A Taste of Manchester

Kro has recently opened up a new branch in the new Piccadilly Gardens development in Manchester City Centre. I visited on Friday night for supper with a friend.
It is more like Kro2 as the building is very modern with very little personality. However it has big windows and thus is an ideal place to be seen or do a little bit of people watching. We arrived about 19:30 and the bar area seemed pretty full. Luckily re is a separate restaurant area which is more spacious and slightly quieter the music was certainly quieter and I could hear myself think.y. It was an ideal place for a good old gossip over a bottle of wine and nice food.
The menu was shorter and slightly more expensive than I remember the original Kro bar being. It has a real emphasis on fish dishes but there are also two vegetarian dishes and a couple of steak type dishes However it was still very nice. I had a big bowl of Moules Marinere (£7.99) which came with slices of fresh crusty bread. It was a lovely simple dish. We shared a bottle of nice rose wine which was about £13 and a side order of lovely crisp chunky chips I rounded it off with a shot of Countreua. This was the part of the meal I was most disappointed with as the ice had melted and it tasted watered down. The bill came to £37
The service was friendly and pretty prompt although I was bemused about how we would order at first as there were no staff in sight when we sat down for food.
Kro seem to have done it again offering stylish good food. The advantage is not having to trek down to Oxford Road and studentsville.

Manchester has many fine bars and restaurants and I have yet to review any of them properly. Today I want to address this by writing about a very classy award winning bar called the Krobar.

Be rest assured there are no tacky references to Denmark in this rather classy place. It is Danish inspired as the bar's name comes from the Danish word for a pub or an inn Kro. The owners are also Danish in origin giving it an authentic touch. They do Danish pastries, bacon and Danish specialties though.

It is located in a Georgian terrace opposite the Manchester University Student's Union on Oxford Road. It is pretty easy to get to using public transport as it is on the busiest bus route in Europe.

On approaching the Krobar you will see a beautiful classic building with outdoor seating. In the summer months this outdoor space is chock a block with both students and young professionals sipping a beer or glass of wine and enjoying the sun.
.
The Krobar is on two levels. I must admit I really have not ventured up into the second floor apart to use the toilets. So I can not comment on this however the downstairs seating is pretty spartan but comfortable. There is no fake Victorian furniture here. There is also more outdoor seating outside. It is a very pleasant place to sit. I have been to the Krobar a few times after work and find it a nice atmosphere with a mixed crowd. I have always found the Krobar to be fairly clean and not too noisy or smoky so it is a great place to meet friends and chat.

The menu for the Krobar is fairly large with just about something for everyone. Although I have not tried them they have a wide range of breakfast items combining traditional ingredients and different types of breads and bagels. They do a humongous breakfast for six pounds and bagels and sandwiches are 3.95. This might be more a treat than an everyday breakfast as I feel that it is a wee bit expensive The bar opens at 8.30 for breakfast,.

The main menu is quite expansive and has something for everyone. I was tempted by the roast dinner with a pint of either Carling or London Pride for just under £6 but opted for a vegetable enchilada. My friends stuffed roasted peppers and Farafal pasta which was pasta with chicken in a white wine, cream and red pesto sauce. We also had a side order of sweet onion bread. The prices are reasonable. I do no think any of our meals were over £6 or £7. I noticed the steak at £9 was the most expensive thing on the menu. They also do a wide range of sandwiches and wraps between £2 and £5. They also do home made soup. There is a deal to get a soup and a sandwich for about £4-£. They also do some Danish specialties such as Danish sausages, Frikadelle and Danish breaded plaice. All food according to the website is freshly cooked and the products come form environmentally friendly sources.
We had to wait about fifteen to twenty minutes for our meal to be served. I do not mind this as I know that it is not just going to be heated up in a microwave. The meals arrived all at once and the service was friendly. My dinner was very nice with chunky vegetables, and a nice amount of spiciness. There was a lot of tasty tomato and cheese sauce surrounding the enchilada. I felt the portion was a decent enough size The roast peppers were declared delicious and lovely and sweet and i had a little taste of the pasta and it seemed tasty. The onion bread rounded off a nice meal.

Yes I know we are in a bar and I have not mentioned the drinks. They have a fairly extensive wine list with bottles costing12 or 13 pounds and a house wine. My companion had a glass of the house white and said it was nice and dry. For the beer drinkers amongstt you they seem to have a fail selection of both common and less well known beers specialising in European beers. I am sure it was here I was first introduced to Hoegarten. I had a half of a Bavarian wheat beer which I felt was distinctive and very easy to drink. . I would not say Krobar is the cheapest place for drinks but it's a nice place to drink and they do have a good selection if you are looking for something unusual. They also have a range of coffees for in the morning or for those who are teetotal (the building was once owned by Manchester Temperance Society) Apparently you get a free croissant with every large mug of coffee. Another reason for visiting the Krobae.

Its just a nice bar to sit back and relax on a pleasant summer's afternoon .

Posh restaurants intrigue me as I have never really dined in one. I have read the reviews in local and weekend newspapers and slathered over the descriptions of divine sounding dishes. However I have also tutted over the prices commanded by these prestigious establishments. I do know the chefs have more experience and the ingredients used are generally better but is the mark up on meals actually justified?
I got my chance to find out when going for a very special meal to celebrate a dear friend getting his PHp. To celebrate we went to Stock in Manchester City Centre for a no expenses spared meal and what a delight it was.

Stock is an Italian restaurant but it is not any old Italian restaurant. Do not go there expecting pepperoni pizza or good old spag bol!. Instead Stock is one of the finest Italian restaurants in Britain with one of the finest wine lists to match. The owner Erizo Manao is also the head chef and his menus are simply sumptuous. The restaurant specialises in fish, seafood and traditional regional cooking from southern Italy and is a treat for all your senses.
The Visual Aesthetics
For me the building the restaurant is housed in is very much part of the whole dining experience. I am a sucker for a really nice building. Stock is housed in a domed ornate Edwardian building which used to be the Northern Stock Exchange hence the name Stock. You enter by a wonderful vestibule into the large single dining room. I liked it as you really got a sense of opulence and scale from the dome down to the tiled floor. The dining room had enough tables to give the place atmosphere without being too overcrowded. I felt there was enough space for us to talk without getting other people's conversations. The table was dressed nicely with quality linen tablecloths and napkins. The only slight problem I had with the restaurant was the lighting. At times I found it just that little bit too dim to have a good look at what I was eating!!
The Aural Delights.
Our booking was for a Thursday at 8. Pm. The restaurant was neither quiet nor jam packed. There were perhaps another four or five parties of diners. Parties did seem to be a good word to use as it seemed most of the diners were there for a very special occasion. This made it a really nice atmosphere. To add to it there was a live jazz band with piano and double bass who were quite adept at playing light music including rounds of happy Birthday. It was nice to have proper music and added to the ambiance of the place.
Sensory overload
The scene is set so now onto the main act the meal. Stock's ala carte menu is divided into antipasti, pasta and main courses. The pasta can be eaten as a starter or for two pounds extra the portion can be enlarged to become a main course. There were about seven starters including avocado and crab, snails and melon with a grapefruit and rosemary sorbet. The prices ranged from £6.40 to £8.50. There was also the special of the day, a seafood platter to share which consisted of lots of yummy morsels from the deep including calamari, lobster, prawns, whitebait and mussels. This was for two and I did not hear the price. I quite fancied this but nobody else particularly liked the full range of delights it offered. I was thinking of going for the melon but thought £6.40 for a bit of melon and grapefruit was a little bit steep. Someone else in the party did have it and it looked really attractively presented in a sundae style glass. I had also toyed with the idea of trying the snails however I had not tried this delicacy before and felt it might ruin my meal if I did not like them after all. Instead I perused the pasta menu. There was a similar size pasta selection at similar prices to the antipasti. Delights included pasta with squid, and the ravioli of the day (which was wild mushroom on that particular day). I plumped for gnocchi in a tomato and pesto sauce. This was wonderful. The gnocchi was soft fluffy and melt in the mouth and the sauce had a lovely taste of basil with shavings of parmesan cheese on top. If I was to dine at Stock again I would defiantly choose this dish.
The gnocchi had set a standard. Would the main course live up to this high standard? There was a choice of about eight main courses including two chicken dishes, roost boar,,steak and veal. The price for a main course was from £15 to £18. There did not seem to be any main dishes for vegetarians. Luckily a couple of the pasta dishes are vegetarian. I think this is one of the criticisms I would have of the restaurant along with putting veal on the menu.Stock is well known for its market fresh fish. There was a choice of four or five fishes including monkfish and sea bass. I chose to have monkfish in a plain lemon sauce. This would test the cook as it is harder to do a really good simple dish without garnishes and clashing flavours. So what was my verdict? It was good, really good. It was a nice firm, meaty texture and perfectly cooked. All you could taste was the fish. There was an unnecessary bed of lettuce though. A portion of vegetables was served to the table. This consisted of small new potatoes, roast parsnips (a favourite of mine), carrots and fennel. The fennel was divine. I am not sure if it was roasted or battered (the lighting was too low at that point) but the aniseed flavour really lifted the dish. I was a stroke of genius.
Stock is renowned for its wine menu. It has won the annual Manchester Food and Drink award for best wine list in a restaurant recently and boy is it a wine list. It has 99 wines on it. However this is not bargain booze. The cheapest wines cost around about £18.00 and go up to £122 for a bottle of champagne. The only house wines seemed to be the champagnes. I noticed that they were selling dessert wine by the glass for £7.25. T However it is good wine. We had a couple of bottles of Italian Merlot at the bottom end of the price range. I am not really a red wine drinker but this particular one was mellow and smooth and very drinkable. They also do a range of brandies, malt whiskies and other spirits and liqueurs.
At this point in the meal I was getting rather full but everyone seemed to be having desserts. most desserts cost £5.50 and were fairly traditional including baked lemon tart, panacotta and that nice one with all the mixed peel!! For those who prefer a healthier sweet there were fruit platters or peaches with raspberry sauce. I did not fancy anything too heavy. I asked if there were any sorbet or ice cream. There seemed to be a decent selection and I selected a honey ice cream as I thought this sounded nice. It was a nice creamy ice cream but I had tasted better. I was disappointed that the honey came from chunks of honey comb rather than from a honey flavoured ice cream.
Service.
The service was not too bad. There was a wait between courses but we were expecting that as all food was cooked to order. The waiting staff were pleasant and helpful but most of them were Polish and did not always understand. I also felt the time they took to take our dessert order whilst not sloth like was a wee bit slow considering the amount of people in the restaurant.
I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at Stock. It was some of the best food I have ever tasted especially the Gnocchi and the fennel! I still feel they do take liberties with the pricing of some of the less prestigious ingredients though. It is a lovely restaurant and I would recommend it for those who do have a special occasion. It's no for every day. Our meal cost £229 (including an obligatory 10% service charge) for a three course meal with alcohol for five people. That is rather pricy. However for those on a smaller budget there is a lunch and pre theatre menu which costs £12.80 for tow courses or £15.80 for three.

The Lloyd Hotel, owned by Oldham's JW Lees brewery is a large pub and is the first building on the right hand side of the Chorlton stretch of Wilberham Road if you are coming from the Trafford direction. It is just before two of my other favourite Chorlton institutions Belgian Belly and Battery Park.
One of the things I like about Lloyds is the interior and the atmosphere. It's a large spacious pub so it is not too bad for getting a seat and a table although on a busy Saturday night it can be standing room only. I like it as it is a comfortable pub. It is not ultra trendy, nor is it a dive. It is fairly traditional with pictures of Old Chorlton on the wall. You know the type of pub. It really is an old faithful. The other good thing is that the toilets if I remember rightly are clean and spacious but are down a spiral staircase so not good for those who have drank a little too much. There is also a small outdoor section for when the sun come out.
The main point of going to a pub is to quaff a good pint and Lloyds Hotel certainly delivers. As a bit of a beer connoisseur (or snob) I like to see more than just the usual Stella, John Smiths and Carling. The Lloyds Hotel is only one of two JW Lees pubs within staggering distance of Stretford (the other one is the Urmston, a nice pub but spoiled by rude and unhelpful bar staff on my last visits there). I'm very partialed to their beers especially Moonraker. This is a heavyweight among ales being 7.5% alcohol, and is a dark, treacly and ideal for a winter night. It is one you drink in half pints and treat with respect. They also do a range of seasonal and guest ales. On my last visit they had just finished one called Manchester Rambler so I settled for a pint of good old bitter. I'm not sure exactly how much their beer is but I reckon it is around about the £2.30 mark a pint as it is not the cheapest nor the dearest place in town. Like all good pubs Lloyd does a range of other drinks such as spirits, cider and soft drinks.
My recent visits for Sunday lunch with my friend , her partner and their not at all terrible, not quite three year old daughter was a new experience for me, as it was the first time I had indulged in their food although I have been tempted to do so in the past.
Their dining area is set at the back of the pub. This makes it better for families as they are not in the main pub pub area. It looks out onto the genteel Chorlton bowling green.
There is an à la carte menu that I have perused many a time offering snacks and main courses. If I remember rightly they had a mixture of old favourites and more innovative dishes. However I can not really review that menu as it did not seem to be available on the Sunday afternoon we ate there. Instead there was a set Sunday lunch which was excellent value for money being £10.95 for two course and £12.95 for three courses.
I was really impressed with the menu and the standard of the food. There were about five choices of each of the starters, the main course and the puddings. The rang of food was good and the one thing that impressed us was that in the starters and main course selections there was more than one vegetarian option (very important as we are non carnivorous).

The other thing to note was the lack of special children's menu. Apparently they will do the sausages, beans and chips if requested but would prefer to do smaller portions of the main meals. This is a breath of fresh air. My friend's daughter had had an early lunch but the staff were very helpful and brought a separate plate so she could have bits and pieces from our meals.
To start with I ordered the Thai fish cakes.. I was very impressed with the quality and the presentation. They were presented on a big square white plate with splashes of sweet chili sauce and salad. It did look very pretty. I can honestly say they were the best Thai fishcakes I have tasted. Even better than ones I have had in proper Thai restaurants. They were quite big (the size of a small burger) and were made of good quality salmon. The herbs and spices in them were just right for my taste , present but not overpowering. I really could taste the coriander. The starter really set me up for a memorable meal,
I and I selected the vegetable filled pancakes whilst my friend tried the traditional Roast Lamb. Other choices included pork, a rack of ribs and the ubiquitous mushroom strogonoff. I was not quite sure what to expect from the pancakes although I thought they might be crepes filled with the vegetables and then folded over. I was not prepared for what I received. I got three large pancake parcels stuffed to the brim with filling. The best way to describe the crisp exterior would be posh Findus crispy pancakes. They looked tempting and I could not wait to slice into them to reveal the filling which was tasty. They consisted of various vegetables such as onions, green beans,courgettes and broccoli in a pesto sauce. The pancakes were very filling and I found it quite a struggle to finish them even though they were delicious. My only gripe was I would have preferred the baby vegetables that ,y friend had with her roast rather than the salad garnish I received with mine. My friend's roast looked delicious with tender lamb, gravy and a nice large Yorkshire pud.
The desserts sounded tempting with old favourites such as chocolate fudge cake and sticky toffee pudding. However we all plumped for the chocolate and orange cheesecake as that combination sounded, decadent, mature and basically out of this world. Again the presentation was beautiful. Ribbons and swirls of whipped cream were strewn all over the plate with blueberries dotted about. The cheesecake was tasty. You could taste it was baked with good cheese rather than being a mass produced bland one. However there were two problems with the dessert. One was that the portion was not over generous. The other was I am sure it was not the pudding advertised. None of us could taste the orange in the cheesecake at all. We think they had ran out of Chocolate and orange and substituted it with dark and white chocolate cheesecake. It was delicious nonetheless but I still would have preferred the chocolate and orange one.
What made this special was the level of service and attention especially with regards to my friend's daughter. . Felt tip pens and scrap paper were offered to amuse her and they were willing to open the toilets in the dining room rather than traipse downstairs. They also bought out a special sundae style glass of ice cream for her which was a nice touch although I am not sure if they charged extra for this as I did not see the bill. I just thought the staff including the manager Diane were ultra helpful, friendly and very good with children. The speed of service was also just right for us - prompt but we never felt hurried.
The Lloyds has always been a regular haunt of mine so when I am in Manchester next I shall certainly be going back as the beer is good, the food is delicious and the service is excellent

I doubt there are very few people who do not like the occasional pizza. There is just something about the combination of crispy dough, tomatoes and cheese that makes me go weak at the knees. Luckily when I get a pizza craving and do not feel like cooking there is a wide selection of takeaways and pizzerias to get that pizza fix! In Manchester there is one name that has credibility above all the others and that is Croma.
Croma was founded in Manchester and two of the three branches are located in this fine city, one in the City Centre just behind the Town Hall and the other one in up market, bohemian Chorlton. (The other one is in Boston, USA of all places). It fits very nicely in with the trendy (some say pretentious) Chorlton scene, as Croma is a classy experimental pizzeria ala Pizza Express but even better. I have been to the Chorlton branch twice. The first time was in the opening weekend. We came across it by chance whilst strolling down Wilberham Road. I have not been to the original City Centre branch but would like to rectify that very soon!
The Chorlton branch is easy to spot. It has a lovely curved frontage on the corner of Wilberham Road, one of the main roads in Chorlton. It looks really nice from the outside. There is a small outdoor seating area, which I have never seen used, and vines growing over the frontage. I must admit I quite like the font they use for their sign that remind me of the Pac-man one.
The first thing you have to know about Croma is that you need to time it right to get a table at the weekend. One of the main problems with the restaurant is its reservations policy. During the week they only take larger party bookings and there are no reservations taken at all during the weekend and thus if you arrive after about 19:30 you could be waiting for half an hour or more for a table. Both times we have been lucky to get a table straight away, however we did try to get into the one on Clarence Street in town and one look at people piled four deep at the bar made us go elsewhere.
Once you actually get seated at your table you have a very hard decision what to select from the menu. There are always at least two or three dishes I like the sound of. There is a small selection of starters ranging from £1.75 for a bowl of olives to £4.75 for smoked salmon. . I always go for the dough balls (a snip at £1.85). They are light doughy and coated in a layer of garlic butter. I would recommend them, as they are truly wonderful.
The mains menu is biased towards pizzas with a reasonable selection of adventurous salads (such as Greek, Cromaa Nicoise and Duck salad) and a very small pasta selection. A main course will cost you anything between £4.45 for a basic margarita pizza to £7.50 for the Peking Duck pizza.
The good thing about the pizza is that the toppings are pretty global. Your mate fancied going to the local curry house or Chinese rather than a pizzeria no problem. They can try a tandoori chicken pizza or Peking duck pizza. You can even have a cooked breakfast in the form of the Inglese, which has bacon Cumberland sausage and a fried egg on top. A couple of them come with a mound of salad laves above the topping. I am not sure if I like this idea or not but at least you do not have to order a side salad. I like Croma as there is something to suit everyone with old favourites such as margarita and Americana (pepperoni and mozzarella) alongside the adventurous stuff. There is even a Mariana pizza that has no cheese on it just tomato and seafood, ideal for dieters. I like it, as there are quite a few pizzas suitable for vegetarians. I have tried the roasted vegetable one and the Greek pizza. The best thing about the pizza is the base. It is light and doughy but with a nice crispness. I liked the Roast vegetable pizza as it had pine nuts on the topping alongside the vegetables that gave it an extra dimension. The Greek was above standard but the feta would have been nicer more melted and I was not keen on the amount of chillies in the topping but apart from that I can not complain as there was plenty of topping and plenty of feta. One thing I appreciate is their flexibility with the toppings as the pizzas are freshly made. They were quite happy to make an Inglese without the fried egg for a friend.
There is a decent enough selection of desserts with the entire usual suspect such as tiramisu, cheesecake and fudge cake. I quite like the selection of ice cream flavours. The black cherry was unusual and delicious. On my last vista I had a strawberry Daiquiri cheesecake, which was nice enough but nothing special. Deserts generally cost just under £4.
As far as I remember the wine list is reasonably priced and a decent price. However it is the cocktails that stick in my mind. Most of them seem to be fairly sophisticated and not too sweet. This is not a place for maraschino cherries, umbrellas and sparky streamers. The first one I had was champagne cocktail with Countreau and grenadine, which was subtle and dry and made me feel very classy. The next time I went for an elegant Cosmopolitan served in a classic cocktail glass. I found it refreshing but also very alcoholic. I prefer to be able to detect the strength of my cocktails rather than have them drowned out by fruit juice. The cocktails cost around about £5.
I have never really noticed the décor of Croma too much. I have been too busy enjoying the good food and the company of the people I was dining with. It does have a nice atmosphere though. You get the linen napkins of a proper restaurant but it is still friendly and personal. It is a place you can take children earlier in the evening as there is a children's menu and crayons to occupy them but you could also have it for a birthday dinner or a general supper with friends. It is a flexible place that will be suitable for almost all occasions. I think it is suitable for disabled people. I know the Chorlton one is on ground floor level but I would ring first just to check.
As hinted the service is fairly reasonable. The staff are friendly and helpful. The only thing I could say against it is that the service can be a bit slow due to the restaurant just about always being full to capacity.
I would certainly recommend Croma to anyone who wants good pizza in Manchester. It has wide appeal and is great for most occasions. It is reasonable in price. Our bill for four came to just under £80. Croma's only downfall is that it is too good and thus too popular so if you can get in definitely go for it. It is worth it.

Price wise most curry houses are very similar. You tend to pay about £4 or £5 for a vegetable curry and up to £7 –8 for king prawns. If you want a cheaper option some such as the Darbar do a 5 courses for £6 deal whilst some have weekend buffets. I have not noticed many business men’s lunch style menus but the Curry Mile is a little out of the way for business men. Another way to save money is to go to an establishment that has a Bring Your own Bottle and no corkage charge as there is a couple of cheap off licenses nearby.

Sometimes a full sit down meal does not appeal there are the usual take always and kebab houses that offer good value food. There is a great little Lebanese near the New Tabak that does wonderful Falafels in pita breads for about £2 and fresh fruit juice. If you fancy something a little sweeter than a kebab there are the sweet houses often attached to the restaurants. These offer a number of weird and wonderful Indian sweets that are a bit of an acquired taste. One place I would recommend is the Moonlight. This is the Curry Mile’s ice cream parlour. It serves a range of cakes milk shakes and lassies alongside a dazzling array of flavours of both traditional ice cream and Indian Khufi

Is there anything else but restaurants?
The Curry Mile offers far more than vindaloo and poppadoms. Visit during the day and wander round the shops selling saris and Shalwar Kamees (sp). There are budget ones where you can get a piece of sari material quite cheaply or the higher priced stylish boutiques. I have raided them a couple of times for unusual material for shawls and bed throws. If you want to spend big money there a re a number of jewelers dripping with gold.

Fancy a pint before your curry. There are four pubs near or on the Curry Mile. I would avoid the Huntsmen like the plague, as it is a real locals place. The Clarence looks a bit old manish but it is not to bad and quite cheap. Hardy’s Well seems to be the favorite pub to go to on the stretch as it has a beer garden outside. I have never been keen on Hardy’s Well. I am not sure about he atmosphere. If you want to be a bit macabre try the Whitworth Arms just off the Curry Mile on Moss Lane East. It is the pub where Ian Brady was as barman but it does have some good special offers.
Rusholme’s Curry Mile is the Curry capital of the Northwest and is the only place in Manchester to put a little spice in your life.