You can't go wrong with a quick, healthy lunch for £2. For that you get a piping hot bowl of soup…read moreand a roll of your choice (from a selection of around four or five), and if you're feeling slightly more peckish you can upgrade to a larger bowl for a mere 50p. Ah, how I love the Arndale Food Market. And it's just one guy! Richard Morphett to be precise. His stall is one of the smallest at the market, nestled next to the smoothie stop, and he always has around five varieties of soup to choose from. At the moment the flavours are particularly festive, with the options of turkey and a chestnut one which I plumped for. They're fresh-tasting, wholesome and delicious, and I was thoroughly chuffed with my choice. When I popped along there was only one meat option, which means plenty of pondering for veggies. Plus Richard's lovely. I sat at the table and chair near to his stall, people-watching (witnessing panic buying in the Arndale Centre is always a larf and a half) and it's nice to see that those who run the individual stalls are all friends with one another. Now this might be a pretty simple review, but it's a pretty simple service. Great soup, yummy rolls, friendly service and all cheap as chips. What more could you ask?

Time for an update! Last night I experienced Soup Kitchen for the first time in two ways. I know…read moreyou know I've experienced it before, but a) it's been ages and b) I've never been to the gig bit downstairs or eaten meat here. 1) Gig. ACE. Just wonderful. Great atmosphere underneath, and I mean FAR underneath, as in you have to look high up to see peoples' feet going past the window. Crazy, non? Lots of places to sit, which is great for me as I'm way too old to stand up at gigs for extended periods of time and I hurt my foot this week. #passtheprunes Fab sound and a lovely way to see lesser known bands. Oh, and did I mention it was free? Yes, we like free. 2) Meat. ACE. So for a mere £6, I got a big ol' juicy cooked-pink-in-the-middle burger pile of brilliance in a giganto bun with gherkins, salad and all kinds of amazeballs sauce. The chips where somewhere between wedges and fries - long story short, they were MASSIVE. Ketchup was offered and we got a generous ramekin of the stuff, and it was served on a rustic wooden board. It ain't just about soup! My maid of honour had the same dish, while Fiancé and Jemma G both had a soup coronation chicken combo. Their sandwiches were lovely, soft, deliciously spiced and had proper hunks of chicken (I tried it of course), and the satay soup was peanutty, flavoursome and creamy (I tried that too). Top marks for both soup and chips being served in camping mugs. Me likey. AWESOME food, like, truly delicious, cheap, and it might be Northern Quarter-based, but it does not have the pretention. I didn't feel like it was remotely as Nathan Barley in here as it is in a lot of places. Lovely, lovely Soup Kitchen. Why did I leave it so long between visits?

This place is cool, albeit it's seriously trying to be…read more First point: do not ask for a cocktail in here. My friend wanted a whisky sour and got the response "we don't really do cocktails." Hm. They have a lot of liquor behind the bar for somewhere that doesn't do cocktails. I understand it's onerous to have all conceivable cocktail ingredients if you're really a beer specialist (and they do seem to have a great range of beer, btw) but I do think it would be nice if bars like this at least had 3-4 house cocktails for those of us they don't like beer or slightly dodgy house wine but wish to hang with our friends that do. Bartender also struggled with our request for tap water, which was less excusable. Meanwhile, the DJ was playing some awful music. "It's just noise, isn't it," pointed out one of the crowd, while apologising for being an Old Man. But it wasn't that we just didn't like the music or that it was too loud, is that the sound system couldn't take it and the sound quality/distortion was incredibly grating. Not relaxing. Shame really because I like the spacious layout, gig posters in the toilet, and the delicious bourbon Jonny Q kindly bestowed upon me. I'd go again if someone suggested it but given the amount of good bars in the NQ it's not top of my list for a repeat visit/recommendation in terms of drinking. HOWEVER the food might be a different story - the other reviews of meal-based visits have been great so I will try to return one lunchtime. UPDATE: went back for a Carefully Planned Festival - the music venue downstairs is one of the biggest/most attractive in the NQ although it smells SO WRONG and nobody could work out WHAT the smell was which was even more disturbing.

Good first experience at Chop'd. I thought this was a massive international chain come over from…read morethe US but actually it turns out I am confusing it with an East Coast chain called Chop't! I have been seriously unhealthy recently (since about 2014, actually) and so Chop't was an ideal choice. You can build your own salad or if lazy/too socially awkward to speak to people you can get a pre-prepared one which has the advantage of giving you calorie information. It's interesting to see how many calories a dressing adds! I picked up the jerk chicken salad as thought that was a nice unusual meat for a salad and also it was the lowest calorie option - it also recommended the lowest calorie dressing, balsamic vinegar (all pre-packaged salads come with dressing recommendations but you can pick the one you want or none at all, which is cool). The chicken was nice and tasty, so nice and tasty I ate it all first then regretted I only had lettuce leaves and grilled red pepper left. My friend commented they should hide the chicken at the bottom as a reward. But wait! Chop'd had hidden some delicious sweet potato at the bottom as a reward. Winner. I regret they do not use (exclusively) rocket but other than that I liked Chop'd and will be back.

A big yes to Chop'd, infact a big massive yes to Chop'd…read more I'd heard they were opening up a while back and I'd had a look on social media to see what they were about. Salad and health food options - nothing revolutionary there but something we need more of in Manchester, so I was looking forward to trying them out. Food wise - great: big bowls of healthy salad and veg with the option to add in some protein or cheese for a treat. Price wise - also great: a 'regular' salad starts at £5.45 and only increases if you want to add more items in - but a mountain of lettuce, a choice of 3 vegetables and healthy dose of chicken was more than enough for me! All sounds pretty good doesn't it but wondering why I give 5 stars? I just love the business model - everything about it. I'm quite in awe with it still a day after being there, here's why: A lot of London imports lose their way when coming to Manchester - they seem chain-y, uninspiring and lack any local touch to really appeal to Mancunians. Chop'd avoid these errors and excel in implementation. They have Grindsmith coffee in house, what a clever touch to go with a local company (a great one I may add) and have their branding and signage way clearer than any 'chopd' logos - a massive h/t there. And finally, the speed and ease of service is second to none. You can pick up a ready made salad, you can create your own from scratch in a process that takes 2 minutes tops and you can even order online from box to full salad and collect when it's ready. It's not revolutionary as I said but whilst Manchester has been booming with investment and expansion, some of the traits the London city joints offer up has seemingly skipped our fair city - well until now. I may be blowing it out of proportion and chances are in 2 years time this same exact experience may only merit 4 stars, but in Manchester current climate Chop'd is a for sure winner. I'm a fan.

Kimchi is a nice casual korean cafe style restaurant and the food here is limited but good quality…read moreand all priced under £10. I had the kimchi tofu jigae and the kimchi pancake which was pretty big but tasted amazing. In the jigae they also added a poached egg into it which gave it a nice taste, and the spicy factor was perfect; not too spicy. The service is average bit efficient, the food came quite quickly and another good thing is that banchan is served complimentary here, which doesn't seem to be the case with many UK korean restaurants. They also have some Japanese dishes on the menu like sushi, gyoza, temaki and teriyaki. There is parking right outside and it's pay and display but very cheap: 50p for 30 mins and £1 for an hour. The atmosphere is very casual like a cafe, so it's great for lunch as well as dinner. Overall, authentic and tasty Korean food that's well priced and made to a great standard.

my friend and i ordered take out during the lunch special hour & picked up right before they closed…read morefor break and they were nice to have made our order in such close in time! i got the bibimbap and my friend got the bulgogi which came in sturdy boxes! the portion size for the bibimbap was really big and was full of veggies and the egg! the bulgogi was mainly rice though but still good!

Great food, very fresh taste. Portions are generous, loads of both meat and garnish…read more The price isn't bad either - I paid £9 for a portion of stir-fried garlic beef and glass noodles. Quite good for the city centre! The service is very quick and the stuff are very helpful and polite. Can't wait to go back!

A lovely little eaterie in the heart of Chinatown. Very casual atmosphere with Great food. The…read morestaff were friendly and the service was fast. Just what is needed if you are shopping or on the go.

The food here was delicious! From the moment you walk into Katsouris Deli, you know you are in for…read morea treat! The air is heavy with yummy food smells and really gets you excited for what's to come! The restaurant was quite busy when we arrived. The ordering system here is a little chaotic from an American standpoint. You place an order at the register, but at first it seemed hard to tell where that line began. Once we got that all sorted out, we grabbed a table and waited for our food. I got strumpets and my husband had the English Breakfast. I loved my meal and had a few nibbles off my husband's plate and everything was legit good! The sausage is made in house and the food was excellent quality. Katsouris is located in a bustling part of the city and had great people watching too! I would love to return here in my next trip to Manchester to try more of their fare.

Careful this place will make you wonder why you paid so much more elsewhere…read more But let's start with the beginning. And the best advice I can give you is "take your time". There are so many food options and variations. Even when the counter is free to order don't jump on it. Make sure you understand all menu options first. That said I ordered - half a "German" Frikadellen sandwich - half an Eastern chicken sandwich - a small (regular fries) and a coffee latte. It all came down to £14.50 (including the extra tax you pay while eating in) a steal! Let's address the Elefant in the room first: a German guy ordering a German Frikadellen sandwich and he is about to review it. A Frikadelle is a meatball patty The specialty is it is made with egg and onions. Let me tell you it is nothing about this sandwich being German. lol. It's Just a regular meat patty. In general, that is fine, but why would you mark it as a German Frikadelle. so please don't get food. This is not original. It is still a tasty sandwich though. The chicken sandwich has a delicious tzatziki coming with it which is Jo sauce with garlic and dill sometimes onions which in this case has not. Did chicken meat stove was tasty but a little bit on the dry side which is surprising for a deli that is as busy as this one. Overall, both sandwiches were very dry they were missing a sauce taste Wise both of them have been good I ordered Health sent juice so that I can try both but what came was a real sandwich so I got two full sandwiches. Please be aware if you are just a little bit hungry don't order more than one sandwich. They are very generous. The fries have been VERY crispy. I like mine well done but that was even a bit hard for me. They have a very tasty seasoning (like a good crisp/chip with paprika) and I ordered the regular-sized portion I am so happy I did cause I would have not been able to eat it all (even when they would have been perfectly cooked). Would I order again yes I would now know what I know I can easily adjust and ask them to give me more sources or anything to make it a little bit Juicy. Of course, I cannot ask them for chicken not to be dry but it was still tasty. In the end, it was a huge meal and I suggest starting small you can always go a second time. Prices are Hands down surprisingly low. I will have to take down one point for marketing products as "German" and then not even being close to the original. And a second one for the sandwiches being dry and so have been the chicken. Three stars easily can get to four - even five when they make the sandwich differently or make a Frikadelle.

Without any doubt one of the best Vietnamese restaurant I have visited so far. The food is full of…read moreflavour and undertones, just perfect. Coconut curry was beyond compare. They aren't licensed to sell alcohol, so small corkage charge of us expected (something like £1 for beer and £3 for wine) The stuff was very friendly and wanted to make sure we were having a great time. The only thing to complain about is they messed up one order (to be fair, it was 14 of us), and one poor guy had to sit and wait while everyone else was eating.

After a cold and rainy walk the BunHue RareSteak was the perfect way to warm up! The spice level…read morewas just what I was hoping for and the broth was extremely flavorful. The summer rolls and fried rice were also fantI found Mi & Pho by a random restaurant search and wasn't disappointed, would definitely go again if I'm in the area!

Dire customer service. Extremely rude (Greek) owner - openly reprimands staff (very poor…read moremanagement practice/unprofessional). Coffees - average. Sandwiches served on stale bread. Will take our business elsewhere in the future - lots of alternatives close by...

Thank you to Sophie C for pointing out this Bury branch of Katsouris was here first, before the…read moreDeansgate branch - something that could easily be overlooked with the number of reviews for the Manchester City Centre branch. When I arrived here at noon on a market day during the week, the place was jumping! Not to worry, as I then fitted in a tour of the Bury Markets before returning to Katsouris for a late lunch. I really like this place. As in, if I were to put together the market of my dreams, there would likely be room for a Katsouris on the periphery - whereas there is not really much from the rest of Bury Market that would make the cut. (OK, maybe a few places, but some serious cherry-picking would have to be done by me!) Katsouris Bury is a little bit stylish but not intimidating in the least. Staff are mainly young - as in 20s and 30s - and the service has a brisk and professional feel to it although still with a smile on the face! There is a separate deli counter to go and a café serving similar food to the Deansgate branch - three soups of the day (with probably two vegetarian choices) filled hot or cold ciabatta, an informal carvery and Barbakan baked good such as pastries, mince pies and cheesecake for dessert. No sign of the self-service mezze station which features at the Deansgate branch, though. Until I receive local insider knowledge to the contrary, I am writing Bury of as a bit of a no-go area for vegetarians on any sort of healthy diet, although nearby Whitefield does look more promising. Whereas the vegetarian choice at Katsouris is more than enough. I enjoyed a lunch of a decent-sized bowl of carrot and coriander soup with Barbakan bread (under £3 to sit in), half a Zorba the Greek toasted ciabatta (filled with halloumi and homemade tapenade) and an apple danish. In this, I feel I have identified my ideal meal combo from Katsouris, but rotating the soup and dessert choices to keep it interesting - I've yet to try the Barbakan Polish cheescake, for example. The outdoor seating area is huge, whereas seating and space indoors is limited and mainly at wall counters, which could prove problematic on days when sitting outside is not an option. For the adventurous vegetarian, there are definitely plenty of culinary diamonds in the rough to be found in Bury Market, if you have the appetite for the hunt. But Katsouris is far and away your safest bet if you are in a hurry!

A close friend of mine decided to have her birthday celebration at Nutters with afternoon tea…read morebooked for eight of us. This was a 'dining experience' I'd never tried before, so was looking forward to what I imagined would be the closest I'd ever get to living upstairs in Downton Abbey. When we arrived we were directed to sit at a table in their front lounge which had its own bar to wait to be seated in the main restaurant. This area's decor looked more like a city centre wine bar than I was expecting, what with its light-coloured seating, glossy black fireplace and spotlights. And there we sat, seemingly forgotten about. After 15 minutes looking around expecting service I had to walk over to the bar to ask the barman if we could order our drinks. Not a great start. Once drinks were served it wasn't long before we were all invited to our table which was a large circular one next to some impressive stone arched windows. We ordered more drinks (a mixture of cocktails, soft drinks and of course, pots of tea) and these were followed soon afterwards by three tiered serving trays of sandwiches, pastries and scones with clotted cream and jam. Excluding all drinks except the teas, the price is £15 per person. The majority of the sandwiches were very good, with just a few where the bread had dried up a bit, so that was the only minor issue. The cakes and scones were tasty, and I struggled to restrain myself from eating more than my fair share. All in all, it was a good afternoon, but not amazing, as the initial lack of service and the price of the drinks somewhat dampened the experience. £8.50 for a simple champagne cocktail and £8 for a glass of wine was really pushing acceptability I felt. Tip: their Afternoon Tea menu is available from Tuesdays to Saturdays between 3pm and 5pm. Tip: the 'Afternoon Tea Experience' where you also get a glass of House Champagne cocktail and chilled strawberries is £22.50 per person.

From the moment you turn into the driveway leading into Nutters you know that you have arrived…read moresomewhere special. The winding driveway leads up to a beautiful old building and an ample sized car park. A member of staff greets you on arrival, takes your coat and directs you to the lounge area. Drinks orders are promptly taken whilst you look at the menu. We ordered shortly afterwards and before long we were advised that our table was ready. The waiter showing us to our table also carried out drinks through for us. On arrival at our table we were also offered some iced water. A selection of freshly baked bread was brought. For a starter I had parsnip soup, which could have been really bland, and whilst I did need to add some seasoning it was delicious. My main course was the Limousin of Beef which was served with Yorkshire pudding roast potatoes and veg. It was perfectly cooked and probably the most delicious beef I've ever tasted. My dining partner had the seabass which was served with noodles and was also amazingly delicious. For dessert there were only 2 choices. Either a selection of desserts or a selection of cheeses. I had the cheese and my dining partner had the selection of desserts. The waitress who brought them described each one. The cheeses were arranged according to strength getting stronger as you made your way clockwise around the plate. To finish off we had a cafetière between us. The food was amazing. The service was faultless. The venue has a lovely relaxed ambience. Full marks!! If anything could be done differently, and I'm really having to nitpick here, I'd prefer the same waiter throughout my meal as we were served by many different people, but this isn't a big issue at all.