TL;DR - Good food, reasonably priced but a slightly weird location. We came here for Sunday lunch as a belated birthday meal. We'd always known the restaurant was here, but since we don't gamble we'd never set foot inside before. It's somewhat strange, having to walk through the casino to reach the restaurant and I must say I didn't find the experience especially pleasant - but maybe that's just me not liking gambling. Once in the restaurant it's a different story, with some lovely exposed brickwork for the old building. Service was excellent and the food we had was delicious - I had salmon, followed by the roast beef and the bread and butter pudding. I've got to say though, I had food envy when I saw the sticky toffee pudding and wished I had ordered that instead! Prices are reasonable and the food is good - but I just didn't like the fact it was inside the casino. read more

I have been here a few times, including in the first week of opening and am a big fan. My mum is visiting this weekend and took her there tonight so am writing the review based on tonight. The star rating is based on my overall experience over the several times I have been. So, tonight, we arrived and had a drink in the Vega Lounge, I went for the Hendricks Honeyapple (I have a current obsession for cocktails with gin) and it was lush. Mum had the Zinfandel Rose and said it was good. Went up for dinner and were shown to our table, which was by the window so had a good view. After taking our order they brought some sourdough bread and homemade butter and was lush. My starter was the Goosnargh hens egg. I've had this before so knew what to expect. It was very nice and would be good if you're a veggie. My mum had the whiskey cured salmon and was very impressed. I took photos if the starters and will upload after this review. For main, mum had the sirloin steak which came with onion rings and chips. Mum really enjoyed it. I had the sea bream which cane with quinoa and rhubarb and was ginger flavoured. Part of the reason I ordered this was because I was unsure about the combination of fish and rhubarb, but it worked really well. I forgot to take photos, sorry. The dessert was the highlight. We shared as we were feeling full. I've had this choice before but being mum's first visit, I ordered this as I knew she would love it. What am I talking about? The white chocolate and whiskey croissant pudding with single malt ice cream. It is LUSH. Highly recommend. Mum loved it and wished that we hadn't shared. I wish the ice cream was available on its own as for me that is pretty damn epic - ice cream and whiskey together, what's not to love?!?! I actually remembered to take a picture so will post. The service was impeccable, friendly waiting staff and perfect food. This is standard for me in my experience of this place and tonight was no exception. Highly recommend it. read more

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A couple of months back, Tom & I went for a weekend away to Manchester. You may remember I wrote about our trip to Neighbourhood which is now one of my firm favourite restaurants Well we also went to James Martin's restaurant while we were there but I got totally side-tracked and forgot to write it up - BUT better late than never aye? James Martin Manchester is all about classic British cooking. You can find the restaurant in a slightly odd place - at the back of the Manchester 235 casino - and while the location is a bit strange, the food is absolutely delicious. For starters, Tom went for the wild rabbit with pickled carrot puree, fennel pollen and black trufle (£7.50). Really tasty and not something which Tom had tried before so we were off to a good start. I went for an old favourite with the Crabley's goat curd served with salt baked fennel (£6.50). I adore goats cheese - I know it's one of those ingredients which people either love or hate but i can't get enough of it! This curd was so light and creamy - really delicious and a new texture for me! For main courses, Tom opted for the slow cooked veal ossobuco with green olive and courgette (£18.95). Another new dish for Tom, and while he said it was well cooked, it could have done with a bit more of a sauce to go with it. I ordered the lamb served three ways - chop, loin and belly which came with asparagus and a mint and rice wine dressing (£18.50). This was also beautifully cooked, although we both felt that the price for the mains was steep considering side dishes were charged as extra. For our side dishes, we ordered portions of cauliflower cheese, dripping chips and seasonal greens to share (£3.50 each). All of which were very good - especially the cauli - which was drenched in creamy cheese sauce. Of course we still had pudding and both our favourites were on the menu. Tom had bread and butter pudding while I went for the Sticky Toffee. Mine was literally incredible, the combination of the hot toffee sauce and cold condensed milk ice cream makes me weak at the knees. I would bathe in a vat of this stuff if I could, but sadly I put on abut 5lbs just by re-looking at this photo! Overall we both really enjoyed our meal. The food was delicous, I love British cooking and I really can't knock the quality of the food at all (I just wish there was a little more of it!). If you're ever in Manchester, it's well worth a visit. There's also brilliant champagne bar just outside the casino, called Epernay which does one of the best Pornstar Martinis so that's worth heading to afterward for your night-cap! read more

Wanted something extra special for New years Eve. So we booked James Martin in 235 casino Manchester, was a bit pricey but wanted a treat. Couldn't fault it , truly spectacular food ,which was 6 courses was outstanding. Singer was ok & a saxophone player was good , and also a magician who came and done a couple of card tricks at your table.The only thing I thought let it down was at midnight we got a free glass of bubbly but no atmosphere , for new year no party poppers or countdown .only in the casino part .so that's the reason for not giving the 5 star . read more

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Wow what a fab new years eve at 235 casino Manchester, we celebrated bringing in the new year at James Martin restaurant with a six course meal. From starter to dessert each course complimented the next tried a lot of different foods I'd never had before and it was all amazing loved it here will return to try some of the other exquisite dishes available. Just one thing let it down the new year celebrations was all down stairs at the bar and casino. Over all great food great night great company. read more

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I've been here twice and this is a review of my latest visit. I got an email informing us that they have a tasting menu for spring on offer - 5 courses and a cocktail for £35. Since the Christmas set menu I tried a couple of years ago was so tasty, I was excited to come here again. We both went for the menu but I didn't go for the wine pairing for only £15. There was no surprise amuse bouche like so many other places in Manchester offering a tasting menu. We started with a heavy velevty potato soup that was topped with puffed potato and truffle - I didn't like the sticky starchy texture of the puffed potato bits, especially when it was stuck to the back of the spoon. The starter was a beautiful cube of pork belly with some sweet smoked mayonnaise - James Martin Restaurant does do good meat, I have to say. The 'kimchi' was actually nothing more than some pickled cabbage. With all the trends with fermenting vegetables, I'm surprised they didn't nail this. The fish course of smoked haddock risotto was surprisingly too spicy and I didn't feel like it went well with the smoked haddock flavour. The main was braised ox cheek - tiny but well cooked and even had the tendons softened enough which gave the meat that sticky collagenous texture I love so much! The sauce it was in was also very nice. I wasn't keen on the ale mash - it was far too salty. Thank god the pudding helped finish off the menu on a high. That James Martin does love his puds and the boy did good! Sticky toffee pudding - perfectly light sponge soaked in a very sticky toffee sauce, served with salted caramel ice cream. Delicious! I know I sound extremely picky in this review. I had such high hopes from being wowed by their Christmas menu (2013) and have always wanted to come back. Also, the service was below par, I'm afraid to say - they seemed to have overwhelmed themselves with bookings and were also short staffed so the service was compromised. First, it took a while before anyone noticed us at reception, and when they did, there was no eye contact and we were rushed to our table. Our waitress was really brilliant - she was clearly working at double speed but because she was so busy, her rushed explanation of the wine pairing just made us feel bad for inconveniencing her looking after her other guests and clearing away tables. As we were sat facing the reception, throughout our meal, we just watched other people waiting at the reception to be seen to. The restaurant is INSIDE the casino, it's not an attractive place. The decor inside the restaurant is also far from sophisticated. And there is a live piano player/singer but she's sat behind a column behind the reception, so you won't be able to see her. And it's a bit too loud. Just so you are warned, if you're thinking of a nice, quiet, romantic dinner. read more

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Nice one, another restaurant I will want to go to again and again... We received a newsletter from JMM describing their offer for Easter Sunday: 2 courses for £20 or 3 courses for £25. I thought this would be a great opportunity to discover the place. To be fair I had no idea what sort of prices the standard A La Carte menu attracts...it actually is pretty reasonable: £7-8 starters, £16 mains, £6 desserts....It's not cheap but it's the same sort of prices as another great restaurant in Walkden... but in the middle of town. My main issue is actually getting to the restaurant: you have to go through the bloody casino. I wish they'd work out a separate entrance. These are two very different worlds. The casino reception is dreadful, ID check and all, going through the clatter of gamblers and football fans... But then entering the restaurant area you are greated with a lovely smile and a piano singer whinch instantly makes you forget about the casino. The deco is disputable. I didn't mind it but my partner thought it was a bit out of touch/old fashioned. Also, what's with the cast-iron roosters everywhere? I'm French and...I'm not impressed. Anyway, top service, glass of water, information of the dishes, very polite but not intrusive. A nice selection of wines, by the bottle and by the glass at affordable prices (for a restaurant). I had the charred red mullet as starter and the pork belly roast as main, both superb, well cooked, great flavours. My partner had the pressing of confit duck and the lamb roast, again all good, although the lamb roast looked a bit basic (lamb slices, gravy, roasties and a yorkshire pub) next to the variety of things accompanying my pork belly. Great vegetables served on the side too. It was very much sunday roast oriented as expected but a peek a the A La Carte menu and I'm sure we'll book ourselves again in the future. I got my eyes on that Orange and Honey Duck !!! The wines were very nice too, not the best in their category for sure but that was represented in the affordable price of Chablis, Sancerre and St Emilion. All in all, a very good experience, similar to Mr Coopers House and Garden but in a maybe less stylish decor. read more

A few months back, we popped in to grab an early dinner. We had the place to ourselves and a very attentive waiter looking after us. Based on who the restaurant's patron was, we were expecting the deserts to be excellent with proper Yorkshire portions all round. We weren't disappointed on either count. The offerings from 'the meat market' were also excellent and the bread was pretty tasty too: http://manchesterpyromaniacs.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/wednesday-kitchen.html read more

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Taking up the space previously hosting the wobbly Linen, the celebrity-branded place here offers "Modern British Cuisine" - if you've seen him cooking on TV, you won't be greatly surprised as to what the chefs here will do for you. I had a starter of scallops and black pudding, familiar from endless Masterchefs ... a classic, very well executed. I hate to use the dreaded phrase "with a twist" but the tamarind chutney it came with worked very well. The black pudding in particular was great quality. My companion's egg starter also good, though not quite at the same level. My main was a really excellent, deeply-flavoured oblong of braised short rib with onions (17 quid). It came with a heavily green-tasting, lurid, parsley pearl barley "risotto" - I wasn't quite sure about this combo. I also can't decide if the scrupulously cleaned, but merely decorative, bone on the plate was fun, or just silly. The other side of the table had an excellent fish with fennel dish, although it come with a floppy, chewy fennel shard that was pointless and unpleassant - perhaps, like the bone, you weren't supposed to eat it. I had the cheese plate, good value, and came with a very decent Red Leicester that surprised me. Cocktails looked dubious, so we ended up with a decent enough Sancerre, perhaps slightly over-priced at £34. The service is friendly and helpful, but a tiny bit slapdash - it took a while for drinks orders to happen, and we never got our tap water refilled. They need to sort out their spotlights - on sitting down I had one shining full-beam into my face. We asked to move somewhere else as a result - and we're not the picky types. This is a solid place for some decent food. Quibbles aside, the main problem they really need to fix is you still have to enter through that bloody casino - there's nothing pleasant about queueing up for some bouncer guy when you just want a meal. read more

I have had the pleasure of eating at some of the finest restaurants in Manchester. When considering cost versus quality, James Martin is by far the best. A six course tasting menu for £30 is difficult to beat. The tasting menu changes on roughly a weekly basis. In late July I had the swede brulee, rabbit tortellini with fennel and mint, bass mussels with clams and paella, venison with charred onions, a green apple wasabi as the pre-dessert followed by the cherry textures. The weakest course was the swede brulee. It was good, but the texture could have been a bit more creamy and it needed more complexity with the flavour. All the other mains were excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed the spiciness of the wasabi apple. The cherry textures, although horribly named, stole the show. It was complex and surprising. The night was slow when I arrived for an early dinner so I had the opportunity to chat with the pastry chef. She said that she had drew her inspiration from Japan. This was evident from the plating of the dessert and the ingredients. The cherries, laid on a wooden plank with chocolate soil, were reminiscent of Japanese sakura. They have also released a new cocktail menu. I ordered the cheesecake cocktail. The flavour is self explanatory - a milky,sweet and cloudy beverage. A good dessert accompaniment. I was greeted well by the staff and seated at a window table. Michel, the waiter, appeared to be well trained and very contentious, attentive but not overbearing. Being strangely situated in a casino was a minor inconvenience. The restaurant is raised so that the casino is hardly visible. Besides, the location in a casino has the added benefit of keeping the children and larger birthday groups away (especially the children), and thus, providing a more tranquil eating environment. read more

James Martin Manchester - James Martin Cherry textures dessert - British Near Me - Manchester, XGM

For our team night out we fancied something a little special and James Martin fully delivered. We went for the 6 course taster menu with paired wines @ £45 per person, which truly is excellent value. The atmosphere felt grown up and sophisticated with mood lighting and a casino surrounding us. The staff were very attentive and had clearly done their homework on what was being served; there was no question they couldn't answer. Each course was outstanding and held its own with powerful flavours all working together perfectly. Ox and white onion soup, smoked pigs cheek, water bathed cod, veal, rhurbarb and apple and walnuts.. Check out the photo of the menu, which gives more of a description of each course. The rhubarb in a white chocolate sauce stole the show for me, it was an absolute delight. The wine chosen also worked really well with each of the courses, chosen to either bring out the smokiness of the meat or compliment the flavours of the sea. We had a Lebanese wine with the veal which was superb and I must try remember it's name!! This restaurant is definitely worth sampling, with the taster menu a true treat. read more

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I went to a Burlesque night at 235 Casino on 27.5.16 catered for by James Martin and the food did not disappoint! The asparagus risotto was particularly divine, I'm not a huge fan of overly sweet things but I still enjoyed the sugar tart. Will be going again! read more