Alongside Adam Reid at the French, Mr Cooper's is one of the bars and restaurants located at The…read moreMidland Hotel in Manchester, Mr Cooper's is the main point where breakfast is served at the hotel, which is generally between 6:30 and 10:30 on weekdays, and similar times on weekends - it is accessed through the hotel lobby and possibly another entrance too.
I visited Mr Cooper's after my dreadful stay at The Midland Hotel, hoping there would be one thing to at least salvage the stay and make my stay better, hoping the food would at least try and make up for an awful nights sleep on a pillow which gave me a headache. I'm never afraid to admit when I'm wrong, and I was wrong to expect the breakfast to be different to the shambles of a hotel in which Mr Cooper's is located in and run by.
I was drawn to the breakfast selection which was so small, which for £20 was dreadful (although it does go down to £13 if you book in advance with the hotel reception if you're staying there), it mainly consisted of scrambled eggs, baked beans, tomatoes, black pudding and sausages in terms of a cooked side, there was also some fruit juices and cereal, and not a great deal of fruit which also was a shame.
Another thing which puzzled me was the fact they produced a menu and even were willing to charge for extra, such as £3 for Eggs Benedict. £20 for a breakfast is already much more expensive than rivals and any restauraunt with decency who actually know this is daylight robbery, for example, the Hilton Manchester Deansgate has a much more broad selection (and better quality), with extras provided in the price for £13.95 (£17.95).
Extras which were free included poached and fried eggs, but I can't understand why they weren't provided anyway. I love eggs and this is generally all I eat at a hotel buffet but I'm sad to say, the eggs here were far from pleasant, the scrambled eggs just were bland, they were unseasoned which is inexcusable and they were also watery. It didn't stop there, the poached eggs I requested also were too vinegary, and the fried eggs just tasted really basic and low quality, however, this food which was inedible was probably only what was to come compared to my omelette.
I ordered a ham and cheese omelette, not only was this omelette far too cheesy but it had a horrible taste I couldn't pick up on, meaning I had no choice but to spit it out. The only other extra I ordered was gluten-free bread, which wasn't bread as I expected, it was a hard, seeded roll which wasn't very enjoyable either.
The selection of fruit juice was okay, however the orange juice was confusing, they had a long title for the orange juice which stated it had pulp, therefore I can't understand why they are advertising it has pulp in the title, when the other one does too, as it doesn't give you a selection? Having two of one beverage is boring and unneeded anyway when they could have a much better selection of juice - they do have the space and equiptment so they don't have an excuse.
The staff at the breakfast service seemed nice enough and that is probably the nicest thing I can say about Mr Cooper's, which provides The Midland's hotel breakfast at a very premium price, for items which are so far from premium, you could find them in Poundland if they sold food, and perhaps the chefs should be working there too until they can learn how to make omelettes without an omelette maker and how to season an egg, sadly like The Midland hotel, I strongly feel Mr Cooper's deserves a single one-star rating.