Bolton Restaurant Guide

2022 Review: “Great food and also a sense that they are putting back into the community” inspires support for this pub-with-rooms on the village green. Run as a youth-focused social enterprise, supporting young people to access training and paid work experience, it has won a string of awards over its almost ten years in operation. In summer, its ‘Incredible Edible Beer Garden’ comes into its own: almost an acre in size and with lots of interest as well as outside seating.

Dark greige and blond wood abound at this ‘Scandinavian Neighbourhood Bar & Restaurant’ in the boonies of North Manchester, which is celebrating its fifth year in 2025. It’s run by chef Danielle Heron and business partner Sofie Götberg, and even those who say “it’s not in a very prepossessing location and has a fairly plain interior” feel “the food is worth a visit”. That’s the least enthusiastic report! Feedback from locals suggests it does exactly what it sets out to: “with a changing weekly menu, the food at Osma is fantastic. Danielle and her team work really hard to bring creative dishes in taster-style portions to my local area. Front of house service is professional and welcoming, with staff knowledgeable on the food and wine they serve”.

2021 Review: South African-born chef Ernst van Zyl and partner Liz Kellett have taken over (and substantially refurbished) this Warrington pub, which opened at the end of 2018. This new place has 60 covers, five rooms and a huge beer garden. Scant survey feedback as yet, but based on his previous gaff – The Lord Clyde in Kerridge – there’s reason to hope for notably accomplished food in this village pub.

2021 Review: “When all you want is an old-school burger”, these US-based arrivals of recent years really “hit the spot” – you can “build your own”, with “tons of accessories”; plus “seriously addictive fries”, “thick milkshakes”, and “more soda flavours than is reasonable”. “The eat-in experience is as depressing as McDonald’s”, though, in fact perhaps more so – “some branches have a strangely gloomy ambience” – but fans feel that “if you don’t mind 1980s-rock, a trip can still be surprisingly fun”.

“Once a sad sight – an abandoned Victorian pub at a busy crossroads in Salford” – this 19th-century boozer was resurrected in 2021 after lying derelict for over 15 years and now combines a “well-run restaurant in a sympathetic extension at the back” (the Glass Room), plus a proper boozer where you can dine on chef Ben Chaplin’s more casual pub grub. The “convivial, busy” venture’s charms also include a garden and outdoor tavern for the summer months.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover: hidden away in a railway arch on a dingy street” you’ll find an “unexpectedly beautiful space” serving “incredible food at a great price”. The speciality is spätzle, ‘comforting noodle-like pasta of Schwabian origin’, served in recipes inspired by central European grannies.

With its “lovely setting” (in a grand, Grade II listed former Freemasons’ Hall), “perfectly balanced service”, and “wide-ranging, out-of-the-ordinary menu” of “impressive and unusual food”, this branch of the retro Bombay-inspired Indian group is firing an all cylinders, with all the usual favourites – “okra fries”, “the famous black daal”, “chicken ruby that I dream about” – plus the local speciality, “superb Nihari biryani”. Top Delivery Tip – “the dishes are so beautifully presented, you could buy a delivery for someone as a great birthday treat – and they arrive very fast!”.

The clue is in the name, when it comes to the main appeal of this rooftop brasserie at the top of a skyscraper in the heart of Spinningfields, whose glossy contemporary looks bear the hallmark of owners D&D London. In line with the group’s DNA, it’s sometimes dismissed in online reviews as being a case of great-view-shame-about-everything else. But our feedback – if still surprisingly limited – all pretty upbeat.

“For a quick bite” in touristy parts of town, all with a bit of affordable glam thrown in, these “closely packed” Italians with their wide range of Venetian-style Cicchetti have carved a sizeable following: fans say “the small-plates formula works well” and “the whole place buzzes”. Ratings came under more pressure this year, though, with service – generally “swift and charming” – sometimes found “rushed” or “rather random”.

“Stunning food in a stunning setting with St Paul’s as a to-die-for backdrop…” (in EC4); “the superb atmosphere of the very colourful room sets the mood…” (in SW3): – Praise isn’t short on the ground for these maximalist pan-Asian venues. They are easy to diss, but most reporters actually feel that, OK, they’re “a bit pricey” for their hotch-potch of pan-Asian “classical dishes”; seem “slightly tasteless”; are “very noisy”; but, for all that, overall are “still a lot of fun”. There is also though, a minority of diners that loathe them for a variety of reasons; and feel that “the prostitution of the Ivy brand continues apace”. (“The western siblings are fine, but this faux-Asian set-up is a travesty – the worst sort of western cultural appropriation and arrogant corruption…”; “opulent surroundings and extravagant presentation cannot disguise overpriced and underwhelming food…”; “it’s all flashing lights and selfies. We will not be going back!”)

What does it say about the culinary tastes of the British middle classes that this spin-off chain, with about 40 locations based on the original Theatreland icon, has been such a rip-roaring success? True, there’s some “great people-watching” at the “always buzzing” Chelsea Garden venue (which has one of SW3’s best gardens). And, without doubt, those branches in Kensington, Tower Bridge and Kingston also particularly stand out amongst the rest for their “super atmosphere”. In general though, the knock-off look of their locations “isn’t a patch on the original on West Street, yet pretends to be exactly the same”. And when it comes to their brasserie dishes: although its many followers tout them as “acceptable, albeit nothing special”, their rating-average identifies them as “underwhelming tick-box fare”; all offered by service that’s very “indifferent”. And yet they are “always busy”! In June 2024, it was announced that billionaire Richard Caring had successfully sold his entire Ivy restaurants stake. Now that he is laughing all the way to the bank, it will be interesting to see if ratings reverse, continue or deepen their southward trend.