I’ve been here a few times for drinks but my first visit for food was on Thursday, when we came here for my team Christmas meal. From making the booking to the deposit/pre-order to the actual night, the service was brilliant. They were so easy to deal with and replied to emails same day. Even when I made a few last minute changes to the booking, they were really nice and friendly and good humoured. We arrived a little early and had a drink at the bar. We started a tab, which was seamlessly transferred to our table’s bill once we were sat down. The food was really good. I had venison liver pâté, turkey and chocolate mousse and it was all delicious. The sea bass which a few of my colleagues had looked really delicious. I won’t go into the food too much as I’m guessing it’s a different menu than usual, but if the main menu is as good as the Christmas menu, then it’ll be delicious. If anyone is looking for a city centre Christmas Day dinner out then Beef and Pudding is open, which is handy to know. Overall, highly recommended.
Ian M.
Place rating: 4 Withington, United Kingdom
Ok, I like this place. I wasn’t sure if I would having read a couple of reviews. Anyways, I arrived early so got a beer from the bar, and the staff were prompt and friendly — Thursday night, so no queue. Titantic’s Iceberg is on. A good, rather than great beer — check out their Plumb Porter or Capaccino for outstanding. There was a choice of reds, and the house red was a Cab Sav. Our servers are super friendly, and give us just the right amount of attention vs space. One of them is actually quite funny. This is especially something when you consider they’ve group xmas parties in. Whilst, our series of meals is notionally the Pie Tales, and this is episode 3.5 — I cheated and had a pie at Leeds Pieminister, this is actually going to be a pudding. Which is kinda the thing here, it being Beef & Pudding. So, if you’ve not got northern roots, this pudding isn’t desert, but a suet pudding. And it’s pretty tasty! I decided that now we’re into December it’s ok to have an xmas themed pudding from the specials menu, at £13.95. So that was turkey & ham, served with some sprouts and mash, and sufficient gravy. I always think, «Hmm, slightly small,» with these sized dishes, but then as you tuck in you realise it’s really not the case! Very tasty indeed. Their beef speciality was also ordered, and eaten with enjoyment. It’s a very convenient location, being so close to St Peter’s Square and Piccadilly Gardens. Unusually for me, I’d also say that whilst it had upbeat music on, and there were xmas parties occurring . Essentially this place is a variation on British classic dishes, but done in a bespoke manner in a contemporary, upbeat environment. Just the job when the weather is being extremely Mancy outside! I’d probably go for a 3.5, but it’s xmas so it’s 4. Half off for the prices, which arn’t super expensive, but if they were £4 to £5 cheaper I’d go back regularly. Tip: They have a significant January discount, which could well be useful!
Matthew G.
Place rating: 5 Manchester, United Kingdom
Great choice of food local cask ales, quality food, excellent service. Great british food with a quality touch. They do a lot more than beef, do rad the menu before booking just in case you want something special. they sometime have live music on, which I think is great, Industrial modern surroundings… I’d eat here any day !
Stuart F.
Place rating: 3 Derby, United Kingdom
Beef and Pudding is a meat lover’s dream, in the heart of the home of steak puddings. The portions are large and not for the faint hearted, don’t order starters unless you are sharing or have a bottomless stomach. I’ll go back to try it again. Less than attentive service at the end of the meal lost it a star but that’s easily overcome.
Bernadette K.
Place rating: 4 Gt Man, United Kingdom
I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying several staff lunches and business dinners at Beef & Pudding. There are several reasons for this. 1) it’s got a great atmosphere 2) the location is incredibly convenient 3) the food 4) the food 5) the food As you might deduce from the name, there is beef and pudding on the menu. But it’s so much more, offering a variety of unique dishes and classic British fare. There’s a few veggie & pasta dishes as well, so don’t let the name put off you poor, poor non-carnivores, and pescatarians will appreciate the selection of seafood on the menu. Meat lovers, rejoice… this should be your Mecca. It’s all there, and it’s amazing. I’ve always gone for a good beef board(to share with others) and have been working my way through the mains. As meat and fish are locally sourced, you may find they do not have particular menu items available towards the end of service, as they occasionally sell out. That’s the price you sometimes pay for insanely fresh food. Yesterday I got to experience my first B&P brunch and they did not disappoint. Everything was on point; from the gorgeous bacon and sausage to the freshly grilled brown bread. All the trimmings were there, and were washed down with some damn good Blood Mary’s. So now I have my new favourite brunch joint in Manchester. Which also happens to be my favourite lunch joint in Manchester. Coincidentally it is my favourite business dinner joint. They may as well stick a cot in the basement for me, I’m moving in.
Derek D.
Place rating: 5 Prague, Czech Republic
I must say that I am surprised by some of the lukewarm reviews here — my wife and I liked this place so much on our six-day visit to Manchester that we went twice. The beer is excellent, the staff is absolutely fantastic, and the food was incredible. I also like the atmosphere — though I’m a sucker for that re-purposed industrial feel. Next time I am in Manchester, I will definitely make at least one dinner here. I literally have only praise for the place.
Jen F.
Place rating: 3 Durham, NC
They have the potential to be a 4, but I haven’t tried enough to know for sure. Visited on a Wednesday evening at 830pm. Was about half full, no problem being seated. Service was quick but not rushed. The bartender was friendly, let me sample a beer before deciding, and offered up a few suggestions to help me make a decision. Atmosphere was modern gastropub, not too loud, but I imagine it would be if full. I had the pâté — very good, reasonable portion, but as is often the case, not enough bread for the amount of pâté. I made do by heaping quite a bit on each bite. :) The sticky toffee pudding was PERFECT. hot but not scalding, nice steamy spongy texture, and the sauce was delicious. Sweet but not cloying. I’ll be back the next time I am in town to try a proper meal.
Raam S.
Place rating: 1 Manchester, United Kingdom
We were meant to go here to see some friends who work abroad and whom we’d not seen in over a year. So we, a bunch of 11 people, mixed group of boys and girls, all smartly dressed professionals turned up at this establishment at around 9:30 in the night. There were already friends of ours, also a mixed sex group waving at us from inside as we approached and we reciprocated. As we tried to enter, we were stopped by the bouncer who, in a very condescending manner went on to tell us «I am sure you know, that in order to eat or drink at a place like this, you need to have a prior reservation». When my friend tried to explain to him there were friends of ours who were already inside and we were part of the bigger group, for which arrangements had already been made, the bouncer physically prevented my friend from entering by putting his hand against my friend’s chest and saying«whoa whoa whoa. where do you think you’re going?». I agree, bouncers exist to reserve rights of admission to certain people only. However there is a way of doing it and you do not look at a bunch of well dressed people, who are clear and precise in the way they talk, who tell you they have friends sitting inside, who’ve made arrangements for all of them and more importantly who are waving to these very people and treat them like someone who is looking for charity. After all we were going there to eat, drink and pay them a hefty bill for all that we were about to eat and drink. Frankly speaking, after seeing this, my wife, and one of our friends who in most social situations are very chilled out, were extremely offended. I think someone from inside had to come and tell the bouncer that arrangements had already been made for us. Finally, when we got in, we were too rattled to notice anything else about this establishment other than the fact that it was very quiet and empty. We only went in because we wanted to spend time with our friends and based on this experience at the door, I don’t think I will want to go there again, ever! I think all of us as paying customers do not have to put up with this kind of treatment and I strongly recommend going somewhere else.
Laura F.
Place rating: 4 Manchester, United Kingdom
This was my third visit to Beef and Pudding and it was just as special as the first time I ate here. This lovely gastro-pub type restaurant is a stones throw away from Manchester Town Hall and Albert’s Square and boasts a fantastic menu of traditionally British dishes. Their ‘British & Proud’ section of the menu is where you can order fish and chips, steak pudding, sausage and mash, cottage pie(I’ve had this, it’s fab!) served with a modern, rustic twist. On this occasion, we ordered from the Sunday menu — two courses for £13.95 or three for £15.95 — and I am so very glad we did. Scottish Smoked Salmon with capers, rocket and artisan bread and the Ham Hock Terrine with toast and chutney were ordered for starters. Both delicious, and both an excellent warm up for the main event. Both Sunday roasts were cooked to perfection — one melt-in-your-mouth lamb and one succulent rare roast beef — both served with fresh market veg, roast potatoes, gravy and a giant Yorkshire pudding. Safe to say, it was one of the best roast dinners around. My friend agreed! The staff here have always been great — helpful and friendly and always manage to find me a table without any fuss. Special mention to the barman too — after being so indecisive about my cocktail choice, he picked for me and made me a ‘Drumstick’ cocktail complete with a drumstick lolly. It couldn’t have got it more perfect for me if he tried. Fantastic relaxed, urban pub with a very friendly atmosphere. I’m a big fan.
Toby S.
Place rating: 4 Chorlton-cum-Hardy, United Kingdom
Beef and pudding… the clues in the title as to what they offer. However for none initiated chip shop, pie lover, Northern people(do you have puddings in the south???) Puddings aren’t referring to delicious chocolate cake, icecream, fruit, cheese board delights. oh no we’re talking about the lesser known cousin of Pie. See Puddings are like pies, but in a nutshell puddings are steamed(I await the torrent of ‘you know nothing Jon Snow, a pudding is… a pie is…) anyways this really isn’t that important, they are all delicious SO! I’ve been meaning to come here for a long time, but time hasn’t not allowed me(I say time, I mean work. But if I say work, someone taps me on the shoulder at my desk and says ‘don’t say bad things’ so I haven’t said work I love work, ok) The summary of my review will be ‘this is your local pub food, but done well’. That’s not intended to say my local pubs are crap at what they produce, some are absolutely great at presenting their menu, this place does but an added level of quality to what they put in your face. I need to go to the this place more is the other main thing to take from this review. I need to try more of the menu and the reason being I want to have a better view on it overall… research, I think some places call it, maybe I can get a grant. The food nice, it’s not blow your mind territory. But it’s good. The décor I would compare to Reds True BBQ, in that if anyone remembers the club in Stockport called Heaven and Hell, this would be Heaven, Reds True BBQ would be Hell in the looks of the two places, so much so I had to check if they were owned by the same people(apparently not) but go into them both and I think you’ll get what I mean. The staff are good, I’d be interested to see how they do when it’s really busy. Price is reasonable, two course and a couple of drinks each came to £25 per head, can’t argue with that. This will certainly require more ‘research’ Oh and special mention has to go to their gravy. ‘if’ it hasn’t come from a packet, and instead been made from the remnants of cow then someone needs a raise, and pat on the back, and massive kiss on the cheek.
Rachael T.
Place rating: 3 Manchester, United Kingdom
Went here on a Friday evening, we were a party of 8. Inside is quite dark and industrial looking but not unpleasant. We got seated and were furnished with drinks menus. I like the colour coding they use so you can identify which wines are available by the glass and which wines are by the bottle — simples and saves the situation where you have your heart on a certain wine only to find its only available by the bottle! Drinks orders were taken and swiftly delivered to the table now on to the food. I skipped starter and went straight to the main event opting for the beef’ham(read:Beetham see what they did there!?) tower which was a stack of various goodies including brisket, burger, suet pudding, howl at the moon sauce in a brioche bun. It was quite a large creation(see pic) and came with proper chips as well. I got a friendly warning about the«howl at the moon sauce»(which came in a pipette) saying it was a bit on the hot side and to take it easy if I’m not a chilli fan. Liking a bit of spice i added the whole pipette to my tower. Tower was tasty and a good mix of flavours and the chips were good as well. The howl at the moon sauce gave it a nice bit of bite. The suet pudding didn’t really work for me as without the gravy it would have been a bit dry(tip ask for extra gravy especially if you like it on your chips as well like a proper Northerner!) but with everything combined it was good. Service was attentive and they kept us topped up with bottles of tap water. They do live music on a Friday and towards the end of our meal a band was setting up and started to play. I did enjoy the meal here but I really need a half button as it really is a 3.5 point out of 5 review. Have found out that they do live music and Sunday roast so will be checking that out with my Sunday lunch buddy soon and will report back :)
Natalie W.
Place rating: 3 Manchester, United Kingdom
Beef and Pudding looks really nice inside, I thought. It’s relaxed and casual, a little bit trendy but not tacky. Other good points: 1) Mocktails pretty good — reasonably priced and well made 2) The brisket on my burger(the Beefham tower) was absolutely delicious 3) The dessert boards looked great both in presentation and content Not so good: 1) The nachos. Actually these were actively bad. I didn’t like the tortilla chips at all and there wasn’t enough topping to chip ratio, which is obviously the worst thing that could happen to nachos. 2) The meat of the burger itself I found a little bitter, although the horseradish disguised this relatively well. Still, delicious as horseradish is, it shouldn’t be necessary to have half a jar of it on your burger to even out the taste. I wouldn’t go running back but I like that they are trying to do something a bit different and hopefully the food will get more consistent over time.
Michael B.
Place rating: 3 Manchester, United Kingdom
Having seen some of the initial Unilocal reviews of B & P once it had opened I wanted to wait for them to settle in a bit before trying it myself. It seemed timely in May to choose it for the ‘Mancs vs Food’ event to see if they’d got their act together. Booking a table was unproblematic — they suggest you do it via their app(search for ‘New Moon Pub’ in the App Store) so that you can redeem various offers when you’re there. We got 10% knocked off our final bill, though given what we each had to pay in the end it probably should have been closer to 30%. As fellow diners Mike S, Jonny Q and Jess S have already said, most of us shared starters and dessert platters and had a main course, with a couple of drinks still forking out nearly £40 each(after the discount!). Their pricings did seem extraordinary for what we were served. The nachos in particular were very disappointing. On the other hand, my main course(the oddly named ‘Dripping Welsh Boy’ — lamb burger, mint gravy, roast garlic mayo, welsh rarebit & crispy cabbage) was really tasty. At £12.95 though, it was not even half the size of a cheaper Almost Famous burger. Service was friendly if not the most efficient(it wasn’t busy being mid-week). The venue is great with the refurbishment providing a sleek, modern yet comfortable place to eat. I’d definitely return if they either offered more realistic pricing, or greatly improved the standards of the food. Hope they get the message…
Jess F.
Place rating: 2 Manchester, United Kingdom
I believed the hype & was disappointed. Two or three stars… Yep its a 2. I couldn’t wait to try this place after getting caught up in the tweets they were posting since opening. They can definitely manage a social media account, possibly if they could get the food to the same standard I’d give it another go. We headed here for the monthly Manc vs Food Unilocal night out, as usual very well organised by Mike B. There were 8 of us, a mix of Elites, standard Unilocalers and newbies making up a really good group. I had a great night but this was mainly down to the company. The interior is great, perfectly done for their concept. Its the rubbish food that’s letting them down. We had the sharing nachos to start. I was not impressed with them. Is it so hard to spread the toppings over all the nachos rather than setting it up so everything is piled on just a few of them in the centre on top? Is it too much to ask for the cheese to be melted. Apparently so. Watch out for the vinegary hot sauce they provide in plastic test tubes — its really nasty, tastes horribly sweet at first and will burn your throat seconds later. I went for the B&P burger with cheese for my main. As an ex vegetarian I find bloody meat off putting and so knowing the current fashion for proper burgers I checked with the waitress how the burger was cooked. Medium she said so I said ok that’s fine(I’m working my way down to medium rare over time). Unless the definition of medium has recently changed to ‘cooked to within an inch of its edible life’ this burger was not medium. It was very very well done and dry. I didn’t like my main at all really, it was poorly cooked and I thought for the price a pretty small portion. The chips weren’t nice at all. We shared a dessert plank for the final course. It was good in places and really awful in places. The Eccles cake was fabulous but the custard was lumpy and had separated — grim. The sticky toffee pudding was cold, hard and dry. The cheesecake was average in flavour and stodgy in texture, coating the inside of your mouth in a horrible, claggy way. The chocolate brownie was average, quite dry and I wouldn’t have it again. The pecan pie was vile(sorry), dry pastry case and unpleasant filling. The bakewell tart was delicious, moist and tasted perfect. This plank desperately needed ice cream to make it something closer to edible. The service was just ok, not amazing not awful. I enjoyed my porter and the overall selection of drinks, for me, looked good. I was not happy paying £28 for a sharing starter, a main and a shared dessert with one drink though. Too expensive for what you get. With so many great places in Manchester B&P will need to seriously up its game to be anything like a contender. Sorry guys, I still love your twitter account though.
Jonny Q.
Place rating: 3 Manchester, United Kingdom
I’ve never been more certain of a 3 star Unilocal rating in my entire life! We had a great night out and it was a really good bunch of people — plus Beef and Pudding was a pretty cool place but I just don’t think I could ever bring myself to give it more than a 3! They really just need to fine tune it a lot and I can totally see what all the past reviews have been saying. Here’s the good points: * A pretty cool urban pub serving some classic pub food — nice! * The dessert plank although £15(shared between 2) was pretty damn good! * I really enjoyed their signature ‘beef pudding’ — very tasty steak, mash and peas dinner(£15) Here’s the bad points: * The nachos were the most pitiful attempt I’ve seen in a long time. Well described on the menu, what came looked and tasted like an out of the box Old El paso nacho kit. They were some of the worst nachos I’ve ever had and I’ve eaten a fair few plates in my time! * Far too much generic crappy lager on, only 3 real ale pumps with a few random beers on. This should be switched to emphasise the surroundings and celebrate all the great breweries around at the moment. * The cost — a shared starter, a shared dessert and the main — with 2 pints cost £35 — this was pretty steep for what you actually got. Overall a 3 and I’d happily go again if it was a friends birthday or work do etc but if I was making my own financial decision to go here, I’d go and spend the cash somewhere else. I just wasn’t blown away enough to warrant spending this much although it was nice to try somewhere new and see for myself what it’s all about.
Mike S.
Place rating: 3 Manchester, United Kingdom
First impressions count for a lot, and I think that’s what is carrying this as a 3-star rather than a(albeit slightly harsh) 2 star. Great building, great street presence and great interior all got me excited on arrival. It hinted at good gastro-pub food and slightly edgy but thoughtful service. The drinks menu was extensive but the choice of draught beers was a serious disappointment. I was surprised to see wine glasses on every table as well — this place is not a bistro and should stop trying to be. The selection of starters got me back in a good mood, and despite opting to share the nachos, I’d definitely be back to try the Dripping Pig Ribs and The Manc Plank. The main menu is equally extensive, but like the beer selection I was left feeling kind of uninspired by the actual options. I can’t put my finger on it, but something just didn’t fit. I opted for the lamb burger which was excellent, but the ‘proper’ chips ranged from superbly crispy to a soggy disappointment — a bit of a mixed bag. From what I saw and heard, the rest of the group’s beef burgers were a little on the dry side. Desert brought the meal back on track — the brownie was excellent, helped by a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and the desert plank certainly made me a little envious of the sharers. The bill was a little on the expensive side for the quality. £30 for a burger, a brownie, a beer and half a portion of nachos. The sad thing is it has the potential to be 4 stars, but at the moment is barely a 3. They food needs to improve a little, and they need to figure out what they want to be. The logo, décor and food scream gastro-pub, but the bistro style website and wine glasses really wind me up.
Andrew Y.
Place rating: 3 Manchester, United Kingdom
A nice looking restaurant. I like the interior with its industrial style lighting and metal fixtures. We went on a Thursday so they have a special Dirty Food Thursday menu — which you can see on Michael B’s photo. If you download the app, there are different offers and rewards. One of them was for a free beer with any main meal from the Dirty Food on Thursday menu. Its limited beer choice and I think was basically a couple lagers. Thats fine with me but not if you prefer your craft beer. There was another offer on the app which we ended up using which is 10% off the food. If you do use the offer, make sure they actually do take off the discount. They didn’t initial for us. Anyway, on to the actual food. We were first shown the drinks menu — or rather the cocktail menu — which was extensive. Other drinks like beers were not on the menu. She was able to tell us what they had. It was a few things on draught, some bottles and a handful of craft beers. I was OK with the options as I prefer lager but the lack of craft beer options didn’t please everyone. For starters, we had nachos. In fact, the whole group went for nachos — which was to share between 2. The nachos just tasted like standard nachos probably from a packet. I do like my nachos pretty much no matter what so that was fine. They came with a few pipets which contained the Howling at the Moon hot sauce. Be warned, its very hot. But if you like your hot food/sauce, you’ll probably be fine with it. They are in a pipet for a reason though — so you can put the sauce on the nachos, drop by drop. For the main, I went for a B & P Burger.(Which sounds like a BNP burger when you order it!). It looks like they were going for«fun» names for a few other dishes like the Beef-ham Tower burger and the The Big Boner(rib of beef). I don’t mind a pun but I just wonder why you would do a pun that makes it sound like BNP? Now burgers are very much the in thing. Lots of people do them. Some do it really well, some not so. Its always going to be tough when you have the likes of Almost Famous who do incredible burgers. It has to be said though that Almost Famous can focus on pretty much one thing. Beef and Pudding, like most places, have to do other dishes, so you could argue its«easier» for Almost Famous.(And you can now probably guess what I am going to say about the burger). It was«OK» at best. It was too well done and therefore dry. The bread was too small for the burger — which was pretty big and chunky — but was that to make it look bigger? It came with chips and a tomato relish which were both nice. I didn’t have any dessert. Some people went for the chocolate brownie which I heard was quite good. Other people went for the plank — which was a selection of 8 different desserts. Was told some was very good, some was OK. The plank is shared between 2(or one if your greedy I guess) and cost about £15. So about £7.50 each to try 8 different desserts is not too bad. The value of the nachos for £5.95 was not too bad. I think at £11.95(plus 75p for extras — cheese/bacon/garlic mushrooms) the burger was a bit pricey for a more or less a plain burger. I think the place has got potential. I heard the lamb burger had by a couple people was excellent. The service was good. Giving this a 2⁄5 sounds a bit harsh. Just 1 from a 1⁄5 which is when something is rubbish. But Unilocal description of a a 2⁄5 is about right — Meh. I’ve experienced better. I will give it a 3 though.
Chris T.
Place rating: 3 Manchester, United Kingdom
Heres my review on Beef and Pudding. Its just ok, the whole place looks great with the industrial style lighting, it has a really nice bar area which is separate to the restaurant, the restaurant isn’t that big but dosnt seem small and has a nice feel to it. There was 4 of us in the party and we all choose the famous Beef-Ham Tower burger obviously based on the iconic Beetham Tower Building i didn’t see why though though it must be because of the size of the Burger, i was shocked to see how many chips you get though, there was around 10 small chips in a little paper packet thing and a little tiny pot of gravy all for £16.95 what a rip off! Its very expensive for what it is unfortunately and didn’t see how it could come to that. The front of end staff are really friendly but found our waitress not so, she didn’t explain any specials or the menu at all, i asked for water with the meal and it seemed like it was a problem, i just found her ok, just not that friendly. some other girl bought over our burgers and the burgers had some kinda tube in it with some sauce and said to wait for someone to come over and explain, but never did. The whole place just dosnt seem right, its very expensive for what it is, theres better burger joints out there than this one but its more classier and upscale but think ill go to Almost Famous next time. I did like the bar area though.
Ellie B.
Place rating: 4 City Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
After being teased for weeks with their Facebook and Twitter posts, we thought we’d finally give Beef and Pudding a go last night and see if their food tasted as good as it looked on the photos. As we walked through the door, a light flashed above us. I’m not sure if it was intentional or a faulty bulb but either way, it made us feel a little special :-) The restaurant’s décor is easy on the eye, I love the exposed kitchen and big wine rack, as well as the low lighting. When we lived in Spain, it was always such a struggle to find somewhere dimly lit and romantic so Beef and Pudding get top marks for mood lighting. We were a bit miffed when our starters arrived at the same time as the mains but the staff were extremely apologetic and gave us a discount card towards our next visit, which made up for it. In fact, all the staff were really friendly and attentive so top marks for them too. The food was excellent — proper hearty British stuff(pulled pork, rump steak and chips, that sort of thing) and good sized portions. The wine menu offered a wide variety of reds and whites so we opted for one of each, something I am very much regretting now(my head)! Also, my other half has a very dodgy tummy today. I’d like to think it’s not related to the food but who knows…
Craig S.
Place rating: 1 Altrincham, United Kingdom
There had been quite a bit of hype surrounding this place, so to say that I high expectations wouldn’t be a lie… Just a short walk from St Peter’s Sq tram stop, the newly opened eatery has a certain curb appeal with floor to ceiling glass and neon signage. On entering we were greeted by the maître dé and quickly shown to our table. We ordered some cocktails to sip as we perused the menu. The Drumstick(complete with lollipop) for the mrs and a Dark Shadow for me. Both were very tasty but sadly they were the to be the last tasty thing that afternoon… To begin I ordered ‘not quite a pigs ear’, which was black pudding with pigs cheek and ale gravy. It arrived in a bowl, a thick slice of black pud, covered in gravy, dotted with(pointless lentils). However, there was no pigs cheek to be found… The dish was bland and unseasoned, lacking in any sort of flavour. To get the taste out of my mouth. I ordered a pint. Sadly a disappointing selection of draught ales… I was still pretty hopeful at this stage and was looking forward to my house burger. I mean you can’t really go wrong with a burger can you? Or so I thought… When it came, it looked okay(see pic), although the chips looked over cooked(they were) and sporadic in shape and size. The pattie was described as being just beef with their blend of herbs & spices, which were undetectable and mustn’t have included salt or pepper. The burger was overcooked. The bun had no sign of the caramelised red onion the menu promised. The relish tasted like it came from a jar(despite the menus boast of roasted garlic). Sadly the most tasty thing on the plate was the gherkin… In summary it is a nice place for a cocktail. The food fails on almost every level, which is a shame as the menu had some promise. Food 1⁄5 — bland & badly executed Drinks 3⁄5 — tasty and good choice cocktails Décor 4⁄5 — New York meets northern qtr Service 4⁄5 — fast and friendly