Nice area at the Media City part of Manchester with an easy walk from Old Trafford. The bar is…read moredecent but food was just average. The beer selection is pretty good with English ales, cask and a few craft brews. I would return for a drink but not food

Regular here for lunch hour at work! Nice choice of ales on tap that change regularly so always…read moresomething new to try! They do nice pub grub; pies, burgers, fish n chips etc and all is very decently priced. They normally seem to have a £5 special on the menu too! I'd also recommend here for after-work drinks, nice atmosphere and plenty of space for larger groups!

Where do I even start?! Onmy last day in Manchester, my aunt sporadically took us to The Alchemist…read morein Salford. We decided to get some cocktails and nibbles. Where was this place all along my whole trip? I wish we would have found them sooner because I would have gone ham on the menu and drinks lol. First and foremost the ambience is amazing here and the decor is absolutely beautiful. This place would be great for cocktails with the girls or a date night. The restaurant is the Media City location and located off the water in Salford so that already creates a whole ambience and vibe. The staff was super friendly, and we decided to sit at the bar. The bartender was also very helpful and patient with us. Along with that, she was knowledgeable about the drinks and definitely put on a show when making them. This made for an overall great experience! There's such a wide variety of cocktails to choose from, as I literally wanted everything on the menu lol. I decided to go for the hipflask margarita as I love me some tequila and margaritas, and this drink did not disappoint! It wasn't what I was expecting as a margarita, like I'd get in the states, but it was delicious. On top of that it comes in a super cool hipflask that you get to take home with you, and if you come back I believe the bartender said you could get £5.50 off of it each time you bring it back. I'm not quite sure what my aunt got as she told the bartender to just make her a strong drink but it was super cool and came with a cool bubbly effect. There was also a syringe shooter that came with this drink. I tried that one as well and it was another great cocktail. The other cocktail we ordered was the raspberry ripple and again that was great. And I'll be honest I was hesitant about the buttermilk chicken, but I was pleasantly surprised, and that chicken was so good along with the salt and pepper fries. I needed another order that for myself lol. If you're ever in Salford, you should check them out! I love their whole concept behind their drinks, and it's a whole vibe. I know they will definitely be first on my list to hit up when I go back as I'd love to try some more of their drinks.

Food good, staff helpful, drinks ok, not the first place you would think of to go for breakfast but…read morethe full English breakfast is actually great. Will definitely return for special occasions.

Having worked in Salford Quays for several years and with a significant number of other 'young…read moreprofessionals' around and about, we were in desperate need of a decent bar. Yes there's Lime Bar near the Lowry Mall, but that's more for grabbing a drink before you eat there. When Dock Bar first opened, the novelty of it consisting of four shipping containers (one as a bar, the other three as a roomy lounge) had me worried it was just going to be a flash in the pan. The fact it's still there and thriving (I'm hoping!) means it'll thankfully remain as a permanent 'temporary' bar for us local beer lovers. FYI the Chocolate Marble beer from Marble Brewery in Manchester is a particular favourite of my drinking buddy and I - buy it!. I think MediaCity UK missed a trick not having included a few more drinking holes in their masterplan, to keep staff local when they sign off for an evening, but if Dock Bar is all there will be for the foreseeable future, we're not that badly off in my humble opinion.

Dock Bar is a great little addition to Mediacity, much needed too!…read more It's right in the centre of the piazza surrounded by the BBC buildings, there's a big screen (great for watching Wimbledon last week), they have deck chairs for sitting outside in the sun, a cosy lounge inside of a shipping container (doesn't sound too cosy does it? But it is) and they serve food, BBQ style similar to Oast House (no hanging kebabs as yet :-( ). There's also a homemade ice cream place there too which I keep meaning to try. It's a great location for anyone visiting the quays but they also have a great entertainment programme going on over at Mediacity too, last week Gok Wan was filming his 'Stripping for Summer' show there, each week they have screenings from the Royal Opera House on the big screen...add them on facebook to keep up with what's happening, last week they had a little tennis camp going on too teaching people to play. Drinks and food prices are moderate, there's not much competition around there so it's not expensive really, the tram drops you off right there and runs pretty late so it's easily accessible and it's also a good place for some celebrity spotting if you're into that.

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.

Great Pub! Good food. Good Beer…read moreVery friendly staff. I was very glad I made my way to this friendly neighborhood pub.

Salford Quays (or, more specifically, the area shared between the outlet and theatre) has always…read morestruggled. It's packed with chain restaurants and bars, feeding the masses before their theatre trips or after an hour of wandering around the shops. Craftbrew, however, caught our eye. Slightly hidden away, to the left hand side of where Lime bar is situated, we popped in for a drink post-dinner and pre-comedy. It has a very relaxed atmosphere - all light wood, pastel coloured chairs and simplistic menus. Food offerings include sharing/artisan boards, 'bar tapas,' and some very interesting sandwiches. If we'd known about this place, we definitely would have eaten here! Pricing is fair, with most of the sandwiches only being at the £4.50 mark, and served up from a small deli counter at the bar. On the drinks side of things, you can choose from a variety of tea and coffee, but there's also a nice selection of alcohol. Being named Craftbrew, you'd obviously expect plenty of interesting beer available; Hawkshead pale ale, Sam Adams, Hawkshead gold, Punk IPA et al to name but a few. Don't be fooled by the small listing on the back of the menu; because they change their selections quite often, they only list their 'favourites'. Fingers crossed those from the Lowry and MediaCity will help to keep this place going.

CraftBrew is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it independent deli located on Lowry Plaza in between Nando's…read moreand Lime. I agree with other reviewers that its name is a bit of a misnomer - you'd expect a bar full of craft ale perhaps, or maybe a tea specialist. That aside, the light, bright and well-designed space more than satisfied as a lunchtime venue, with their menu being available all day and including options such as bar tapas, salads, deli boards and 'Signature' sandwiches. My workmates and I all opted for their Club Sandwich (chicken breast, crispy bacon, ham, cheddar, pesto mayo, tomato and lettuce on toasted bread). Served with a light salad and a few crisps, it was terrific value at £5.25, not to mention one of the most delicious sandwiches of its type I've ever eaten. In need of something sweet, I chose a Frozen Hot Chocolate (£3) which was a bizarre choice I know for a wintry day but it was very fine indeed. As well as leaf teas and 'illy' coffees they also have some craft ales, bottled beers and ciders and a wine list, so it'd be a logical stop off point if you were going to the theatre of an evening or wanted to avoid the chain restaurants in the Lowry Outlet mall.

Eight workmates and I ventured here as we fancied trying somewhere new for lunch; one of them had…read moreeaten here before seeing a performance at The Lowry and said it was fairly decent. Following a recent refurb, the bar and restaurant is large, airy and contemporary - there's seating for well over 100, with seven private booths available. It resembled a posh hotel lobby more than a restaurant to me. We were only there for a light-ish bite, so sat at a table by the bar and scanned their bar menu, complete with soup, salads and sandwiches (all £5-£10). I was tempted by the Ploughman's but settled on a Club Sandwich. The restaurant's lunch and early dinner menu contains more substantial dishes if you're here to eat before or after catching a show. You can have two courses for £22 or three for £27. Though it was a Friday it was very quiet in there; in fact the staff seemed to struggle to cope at times with an influx of nine people. Some of our dishes arrived fairly promptly, whereas one of our party wasn't served until some of us had almost finished eating. Overall, I probably wouldn't come back here for lunch - you get tastier Club Sandwiches at nearby CraftBrew - but I wouldn't say no at trying them for dinner. Tip: you can get a draught beer for £1 when you buy a burger from the bar menu.

Lounging at the Lowry theatre - who knew a restaurant at this place could have set such high…read morestandards. Relatively new, Pier Eight opened just a month ago. Thankfully I was able to snag a 50% off deal so took a few friends for dinner. Each of us ordered a different dish and all of us were thoroughly satisfied. Best dish: the lamb (so juicy and served with sweet bread AKA: lamb thymus...). Hit-and-miss: the pork fillet (portion was tiny, unfortunately) Pleasant surprise: Apple tartin dessert! Service was lovely and polite although still working through the kinks. Overall, great place to hit up before a show at the theatre, or after, depending on timing. Food was delicious for sure and very very fresh. Only thing that can be a bit shocking is the price. We were incredibly lucky to have the final tab sliced in half, but this is definitely a splurge for regular price meals. So...open those wallets wide!

This is the outlet at the Lowry. We hadn't been here in a few years certainly long before wu flu…read morestruck. I'd guess it's now half empty store wise. Key shops like M&S Clothing, Black & Decker, Tefal and many more all long gone. Harry Ramsden's fish & chips still there along with subway. A chicken shack of sorts, an independent Indian and a BK. The Indian has most food pre cooked and heated on order so no thanks. When there's a Harry's I'm afraid this sort of competition has no chance with me. They used to have a spud u like but it's gone as has an ice cream parlour. The Cadbury alleged chocolate shop is still there but prices are rip off with supermarkets offering identical products much cheaper. Costa coffee is still there and they are now advertising the fact that they are selling M&S food so at least that's quality food. I'm not sure I'd make another trip back here but they still do the artisan market days so that would bring me back.

A wonderful modern theatre in Salford at the Lowry Centre. The Lyric Theatre is the biggest of the…read moretwo theatres inside of the huge Lowry Centre. It hosts many amazing plays, musicals and many other entertainment options. I have been to see two National Theatre productions here which include the amazing War Horse and recently the Curious incident of the dog in the nighttime. It also has a couple of restaurants and cafes and amazing views to go with it. I have sat in many places in the Lyric theatre and there really isn't one bad seat plus the seats are really comfortable! All the staff who work here are really friendly and they seem to love there job. So take a look at the Lowry website to see if theres a show coming your way soon. Even if you're not sure that you might like the theatre, give it a go you may love it! The Lowry also hosts many art exhibitions which currently has Behind the Mask, the biggest collection of BAFTA-winning actor portraiture ever assembled, which has come to The Lowry for its first time out of London which is worth the trip out of town alone! You can easily get to the Lowry from the city centre of Manchester on one of the Metrolink trams which head towards Media City UK!