Reviews in Manchester City Centre

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.

It doesn't look great from the outside but don't let that stop you from paying a visit. You will love it. Great food and fantastic people!

we had another outstanding night out at Akbars,wish they would stock some other beers(belgian) ,if they did then it would be perfect.Come on Akbars give a go.

I was not happy & wont be visiting again after we ordered the Lobster & received prawns passed off as lobster in the shell. A sneaky trick!! Im just wondering how many times they have got away with this as some people may not have eaten lobster before. After complaining they did try to make up for it though with complementary meals.

We visited EastZEast for the seconed time in as many weeks last night, after being amazed during the first visit. Whilst the decor and food was upto the same high standards as before, the service was seemingly from another restaurant this time around. I know that Im going to sound picky and backwards, but even forgetting having our lassi spilled on the table, having a tray thrown over the bar, only to be missed and land next to us, having the wrong meal delivered to us the first time around, we lost count of the number of times one particular waiter reached over us to collect plates, without saying excuse me. Fine if its two mates having a meal, but when a couple are holding hands, and clearly a couple, some tact is required. Also, my partner felt very ignored come the end of the meal, as the waiter was only seemingly interested in what I wanted, and didnt even make eye contact with my better half once during the whole meal, instead preferring to ask only 'sir' if we wanted drinks, if everything was ok, if we had finished, etc etc. Madame was paying on this occasion, so I can understand her offense. Maybe we just made the mistake of hoping for a romantic meal, because as much as I love Indian restaurants, along with their inability to make decent deserts, they are also inherently extremely casual and unrefined compared to what you could call an upmarket European or fine dining restaurant, no matter how good the curries and decor are! Id still go back obviously, although probably with the lads, as neither of us could really fault the well cooked and presented food, although my seekh kebabs were a slightly bland but still good, my Mrs' fish curry was very dry, and more of a heavily marinated fish dish than a curry, and both our 'medium' curries were definitely mild. Consistency is what makes any great restaurant great, and clearly EastZEast has yet to attain this, although its still definitely very good. Maybe they a just had an off night? We have now been to Akbars twice, and EastZEast twice. Id have to say that these places are probably about equal following 2 visits to each. Toss a coin!

we pre booked a table for twelve and was told in no uncertain terms when three of our friends arrived 25 mins late that this table is booked again at 9.30pm. we thought this was very rude. it was 7.30 at the time. secondly we were not offered the full menu. we had no idea of this until we saw people ordering things we had not got on our menu. It would have been nice to have had a choice. The food was good, the wine was reasonably priced and the staff apart from the very rude table manager were polite and efficient. The bill was ok. and correct. not sure if i would eat here again. i feel cheated because we did not get the full menu. this must have been on purpose. I cannot think of any other reason.

As we had heard good reviews regarding El Rincon, a group of us went there on Sunday afternoon for a friend's birthday. We were very disappointed. The staff were rude and unhelpful, there were 2 dishes out of the 15 that were liked and dishes came to us sporadically throughout the meal. One dish, "Marinated cheese" actually transired to be chunks of cheddar cheese in olive oil with a few bits of lettuce on top. The price was certainly disproportionate to the quality of the dish. The interior of the restaurant is pleasant and authentic, but it's a real shame about the food.

memories.....I was eating Abdul Kabob's back in 1989 and every time I go back to Manchester I drop by to revive those great memories.....I recommend extra yogurt sauce on anything on their menu.....tastes better after 3 pints of scrumpy jack from the bowling green or 4 pints of Guinness at the Clarence.

Took the family for lunch without having seen the recommendations. Both the service and the food were of the highest quality. It was a welcome oasis after a nightmare journey from Cardiff. Sincere thanks to all involved.

The only place to go for a kebab in the entire universe (gordon ramsey / heston blumenthal watch out)

Without a shadow of a doubt, the best Indian in Manchester city centre, hands down! The service was friendly and efficient, from the moment you enter until the moment you leave. Its great to see a list of non typical curries on the menu aswell, in addition to the regular madras, jalfrezi, kormas etc etc. Its about time that somebody had the courage to try something different with British Indian food, as its long overdue in my eyes. Try something different for a change! The only complaints is that its a pretty small place, so whilst it would be ideal for a cozy midweek meal, at weekends it does get awfully crowded, and since its an Indian restaurant, as good as it is, that usually translates into it being a little rowdy and noisy. However, the new larger branch thats opening on Riverside should solve this problem, if you see it as one, which Im sure most people dont. A curry house will always be a curry house, no matter how good the curries! Also, Id say that the decor is still slightly behind Akbars, which looks fantastic inside and out, but again, fingers crossed that this will again be rectified when they move to a bigger premises, and have more area to play with then doing the design side of things. Excellent, and every curry lover in Manchester should try this place, as its outstanding and rightly stands at the top of the Manchester curry tree. Rusholme's average eateries need to stop being so arrogant in thinking that people will go there for the 'food', rather than the experience of seeing Rusholme, wake up, stop churning out sub standard meals, and realise that theres now a handful of far better places to eat Brit-Indian food in Manchester.

Evuna is a mediocre tapas bar that would not survive outside of provincial Manchester. Wine is good, food is average at best. Service is laughable, and outright dishonest. They require a £5 deposit for each person to reserve a table. Outrageous right? But it gets better. Then they rip you off by "forgetting" that they've charged your for the table deposit. Excellent business model - if you like getting ripped off. Recommendation: avoid at all costs or give them no tip for their rip-off sins.

I had a fantastic fillet steak here last night. If you are in Manchester and want to gorge on red meat then you must go here. Only problem last night was that it's undergoing a refurb. Why dont they just close the place, do the job and then re-open?

Went to Chaophraya on Saturday night after reading some excellent reviews. I was really looking forward to a great meal as was my partner. The starters were excellent, however upon arrival of our main course we were less than satisfied. Having ordered Lobster the last thing I expected was to be served Prawns in a Lobster shell. The management tried everything to sort the situation and confessed that Prawns had been served as the amount of Lobster they had left was not sufficient. That said, I was extremely disappointed that we had not been informed earlier and they had tried to pass us off with Prawns. I will not be returning to this restaurant and advise that if you do order Lobster, make sure it IS Lobster.

Having eaten here a few times, this has to be the slickest and without a doubt the trendiest Indian in Manchester. Ive also eaten at the York branch, and the two are definitely on a par, and its good to see that standards have made it across the Pennines. From the second you walk in the door, you know that youre not in a typical neon lit, old school Indian eatery. The food was pretty good too, although nothing out of this world, hence I cant give it an outstanding rating for food quality, but then that is often the case with most Indian restaurant these days. Ive sampled several of their dishes, and on the whole, the food is better than most places you'll find on the now saturated curry mile, which doesn't have to rely on repeat custom, hence doesn't have to be overly good or consistent. The highlight of this place is without a doubt the Naan breads, which come hung on a tower, which is great for saving table space and also keeps them warm for longer, aswell as looking pretty cool, which is no doubt the main reason behind the towers! There are places with better food for sure, but this is definitely the best mix of food quality and modern, cool interior, as you will find in Manchester city centre. Its easy to see why this is so popular, especially since the prices are the same if not lower than most Rusholme venues!

Fantastic.. good atmosphere, very reasonable prices.. a must visit.. and definitely worth the 1/2 hr. wait on a Wednesday night (Halloween)