The pizza was splendid. We ordered the Italian Stallion and the No. 6 pizzas. For an added touch,…read morewe also had garlic bread with cheese and olives. The quality of ingredients is high, the service is great and the food came out fast. The staff were very friendly and helpful.

So I don't actually live near hulme but I work in the city centre and needed to pick up a bundle of…read morepizzas and sides for a girly night in at mine on a Friday. Parked up for free outside after 6pm, which is a winner, and the pizza guys were friendly on my entrance and more than helpful with picking different toppings. I went for 4 large pizzas- BBQ chicken, veggie, ham and pineapple and a spicy meat one, all with a kick of spice and hotness which was just what we wanted. I tried a 7 inch goats cheese and veg small pizza which was a great starter along with wedges and wings. The BBQ wings were tastier than those at a few specialised Wing places in Manchester! Very affordable for what you get, and all the girls were happy and full after we indulged in the whole lot. Now I'm at the gym running it all off .... 5 star pizza takeaway place!

If you hear the words 'Victorian Christmas' do you picture snowy scenes of chocolate-box houses,…read moreglowing gas lights and horse-drawn carriages with people wandering alongside in their finery? You do? Alas the organisers of this Market didn't appear to bother checking Google Images. Before I'm accused of being a complete Ebenezer Scrooge let me relay the scene for one and all after a wander round this lunchtime. With the main area in the plaza outside the Lowry Outlet and a second area of stalls on The Quays, there are a number of various food vendors. Apart from one selling pulled pork & apple sauce rolls which I was informed were very tasty and another selling Baileys hot chocolate, there was a distinct lack of Victoriana going on. It would have been nice to see a roast chestnut stall for instance, or ones selling Roman punch or fancy puddings/cakes. Churros? Deliciously indulgent as they are, don't shout Christmas to me, never mind Victorian Christmas. Pizza? An olives bar? C'mon people! The double decker bus which had been converted to a bar was a novel sight admittedly, though a horse-drawn omnibus would have been great to see. As for the non-food stalls, whilst there were a number selling more festive gifts such as fudge and trinkets, there was one which can only be described as a Betterware catalogue roadshow. "Why yes I'd love to buy one of those in-toaster toastie bags please." There were several people in period costume - top hats, bonnets etc. which helped a tiny bit to salvage some authenticity, but it just appeared very half-arsed to be brutally honest. If you're in Salford Quays anyway, by all means have a wander round; but personally I wouldn't set out with friends and family for a special trip here.

Apologies for the short notice, but you really should check out Manchester's Victorian Market at…read moreSalford Quays this weekend! It's a shame they're only around Thursday to Sunday, as this wonderful Christmas market outside the Lowry Outlet Mall, offers something quirkier than Manchester's soulless European Markets. There's a range of really unique old-fashioned stalls, selling personalised crafts (not a fan of crafts myself) old-English tea (don't drink tea) football-sized pies (now you're talking) and among the stalls, you'll meet an animated cast of Dickensian street performers, which help bring the market to life. There are Victorian carol singers and musicians playing what sounds like the Game of Thrones theme tune. There is mulled cider being sold by vendors in period costume, for £2.50 a cup and there's even a big red booze bus, where - after dodging all the stilt-walkers - you can flee the crowds and venture upstairs to escape the cold. This market has it all!

Born from the genius and success of The Biospheric Project, 78 Steps is just around the corner…read more(well, 78 steps away) from the urban farming project which has taken Salford and Manchester by storm. The idea behind the shop is local food on a micro-scale, bringing the community in the area locally grown, ethically sourced and high quality produce. Stocking fresh fruit, veg & eggs from local farms, bread from the Barbakan deli in Chortlon and eco-friendly cupboard fillers from companies like Suma and Ecover, 78 Steps has a great range of British products, championing fresh local items and seasonal produce. As well at the shop itself, 78 Steps offer a Wholebox service, delivering fresh food to local people on a regular basis. Boxes start at as little as £5 and contain at least eight varieties of fruit and vegetables, making healthy eating cheap and accessible. Some of the fruits and vegetables have been grown at the Biospheric Project itself - just 78 steps away - making this a truly carbon efficient enterprise.

I like sweets. In fact I have something of an addiction. They're one of my few vices. I don't…read moresmoke, I'm fairly anti-drugs and I do try and take care with alcohol, although this doesn't always go so well. But sweets are something that I turn to when stressed. You won't like going to the cinema with me, I spend far too long with the pick n' mix. So imagine my horror when I discovered how badly designed this place is. A Tesco Metro, sure, they're useful to have on every other corner, but not one whose sweet aisle is impossible to stand in. They have banished the sweets to the narrow corridor through which you travel once you've completed your purchases. After being brushed past by ten people with bags I gave up my hunt for Rowntree's Randoms. It just wasn't worth the hassle. Refrigerated wine, nice, good offers, lots of varieties of sandwiches, all great. But I'm still focussed on that ridiculous sweet aisle. Are you in cahoots with that stupid Change 4 Life programme, Tesco? Is this your way of getting people to avoid sugar? Come here and receive a well-deserved slap around the chops, you traitors. I'm not having any of it.

Marks and Spencer on Chester Road is a "Food Hall" location, located in White City Retail Park,…read moreclose to Old Trafford Football Stadium. On the Marks and Spencer website, this is listed as their "Stretford Food Hall" location, likely to avoid confusion with their store at Westfield London which is also known as White City. I came here looking to grab a few specific items and was able to find two of the three items that I was looking for. The store was well staffed including staff members on the shop floor who seemed helpful; I originally had to ask a staff member to help me find some hot chocolate sachets, but sadly they did not appear to stock them at this location. Despite being unable to find the hot chocolate sachets, the selection in the store was good for most areas including dairy, meat and fresh produce. The store is easy to find what you're looking for, and it's also fairly easy to get in and out quickly using the Marks and Spencer app. You're able to scan and bag items as you're walking around the store, before paying using your mobile device and leaving the store, which saves so much time queuing. I did have to end up going to a staffed checkout anyway due to purchasing an item with a security tag, but it took no time at all to get this sorted, again with a friendly staff member. Due to the size of the store, it doesn't have a Cafe or Toilets as you'd expect from the larger Marks and Spencer locations, if you're looking for a toilet you may find one in a nearby restaurant such as Nando's. 4* - Pretty good Marks and Spencer overall, clean, easy to follow with a good quality of service and selection.

Good kebabs, good service, decent price!read more

I have started shopping here for my "weekly" shop. I used to go to Sainsburys but the Nectars…read morepoints deal changed. They halved the number of points you would get for amount you spend. I was also thinking of changing as I think Tesco is overall cheaper. One other reason I now go to Tesco is this one has one of those Self scan things - called Scan as you Go. Basically you get your a scanner which you use as you go round the store, scanning barcodes. The idea is to make things quicker. I use it because its a gadget! But it is quicker as packing bag at same time and the Scan as you go queue tends to be much quieter. This store has a lot of the Tesco facilities like Click+Collect, Petrol, Pharmacy, Wifi and clothing.Its also got a wide range of food such as Polish, Halal, and Afro Caribbean. But at the end of the day, its a supermarket!

ok choice however design is awkward as can take 5 minutes just to get into from the outside pavementread more

Yummy yummy yummy chicken karahi! Or massala, or the HUGE range of rices and naans to accompany…read moreyour main meal! Yes, i have opted to mention the nations common choice of chicken tikka massala but by gum it's good! Or you could opt for the tasty mouth watering chilli version that leaves you quite breathless - in a good way :) Poppadoms and the sauces are vital for the initial enjoyment of the food! And possibly some bahji's too with the mint sauce.

This is a cracking Indian takeaway based at the south end of Liverpool Rd Eccles. I have been using…read morethis takeaway for 9 years, tried new ones as they have popped up, but always returned back to Spices. Food is very good with a varied menu. Delivery available, normal around 45minutes for delivery with friendly staff. Cost is average for and Indian takeaway. Highly recommended. Dish of choice, slightly warming but a rare delight, Chicken Ayana. It's a starter dish, but two of these, onion rice pompadoms and a onion and corriander nann (not on the menu but ask and they'll make it) is one cracking dish. If you like sauces there are plenty to choose from. ENJOY.

I'm really surprised that The Botanist at Media City hasn't been reviewed until now, the…read morerestauraunt is stunning in its' unique and innovative style decor which although might appear maverick and a little hard to find a server as it consisted of small unique open rooms with different parts of decor combining old signs, leaves and even a grand piano, The Botanist have got the vibe very well-meaning you can call in for a romantic meal, a family meal or even a quick lunch by yourself or a drink with friends. I think they do that better here than their other branches, especially compared to their branch in the city centre which is fine, albeit I don't really like it and the difference between this one here at Media City and the Deansgate branch is pretty much night and day. It is pretty central to the other restaurants and TV studios being apart of Dock 10, it is in a stretch of modern restaurants which includes Wagamama, Prezzo and Pret A Manger but as soon as you enter through an automatic door, the vibe changes to a greeny Botanist style vibe and it still does feel pretty good as you walk up the steps or go into the lift. The lift is a little outdated as it is a service lift which you have to physically keep the button pressed (I mean come on, I don't understand that) and the door basically swings open right away meaning you have no time to move before the door whacks you, which would be uncomfortable for a wheelchair user especially a manual chair as you don't have the time to move, perhaps adding a delay on the door or it opening sideways or backwards rather than coming out would have made much more sense. The food pricing is competitive made more reasonable by an ongoing promotion where they offer 40% off food throughout January which is a pretty good saving, supported by the fact The New World (the company that owns the restauraunt) has a loyalty scheme where you receive 5% of your purchase back onto a card which you can use off a future bill and you can use both promotions in conjunction with each other. For my food, I ordered the Chicken and Chorizo Hanging Kebab which is supposed to come with "properly seasoned chips", the menu and prices were the same as to any location with "NG" to mark the gluten-free products which was pretty handy. My food was pretty good, although one piece of chorizo strangely was so hard I couldn't even cut into it which was strange considering the rest of it was fine (I also found the red peppers to be a little hard), but the chicken was good quality even though it might have had slightly too much of the glaze on and I did pretty much enjoy my dish apart from the few minor flaws. The biggest issue, however, was with the "properly-seasoned chips" as they weren't seasoned at all, they were bland as hell and although after I seasoned them they were good, I'm lost for words at the fact the menu advertised them as "properly-seasoned" when they hadn't been seasoned at all. The staff seemed pretty nice, they did appear to be slightly understaffed and due to the construction and layout of the restauraunt (which looked good) it did have its flaws, the opportunity cost if you will was how hard it was to find and signal a server, they even had a small glass balcony style seating area which allowed you to look onto the Media City river and gardens which was pretty nice, the layout is complicated and that made it hard to get a server. I do feel the server tried, however, she did try to take my plate away while I was still eating before waiting for me to respond saying "I'm not finished yet" - perhaps a little too eager! Unlike the Manchester Deansgate store, they don't add a £1 charitable donation onto the bill or at least they didn't on this occasion. This is something I'm against and always will be, promote the charity however you want within reason but donations should be optional and I'm glad this branch could see sense, even if the others can't. One of my favourite locations of The Botanist, apart from a few minor flaws with the food, I was pretty much impressed and it did certainly offer value for money with 40% off, and even without that, it was competitive for the area. I do feel the lift improvements are a must for safety reasons and making sure the staff remain helpful, but not too eager to the point they're taking plates away mid-sentence, without waiting for a customer's response to say they actually haven't finished eating. 4*

We are visiting from out of town and had great experience at multiple restaurants in the area…read more Tonight was an extremely disappointing. Server basically ignored us. Left finished dishes on the table after walking by multiple times. Failed to ask us if we wanted another drink. Cocktails we had were decent. And food average.