Reviews in Manchester City Centre

We visited the lovely chic NEW EastzEast on the riverbank just along from the Lowry Hotel. Big tip for the year here, this place will be the main competition for Akbars.Definately during the summer when you will be able to use the Riverside Bar. Food.. excellent as per the other branch. Service.. excellent as per. Price.. just right. prediction....will be in the top ten by July

We went to Sweet Mandarin for Christmas Eve and it was a wonderful experience. I would highly recommend this place, even though it is off the beaten track. We went for the banquet and I think it was the best hot and sour soup I have ever tasted. Actually, it was the best Chinese we had in a long time. We loved the aromatic crispy duck which was just crispy and chewy enough without being dry. In particular, I would recommend the Lily Kwok's curry. Its quite a different curry from the Indian curries. This one is creamy and mild, very flavoursome and unique to Sweet Mandarin. I will be coming back in the New Year. Thanks for taking the stress out of Christmas.

EAT HERE AT YOUR PERIL - this restaurant is truly APPALLING. The food is disgusting, the service verges on the downright insulting and the standards of hygeine are highly questionable. I went to Sweet Mandarin in a party of three on Christmas Eve and it was the most horrendous dining experience in memory. This is not an exaggeration - we have all suffered with illness since we ate there. My girlfriend and I were unable to eat anything at all on Christmas Day, and are still feeling nauseaous as I write this. I intend to make a personal visit to Manchester City Council's enviromental health department as soon as they re-open. Although we live round the corner from Sweet Mandarin and eat out regularly, we had never eaten there before, mainly because common-sense tells you not to dine at a place that never seems to have any customers. But on Christmas Eve we were stuck for somewhere to eat and took a chance on it . What a terrible mistake. Upon arriving, my girlfriend visited the ladies toilet and was disgusted to find that the hand-towel was completely sodden and BLACK with dirt. We should have taken that as a warning, but our hunger got the better of us and we ordered the £25-a-head banquet. From the off, it became clear that the kitchen was re-heating old food and trying to pass it off as fresh. The opening course was a foul-tasting hot-and-sour-soup, and my friend commented on the prawns - which tasted off. The prawns were supposed to be 'king-sized' but had shrunken to the size of tiny shrimps - a tell-tale sign that they have been cooked for a very long period of time. We couldn't eat our soup - but we hoped the other 'starters' would be better. We were disappointed. The spring rolls had obviously been deep-fried several times and were dark-coloured and dripping with grease. The seaweed was very heavily salted (presumably to hide the true flavour) and the spare ribs had virtually no meat on them. Then came the crispy aromatic duck. What a joke. There was nothing aromatic about the duck - because it HADN'T been cooked in the oven. It had been dropped into the deep-fat chip frier! The meat was dried-out and sinewy and was virtually inedible. To add insult to injury, the 'pancakes' that came with it were ROCK-HARD and COLD! The texture was akin to playing cards. We complained to the waitress, who said she would inform the chef, but she then simply walked back to her position in front of the bar (there were NO other customers) and left us with our dirty plates and un-eaten duck. After complaining again, she eventually cleared our table - five minutes later! We decided to hang around for the main-courses, as we were still hungry. And the food could only improve, couldn't it? No. It didn't. The beef in black bean sauce was so chewy it was inedible. The 'clay-pot' chicken was luke-warm and had absolutely NO flavour whatsoever - and the 'speciality' 'Lily Kwok curried chicken' consisted simply of pieces of pre-boiled chicken put into the type of cheap green curry sauce you find in your local chinese chippy. It all came served with fried-rice - which contained more of the 'off' smelling prawns. Needless to say, we ate very little of it and complained to the waitress/manageress - but we found her response truly appalling - even more so than the food! We were not rude and calmly explained why we were dissatisfied, but she offered NO apology, NO explanation and made no discount on the bill. She simply arrogantly shrugged her shoulders and walked off, refusing to make eye contact with any of us. As we left, I told her we would tell all our friends just how bad the food was. But she just carried on ignoring us. It is, of course, clear why Sweet mandarin is always empty. And after experiencing it for ourselves, we can only imagine that they will probably go out of business soon. And that would be no bad thing - because I wouldn't wish the experience on anybody. What a disgrace.

Fantastic. Best place to get some food in Manchester. Very unique and there’s always something for everyone. Even if your not satisfied with whats on the menu, the considerable choice of sandwich fillings can be made into a delicious sandwich which will full you up for hours. Recommendation from me! 120%

I went to the Pacific for a birthday meal and was initially impressed. As far an China Town restaurants go it was visually pleasing with comfortable seating,pleasent decor and a jovialatmosphere. The service seemed rushed, one of the waiters spilled an entire glass of wine over a friend of mine, this was fine ,accidents happen and the waiter apologised profusely, however no replacement glass of wine was even offered. We brushed this off not wanting to cause a fuss however the real drama of the evening was yet to come. When it came time to pay, the waitress loudly announced at the table that my card had been declined, a little sheepish I replied that I had just been paid and there was no way the card could have been declined. I accompanied her to the front desk where I was gruffly barked at by the manager (I presume) who declared that my card had been declined. I insisted he try it again but I was then told that the card machine was now broken and that they had called my bank who had told them of this. I asked them to call my bank again but they refused and told me they had closed for the evening! moderatly annoyed to say the least I went to the bank machine to withdraw money. During my time away from the restaurant the same manager chastised my friends who were still at the table asking them had I ran off without paying!? When I finally came back to pay I told them that my card had worked as I had insisted and that whoever they spoke to (if they had spoken to anyone at all) at the bank had been incorrect. They accepted my money and thanked me but by this point I was sorely disapointed and embaressed at being treated like I was attempting to rip them off. This manager should be ashamed!

Really disappointed with this place after reading such rave reviews. After arriving 20 mins late due to city centre traffic, to find they had given our table away (after requesting a £100 deposit on booking) the staff were surley, unhelpful and the food was average. Much better places to eat out in Manchester, give this place a miss.

Lovely food, great atmosphere, tasty wine! Love San Carlo! We were served promptly, and the staff were so polite and friendly, I was so impressed! The food was gorgeous - it truly tasted like an authentic Italian meal! Looking forward to my next visit already Lilly

Food, service, etc were OK and the house red was nice. But the bread was stale and, for example, six quid for four meatballs and a spoonful of sauce is a rip-off. Poor value for money. At the very least it needs a more inventive menu.

very nice restaurant shame they stopped doing pre theatre menu when moved no longer stands out as being very good value

Room is housed in a magnificent building and has an ambience to match. Pre dinner drinks were very slow to be served, however the restaurant service was very efficient and friendly! The food was good but i found there takes on Paella and Fish Pie ludicrous and pretentious. The cost was modest with the £7 main course offer. All things considered would return.

I know people who would rather perish than visit Manchester without sampling once more the legend of Abdul and his kebab creation. Anyone found the perfect technique for eating one though?

What can I say... My girlfriend and I arrived at 6pm on a Wed night and I had a table booked for 7. Thought we could have a drink first while we waited but the head waiter took us straight to a table! The wine was lovely (Pino Grigio Rose) and the starters and main meal were of excellent quality. You could tell time and effort were put into them. The waitress we had for the evening was very pleasant and kept the wine flowing for us. As the evening progressed the restaurant got very busy but was still a very pleasant atmosphere. I WILL be re attending Gio's without doubt, and it will be soon. Thanks for a lovely evening

as far the best restaurant i have been to amazing food and outstanding decor and the new restaurant has opened as well that is awesome never seen a restaurant like that in the heart of Manchester it is attention seeking the way it has been designed very spacious .... everyone should go there and akbars will get a good competition now

Seven of us aged from 18 to 70 enjoyed a lovely meal on a Friday evening. The decor is smart but plain in keeping with the modern food influences. Service was first class from very pleasant and helpful staff. The fusion food is first class and very reasonably priced. The sushi is fresh and very inexpensive. Two main courses were considered a little bland but you need to go to make up your own mind. Handy when visiting kids at the university. Highly recommended.

We visited for lunch and found the food modestly priced . There was plenty of variety and flavours were new and interesting. The cookery course was friendly, professional and inspirational.

Anonymous is wrong. Chinese food is supposed to come at different times and crispy duck is not an authentic Chinese dish so is not a must for a Chinese restaurant. However, Anonymous is right- Yang Sing is not the best Chinese restaurant in Manchester, in fact I think it has become the worst restaurant in Manchester. Let me explain. I have been going to the Yang Sing since it was located where the little Yang Sing now is. Then it was a vibrant place serving inventive Cantonese cuisine frequented by Chinese people. Over time the chefs have left, the prices have increased and the servings have become smaller. The atmosphere is now corporate, no chinese people eat there and the customer service has vanished. I have now had three meals in a row where the food ranged from poor to good, but where the service has been disgraceful. Last week whilst attempting to impress an American guest we were served by a man who told us that they did not serve crispy duck because it was not chinese. Instead of pointing out that they do serve Beiping duck (the chinese version),but that it has to be ordered a day in advance, he belittled us for ordering 'english' crispy duck. He didn't explain why they continue to serve prawn toast, egg fried rice and spare ribs which are not exactly common in the restaurants of canton province. He then became visibly annoyed when people didnt hear him ask if they wanted boiled or fried rice. Yang Sing- what has happened to you? Long Live Red Chilli- a proper chinese restaurant where meals are enjoyable, and the staff don't sneer.

I visited the restaurant on Saturday night 24th of November 2007 with two other couples (Six of us)and the Manager was very friendly and the evening went well. We mainly went for steaks which were cooked very nicely and one of our party had Penne pasta which was spicy but very nice. The Restaurant has a busy atmosphere and has a good aspect with large windows overlooking the Midland Hotel, so diners have good views of busy central Manchester. Our only gripe was the service as two of the waitresses were a bit surly and dint want to wait at our tables when we were trying to give them further drink orders. In summary, the food was good and the restaurant was busy with a good atmosphere and from our experience it was let down by poor service towards the end of the night.

Im feeling a bit dull here, having visited not this branch of EastZEast, but the Riverside one, yesterday. 3 visits to the same chain in as many weekends. OK, very boring, but hey! Anyway, the new restaurant is very stylish, very slick, and definately the plushest looking Indian in town, by a country mile. The main dining area is downstairs, whilst the entrance and bar area is downstairs. The food was upto the usual high EastZEast standards, although yet again, for a 3rd time, my curry was mild rather than medium hot, and Ive got to say, tasted pretty much the same as the other 2 that Ive had. All very samely, but still pleasant. The gimmicks of poppadoms and dips were again served on a huge platter, as with the smaller branch, and the Nann towers have also made it over to this new Salford restaurant. Now the moaning points. Usually I wouldnt be quite so critical when talking about an Indian, as they are traditionally very relaxed, laid back, casual dining places, but for me EastZEast is trying, probably too hard, to be something that thinks its a fine dining eatery, which is will never be, as its an Indian, and not one in the same vein as the Michelin star Indians in London. Service was very attentive, although Im sad to say, perhaps due to it being early days, was very disorganised. At one point I counted 6 waiters at the table next to us, most of whom seemed unsure of what to do. Again, we had the wrong dishes arrive at our table, which is 2 out of 3 times at this chain now. I was with the lads this time, so didnt really mind, but still, this is a review site afterall. Also, all of the tables come ready set with 2 sets of cutlery, a water and wine glass for each person, with napkins in the glasses. As you can imagine, this left little room on the table for poppadoms and dips when you sat down. Im sorry, but hardly anybody drinks wine with Indian food, because it simply doensnt mix on the whole. Sure, people drink wine with Indian food, but then they probably dont understand wine at all. The same goes for deserts. Indian cuisine just doesnt cater for it. So, leave the crockey off the table until its required, as it just over elaborates things. It just didnt work. This is the new Riverside brand of the chain, which sits on the Salford side of the Irwell, sharing the same views as the Lowry hotel, Manchesters (even though its in Salford) best hotel. You wouuld think that they would make the most of this right? Well, no. The river views have been covered up by a semi opaque curtain, so unless it was broad daylight, you wont be able to see a thing out of them. Being on the river, enjoying nice views, really should have been a star attaction of this place. My biggest problem with EastZEast's new branch is that its clearly trying very hard to be an upmarket restaurant. Im sorry, but when you go to an Indian, you spend £15-£20 on your meal, for poppadoms, a starter and drink or two, so its hardly posh, fine dining or upmarket. £20 just about buys you a main course only in a 'posh' restaurant. Brit/Indian food is about causual, fun, eating. You use your hands and a naan bread to pick up your dinner, with Rihanna playing in the background as you eat! A fortune spent on waiters in grandad collar suits, neon lighting, granite flooring, glass waterfalls, and Dyson airblade hand dryers dont make a posh restaurant, just a good looking one. Saying that, no doubt 75% of the customers will disagree with me here, just as 75% of people think that paying an extra 50p for your pint by drinking in the Living Rooms or Panacea makes you rich. Very silly, and totally untrue really. After 3 visits, if youre judging this as a curry house, then its a good strong 8 out of 10. If youre thinking about it in fine dining terms, then its a very sadly lacking 6. Ill rate it somewhere in between, so a 7/10 from me. I do like it here, but after 3 visits in less than 3 weeks, think I should try somewhere else for a while now, and sorry EastZEast, Im leaning towards Akbars now. A stylish Indian with very nice food, but doesnt for a second try to be 'posh', and if you order a medium hot curry, you get one.