This was our first time at the Quays, we wanted to have a poke around the Imperial War Museum North. We did some research and decided to park at the outlet because if you spend £5 (including dining at one of the restaurants) it gets you four hours of parking. It seemed to be the cheapest for parking, just remember to take your parking ticket with you so it can be validated.
We were a bit hungry and didn't think we could wait to take the tram into Manchester, so we decided to scope out our food options in the Quays. There are a number of chain restaurants as well as a food court within the outlet with fast food options. We decided on Pizza Express, mostly because I had an offer for free dough balls :). The restaurant is huge, so a lunch time on a weekday means you won't have to wait for a table.
We were seated next to one of the windows with some lovely views and not far from the kitchen area, located in the middle of the restaurant. I know it isn't a independent restaurant, but let's be honest, you know what you are getting so you don't have to guess. Mr. Snarky likes Calzones, so it is no surprise he went for the one Calzone on the menu. I decided to go with the Rusticella because it is salad and pizza in one! Our dough ball starter appeared quite quickly and so did our mains. The problem was that one of the mains was wrong. Two pizzas appeared and Mr. Snarky had said that he ordered a Calzone. The waiter (not our original waiter) seemed confused and at first didn't seem to know what to do. Before taking the pizza back he told Mr. Snarky that his Calzone would be about 6-7 minutes, but said it in a way that made it seem that this was totally inconvenient for staff.
Anyway, as we were waiting, our original waiter grabbed the pizza that the other waiter had taken back and brought it over. The other waiter came back and told him that it was supposed to be a Calzone. Away they pizza went again and we could see the kitchen staff quickly putting together the the Calzone. The Calzone appeared in the 6 minutes they quoted and our original waiter came to check on us and apologized for the confusion. After that, service was quite slow when it came to ordering desserts, getting the bill, and paying. At one point our waiter disappeared for some time and we wondered if we needed to get the attention of a different staff member.
The food was good and we did decide to be cheeky and have dessert. They had some new options on the menu and we decided to try them. Mr. Snarky had the Eton Mess Cheesecake and I had the Tiramisu, which was a new recipe. I did not get to have a taste of the Cheesecake before it disappeared, but it looked delicious and usually if it disappears quite quickly, it means it was probably pretty good. The Tiramisu was actually much better than the one they had before. The Mascarpone cream was lovely and the sponge was moist, but not soggy. In fact, I was really glad I ordered it.
Overall, food was good, but service wasn't quite up to scratch, especially as the restaurant wasn't very busy. Paying took a bit of time, mostly because we couldn't catch the attention of our waiter, but then we had to send the bill back because he charged us for the dough balls, even though we had shown him the code for our free dough balls. The atmosphere of the place and the views from some of the tables is quite nice. Not to mention in the summer time, it must be nice to have your meal outside. And because it is so large, it would be an ideal place for a group dinner. read more