The Banyan Tree is a family-run restaurant and bar on Ellesmere St in Manchester, on the edge of…read moreCastlefield, it's just over half a mile on foot from Deansgate Station, but the food was worth the trip! They offer two different menus, one is served Monday to Saturday, and the other is a menu that is served on Sundays only, the Sunday menu includes a nice portion of the regular menu, with Sunday roast dinners added in lieu of a couple of options from the regular menu. The menu had lots of choices with labelling for gluten-free which was handy. There were some differences between the menu stated online and the menu given to me in person, but the staff were friendly and offered to make me the JD BBQ Ribs that were on the online menu, but not the tangible menu. The presentation of the food was very good and exciting, the ribs were so juicy and tender, they came right off the bone, the JD BBQ sauce was also good, I liked the side of corn, a little more seasoning on the fries and some butter for the corn, and the dish would have been perfect. I visited with my mother on this occasion, she really enjoyed the Sunday Roast dinner with pork, she mentioned although she normally prefers beef to pork and rarely eats pork (Beef was not available), she really enjoyed it. The roast potatoes were very fluffy, she also mentioned her pleasure for the "homemade" Yorkshire pudding, I was particularly impressed to learn the meal, other than the Yorkshire pudding, including the gravy and all the trimmings was gluten-free! The restaurant area is fairly small but seemed ample and comfortable, and also included a small number of tables for dining outdoors, it was clean, as were the toilets. I do find the prices to be slightly much, but the food was good quality and knowing it's going to an independent family-run bistro, rather than some generic chain, makes me feel a little better about everything. I will be returning! 4*

I have such a soft spot for the delightful Banyan Tree. Not only is it our local and offers a…read morewonderful selection of quality food and drink but it also featured in my (now fiancé's) wedding proposal! I was sent on a mini bar crawl that ended in banyan! Banyan is one of those "old reliable" places you know will always offer quality food, a laid back atmosphere and good service all for a reasonable price. Pretty much every friend that's ever come to visit me has experienced banyan whether it be for breakfast, lunch or dinner which I think is a real testament to their consistent menu! When the day comes that I move from Castlefield I'm going to really miss having this place as my local!

I visited The Botanist, earlier this year, and have noticed a huge decline in their huge standards,…read morein terms of taste and safety. I've always noticed the standards at The Botanist on Deansgate in terms of food quality and service to be much lesser than their other locations, but it seems to have continued its period of decline. On a recent visit, I ordered the Hanging Kebab with Chicken and Chorizo, and I ended up having to send the food back, this is because the food arrived lukewarm, and after cutting into the chicken, I realised it was pink. I originally thought it could have been from the chorizo on the kebab, but I just felt rather uneasy, after cutting into it further, and it was obviously raw. After bringing this to the attention of the team, they dealt with it promptly, and sent a manager over and promised to have a new meal on the go, ready in a couple of minutes, I thought that was the end of it, but sadly the chicken came out pink a second time again, while the food was hot, it seems they have the inability to cook the hanging kebabs all the way through. The chorizo was also rock solid on the second portion, and cooked poorly. I was disappointed that neither the manager nor the service team returned to my table to check everything was okay with the dish, knowing I had experienced issues previously. The prices seem also slightly high for glorified bar food, especially after the discontinuation of their loyalty scheme. 2* - The cocktails and alcoholic drinks section are cool, I wouldn't visit for anything other than drinks in the future.

We were looking for a place near our hotel to eat and came across the Botanist. I'm not sure if…read morethis is the case for many establishments in the UK but they don't allow football shirts to be worn by patrons. Having come straight from the Manchester United game, I was forced to keep my jacket on during our meal which was a little unpleasant since the restaurant can get a little toasty. I thought this restaurant would be lenient since we were in the dining area and not the bar area but it was to no avail. The vibe of this place is pretty cool. There's a patio area that people can sit and mingle in. There's a spacious bar area where people can congregate and there's also a decent-sized restaurant area where all of the tables are located for diners. Music was playing the entire time we were there and it's interesting to hear how much American music was played. We ordered the famous hanging kebab and I got the lamb kofta which also comes with seasoned chips. Personally, I think the hanging kebab is more of a novelty. It's pretty cool to have your kebab just hanging for you to pluck but in terms of price and what you're getting, I think it's just average. You're definitely paying for your food to be hung that is cool to snap for social media. While I thought the pieces of lamb were prepared well, I thought the dish was lacking something to pair with the meat and I'm not quite sure the seasoned chips do the trick. While the chips are good, I was hoping for something more. At the end of the day, it's pretty cool to have a hanging kebab. It's more about the experience here at the Botanist.

We had SUCH fond memories of this place from a few years ago when we gave it a stellar 5 star…read morereview. This time it simply disappointed in almost every way. The service was OK, the food offerings just not enticing at all (we ended up with Caesar salads as the main, and stopped to buy some food at a Sainsbury's local and take it back to our hotel room. The cost of cocktails and mocktails was absurd. Mrs G got a mocktail that was totally tasteless for £9.50. I had a margarita that tasted good but the glass was 80% filled with the biggest block of ice that I have ever seen - for £14.50!!!! Advice - stick with beer or wine and don't even consider cocktails!!! The place is still attractive but the fact that it was virtually empty on a Friday evening at 7-8pm is maybe explained by all the foregoing??

Such a beautiful place. Inside is decorative, service was awesome as well…read more We came here for lunch, and it did not disappoint. The drinks, service and food were delish. We tried several different dishes like the Buttermilk-fried chicken, sourdough bread, mash potatoes, french fries, baked broccoli and Slow-cooked beef cheek. My favorite was the buttermilk fried chicken. Definitely can't go wrong with that. All of it was delish. So much flavor and good size to share with 3 people. We also got Sticky toffee pudding for dessert. So yummy! Definitely give it a shot.

TL;DR - Still cool, great food and vibes... but service can be slow…read more Came here to enjoy the last day of Eat Out to Help Out. Social distancing is nicely employed - there's a hatch outside for takeaway, and outdoor seating to wait for a table. We sat for about 10 minutes before being invited in. There's a brunch menu at weekends but on a Monday the main offer was pizzas. And they were really, really good... we both had the Pepe Braddock which features n'duja, caramelised onions and roast peppers. The topping on this pizza was absolutely fabulous. We also enjoyed a draught IPA which was nice if pricy (£4.50 a pint). The interior is just as cool as it always was. And they're dog friendly too so you get to watch some adorable four legged friends whilst you're here. The downside though, and the thing stopping a 5* review is that the service was sloooow. We ordered two pizzas, and had to wait about 50 minutes for them. It was reasonably busy whilst we were there but not packed. We'd actually come here because at Folk next door they said it would be an hour's wait for food. If we'd been on a lunch break from work we'd have been in trouble!

I came to Cuckoo on a Saturday afternoon to try out their pizzas. Upon entering i instantly liked…read morethe place. It's small and compact and has only a few tables, although i believe there are some more tables and an extra seating area downstairs. We waited at the door for a minute or so, then figured it must be a 'choose a table and order at the bar' type of place because nobody approached us, so we sat at a small table at the top of the stairs. The menu is decent, split out between 'red' and 'white' pizzas - some vegetarian options too. They're all reasonably priced at around £5 - £6.50 and when they arrived they were also reasonably sized. I ordered the margherita, as i believe this how you determine a very good pizza. It was OK. The oven could have been a little hotter, as the base didn't cook completely to the edges and didn't achieve much 'lepoarding' as you expect with usual sourdough wood oven type pizzas. There was also, maybe, a little too much cheese on there and the dough had an excess amount of flour on it, which i had to wipe off to make the crusts edible. For Prestwich, this place is great. But living in MCR and being a regular* at Honest Crust and Rudy's Pizza, this place just isn't that good. The cocktail menu looks great. *more than regular ;)

I visited Chaophraya for dinner on a trip to Manchester earlier this year, but this was my first…read moretime coming here for lunch. I'm very pleased to report that my dining experience was just as exceptional for lunch as was when I came here for dinner :-)

When I think Thai, I think low key and chill. While not "upscale", it was a nice restaurant. The…read moredecor and ambiance is light, pretty, & relaxing. Pad Thai with prawns - yummy with flavor in every bite! A good amount of prawns in the whole dish. There wasn't a bite or ingredient that I didn't like. I liked that they had different beers and wines from around the world - including Thailand! Great & attentive service the entire time!

If you like a quiet evening with good food and friendly staff this is the place. The menu is…read morevaried but the food is excellent. The other day I had Ox Stew with dumplings, the quantity was really good the content was magnificent. I am very fussy with stews and things and this was little out of the ordinary but the meat melted in the mouth, the dumplings were filling without being heavy and the gravy was just delicious. My husband had the leg of duck done in a heavenly sauce served with a Herb Rice pot. I know it was good cause he never opened his mouth to talk the whole meal just made these mewling noises at one point I looked around to see if there were a cat. The locals come in for a pint and a chat and the pub runs some themed eveings you know the usual kind of quiz nite sort of thing but I also believe they have an open mike night on a Thursday but not sure about that. The pub is under new ownership and it shows to the good.

With January offer of 50% off it would be rude not to give a try to Australasia! Very swanky…read morebuilding and elegant interior certainly make it look very upmarket! We decided to go with small plates - and I have to say quite enjoy those! The food was very well presented and sent to us in two "waves". We also tried sharing plate for desserts - those very nice but some are better than others - my favourite was crème brûlée! The service is on the slower side, but not critically. I enjoyed our visit very much!

food was good but the prices were abit to high for what it was nothing golden about the fries i gotread more

Wow, Heaton Moor really is booming for new places opening! At least once a fortnight something new…read moreis popping up and on Saturday we were lucky enough to be able to pop to La Cantina for a couple of drinks (and some unexpected tapas after hunger/curiosity kicked in) Run by Damson, it's a great use of their corner and on this evening there were loads people sitting in and outside enjoying the last 'coatless' evening of summer. The wine selection was great and beer was as authentic Spanish as they come (even our waitress hardly spoke English which was far from frustrating, it just made it all that more authentic - she said she'd only been in Manchester for a few weeks from Spain so I reckon she'll be nailing it in a few months time) The 2 plates of tapas we had were fantastic - manchego cheese and fresh bread was delightful - as was the Spanish sausage - really great choice and a nice 930pm snack. I also popped in for lunch yesterday and the food was excellent once again - definitely set up to be a firm favourite of mine.

Tapas at finest and coffee to make even the most hipster flat white drinker raise an eyebrow La…read moreCantina is doing a great job! Myself and Jonny Q visited the other day and started off proceedings with a chat over coffee. Now I drink a lot of coffee as you can see from my previous reviews but I have never had a cortado.....its basically a small flat white with more coffee than milk. When you say to me theres a lovely strong variation of coffee that keeps milk content low....I say......sign me up. I am a big fan of the cortado! Next up we went for some tapas. Standardly we went for patatas bravas, a spicy sausage dish, bread with balsamic and olive oil, cod croquettes and a double helping of garlic prawns. Everything was fresh and classically spanish....I have to highly recommend the bravas.....but in my opinion if you are not having stuff like this with a spanish feast you may not be doing it right :) The people we met at the resturant are all lovely and welcoming and the decor is spanish enough to be relevant but contemporary enough to be modern....win win. If you are in the area why not satisfy your hunger and your need for new coffee variations in one go! Do the right thing :)