Really enjoyed the vegan Sunday event here. I was surprised to find it fairly warm inside (was…read moreprepared for the arctic conditions of its former home, Alphabet Brewery) and the space is beautiful, especially the giant arched window letting on gorgeous yellowy light as the sun set in the late afternoon. Food-wise, the offerings were impressive. Oh Mei Dumpling was great, the only bummer was they vastly under-budgeted and ran out while they still had a large queue some hours before closing. Luckily I got in there quickly! Ottomen was very popular too but had a very lengthy queue, apparently they take a long time explaining the offerings to each customer to make sure they get the ideal combo which is nice customer service except for the fact that customer has had to spend 30 minutes in a queue while their friends drink elsewhere - maybe some sort of explanatory blackboard or better labelling could speed things up. Macdaddies also did an impressive vegan offering - you def wouldn't know it's not cheese. Vendor wise, the vegan pies and arancini were both great, would definitely recommend those to take away for some tasty lunches post your Sunday come down. Drinks options include a decent variety of local beers, of course local doesn't necessarily mean good and it's mostly keg here but you'll find something drinkable. They also have some fancy soft drinks of varying quality, at least they are a bit different though!

TL;DR - New venue, still the same great food, drink and vibes…read more After a few years of moving back and forth between Mayfield in summer and Fairfield Street in winter, GRUB finally has a new year round home on Redbank. This should be their permanent home for the forseeable future, all year round. The new place has a bit of a different layout, since it's based in a two storey building - downstairs has an enlarged bar and seating area, a children's play area and the toilets; upstairs is a much larger seating area plus when we were there a wine bar, cakes and a DJ. Street food vendors are located outside, in the yard at the rear. Go out back and get some food, then head back inside to get some drinks and a seat. Other than the new venue though, this is still the same GRUB we know and love. Fantastic street food from an ever changing list of vendors, great local beers, great music and a relaxed vibe - and the whole place is family and dog friendly. Oh, and I nearly forgot - everything on Sundays is vegan!

Our city's favourite indie street food events company has now moved into a much larger venue, after…read morea successful regular stint at Runaway Brewery. To be held weekly, every Saturday from noon until 10pm, the space at Alphabet Brewery has the advantage of being completely covered over - so as the wintry days approach, both traders and punters will be kept dry! North Western Street is in the grittier part of the city, shall we say, running alongside the impressive railway arches leading to Piccadilly station. The front area outside the brewery is where you'll find the street food traders every week (there'll be 5-6 with some firm favourites on regular rotation along with guest traders appearing too). Inside the brewery itself (which is double height and spacious) you have the newly-built cash-only bar, serving Alphabet's beery wares - and soon to have guest breweries and tap takeovers. Unisex toilets and sinks are upstairs (there's a disabled toilet next to the bar). The vibrant murals on the walls are by local artist Hammo (who's also designed all of their beer cans) - check out his website: http://www.thehammo.com/ Two long rows of bench seating along with smaller tables means there's plenty of room to sit down if you get down here early enough! By mid afternoon it was truly bustling. Less than a 10 minute walk from the station, this is a must visit for locals and visitors alike.

A really great new location for GRUB and one that I hope to be hitting regularly now that it's on…read more'my side' of Manchester at Alphabet Brewery. Yes - at first you might come out of the back of Piccadilly station and wonder quite where you're headed (this area was/is the red light area of Manchester but with HS2 coming soon and this area marked for redev it is probably gonna be a trendy part of town in a decade from now) As with all the GRUB events there was great food, drink and music. Plus the atmosphere always kicks ass. On this occasion the gyoza stall and MacDaddies (mac n' cheese) went down well with our table. The Alphabet session pale at 4% and £4 a pint went down just as good. Looking like a regular place we'll be heading to now it's on each Saturday and only 5 mins walk from the station.

Seeing GRUB promoting Shebeen on Twitter for their Kickstarter campaign, I couldn't resist funding!…read moreThe opportunity for another home grown festival in the city, full of food and drink? Count me in. Located in the Green Quarter, the event was split across 3 venues, with different activities taking place in each area. The first we popped into held the food stalls and a small, beer only, bar inside. After a few drinks the night before, we were looking forward to getting some food in; we started with the tapas, followed by a fried chicken po boy from Colonel Tom's, and finally a pepperoni pizza. All were devoured and delicious, and it was great to see some new traders among the street food 'movement' of Manchester! It wasn't too hard to find somewhere to stand and eat, but the wet weather did make it hard to find somewhere to sit. Other locations held music and comedy, both of which were lively and drew large crowds. It was great to find the larger bar which was selling spirits and cider as I was slightly put off by the lack of options at the first, smaller bar. Unfortunately we couldn't stay for long due to other commitments, but it was a great few hours, and lovely to see how the whole event came together, supported by local people and companies.

I really wanted to love Guerrilla Eats but it just didn't quite meet my expectations…read more Situated inside a The Wonder Inn, a pub on Shudehill, it's pretty odd when you walk in. Downstairs an empty room, with a sign leading you upstairs. Once upstairs you start to hear the buzz of people and some loud music and turning right into the room there's a few street food vendors who've set up shop and a bar area at the back. They do get some really good traders here, fabulous burger boys are one that I saw when I was there. It's saving grace was The Chefs Table. An area in the next room with a separate kitchen dedicated to selling out an event and cooking for those who attend. On my visit, it was Bangers and Bacon (now of The Kitchens) and still one of the best meals I've eaten. With other street food fests around, mainly Friday Food Fight and the many iterations of it, I don't know if Guerrilla Eats cuts it.

I really had the highest of expectations for Guerrilla Eats, given what I'd heard from friends and…read moreYelpers from previous incarnations elsewhere in Manchester. Their latest location, inside The Wonder Inn (formerly a warehouse) in Shudehill, will be there for three months. It's free entry and they'll have a range of street food stalls that'll change weekly. Some of the usual suspects will be in operation, with a few newbies also on the line-up. You can also buy tickets online for a five-course menu at the 'Chef's Table' by meat enthusiasts Bangers & Bacon - these are £20, available for each week's event but sell out quickly. Personally, I don't think the venue works very well for them. The building looks empty when you enter, but there's a set of stairs at the back leading you up to the first level where the bar, two street food stalls and DJ booth are. The Chef's Table area is tucked away on the left at the top of the staircase. There's lots of large picnic bench-type seating here to sit and enjoy the food and tunes. Unless you have shed loads of cash you won't enjoy the drinks here as they are ridiculously expensive for what you get. My advice would be to drink elsewhere. I'd also suggest to more thoroughly explore the downstairs near to where you enter as there's a door which leads you through to another room where a few other street food stalls are. Sitting upstairs, we could see on arriving people's faces "Is this it?!" Friday Food Fight in the Great Northern Warehouse has everything in one large space and a truly bustling atmosphere. This was a bit lacklustre unfortunately and too disjointed - you felt a bit sorry for the vendors on the ground floor seemingly forgotten about. They could do with convincing some of the (far too many) traders from Urban Food Fest to up sticks and join them here. Nonetheless, the huge burger I ordered from Barnhouse Bistro and 'Chorlton Crack' ice cream from Ginger's Comfort Emporium were both absolutely spot on - the food offerings are the saving grace. I'd make a return visit, but probably only to grab a bite on the way to somewhere else. Tip: Guerrilla Eats are there every Saturday night from 17:00 to midnight until June 2015. The Wonder Inn is an organic cafe and wellness centre (yoga etc.) during the week.

Small but perfectly formed, Fiesta Del Fuego is the newest kid on the Manchester food event block…read more Fancy yourself as a chilli king or queen? Then you were probably here. Bought to you by the folks behind the Kahula coffee house, 6 of Manchester's best bar and restaurants vye for the Best Chilli in Manchester crown; Soup Kitchen, Pancho's Burritos, Home Sweet Home, Luck Lust Liquor & Burn, Kahula Coffee House, AND Kosmonaut. Try them all and be a judge for £10 or enter for free and choose whatever looks/smells best. Thirsty? There's plenty of booze being thrown around, but it can only be consumed within the chilli smackdown area. We ate our chilli from Soup Kitchen due to their use of some local stout and the layer of tortilla chips at the base of the box; the chilli was delicious, creamy but earthy, served with some fresh lime and a jalapeno. For only £3. It was the perfect portion, especially considering we had already eaten at Guerilla Eats earlier in the day. Despite the long queue, the bar service was quick and efficient, offering up beers, cocktails, and cloudy cider to wash away the spice. Entertainment wise, you have the choice of a pinata, a wheel of fortune, a band, and a chilli eating competition. Word has it that the front runner for the chilli competition stopped halfway and had to throw up, so they were using strong stuff. A few folks had a go at the pinata but, shamefully for most, a young boy was the only one to manage it. The wheel of fortune gave you the opportunity to win a Kahula martini, a cocktail, or a hug. N'aaw. The band was an acoustic guitar, kazoo, and banjo - not exactly the guys from the Dorito's ad, but they kept everyone engaged and it was great to see some local, live music. Between their sets, Kahula Coffee House were blasting out a range of music from their speakers. A small stall off the main path was selling a range of hot sauces, none of which caught my eye - it was the chilli gummy bears that made me reach into my purse. Fiesta Del Fuego, please come again next year. Manchester needs more Mexican flavour.

New Yorker opened fairly recently on Portland Street in Manchester City centre, and thanks to the…read morestyle of the building it's part of, it looks straight from New York City itself. Originally seeming to be named New Yorker Diner, it doesn't have a diner vibe, so instead is now presenting itself as American Street Food, serving burgers, waffles and chicken, gourmet burgers, and some other American sides too, as well as milkshakes and Belgian Waffles. It doesn't have a huge range, but what it has it does well. As you descend the steps into the diner itself, it's got that industrial look that most of the Northern Quarter is doing at the moment, complete with bare brick walls, wood cladding, and filament bulbs. Definitely not the Ed's Easy Diner style 50's American diner. Also, it's not a full service restaurant, but in fact a counter-service place with a dining area. The menu is simple but appetising, with some really tasty offerings and at a price that is very reasonable for Manchester City Centre, especially with some of the lunch deals available. I went to the counter and ordered the "American Boy" burger with fries and a Cherry Coke. The friendly staff member gave me a flashing/buzzing box similar to what you get when waiting for seating at big chain restaurants on a Saturday night, and said it would buzz/flash when my meal was ready for me to collect. Handy. The food was ready, and what I got was very tasty indeed. The burger, although not pink, was cooked through, but still juicy, and the trimmings were perfect, although the 'Brooklyn Sauce' built up spice pretty quickly for me, so I'd probably skip that next time. The fries were really good! Properly hot and crisp, and seasoned perfectly meaning the sachets of salt I picked up were never touched! New Yorker is a simple affair, offering good simple food when you want it, at a good price. I'd go again

not bad fast food place - low price but seem to have wait a long time if you order anything majorread more

Grillstock Festival completely lives up to its tagline: 'Meat. Music. Mayhem.' On a slightly…read moredrizzly and cool Saturday in Manchester the hordes swarmed to Albert Square and the stalls of carnivorous splendor. Entry was a very hefty £22.50 but you had to buy them online in advance and it had already sold out. You couldn't, therefore, just rock up there ticketless. I was fortunate and had a free ticket donated by a friend who couldn't make it - so I'm not sure I'd be willing to pay that much and not have at least a free burger, hotdog or couple of beers included. The range of options was pretty good, with the likes of Fire & Salt and Red's True BBQ joined with over 20 other vendors. Pretty much all the food was £4-6, with the smaller 'snacks' at around £3 each. The hotdogs from Street Dogs were huge and delicious (see pic). You could wash everything down with beer from Brooklyn Brewery and cloudy cider from Lazy Jacks (both were terrific) and if you had enough room after all that meat, you could get cheesecake or icecream. I failed miserably as I was too greedy after nailing a brisket burger. Rob Heron & The Teapad Orchestra kept us entertained from the main stage, then it was the crowd-pleasing chilli eating competition, with 10 challengers eating increasingly hot chillis that I'd never heard of. Most of them endured until quite far in, then all but two dropped like flies and reached for the milk (or sick bucket - nice). After eating a Trinidad Scorpion 'Butch T' from Australia which was 1.4 million on the Scoville scale of hotness, it ended somewhat anticlimactically with a 'fastest eater' round, much to the crowd's bemusement. The only downside I had, which is the same for every festival like this, is that there were too many people in there, not enough circulation space and only one entrance/exit. Other than that is was a great way to spend an afternoon and start your path towards a food coma!

Another year, another trip to Grillstock! Having been for the past two years, we couldn't resist…read morepurchasing the early bird tickets and signing up for another visit to BBQ heaven. Still located on Albert Square, the festival has expanded somewhat, meaning there was a shift around inside the square, with the main stage moving and appearing to provide much more space than previous years. The entrance (only one this time) was in a strange location and there was very little signage towards it, meaning I was slightly on the flustered side by the time we actually got in! We headed to the bar for a drink to walk around with and explore our options. Brewdog were the providers this years, meaning there were plenty of familiar options, the other half going for the Dead Pony Ale. The bar was also fully stocked with cider, wine and prosecco so we didn't have to bounce between bars - handy! There was also an 'I Heart Wine' van, separate Lazy Jack's bar, alcoholic iced tea, a spiced rum bar, plus a Jack Daniel's cocktail bar. So, something for all tastes! Probably my favourite thing about Grillstock is the opportunity to try food from some new vendors, many of which come from across the country. Ross&Ross were my first stop, serving up slow cooked lamb, which was absolutely delicious and the perfect thing to get the day going. We also had a burger from The Beefy Boys - great, very moist - and some hot wings from Lola's - personal favourite, and coming with some very handy wet wipes. Everything is around the £5-6 mark on top of your ticket price. Unfortunately all stalls serving ribs ran out very quickly - and by all stalls I mean the 2 that were actually serving them up. Shouldn't there be more? When you really take the stalls into account, burgers and hot dogs totally outweigh everything else. Probably says something about the UK's taste in BBQ... As ever, there was lots of entertainment in the form of music (Levi Roots and Grandmaster Flash, anyone?), circus performers, the grilling competition, hot dog/wing/chilli eat competitions, and the ever popular free photo booth, making it very family friendly and contributing to a very relaxed Saturday.

I am surprised this place has not been reviewed. Actually I thought I had written a review myself…read morebut clearly not - until now! I have been to Chaat Cart a few times. Most of the time having the chicken kati roll which is lovely. The first time I didn't realise it had coriander in it - too much good flavour from everything else? But noticed the 2nd time - luckily could easily pick it out. I did mention to them about coriander but it was already "in the mix" - although she remembered another time I went and did her best to remove the coriander. More recently, I tried the food at Chaat Cart at a recent Yelp event at The Kitchens. And even more recently, yesterday, I went and had the Chicken 65 burger with gunpowder fries. Lovely chicken burger and very slighty spicy fries - although I did mention how spicy it was so he may have put a bit less spice on. It came with an onion bhaji on top of the fries - usually its on top of the burger but no room in the takeaway box if it was! Will be going back again (and again) for sure. Good food, friendly people.

Came here on my lunch and to my amazement nobody was waiting to be served so I got my food very…read morequickly. I had the lentil dhal as I felt like trying something different. Wow. What an amazing lunch! It was very tasty and really moreish, I shall be returning to this place and have recommend it to lots of my friends! They do gluten free food too which is always good to know!

Wolf Italian Street Food was the first opening in Manchester Arndale's new multi-million-pound…read moreventure, Halle Place which is supposed to contain a large, great selection of restauraunt, but nearly six months on it only contains 2 restaurants (but that's a different story) After hearing about the cool concept of Italian street food coming to the Manchester Arndale, I was really excited to give it a try. Italian food is undoubtedly the most popular cuisine in terms of restaurants in the UK, it is shown by Italian chains dominating the high street and with Italian being the most reviewed type of cuisine for myself on Yelp. Basically, when dining here, you're given a choice of an Italian burrito, pasta or salad, the salad its-self doesn't look (or sound) exciting and is often the same price as a burrito. The seating selection is okay bearing in mine it is basically built into the mall and isn't a standalone store, however, there could be more seating especially compared to BarBurrito next store, which is a similar concept but with Mexican food. The staff here didn't seem too friendly or willing to help, when I asked about gluten-free offerings, they looked confused and it seemed only one staff member out of the three or four working seemed to have any idea, even he seemed disinterested and replied "a salad", no offer of an allergen menu or book which was extremely disappointing and filled me with no confidence ahead of a prospective dining experience, due to the fast nature and it basically being like an Italian Subway, chances of cross-contamination are higher than average unless the staff demonstrate the fact they know what they're doing and have care, I found this to be the case at BarBurrito next store, but here they just seemed to run around like headless chickens whenever an allergy was mentioned which was just really poor. Sadly due to poor handling of allergies, lack of seating and poor service, Wolf really is a disappointment and sadly deserves a one-star rating.

I've seen starving children smile more than our server- Had an attitude from start to finish,…read morebarely put enough pasta in the pot for an infant so I politely asked to upgrade to a large which he did reluctantly even though I'd be paying an extra pound. Split loads of the toppings on the side when mixing which he just left instead of adding more. No customer service or gratuity whatsoever, poor bloke clearly couldn't wait to get home. Won't be returning.

Before I start with the actual review, I am not sure if to rate this 2 or 3 out of 5. A 2/5 rating…read moremakes it sound like it was a bit "bad". It wasn't bad - just "OK" (the food). Maybe since they gave us free prawn crackers and we had no problem with the service, should give it 3? Bad the description on Yelp of 2/5 is "Meh. I've experienced better" is pretty accurate. Once again its another one of those situations could do with half marks and it would be a 2.5. For now leaving it on 2/5 but I would have not be against going for another visit. Right, the actual review.... Vietnamese restaurant/bar opened up in Cutting Room Square around August last year. Its one of many new food/drink places to open recently (ish). Rudy's has been there for a while but over last couple years ish there has been Elnecot, Seven Bro7hers, Second City, Sugo, Canto to name just a few.The restaurant has 2 levels. The restaurant/bar on the top level and then in the basement is a DJ booth, a load of records (LPs) on shelves and lots of seating. As a group of 4, we decided to share starters. (Actually before the actual starters we ordered, they gave us some prawn crackers - with some chilli and a peanut sauce. According to menu, this would normally cost £1.50). I like prawn crackers - although these were just from a packet. We ordered some summer rolls. The pork and prawn one and the mango and pepper one (those are the only 2 summer rolls). They were OK. Nothing really much to them. I didn't really taste the pork in pork and prawn ones and didn't really taste any mango in the mango and pepper one. I forgot to mention about no coriander but luckily didn't taste any - until pretty much the last bite. There was a bit of garnish on the plate which was coriander so thought that may have been all the coriander! For my main, I went for the Vietnamese pancake (Bánh Xèo). I have had this a few times before and like it - although I think it can be hard to make. First time I had it was at Mi and Pho and loved it. But also had it I Am Pho (in Chinatown) and it was a bit "doughy". It needs to be crispy! So guessing its hard to cook - or maybe was cooked wrong? Bánh xèo is a crispy "pancake" made of rice flour - it looks like its egg because of the colour but thats from the turmeric. You get different fillings but the "base" is beansprouts, spring onions, some herbs and then could be pork, prawn, mushroom..... The one from Nam had both pork and prawn in it. Tasted good - maybe a little bit on the small size though.  But I just love the taste, the texture. Yum. (The one from Nam was good although not quite as good as Mi and Pho). We bought a couple vouchers from (Manchester) Confidential app - its one of those where you buy a voucher for half the price e.g. a £10 voucher for £5. Maybe we should have bought more vouchers?? (Strangely, Nam does not appear on the iOS Confidential app?). It does make it complicated when trying to split the bill if people had different things!! LOL. So if you do go, its worth checking on Confidential app to see if still has offer. Worth checking for all restaurants actually. So overall Nam was OK. I like the place, the service was good. The food was alright - the summer rolls were not bad but just not much to them (plus lacking the taste of the pork/mango). The Vietnamese pancake tasted pretty good (plus as I said, it can be made bad). I think next time would order more because a couple summer rolls and the pancake were not that much food!

TL;DR - Trendy bar slash restaurant with great service and food…read more We were actually en-route to a different Vietnamese restaurant when we spotted Nam and decided to give it a try. The first thing that strikes you is how swish the unit is, split across two floors with seating and a bar upstairs, and more seating downstairs plus a DJ booth. We came for food, and were warmly greeted and given a detailed explanation of what everything on the menu was (at our request, we knew next to nothing about Vietnamese food!). Everything sounded great and so we went with a couple of bowls of Pho plus some spring rolls. Everything was really delicious, but my favourite were the rolls... I could have had a conveyer belt serving them to me non stop and I still wouldn't have been satisfied. We also had some of the house beer which, frankly, was one of the nicest beers I've drunk in quite some time. Although this is a restaurant they're keen to promote it as a place to hang out - the bar is great and they have DJs at night, but were keen to make clear that the music is there to enjoy whilst you're having conversation - preferring some older tunes than new stuff. Take note: when you pay by card there's no option to leave a tip. I was mortified because we had zero cash on us, and I can honestly say the service we got was some of the best I've had in Manchester. Make sure you bring some cash to tip with!