I fancied lunch one day, but wasn't sure where to go, so when instead of looking on Yelp, I looked…read moreon TripAdvisor, the most popular rated place in Bolton right now is The Bank, which surprised me as I actually hadn't heard of it at this point! So along I toddled, parked up nearby, and found the place which at first glance just looks like a "café", but trust me, it's really not, it's a fab restaurant which I never knew about, right on my doorstep here in Bolton! We were warmly greeted by the owner, who tell us about the history of the place (it was actually a bank!), the potential plans and decoration ideas, and how the venue is still a work in concept, with a bright future. It's always nice to meet someone passionate about their business, and giving good customer service. The venue itself is in simple monochromatic colours with clean lines and modern artwork, but with a traditional chandelier in the centre, which contrasts nicely. We ordered a classic cheeseburger and a gammon dinner. Both were cooked freshly to order, which is always a nice thing to experience in this day and age. The burger was juicy, in a glazed brioche bun, and the gammon was, to quote Phil R, "the best gammon I've ever had!" (I'll agree, it melted in the mouth!), with perfect eggs... but for me the best was the chips! Gigantic triple-cooked crispy crunchy batons of loveliness! Some of the best chips I've had, with a real crunch to them, unlike some places that claim to triple-cook chips! I'd go here again just for the chips, quite honestly! After an enjoyable and filling main course, we decided to take a breather so that we could order dessert! It seemed like a shame to skip dessert after such an enjoyable meal! After mulling over the dessert menu, Phil R went for the home made apple pie with custard, whilst I opted for the more intriguing "love in a cup". The desserts were mixed. Phil R said that the apple pie was more puree and poor pastry, but it had good custard. The 'Love in a Cup' turned out to be a very very chocolatey cake in a teacup, with fresh cream on top, very tasty, and perfect for the chocoholics out there! I even experimented by pouring some of the custard onto it to mellow it out a little, and that worked just as well! My partner and I decided it should be renamed, the "Oh My God That's Chocolatey!". Overall, The Bank is offering superb food for extremely reasonable prices. I'll be there again, and recommend you give it a go sometime if you fancy somewhere where simple food is done very well indeed!

On a rainy Saturday, after doing a bit of shopping, myself and my girlfriend wanted to go out for…read morelunch, but we fancied something a little different. We searched online and came back with the Bank on Bury Road heading into Bolton. We had a look at the menu and it sounded great so we decided to head there. As we drove up to the address, I thought I must have had it wrong as it looked like a row of houses, however, the quaint little bistro is located on the end of the terrace. You could easily miss it, or never know it's there, but for those who seek this treasure trove it is there to be found. We walked into the restaurant to find a room modern and fresh, no bigger than some living rooms. The manager was delightfully pleasant, seating us and serving us quickly and making sure we were looked after. I decided on the Overdraft burger (love all the punny menu item names) and my girlfriend had the rump steak. The burger was firstly, excellent and secondly, huge. I'm a big burger fan, and this was no let down. For such a reasonably priced burger in a fairly unknown place, this really was good. The patties were juicy and well seasoned, the bread fresh, chicken was tender and the chips are excellent, crisp, fluffy and very tasty! I tried the rump steak and it was so good, cooked to perfection, silky and juicy. I would definitely recommend this little gem to anyone, it's a lovely place with an attentive owner who is clearly passionate and loves what she does. The food is reasonably priced and really good. We will definitely be returning in the near future. Especially on weekend evenings when the manager told us they have acoustic performers throughout the night. Another little treat that the Bank has in the vault!

This place is trying to be the upmarket place to be in Bolton. It tends to attract 'weekend…read moremillionaires' drinking Grey Goose etc. In fairness it is actually an ok bar if you look beyond those trying to show everyone how cool they are. It is a little out of place in the centre of Bolton and if you've been in more than once then you recognise the majority of people in there. If you're looking to go to an upmarket bar I would recommend Bolton Train Station just around the corner and get off in Manchester!

The bar eh what can I say. I worked there for about 4 years on and off and it has played a massive…read morepart in my adult life. Alot of people can be put off because the place comes across as being quite intimaddating with its red carpet and its doormen in tuxedos before you even get in but is such an accomedating place. The music is very good banging out rnb on fridays and saturdays with ralph on friday and darren on saturday who are both really cool guys all the staff where legands if I do say myself but ive not been in for a while but im sure theyre still rocking it. For me I loved making my cocktails and had loads of regulars which is what that place is built on. Being the only top end city centre venue really it attracts boltons wealthy cool and stylish who come back week after week. Just love this place was my favorite job to date :)

Good friendly staff that are very polite and would go again we need more like this so will…read moredefinitely be there again :-)

One of the oldest Inns / Pubs in the world, originally established in 1251 and rebuilt in 1636…read more Being exiled from Manchester at the moment & now living in Scotland, I was travelling back last week on a beautiful sunny, spring evening and decided to make a stop at a local hostelry. Having a penchant for older pubs, I searched for the oldest in Lancashire and came up with one of the oldest in the world. As you can see from the pictures on the listing, it is a beautiful pub. I met a very friendly local outside who told me that the Inn had a long association with cider and recommended I tried the Thatchers Cloudy on draught. I'm not a cider drinker, but I do value tradition and ordered myself a pint. It was actually very tasty and I felt more of a part of the history of the place knowing that hundreds, maybe thousands of others had drunk a similar brew before me. Being a mere stop on my journey onward, my time here was limited and I really felt so comfortable I could've stayed much longer. If you happen to be in this part of the world, I highly recommend that you pay a visit!

Now that the sugar tax has come in, when asking for a vodka coke I would expect to be asked the…read morequestion " full fat or diet" see as people are allergic to aspartame the main sugar substitue in most leading diet soft drinks. As a result of this question not being asked my partner suffered a bad allergic reaction that cut our night short. Ask the simple question in future. Will never return.

Really good pub in the centre of Bolton. Now this is something you won't read very often! Prices…read moreare very reasonable. Crowd is a good mixture between younger and older people, which again is a good thing. The only draw back is the wait for a drink - but this is only because of the popularity of the place. Last night was the first time I've been and I'll definitely be back!

I doubt whether Alfie B. has actually spoken to any of the staff here - this bar is run by Czechs,…read moreit is mainly staffed by Czechs and Slovaks, the beer is Czech, Czech bands play there, they run Czech nights and they show Czech ice hockey matches. I don't think it is trying to tap into any British trend whatsoever - it is simply a bar designed to appeal to the local Czech and Slovak communities as well as locals and students. Rant over. Czech mate. I used to come to this bar on Mondays to take advantage of the £5 pitcher offers they had on. Unlike many student pubs, Czech Bar uses decent alcohol for its cheapo pitchers and cocktails. I don't understand why there is a constant 2 for 1 offer on cocktails, but I'm not complaining. The beer is good value - you'd pay at least an extra pound a pint for a Staropramen at any city centre bar. On a weeknight there tend to be a few locals playing pool and a few Czechs at the bar, leaving most of the comfy sofas and booths available making it a really good place to meet a group of friends for a quiet drink or to start a night out. Last time I went in there one of the guys behind the bar locked us in when it got to 11pm. He told us there had been a few attempted armed robberies at closing time lately, which is a shame. If this place opened up on the Oxford Road (perhaps in place of Scu Bar) it would be less likely to suffer from this problem and more likely to attract passing trade which would make weeknights a bit livelier. But I like it just the way it is.

The ingeniously entitled 'Czech Bar' is a bar in my experience staffed by British people, looking…read moreto tap up into a trend of about 5 years ago for praising beer from the Czech Republic. True, they do bother to import a couple of Czech beers that are okay. But the reason Staropramen, Pilsner Urquell and Budvar are famous and available everywhere these days, is because they're the nicest ones, so they've been imported (they're also the most popular in the Czech Republic). Other than a few average and rightly unknown beers, its absolute woe in there. Here's an ode to it: Czech Bar, They've brought the beer from afar, Which is a little bizarre, Because none of its nicer than Star. This place we shall debar, Escape, run, and leave the door ajar, Pick up a tinny from the next door Spar And consume it our boudoir.

Great local spot, very cozy with plenty of seating for the pub area and the dinning area. Plus…read moretasty food and festive drinks.

Little friendly pub, everybody seems to know everybody and there's a big crowd for Sunday lunch…read more We've just popped in for a pre-lunch drink after doing for a walk round the river. There's a wide variety of ales and which are not too badly priced. There's a beer garden to the rear and the River Irwell runs past bathe front door. Very quaint!

TL;DR - A little bit of the Northern Quarter, up north in Whitefield…read more Well this was a pleasant surprise. It's a pretty unassuming location, on a busy main road and nearly opposite a big supermarket but as soon as you step inside the Northern Crafthouse you could be in any part of the Northern Quarter. It's got that reclaimed/vintage vibe going with lots of exposed brickwork and wood - and some rather fabulous chairs which looked like old school chairs recovered in leather. The menu isn't going to win any healthy eating awards - burgers, tacos, hot dogs and burritos make up the majority. There's also a brunch menu which is served at the start of the day. Sparky went for the BBQ beef burger, I opted for the cajun chicken burger. Each came on an enamel plate with a gingham piece of grease proof paper - again, very on-trend for the NQ! We really enjoyed our food, although my burger was a little bit on the salty side. We also polished off a bowl of fries. The crowd was fairly mixed, ranging from 20 somethings out to cure a hangover through to families with children. There was a really nice vibe to the place and it makes a really welcome addition to this part of north Manchester, showing that Prestwich isn't the only place with cool hangouts!

Very impressed with my recent visit. Highly recommend the Fried Chicken Waffles - the peppercorn…read moresauce complimented it brilliantly. Short walk from Whitefield Metrolink makes it accessible from Bury and Manchester. Can see myself coming back for a few beers and wings very soon.

It's a borderline between 3 and 4 stars for this place but I don't think I can award 4 purely down…read moreto the beer choice. There is no craft ales to my knowledge, which can be fine as I love a good brand lager and could happily drink cold San Miguel all night long (which I do, too often) however for your more renowned beer lover - a bigger selection would be needed. Now, how can Grappa get to 4 stars or higher? Let me try the food! They are an Italian restaurant after all and so it only seems fair that the final judgement will come after I've tasted some pizza, pasta or similar! Atmosphere in here is good, especially on a Thursday night where it seems to be the it place to go in Bolton, albeit that is not saying much, but you do tend to get an alright mix of people in here. I'll often bump into friends, family and friends of the family, so its not just bustling with kids drinking WKD's! If you're in and around the area, Grappa is probably your best shot for a drink later on at night. Early in the evening there are better options for pub grub, however if you want a tasty Italian, try Grappa - and let me know how the food is!

I've only started to visit The Crofters after it becoming a more popular place to drink for people…read morearound my age-range. There's always a good atmosphere in the place particularly on a Thursday evening when they do 2-4-1 on cocktails. It's a good place to have drinks on a Friday/Saturday evening before seeing where the night takes you (normally town...). The only down side is that there isn't much seating inside for drinkers as the restaurant takes up quite large proportion of the floor space. Patio heaters & plenty of seating outside make it a great place to enjoy a couple of cold ones on a warm sunny afternoon.

This pub is named after the invention which revolutionised the cotton industry…read more The spinning mule' was the brainchild of Samuel Crompton, who was born on the outskirts of Bolton in 1753. However, he received just £50 for his invention. Since 1862, Nelson Square has been fronted by a statue of Samuel Crompton. First time here, went with friend. Nice inside, very much like the last Wetherspoons I went in. Went in for a midday snack. Wasnt impressed we had to stand waiting at the bar to get an order in for the food. Chorley has a food order area. At the table it wasnt cleaned down and grubby. I had a bowl of Tomato and Basil soup that really was half a bowl. Bloomer bread and butter. Was given a knapkin which wrapped a soup spoon and a large dinner folk to spread my butter on the bread. My friend had Smoked Haddock fish cakes that were too brown and crunchy, chips that looked like washerwomens fingers and a side salad that was limp and need a good dip in water. I could just see Gordon Ramsey forking it about, then coming out with a few choice words. Would I say it's a place with a Kitchen Nightmare, ( yip too true) How do I know? I was an head chef over 35 years. Would I serve that up? Not this side of hell. Broadcasts Live News Cask Marque Accredited Children Welcome In Good Beer Guide TV Screens Wifi

Just your average Wetherspoons - A bit souless but decent selection of well kept ales & lager…read more Usually used as a meeting point for groups going on elsewhere.