The Pen and Pencil

Stop by for a drink before dinner at el Capo on a Tuesday .
A very relaxing bar/​restaurant. Wooden décor like most of the NQ bars.
I had a Thyme and Life — it’s pretty tasty, and pretty pink color with some hibiscus petals.
I’m not sure if I would go there for food just seem very generic. But I could be wrong since I haven’t had food there. But I will go back for some cocktails.

Went to a private party here. The staff seemed friendly clearing away drinks and plates as well as bringing out the birthday cake. The service at the bar was pretty quick for a busy Saturday night.

Judging by previous reviews I feel I got the time of day wrong when I visited Pen and Pencil. We headed over straight after work and it seems the evening menu is quite different to the day menu and somewhat more limited! We had a choice of about 6 mains and 8 or so smaller dishes to choose from (with no healthy option in sight). After questioning one of the waiters about what they’d recommend and getting a largely mediocre response along the lines of nothing is out of this world and its all standard pub grub, Esther H and I went for nachos with beef brisket, chicken wings and a pancetta and fig pizetta to share. The waiter was right, everything was tasty enough but nothing really stood out and none of the flavours got me hugely excited. The beef brisket on the nachos was also very dry and chewy. A pretty cool place, very much in keeping with the rest of the northern quarter, but the food I had and the menu I saw didn’t excite me. perhaps I ought to give brunch a go in the hope for more variety!

I was so disappointed with my visit here! I booked up for Saturday morning and I had been looking forward to it all of Friday, I must have read the menu about ten times and chose what I wanted well in advance!
We arrived and I told the girl behind the bar I had a booking, gave her my name etc… to be told ‘oh we were going to put you in the back but there’s no tables left, sit out here if you like’, so we sat on a table at the front of the bar, no one brought us menus so after a few minutes of looking around we got up in search of one ourselves! Our server came over and we ordered drinks but queried some things on the menu for my dairy free friend, she didn’t know the answers so went to ask the kitchen and she quickly came back but didn’t really have much to offer us, we asked whether we could swap the pancakes for a muffin so make it dairy free which she seemed hesitant about, I was shocked because it wasn’t an outrageous request! It all got sorted and we ordered, all was good.
Our drinks arrived and my tea was set down in front of me and was told ‘I only brought over hot milk, you didn’t want cold did you?’, I kinda of regretted agreeing to it because I did want cold but I’m not that fussy, I was just frustrated at the lack of good service!
Our food came, I opted for Eggs Pen & Pencil, poached eggs, served with a sausage patty, pancetta crisps and covered in Hollandaise sauce! Delicious! Although I had bacon not pancetta crisps but that isn’t a complaint because it still tasted incredible! The food was sooo good, I can’t explain how much I enjoyed it!
I feel like I’ve just launched into a giant rant about this place but the service really wasn’t good. The girl serving us wasn’t knowledgeable about allergies so my friend was nervous when his food arrived in case their was dairy in it, it should be basic training to know what’s in the food! We didn’t feel valued as customers and being in an area surrounded by cafes and amazing places to have brunch, good service can be really important to set you apart!
I really want to come back and have the food again because it was incredible but that should be coupled with good service so two stars because the food saved them.

Lacklustre and didn’t live up to expectations. Very much style over substance.
Loved the interior of this newish place in the NQ but the slow service and average tasting, cold food really let it down. The menu choices looked really good, I wanted almost everything off the breakfast menu, which is available until 4pm. Are there any happier words than ‘all day breakfast’ on a menu?
We waited a long time for the food. The place was half empty so I’m not sure why try can’t get meals out in a decent time frame. It’s hard to get a fry up wrong but sadly the American breakfast was a disaster. When elements of a meal are cold then it makes it hard to enjoy the whole plate. The toasted muffin (I’d switched the pancake for it as I needed bread to mop up a post wine tasting hangover) was stone cold. The beans and eggs were, at best, luke warm.
Mr F are his Philly cheese steak sandwich but we both agreed we wouldn’t go back. Sad as the interior was just right for my taste.

We fancied checking out the P&P at lunchtime on a Saturday to help line our stomachs for what was to become a prolonged drinking session in town.
I’d seen a while ago that the owners were apparently aiming to bring a taste of «Mad Men Manhattan» to Manchester — having only caught glimpses of the TV show I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant. There are some retro adverts in collages, so that might have something to do with it.
The interior is certainly slick-​looking, with wooden flooring, exposed brick and cast iron columns (it’s the NQ, so natch). We sat on some raised, contoured wooden bench seating which was comfortable to lounge back on, but the choice of lighting there was terrible — bright, white LED spotlights.
The bar and main seating area is at the front, with a smaller room with more seating at the back, separated by a lift shaft.
I ordered their Monte Cristo sandwich on egg-​dipped bloomer bread, which was ok, but I’d have eaten anything given how long we had to wait for our food to arrive. Our waitress neglected to mention there was a serious kitchen delay and we kept trying to get her attention but she had a master’s degree in avoiding eye contact with customers.
Add to that their choice of beers has something to be desired — it’ll be the last time I pay way over the odds for a small can of Camden’s.
High marks for style, but lacking in substance for us. Disappointing.

After reading Jess H’s ROTD I was dead set on trying this place for breakfast on my next brunch stop. I didn’t have to wait long before I dragged my friend along for the experience. We arrived around half 12 (breakie is served till 4pm) and blagged one of the last proper tables however there was plenty of bar stools and window seats left which was fab. I loved the atmosphere in here — the last thing you need for breakfast is having to sit and wait in a crowded bar on a Sunday… this is my day of calm!
The music in here completes the atmosphere with background favourites such and one republic. You chose your own seats on arrival and after that it is table service. We swiftly ordered some hot drinks — a coffee and earl grey tea for me. The tea came with fresh tea leaves and a free top up of water when asked!
Having already sussed the menu out prior to arriving I opted for the pen and pencil eggs — poached eggs on a toasted muffin atop a sausage patty, bacon and a homemade hash brown served with a scrummy hollandaise sauce! It was a great twist on the normal eggs benedict and was just the right size for a spot of brunch!
I really did love it here — regular brunch stop … I think so!

Really funky bar & restaurant with a really relaxed feel to it.
Good waitress service came over very quickly. Not a large choice of food, breakfasts and lunch mainly.
Atmosphere is causal & relaxed, we were greeted upon entering the bar.
Food is reasonable priced & they have some funky retro beers.
Worth a visit :)
Try the Philly steak with cheese with chips and home made coleslaw

I like drawing. or at least i like other peoples drawings… so the name Pen & Pencil was instantly intriguing. However, its actually (apparently) based on mad men. I dont quite get it, there’s veneer in places and some 60’s esque stools and some faux suede… but aside from that i’m not really getting the mad men thing.
But to be honest its irrelevant, so lets just say it inspired someone to build what is actually a really nice bar.
There are long benches.
There are many plugs (for day time laptop working)
There are stools in the window for those wanting to sit alone
and there is a separated area round the back for larger parties.
Its 1pm right now and its full of business types, creative types and me having lunch /​brunch. Stevie wonder is on the stereo and people are bustling about. But still there’s a laid back atmosphere. Its not too loud, its not too quiet. Its just right.
Wifi is available — necessary for any freelancer that makes bars their office and decent work space with the long benches which can easily be shared.
so why am i giving it 4 stars out of 5. Well when i first walked in i nearly walked out again. The menu wasnt inspiring at all and the print /​design of the menus felt more chain restuarant.
HOWEVER i ignored my first impression based on this and ordered a favourite. Now i believe you can really judge a place on its eggs benedict and if thats true then this place comes up trumps! 2 eggs on 1 large muffin topped with a perfect hollandaise and rocket. Yes thats right you heard me say one muffin, something i too would normally complain about, but it was large enough to accommodate the 2 eggs and *(drum roll) came with perhaps the best hash brown i’ve eaten on the side. (good for yolk mopping). I initially thought the hash brown was breaded camembert, which was a little surprising on the side of an eggs benedict, so was delighted to find a truly excellent hash cake perfectly fried. I was really pleased to see that behind the menu was excellent chefery (is that even a word?)
I would also like to applaud a young gent called Mark who works at Pen & pencil, he was immediately attentive, helpful and knowledgeable, well spoken and polite. I then watched him serve and help a number of clients and characters at the bar. He didnt stop… when not serving finding other things to be doing behind the bar and keeping himself busy.
I doff my cap

For my birthday meal out, occurring almost a month after my birthday, Rich brought me to The Pen and Pencil. I’d heard good things about the brunch menu here and the evening menu looked exciting too.
We arrived at 7.30 on a Saturday and the bar was busy with lots of atmosphere. We were quickly shown to our table in the dining area. The seating included a bench along the back wall which was curved and turned out to be quite uncomfortable sadly.
We ordered:
— Coconut crusted fish fingers with orange marmalade
— Buttermilk chicken wings
— Blackened red snapper with lime scented rice, mango salsa and fennel salsa
— Banh mi tacos
The fish fingers were, on the whole, way too sweet for me. I think the combination of coconut and orange wasn’t ideal, and I would maybe have preferred a sweet/​savoury or sweet/​sour flavour. Not to say I didn’t enjoy them, as they didn’t taste bad and the fish itself was flaky and delicious. I’m glad we shared though as I couldn’t have eaten more than half the portion.
Chicken wings were not very memorable, it would seem, as I have almost no recollection of them.
Blackened red snapper was a bit of a risk for me as I don’t really love rice or mango, yet I really wanted this dish nonetheless. I’m really glad I ordered it as it was amazing. Everything worked really well together and the fish was delicious and cooked perfectly. This was the kind of dish I was sad to finish.
There was a misunderstanding and we were originally brought the fish tacos rather than the banh mi tacos. When we pointed it out to the waitress she went to great pains to tell us that it was the kitchen’s mistake and not hers. This irked me a little as a) I didn’t really need to know whose mistake it was, just that it was going to get sorted and b) it seemed like she was throwing other members of staff under the bus which is a bit unfair. She was really lovely and friendly otherwise though and that was my only complaint about her, which is possibly something which is personal to me. She offered to let us have the fish tacos as well as the banh mi tacos which was really good of her, although we declined as neither of us really fancied them, so I hope the kitchen staff got to pick at them!
The banh mi tacos (when they arrived, which took no time at all) were really good. I only managed to get a little bite before they were inhaled, which I enjoyed.
They have a lovely cocktail menu. I had The Rum and Honey Route which was really good. Thankfully the honey flavour was not excessive and just added a nice rounded sweetness. He had the Next Stop Smalls which was actually better than my choice. I didn’t know pear and rum went so well together.
Overall I really enjoyed this meal, although I think the prices are quite steep. I can’t complain too much as on this occasion I wasn’t paying, but I can’t really afford to hurry back. The quality of the food was good though, and I enjoyed the drinks too. Service was friendly and attentive.

The guys behind the Northern Quarter’s Dry Bar and Didsbury’s The Violet Hour newest venture is Tariff St and Hilton St corner lot, Pen and Pencil.
They open for brunch at 10am and includes a varied mix such as pancakes, steak and eggs and omelettes. They also have Sandwiches and salads on the menu so healthy options are available.
‘The State Flower’ cocktail hit the spot with its fresh Portobello Road Gin, habanero infused watermelon purée, lemon and soda — served tall with lots of ice.
Their beer and ale section is 32 types strong, including NQ favourites such as Camden Pale Ale and Anchor California Lager too.
I’ll be back to pen and pencil again for sure.

The Pen and Pencil is one of the newest additions to the Northern Quarter’s ever burgeoning coffee shop scene. We didn’t realise quite how new it actually is when we headed over for Sunday ‘brunch’ as it feels like they’ve always been there!
After some menu research (one of the best Sunday pastimes) I was really interested by The Pen and Pencil’s selection — it’s a little bit different, with breakfast/​brunch items such as courgette rosti with poached eggs and pork & beans and sandwiches/​salads, including a delicious sounding taco salad.
I quickly decided on the pork & beans, and the other half had the french dip sandwich. The latter came with coleslaw and rosemary chips, which were very tasty and certainly seemed handmade. The sandwich got rave reviews, though @wewantplates probably wouldn’t approve of the small crate it was served in. The pork & beans — beans with bbq sauce, bacon and pork belly served on top of a muffin — was a real comfort dish, especially with the addition of the pork belly.
Service was friendly throughout and really accommodating; I ordered a belvoir raspberry lemonade but unfortunately they didn’t have it in stock just yet. Despite this, they whipped one up for me with some fresh raspberries, which was probably better than my original choice!
It’s always nice to have somewhere new to try as the NQ continues to expand, and The Pen and Pencil could be on to something special with their menu and location.