Salford Restaurant Guide

“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.

2021 Review: This “crazily busy” branch of Shabir Hussain’s Bradford-based group “still delivers great curry and their specialism of over-sized naan”. It’s one of the few places that lists camel (‘on the bone’) on its menu.

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.

“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.

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!”.

This Manchester tapas pioneer of two decades’ standing is “still good after so many years” – with a “vibrant atmosphere” and “food and wine of a high quality”. “The Altrincham branch is sadly no more (having closed down at the end of 2023), but the Deansgate original still flies the flag”, along with branches in the Northern Quarter and Knutsford. The business developed out of an enoteca importing wine directly from family-run Spanish vineyards, so “the wine list is especially strong”. Top Menu Tip – “excellent paella”.

2022 Review: Grand Pacific's sibling enjoys an impressively posh setting (replete with glamorous cocktail bar) in a basement off Deansgate, making it perfectly “designed for a date”. The food – Aussie/pan-Asian sharing plates – “ranges from average to excellent”, with a shout-out for the “beautiful” bento-box dessert.

“Every time I go it is always such a lovely experience”, say fans of this Deansgate outpost of this phenomenal steakhouse chain, atmospherically located in a late-Victorian former courthouse, next to Spinningfields. Known for its mouthwatering steaks (and also, somewhat, for its recently introduced selection of seafood), many reports say its performance is “still solid” (and that “the burger is a good tip for a good-value feed”). Disappointments are on the up though, with some indifferent meals reported and also the same concerns about the final bill as at the group’s venues in London and other cities: “good-value set lunch and early evening; and they still do £5 corkage on Mondays (the wine club idea is brilliant). Otherwise the cost mounts up”.

2021 Review: The “lovely Thai food” at these reliable cafés is “impressively authentic given that they are a chain” – “excellent value” and “fast”, if occasionally let down by “iffy service”. Founded in 2008 by Saiphin and Alex Moore, who inherited the name of their first East End site, the group has 18 branches in London and expanded to Liverpool, Manchester, Reading (delivery only) and Leeds following the sale of a majority stake to US investors. The couple also have two spin-offs, Lao Café in Covent Garden and the new Chinese noodle bar Hoh Sek in St Katharine Docks.

This “great lively place” is certainly something a bit “different”: a Bavarian-style beer hall where the food (bacon kroissants with a ‘k’, schnitzel, spätzle and funky pretzel donuts) is more reminiscent of something you’d get up the Alps than in Manchester city centre. Much like an après-ski bar, it’s also all about entertainment, with regular cabaret and DJ nights amplified by further insanity during Oktoberfest. The local Mission Mars group who run it now has outposts in Birmingham, Liverpool and (as of early 2024) a ‘600-cover pleasure palace’, as an impressed Grace Dent put it in the Guardian, on London’s Leicester Square, which has taken over the old Rainforest Café site.