Latest reviews by VincentKennedy

Pesto

VincentKennedy — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 18:35:53 +0000

Rating: 3.0

Location: 115 Deansgate, M3 2NW, Manchester, United Kingdom

Phone: 0161 831 9930

Website: http://www.pestorestaurants.co.uk

Tags: Italian, good value, Tapas, lively

Italian TapasPesto occupies a decent location on the corner of Deansgate and John Dalton St, opposite the Katsouris Deli.

They have thoughtfully got 2 outdoor seating areas one for smokers, and one for none-smokers. A fantastic idea so that none-smokers can sit outside without having to suffer a fog of death whilst eating al fresco.
Each area has wall mounted cover so that you can sit out even if it's raining (well it IS Manchester&) and is separated from the street by plants it feels like you can sit and watch everybody go by without them really clocking too much of you.

And you will have to sit outside because the inside smells of garlic in a big way. I've been twice and each time it hummed when you opened the front door. Judging by the fact that we were the only table outside on each occasion, whilst the inside was busy; I guess that this doesn't bother most people but I bet you think the same when you go!

The food is Tapas style Italian. You've got mini-portions of pasta dishes, salads, meat and fish dishes, small pizza's, etc. Overall they mostly hit the mark, with one or two exceptions. As a rough guide my girlfriend and I ordered 5 dishes between us plus bread, and it was enough maybe order one more dish between two if you are really hungry.

Most of the dishes had Italian names that I'm rubbish at remembering so you'll have to go off my descriptions.
The mini-pizza Florentine was excellent a very thin base, fresh tasting tomato sauce and what looked like a quail egg in the middle.

Also great was fried potatoes with chilli and garlic. Very light and obviously very fresh, they were crispy on the outside and fluffy in the centre. Italian sausage and peppers was good grilled peppers are obviously hard to go wrong with, but the sausage that comes with it is spicy and complements it well. We also ordered more peppers, but stuffed with cheese and pesto. Again very good, seemed fresh, and the pesto also made a good dip for our bread.

The bad well the cannelloni was not bad, but was just average a bit too much cheesy sauce and not enough meat for my liking. It also tasted like it had been stood on a hotplate for a while. As did the salmon skewer fish being quite delicate, it was obvious that it had been cooked earlier and left on the hotplate, so it had dried out quite a bit.

Wine a normal size wine list that seemed to be priced around the same mark as most city centre restaurants. I think we ordered a bottle of red at £18 which was one of the pricier options.

It seems that the trick with the City Centre Tapas places that are springing up is knowing what to order. From my two visits, I reckon if you avoid any fish, you'll have a damn good meal. Five Tapas dishes plus a bottle of red came in at around £35 which is pretty good value.

The service is fantastic probably the best I've had in Manchester. I've been twice and had two different waiters and they were really, really good chatty but not too much, attentative but not overbearing, and honest in their recommendations. Just excellent.

Overall great outdoor area, fantastic staff, and good food. Been back once, and will continue to go back, especially on the way home after a Saturday round the shops.

Gaucho Grill

VincentKennedy — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:41:18 +0000

Rating: 4.5

Location: 2A St. Marys Street, M3 2LB, Manchester, United Kingdom

Phone: 0161 833 4333

Website: http://www.gauchosgrill.com

Tags: stylish, Worlds Best Steak, Argentinean, quality, expensive

Best steaks in town - bar none.Simply put, you will not find a better steak anywhere, ever.
This is one of a very small chain they've got a couple in London that I know of but offer a different, carnivore based menu.

The one in Manchester is set inside what I think is an old theatre. You enter the place through some unpromising looking glass doors down the side of Kendal's and shuffle into the gloom.

Once inside proper, you get a fabulous dining area complete with an airy main floor with an open kitchen down one side, banked by a small upstairs dining area on one end, and the old theatre stage (complete with grand organ pipes) down the other.

The food itself well don't even think about entering the place if you are a vegetarian. There are various cuts of meat and home made sausages as well as fish everything that I've had has been excellent, but you MUST order a steak. The waiter can bring you over a board containing all the raw cuts, and will describe what each will offer you.

I don't know how if it's what the beasts are fed on or if it is the way it is matured, but the steak tastes better than any steak, anywhere. Ever.
Even a fillet which normally sacrifices a bit of flavour for its tenderness, is packed full of flavour in this place.

In fact whenever I go now, I always order the fillet. You get your choice of sauces, peppercorn is fantastic. Unlike the London versions, you get a free side with your steak a baked potato is the one to go for as the chips are fat ones (and it should be skinny uns with steak for me).

I've gone on about the steak so much that I can't be arsed typing anything about the huge Argentinean wine list, or the warm chewy cheesy rolls they give you, or the lovely herb/spicy oil you get to dip it in, or that they now offer merguez sausages.

Staff are either totally shite or fantastic depending on who you get, and it is pricey. But it's still my favourite place to eat in Manchester.

Dimitri's

VincentKennedy — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 17:55:57 +0000

Rating: 3.2

Location: Deansgate, M3 4FN, Manchester, United Kingdom

Tags: lively, expensive but the wine list is good value, greek, crowded

If you order the right stuff in here, then you can have a really, really good meal.

The first time I went I ordered the souvlaki, which though quite good was expensive.

The second time I went I ordered from the tapas menu and that was a different story.

The majority of it was excellent - I can particularly recommend the Chorizo Bravas (not very greek, but delicious), sheek, and the steak diablo (generous piece of steak with chili).

Service is also good - a little happhazard, but it does feel family owned.

Also worth a mention is the wine - well one in particular - they have a Chateau Musar on the menu for £13.95 - if you've never tried it, it's a lebanese wine that has loads of rioja like punch. And at the price it is fantastic value.

In summary - order from the tapas menu, sit in the atrium, and order the Musar - and you'll have a fantastic meal.

Restaurant Bar & Grill

VincentKennedy — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 17:28:03 +0000

Rating: 3.5

Location: 14 John Dalton St, M2 6JR, Manchester, United Kingdom

Tags: trendy, pretentious, crowded, expensive

Fries with that?This place sums up everything that is wrong with Manchester's homogenous restaurant scene. Is every restaurant in Manchester part of a chain?

Don't get me wrong - the service is professional (though rushed), and the food is fine - but the menu looks like it could be from any one of a dozen places in the city. In fact I dare say the supplier IS the same as a dozen other places in the city.

The dining room has a few larger tablss around the outside, but the majority are tightly packde together in the centre - it made for a very uncomfortable expericence as I was practically touching elbows with the people on either side of me - I wouldn't mind if I bloody new them!

Main menu has steaks - very average asside from the price. Bog standard sausages and mash, fish and chips, couple of fish dishes, yadayadayada - exactly the same as everywhere else. NOT ONE main course costs under a tenner!
There's a seperate pasta section, where a bowl of pasta for mains will cost 75p under ten pounds...... Yes. For. Pasta.

This proliferation of the same(ish) menu, together with the tight tables, and the "Get 'em in, get 'em out" mentality leaves you with the impression that you are visiting a high class McDonalds.