As a proud Mancunian, and Man United fan, I've been wanting to get myself down to Cafe Football (jointly owned by the legends that are Gary Neville & Ryan Giggs) since I first heard of its existence a couple of years ago. I'm happy to say, I've finally had that chance, and whilst not perfect, was definitely a great experience.
I'll start off with the bad - I'd always imagined it as a standalone restaurant, but it's actually attached to the side of a huge shopping centre. A bit of snobbery on my side, I'll admit, but it does lose some of the lustre because of it.
There's also a lot less memorabilia once you go in - besides a few shirts hung up near the toilets (admittedly, impressive to see those names up there), there's little to hint of the footballing pedigree of the two owners.
But, onto the good - having sampled a gut-busting 3 course meal there, I can safely say the food is a drastic step up from the standard you'd usually get from your average sports bar/restaurant.
I began with the chicken wings, easily the best I've ever had anywhere! They're immense, really crispy on the outside & very tender on the inside. Result! I then moved onto their version of the sausage roll - black pudding and pork, encased in a crunchy pastry and served with a side of home-made beans (mixed with pulled pork!!) I finished off with the Vimto trifle - given I believe the mighty Vimto to be the nectar of the Gods, it was always going to go down well!
I meant what I said at the start, that amount of food was literally gut-busting, and I will admit I felt it the following day. But, it was totally worth it... read more