Reviews

What’s the difference between a turkey and a food blogger after a Christmas party? Nothing, they’re both STUFFED! Ho-ho-ho! T’was the (11th) night before Christmas when a gaggle of Manchester food bloggers left Indian restaurant Mughli more stuffed than the proverbial festive turkey. Already a firm favourite with most of the bloggers in attendance – including myself – Mughli really …

I’ve always liked The Blue Pig pub in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, as a pub anyway. Having enjoyed many drinks there from the impressive cocktail menu to the small but excellent selection of local cask ales. For some reason i’d never eaten there though until last week when I was invited to try the new menu. Other than the plastic plants …

I loved my first Gastroclub experience at the Mark Addy in June where it returned from a year long break. I’d planned on attending more events but for various reasons hadn’t made it to any since. So when I heard about the return to the Mark Addy for the Gastroclub Christmas dinner I jumped at the chance and snapped up …

It’s no secret that i’m quite partial to a burger, well good ones anyway. I’ve eaten many this year but one of my favourites is the ‘Peri Peri Chicken Topped Cheeseburger’ from my last visit to The Farmers Arms in Bolton. Since then they’ve launched a full burger menu with some fine looking creations which i’d been looking forward to trying. …

After attending two fabulous supper clubs recently my third had a lot to live up to. I had particularly high hopes for this one though as it was held by Franco Sotgiu owner of one of my favourite Manchester restaurants, SoLita. Never one to undersell himself Franco described the event in aid of Trussell Trust as “A Rather Special Italian …

Given how far I travel to eat I was genuinely excited when I realised the winner of ‘Food Pub Of The Year’ at the Manchester Food & Drink Festival awards is just 15 minutes down the road. The Shoulder Of Mutton is located in Holcombe, a tiny village just outside Ramsbottom. From the outside it looks like a good, old …

It’s fair to say i’ve had up and down experiences with the LivingVentures restaurant group. Many years ago their first (I think) Manchester restaurant ‘Grill On The Alley’ was amongst my favourites in the city however I had a really bad visit there in 2011 and haven’t returned since. I was then underwhelmed by ‘Grill On New York Street’ and …

What do you do after a brilliant lunch at Japanese restaurant Yuzu when you crave sugar but they no longer serve dessert? Pop into the small Chinese bakery around the corner for lots of cake of course! I’d walked past Wong Wong Bakery on Princess Street in Chinatown many times since it opened in 2003 but had never made it inside before. That’s …

This website only exists because i’m passionate about food and love sharing my experiences. There are very few times that writing these posts feels like a chore or even a job but this is definitely one of them. The restaurant in question, Cinnamon Fusion in Bolton was so unremarkably dull it’s taken me almost two weeks to summon up the …

Being a massive foodie I embrace all cuisines but if I had to pick just one favourite it would almost certainly be Mexican. It appeals to the chilli addict in me, I love the heat of Mexican dishes but also the contrast when paired with cooling ingredients like soured cream, lime and my favourite thing in the world, guacamole. For …

Despite an issue with the service on my last visit (which was later resolved) I consider Yuzu one of my favourite restaurants in Manchester and recommend it to anybody who will listen. I’ve been meaning to return for ages and was shocked when I realised it had been over a year. During that time I’ve eaten in a lot of Japanese …

There are few places I like less than Blackpool so I generally try to avoid it at all costs. Unfortunately last Sunday the gorgeous Autumn weather meant a visit for the final day of the Illuminations was unavoidable (kids!). To make the day more bearable we spent most of it in the much nicer nearby town of Fleetwood, only venturing …

Fraiche is one of those restaurants i’ve been intending to visit for several years but for various reasons it just didn’t happen. One reason is that despite being one of my closest Michelin starred restaurants it’s difficult to reach by public transport so i’d need to either drive home, which I don’t like to do after eating in fine dining …

I like to think i’m pretty clued up on restaurants in Manchester but must confess I hadn’t heard of Ocean Treasure before I was invited to review it. Possibly because Chinese is a cuisine i’ve neglected for the last few years but more likely because it’s tucked away on the ground floor of the Manchester235 casino in the Great Northern …

People who know me now will find this hard to believe but until a couple of years ago I really wasn’t much of a gin drinker. In fact, I only got my first bottle at home last year. Since then though I can’t stop drinking the stuff, I’ve made some fabulous gin based cocktails and it’s now one of my favourite …