marks for both soup and chips being served in camping mugs. Me likey. AWESOME food, like, truly delicious, cheap, and it might be Northern Quarter-based, but it does not have the pretention. I didn't feel like it was remotely as Nathan Barley in here as it is in a lot of places. Lovely, lovely Soup Kitchen. Why did I leave it so long between visits?

This place is cool, albeit it's seriously trying to be…read more First point: do not ask for a cocktail in here. My friend wanted a whisky sour and got the response "we don't really do cocktails." Hm. They have a lot of liquor behind the bar for somewhere that doesn't do cocktails. I understand it's onerous to have all conceivable cocktail ingredients if you're really a beer specialist (and they do seem to have a great range of beer, btw) but I do think it would be nice if bars like this at least had 3-4 house cocktails for those of us they don't like beer or slightly dodgy house wine but wish to hang with our friends that do. Bartender also struggled with our request for tap water, which was less excusable. Meanwhile, the DJ was playing some awful music. "It's just noise, isn't it," pointed out one of the crowd, while apologising for being an Old Man. But it wasn't that we just didn't like the music or that it was too loud, is that the sound system couldn't take it and the sound quality/distortion was incredibly grating. Not relaxing. Shame really because I like the spacious layout, gig posters in the toilet, and the delicious bourbon Jonny Q kindly bestowed upon me. I'd go again if someone suggested it but given the amount of good bars in the NQ it's not top of my list for a repeat visit/recommendation in terms of drinking. HOWEVER the food might be a different story - the other reviews of meal-based visits have been great so I will try to return one lunchtime. UPDATE: went back for a Carefully Planned Festival - the music venue downstairs is one of the biggest/most attractive in the NQ although it smells SO WRONG and nobody could work out WHAT the smell was which was even more disturbing.

You can't go wrong with a quick, healthy lunch for £2. For that you get a piping hot bowl of soup…read moreand a roll of your choice (from a selection of around four or five), and if you're feeling slightly more peckish you can upgrade to a larger bowl for a mere 50p. Ah, how I love the Arndale Food Market. And it's just one guy! Richard Morphett to be precise. His stall is one of the smallest at the market, nestled next to the smoothie stop, and he always has around five varieties of soup to choose from. At the moment the flavours are particularly festive, with the options of turkey and a chestnut one which I plumped for. They're fresh-tasting, wholesome and delicious, and I was thoroughly chuffed with my choice. When I popped along there was only one meat option, which means plenty of pondering for veggies. Plus Richard's lovely. I sat at the table and chair near to his stall, people-watching (witnessing panic buying in the Arndale Centre is always a larf and a half) and it's nice to see that those who run the individual stalls are all friends with one another. Now this might be a pretty simple review, but it's a pretty simple service. Great soup, yummy rolls, friendly service and all cheap as chips. What more could you ask?

Great food, very fresh taste. Portions are generous, loads of both meat and garnish…read more The price isn't bad either - I paid £9 for a portion of stir-fried garlic beef and glass noodles. Quite good for the city centre! The service is very quick and the stuff are very helpful and polite. Can't wait to go back!

A lovely little eaterie in the heart of Chinatown. Very casual atmosphere with Great food. The…read morestaff were friendly and the service was fast. Just what is needed if you are shopping or on the go.

Pies are amazing. Staffs are very friendly and polite. Very reasonable pricing considering it is…read morelocated in the heart of Manchester and next to all major pubs and bars. Lunch time deals are fab. Delicious. Nice music playing all day .

Best pie around. Right in northern quarter so there is plenty around. They have table service, but,…read morewe ordered at the counter they have for takeaway before realizing. The standard steak and ale pie was great. Served with gravy for a great compliment. The outside was flaky while still being bready. The inside is piping hot and exactly what you want from comfort food. The Moolin Rouge outdid the steak and ale pie by a mile. The flavor from the broth was so delicious. Come in and enjoy with a cocktail or draught beer for best consumption.

Modern light restaurant, great spot for sophisticated food. Very enjoyable experience, it was the…read morefirst time I tried famous French onion soup, couldn't be happier with a choice of starter. The main dish, ox cheeks was equally delicious. The portions were quite filling, so was too full to try desserts, but hopefully one day I'll be back. The restaurant is quite expensive, however, they took part in 50% off January promotions, hope they will continue this tradition next year;)

Came here for a nice Sunday roast. Cozy spot to settle into for a bit. Very very good! Nice variety…read moreof options but my beef was tasty. Great service too!

Though I'm not vegan, I keep unintentionally eating vegan food here in Manchester - it's much more…read moreavailable/prominent than back in the US. I got lost looking for the restaurant after my phone died but finally found my friend at the top of the steps leading down to Earth. Service is set up like a cafeteria, and for just £7 you can pick 4 items from the line (up to 2 "mains".) I think everything in the line and dessert counter is vegan - I was struggling to find dairy/egg items in the menu. I feel like it's more palatable for them to sell themselves as a vegetarian rather than vegan restaurant. I picked up a hearty bean chili atop quinoa, braised cabbage, and a beautiful mushroom pie, in addition to a lime/lemongrass bottled drink and coffee/walnut cake. Portion sizes were huge and you feel very healthy eating the food - the bean chili could have used more seasoning, but the savory mushroom pie was divine! Creamy, savory, and textural, I was surprised at how well they veganized this classic. The cabbage was like tame sauerkraut, which cut the richness of the pie well. The cake was mildly sweet but had a wonderful bitter aftertaste, the scent of ground coffee lingering in my palate long after I finished the last bite. I had a taste of my friend's raw blueberry cheesecake and we had quite a bit of fun trying to guess what they made it out of. It was alright - I would've wanted to try the raw tiramisu, if they had it.

This place was intimate, romantic, and had great vibes and atmosphere. We thoroughly enjoyed our…read moretime here, and the food was top notch for vegans in the UK!

This venue was such an eclectic dive and I loved every minute of it ! ( other than the heat) We…read moretraveled from afar to see an acoustic set by Art Alexakis of Everclear. He did a stellar acoustic performance and covered a new solo song and many everclear top hits. At the end he took requests and answered questions from the crowd. Ok, back to reviewing the venue. I don't know how to describe the ambiance other than eclectic and hipster. See my photos for yourself. They poured heavy on the drinks and kept them coming all night . Only real complaint is that it's sweltering hot inside but I expect that at a music venue. I actually found a great seat at the bar and was able to people watch, see the performance, and at have my drinks refilled on the reg without having to move an inch . Staff was nice and made sure we were taken care of . It appeared as If they also have food available. Be careful walking down the winding staircase to the dungeon where they hide the bathroom . I swear I saw a dragon down there ! If you live in the area or just are coming into town for a short visit, it's a great venue to check out artists just trying to get their career started. I'm so glad I made the trip to see Art!

Night & Day looks and feels like the kind of bar Tom Waits would stumble into when he was writing…read moreseminal albums like Small Change. There's a flickering sign in the gold window, a long bar where you can order shots and bottles of beer and bartenders that treat you like a long lost friend (until your money runs dry!). As well as being one of the city's most alluring dive bars and we're talking grubby and run down rather than boho chic, Night & Day is also one of Manchester's best music venues with live bands playing five or six nights a week. Admittedly, the sound isn't as good as the Academy or The Deaf Institute but the great atmosphere, promising local bands and established underground bands make it a must visit. When I was music editor at City Life magazine many moons ago, there were so many great gigs at Night & Day - from Goldfrapp, Add N To (X) and The Gossip to Elbow - that I was tempted to move in!

A great place for groups and celebration. The server are super nice even though every minutes that…read morethey are swamp. The food is very much liked by my western culture family. Especially the duck, every bits to the bone was all gone. Don't miss ordering that.

We went with the four of us to The Rice Bowl on a Wednesday night whilst visiting Manchester on a…read moreshort trip. Great decor, friendly service and an excellent menu of dim sum starters and more traditional, but perfectly executed, mains. A different concept than I am used to, but very much worth a return visit.

GEM, GEM, GEM !!!!!…read more The absolute most amazing casual joint concept I ever heard of; and I live in USA. It's absolutely and undoubtedly DELICIOUS!

We loved it here! Decor was really cool. They had some good music playing also. The guy who…read morewelcomed us in was AWESOME. Really chill bloke. He gave us some recommendations which we took and really enjoyed. We also chatted for a bit about why we're there and it really made the experience even better. Our actual waitress though, was really slow to check on us and see if we needed anything. Probably just busy. Anyway, food was delicious! Definitely needed more salt though.

Only came here for drinks and had a blast. It's a happening place on Friday evening. We started at…read morethe martini bar a few doors down then hopped over here and stayed. The ambience is fun and hip. Then randomly there were people painted and dressed as fairies dancing on tables and singing to live music. From other reviews it sounds like the food is fantastic so I would definitely return.

Really great spot that is easy to enjoy. Huge and beautiful space. Multiple bar areas to…read moreaccommodate huge crowds if needed. We simply ordered at the bar and found open seating in the bar area. The 12 hr munich pork sandwich was delicious. The cheese and mustard perfectly compliment the flavor and the pork shines. Served with house fries that were delicious also; crispy, salty and delicious. The bratwurst klassic was also great; exactly what you expect in a brat. Fantastic selection of German and Czech beers to choose from. Service was great, but, it was early on a Saturday and the crowd continued to build even as we were leaving. They had a drag MC that sang requested birthday songs and occasionally had something, ie one question trivia with winner getting a prosecco bottle, to break up between dj'ed songs. It made it entertaining without overwhelming you from enjoying food, beer and conversation. Absolutely fabulous!