If you're walking near Rivington Pike then the Yew Tree is really close by - it's popular though as…read moremany of the tables were reserved when we arrived bang on noon on a Sunday (despite there being hardly anyone in). There were some small tables towards the back though, nicely tucked away, so we plonked ourselves down here for lunch after a very wet and windswept walk. Their menu is full of the usual dishes you'd expect from a gastro pub, with starters ranging between £3-6 and main courses £12-20. I opted for their Hot Rump Steak Sandwich with fries from their Bar Menu (£8.75). It took rather a long time to be served; whether the kitchen couldn't cope with the influx of diners or there was a big issue we weren't sure. The steak sandwich was alright, but nothing much to write home about. We were so hungry that we wolfed what we'd ordered down. They serve a couple of locally brewed beers here too - Rivington has it's own brewery. Nice enough, but if we were in the area again, we'd probably drive a little further out to try somewhere else.

Three of us headed here after a soggy walk up to Rivington Pike. We walked in the door on a Sunday…read moreat noon and were greeted slightly begrudgingly by staff who didn't seem thrilled to serve customers. Anyway, despite not booking we were shown a table at the back. The kitchen apparently wasn't open yet but we took the time to change out of our wet walking gear and order some drinks at the bar. The coffee was surprisingly good and the beer selection was nice and local. We were finally allowed to order food at the bar and the guy serving was friendly and helpful. He was one of the few who actually seemed to be doing any work. Despite only ordering a soup, a sandwich and a sausage, our food took over 30 minutes to arrive and I had to ask them where it was. My soup was tasty although verging on cold and the two lumps of hard bread looked more like giant croutons. I asked for an additional slice of bread and was promptly brought it without any fuss or extra cost which was great. The food on the menu wasn't cheap but it seems to be of a very high standard. The menu is huge for a Sunday menu which might explain why it took so long for it to be prepared. Overall it was a nice pub that potentially thinks a little too highly of itself. But tasty, none the less.

This oddly-named chippy in Ainsdale village sounds more like a honey factory than a fish and chip…read moreshop. Maybe it's something to do with their work effort, suggesting that they work as efficiently as bees do, but somehow I doubt it. Name issues aside though, Busy Bee specialises in the usual chippy scran - fish, chips, burgers and Chinese, as well as kebabs. Their Chinese dishes are decent but not a patch on nearby Poon's, which I'd highly recommend. On the chippy side of things, whilst the food they offer might not be anything ground-breaking, it is nonetheless still made to an excellent standard. Their chips are slightly crispy on the outside whilst remaining deliciously fluffy on the inside and the fish is always a lovely golden colour. The burgers usually take a little bit longer but are worth the wait, offering a nice alternative to the usual suspects that are available. Rumour has it that Busy Bee has many fans in the nearby police station and if it's good enough for the local law enforcement, it's good enough for me.

Standard chip shop, wide range of chinese meals on offer, can get busy (tends to suggest most…read morepeople are happy with the place) so think about phoning your order in first

Thanks to my Yelp fine dining partner Gemma G, the Alderley has been on my foodie radar for awhile…read more So, when I was in the area for a wedding, I took the opportunity to have Sunday lunch here on my way home Located in the Alderley Edge Hotel, the restaurant had an old grandeur about it and many of the guests were obviously regulars. Being located close to the Manchester United training ground, some of the players are regulars and acting from a tipoff from Gemma, I asked and the maitre d' did show me the table where Alex Ferguson likes to sit when he visits Gemma had enjoyed a molecular style tasting menu on her visit but the Sunday lunch menu is much more conventional and described as their take on a Sunday roast - it's good value at £23.95 for 3 courses We were offered a lovely selection of bread and I had a cheesey one that I had to resist over-eating in order to save space for my main meal I started with a deconstructed Caesar salad. All the components tasted nice on their own and in combination but I could have done with a little more dressing to bind the dish together. My sister's rilette of salmon was paired with watermelon & apple salad and she enjoyed it For mains, my sister went with the beef and Yorkshire pudding while I had the lamb. Can't fault the cooking of the meat - we were told it would come pink (perfect for us) For dessert, I couldn't turn down the vanilla pannacota which came with a divine white chocolate sorbet while my sister turned to comfort food - rice pudding with rhubarb though it did lack the advertised lemon ice cream Overall, an enjoyable meal and dependable Sunday lunch, which earn The Alderley a solid 4 stars for now. I would like to return for the tasting menu, which I think would deliver a 5 star experience I would like to make a special mention of all the waiting staff, who were excellent - friendly, knowledgeable and really hospitable throughout. A shoutout should also go out to the warm petit four mini cakes which came with coffee in the lounge

(NB: This is the second part to the review that I started yesterday...)…read more The sommelier was certainly not stingy with the wine for the wine pairings, a consequence of which was me having the dutch courage to ask for the chef to come out for a chat, get my menu signed (see what you've done Yee Gan!!), and arrange for a kitchen tour for me and my 12 year old step brother. Chef Holland was very happy to chat to us and answer all of George's question - a really nice guy as well as an excellent chef. The following day he also signed some recipe books for us featuring some of his dishes which I will be trying to recreate at home! This restaurant was opened by Alex Ferguson in 1994 and he is also a regular customer. My whole family being massive Manchester United fans, this was also very exciting for us and the maitre d was happy to show us his regular table and let us pose for photo's!! We were the last people to leave the restaurant, hugely sated and a little tipsy, but feeling that I had just experienced the greatest meal of my life so far. I would be very surprised if Chef Holland is not awarded a Michelin star very soon.

I called in this branch of Revolution as my first point to grab something to eat, before watching…read morethe Manchester Derby, (which Manchester City went on to win 2-1 after David Silva and Nicola's Otamendi's goals and some fantastic saves from goalkeeper Ederson, including his double save),during my time in Wilmslow. Inside, the decor is quite nice and the place does feel like a nice place, albeit it feels more like a cool bar, it does serve food too. The menu has recently changed, and even the staff member didn't appear to like it as much, I was told most choice for coeliac and gluten-free was gone, other than a chicken skewers small plate and a curry, which was so sad to see the selection which I could eat as a coeliac, going so downhill. The server did seem nice, however, and did recommend other places I could eat elsewhere but still the change in the menu choice which made it much poorer for coeliacs, really does let this place down. Another thing which lets this place down is the overall feel in terms of the restaurant part, it just feels like a bar in general, you go to the bar to get a menu etc, so in terms of that it isn't the best either. Two-star rating - Slightly generous but this is earned due to the waitress who served me being very helpful and friendly in difficult circumstances.

A great bar in Wilmslow which is right on the main strip of everything, its funky decor is dark and…read moremodern. Its a lot larger than it looks from the outside! There is loads of places to sit, either the booths or the high tables. The drinks were great and they do 241 on cocktails and other drinks from sunday to friday in there happy hour! The staff were friendly and seemed to like there job and would like to return next time we are in Wilmslow.

Core hosted my 18th birthday party (over three years ago now! how time flies) and the night was…read morepretty faultless. I chose this for my venue as I had eaten here previously and was impressed by the standard of food as well as the aesthetic of the restaurant. I had around 40 guests over the course of the evening and each praised the venue and the service very highly. Prior to the evening the managers discussed my requirements for food and drink, music and any decorations. Guests were greeted on the night with champagne and the wonderfully inventive cocktails were poured expertly throughout the evening on a 241 basis. The food, which was tapas based, was lovely and well presented, however I didn't think it was quite sufficient for my guests, especially considering the amount of drink consumed, people were gettng hungry! My only other complaint was the music, as my requested music was not played and I was disappointed we couldn't have a proper dance! However, on the whole, I had a fantastic night; the venue is quirky (the space was previously home to Southport's public toilets!) and very contemporary; the staff were great fun and everyone had a really good night.

Well this was a pleasant surprise - a great pub, selling great food and only 5 mins drive from my…read morehouse. After Hyde's doing the Abel Heywood in town, it's cool to see Holt's doing something similar and really moving with the times in offering a relaxed (if somewhat still faux independent looking boozer) and multi-faceted 3rd place. I had a meeting here and decided to stay on for lunch so I can comment that the coffee (9 different blends - I only had one mind you...) was pretty good, the black and blue burger was tasty (lovely chips and sides - although the pit beans were a bit off in the spicing - a bit too much star anise I think...) and it was a good place to meet and also get some work done with loads of room to move around in and fairly quiet on a Thurs lunch. Although I wasn't partaking on this visit, the beer selection on draft was a good mix of Holt's and local breweries - plus regular lagers. What I was impressed with though was the large selection of bottles from Sierra Nevada (3 types), Founders All Day IPA and other great breweries. Ok so this place is very towny and I imagine could be a haven for the 'shirt and shoes brigade' on a weekend evening but overall it had enough to make me want to keep coming back. Nice work! ps amazing cake selection - check out my pic!

This is a suburban Joseph Holt's pub which has recently undergone a massive renovation and is an…read moreobvious attempt by Holt's to capture a different market. Gone is any mention of Holt's on signage and the whole look is trying to convince you it's an independent free hold. Even the Holt's branded pump clips are absent at the bar replaced with little chalk written clips. Overall this re 'un-branding' works and the pub was very busy though big enough to be full of people but still not rammed. Small touches linked the place to it's location right next to a train line, with signage alluding to a train station and concrete rail sleepers used as fencing in the beer garden. The beer was Holt's fairly unremarkable standard, though still far superior to most pubs normal selection of lagers, they had one guest beer on which was a pleasant pale but not amazing enough to have held it's name in my memory. The big selling point of this new refurbishment is the restaurant. You can tell a lot of money and thought had been placed into the new gastro focus. The place has been re done pretty much like most places you'll find in the Northern Quarter with lots of wood panelling and mis-matched chairs and edison style light bulbs. The dessert bar was the most impressive I've seen in any restaurant for a long time. A full ice cream bar on display as well as their huge selection of 5 inch deep cheesecakes. The menu was extremely varied but had a focus on the new trend in American style street food dining with pulled pork and hot dogs amid a selection of more standard choices like pizza or fish and chips. Everyone's food looked amazing and there was a general consenus that nothing served was sub par. My pulled pork hash was great, served with a mustard apple sauce and poached egg were spot on choices and a side of dirty beans which seemed to come with everything which they were calling P5 Pit Beans. Overall it's a local gastro pub done very well by a local chain which has been very underwhelming in recent years. But they are clearly trying to overhaul their image in selected locations around the city. I can only hope this happens in more of their locations and it was a very welcome change.

great friendly service with great food and drink, staff are friendly and help fantastic outside…read morebeer garden

nice selection of beers in homely atmosphere. looks like a restauranty kinda off place so next time…read moreshould try the food

I had no idea what this would be like, since the majority of Curry houses in the UK over-sweeten…read moretheir dishes, probably in response to some inclination in the British palate for sugar. But this place was just down the street from the hotel I was at, and I thought chicken tikka masala or butter chicken would be nice. When I got there I was greeted warmly and seated. I ordered a British beer on tap (John Smith's) and perused the menu. They had Butter Chicken. The description did not specify what part of the chicken they used, which I hoped meant they would use dark meat. Chicken tikka masala seems to be always white meat, but various places serve butter chicken with dark. I think that may be the traditional way. When it came time to order I asked specifically whether or not the dish was sweet. He described it as rich and creamy and only a bit sweet. I rolled the dice and ordered it, prepared to have them doctor it if it came back like the sweet and sour chicken that most places pass off as real curry. Fast forward... the Butter Chicken comes, and the waiter pauses a moment to make sure it tastes ok for me, so I take a taste... oh! Yes, that will do fine; it's not too sweet! And as I started eating it with the rice I realized that this was exceptional; surely the cook made it from scratch. The sauce was nicely blended and thick, with just a few pieces of ingredients to let you know it didn't begin life as some quick-serve powder mix. It was fragrant, rich, and full of flavor. It turned out to be among the best Butter Chicken I've had anywhere! And the accompanying Pilau Rice (a few more pennies than white rice) was beautiful as well as tasty. Give this place a try if you want a delicious, authentic Butter Chicken. 5 solid stars.

Kismet's happy hour deal is pretty astonishing in its food to price ratio. We were already full…read moreafter munching on two poppadoms each plus some very nice vegetable samosas and onion bhajis. The main event was not quite as good, my bf felt his lamb rogan josh lacked punch and my prawn massala featured some rather small weasly prawns (I prefer Sainsbury's prawn makhani ready meal). There are loads of main course options with the happy hour deal however, so it could be there's something a lot better. The side dishes of dal and bombay potato we were too full to manage but these were packaged up and I enjoyed them the next day. Service was good apart from everyone disappeared when we wanted our bill. The decor looks like it was last updated in the 1980s with green fairy lights and some rather cold ceiling lights, it's not particularly attractive but charming in its own way. I'm sure we'll be back as we live close by but as there's quite a few Indian restaurants in our area probably not straight away, as it's not a clear standout.