Neighbourhood

I’d just like to say I can’t rate this place on food/​regular business hours, because we rocked up at 1:30am! It was the only place in spinningfileds that was open, so as a result the whole of Manchester was in here! The door staff were letting scantily clad women jump the line (I realise this makes me sound like an elderly woman, but still, it’s annoying!) so as a result we had to wait in the cold for ages before being let in. Once we were past the doors the place was heaving! And I mean bursting at the seams, it was disgusting! My shoes stuck to the floor, it took an age to get served at the bar, and there was nowhere to have a good dance because we were all packed in like sardines. I’m giving 2 stars because 1) it was free to get in, and 2) the cheesy 90s music! Not a lot else to praise this place about unfortunately.

First ever visit to Neighbourhood. Came with one of my usual food buddies and we had a great time. Lobster and Mini Wagyus to start. Followed by a Fillet Steak and Blackened Cod. A shared dessert of the S’Mores which I had never heard of and my friend recommended. Didn’t test the drinks menu but a fantastic night and we hope to visit again.

Last Friday was mine and my girlfriends first experience of the place and we loved it.
The food was incredible, the staff were really friendly and helpful and all set in swanky surroundings with good music.
Must try the ‘lil burgers’ to start and the chateubriand steak was cooked to perfection. It melted in your mouth so no need for teeth!
Will definitely be back.

Fancy? Yes. Pretentious? Possibly. Pricy? A little. But tasty? Definitely. And that goes for food & drink, I sampled both on my last visit and was really impressed!
I’ve always quite liked Neighborhood and see it as an excuse to dress a little fancier than I would normally. Sure you get the slightly egotistical folk like Mr Deansgate yet you have to remember you’re at a higher class establishment and that’s going to happen!
I think the judgement should be passed on higher class places by taking into account the service and experience you receive. If the service and experience if of a higher standard than your typical evening/​night out, then credit where credits due, if not, then you have reason to complain!
At Neighborhood I’ve always had excellent service and an experience on par with my higher expectations and so 4 stars is justified!

I went to meet my girlfriend here and the security was just absolutely rude to me. This place is just terrible. I liked the head bartender who has been really nice to us and made us some cocktails on proffessional level. But that was all. There have been just too many people on drugs. Twice a night I have been asked to buy a pill and cocaine. It just proves, that the security in here is a huge failure, as I have mentioned before. The toilets were so disgusting that it has made me to use the toilets in the bar next door.
Well if you looking for some underage rave party with no hygiene and ignorant security staff, then this is your place. Definitely not the right place to bring your parter or date. But once again the bar supervisor is the reason why im actually giving at least one star. Otherwise i would have to make up some special rating. Something like minus 4 stars.
Just avoid this savage place.

Neighbourhood is one of those bars I always end up in either at the very start or end of the night bizarrely enough. I’ve been in for a quiet drink with my mum mid-​week and on a Saturday night for my friends birthday. Mostly we’ve been able to blag a table however it can get so busy in here!
Highlight thus far: getting a tower of shots surrounding a table top version of the empire state building lite up with sparklers for good measure! I havent tried any of cocktails here mainly sticking to prosecco by the glass.
And if your lucky you can spot a «celeb» or two here as I’ve bumped into a coronation street star or two…

At first glance Neighbourhood could be accused of trying to be everything for everyone. For those looking for a stylish classy setting, the lower restaurant boasts spacious booths, comfy armchairs and champagne sitting in buckets ready to pop. Head up the stairs and the atmosphere changes drastically. Arty graffiti, neon lights and popular house music creates a more authentic Manhattan feel whilst a photo booth and fancy dress hints at the restaurants night-​time evolution into a thriving spot for a night out.
The menu also covers all bases with meaty burgers and steaks providing what you’d expect from an eatery with American influences, coupled with more subtle refined influences like the delicious lobster taco starters.
Opting to put Neighbourhood’s ‘casual fine dining’ experience to the test, as suggested by the very helpful staff, we ordered a variety of starters from the ‘raw bar’ list and appetisers. The attention to detail and consideration put into the presentation of the vibrant dishes had all the trademarks of fine dining but without the pretentiousness. Our main course entrees continued the theme, offering some daring flavour combinations that delivered well. Whilst not frugal, I’d recommend supplementing the portions with a side dish.
The highlight of the food came with desert. The staff’s recommendation of the Neighbourhood S’mores provided a wonderfully gooey and original end to the evening.
Neighbourhood’s interesting blend of fine dining and lively atmosphere certainly works and will leave you satisfied whether you’re eating in the restaurant or enjoying a few drinking in the bar.

As an American from NY this place has a long way to go to even come close to anything like a NY eatery. Unfortunately many may not know that. This place is good for drinks, music and basic food like burgers — which are acceptable. Don’t bother picking any other «fine» dining items from the menu such as steaks, lobster, etc — as this is not a place for find dining. Its a burger joint. Stick to the basics. Their chefs can’t cook anything beyond a burger. I gave it one star because the music compensated for what would have been an awful night out. Basically, don’t bother eating here as the food is awful. Its good for music.

Have tried to go here twice in the last couple of months and failed. First time was with a large group at 2am and they said it was too late to go in despite being open till 4.
The second time they said it was ‘shirts only’ on a Saturday and one of my friends was wearing a smart v-​neck sweater so we had to move on. As we walked past the window I could see there were plenty of people in there with T-​shirts on and all-​sorts.
The snooty girl on the door said it was because they had come in earlier in the evening. Once thought this place was alright but really can’t be bothered going anymore!

The Good:
Excellent (and I mean truly excellent) steaks — myself and fellow meat eater shared the chateaubriand which was without doubt the best piece of red meat to ever pass my lips. If you can find a willing accomplice (or fancy a challenge) I would highly recommend this, otherwise I have it on good authority the New York strip is just as appealing.
Tasty sides — mac n’ cheese, sweet potato wedges, green veggies, salads. All tasty, all moreish, well seasoned and ample portions.
Menu choice — extensive and varied. I was impressed with the ‘raw bar’ options, including oysters, ceviche and tartare. Everyone else opted for the traditional appetisers and the buttermilk chicken was a particular favourite. For mains, the girls both opted for salads which they’re still raving about almost a week later, but the steak really was the ultimate!
Serving Staff — good knowledge of the menu, endlessly attentive and helpful, and enjoyably mocking of the Hollyoaks cast who (apparently) insist on coming every week and getting their own PR people to tip-​off the photographers so they feel like somebody when they arrive. Needless to say, I didn’t recognise a single person.
The Bad:
Crispy Quinoa — god knows who ever thought this was a good idea, but it turned my tasty crab shooters into a tooth shatteringly tentative experience and really ruined the whole plate.
Arsey Door Staff — my better half is 27, and whilst probably looking a few years younger, is certainly past the stage of being ID’d. Not really a problem to be fair, but something about the way the bouncer opened the door for us, looked her up and down a good few times, then shut the door in our face as we were half way through really pissed me off. By all means do your job and ask for ID — but don’t think you’re above being polite to your patrons.
Deposits — since when did any self respecting establishment expect a deposit in advance for a 4-​person reservation? Similar to the bouncer, these kind of things kind of make me feel like they don’t want customers.
Overall a dood atmosphere for a group meal, great food and friendly staff (once you get past the front door), but worried it might think it’s too good to fail and start treating customers as secondary to their own delusions of self importance. I certainly hope not!

In all honesty I hadn’t heard much about Neighbourhood in the past (most likely because neither I or anybody I know usually attend Spinningfields) but from what I had been told it sounded, as my friend said, ‘like THE place to be.‘
The general atmosphere is pretty fun and everybody seems to be really excited that they’re there, whether it be in the form of girls stumbling around to the top 40 blasting through the speakers or ‘lads’ trying their luck at dancing behind them. The people seem to have made more of an effort than most brides on their wedding day which I approve of and I can’t say I had any altercations with anybody (a rarity in anywhere other than a gay bar when you’re a skinny, camp homosexual like myself) and I even made friends with a few people I don’t assume I’ll see ever again. Something that I really liked is how the vibe and buzz lasted until closing time rather than looking like the Hunger Games arena as 3am approached.
The prices aren’t too unreasonable for a place that’s well-​known (apparently) and popular; one could probably have a fun night there on around £50. The interior design is really subtle and beautiful, with nice touches like the neon sign reading, ‘The best view of Heaven is from Hell’ and the low, red lighting– perfect for bad skin days!
Overall, because of the nice people, friendly staff and tasty drinks, I’d definitely visit again if I felt like venturing to Spinningfields. Definitely a good place to meet new people and have an ‘ohmigod I love youuu’ moment or two. ⁸⁄₁₀.

We chose Neighbourhood for Simon’s birthday dinner after previous excellent experiences — both service and food.
I have to say on this occasion it didnt live up to our past visits unfortunately. The service we received from our waitress was spot on; friendly, efficient and personal.
The manager on the night took our food order to ‘help her out’ which he did without a pen & paper. He came back to double check it we corrected 2 errors but unfortunately the things we corrected were still wtong when the mains came out (wrong sauce & cooking pref for one steak)
The sauce was corrected & the steak not ruined so Simon ate it.
My other niggle was that when i made the booking i mentioned it was a birthday and requested 2 certain cocktails on arrival, which i was assured would be added to the booking but they didnt arrive (i am going to make them aware that it didnt happen)
It is a shame because it was somewhere we liked and have returned to on numerous occasions but unfortunately at £100+ i might go elsewhere next time.

Heading out for a friends birthday on Friday night, her choice for drinking venue was Neighbourhood. It lived up to my expectations, though the food remains an untouched adventures — which I’m looking forward to exploring after the mixed reviews.
Anyway…when we arrived dressed up to the nines, the bouncer had some good chat and let us in, and we headed for the bar. The bar area was packed so, once we had been served, split off to a table on the other side of the partition that runs through the downstairs space.
At the bar, there were a few of what my friends call ‘pervy pedros’ — men dressed in suits who should know better but think they have all the power in the world after a few drinks — so watch out. The bartenders were aware of this, though, and actually drew them to other areas of the bar to serve them so we could order in peace. Thumbs up for the bartenders, not so much for the clientele.
There were some ‘local celebs’ such as Shaun offof Corrie and the owners of Boohoo, but it’s nothing to write home about in this sense; when we’ve all had a few, everyone’s the same!
As we were celebrating a birthday, we ordered a tower of shots — these were fruity and tasted like they had minimal alcohol, so who god only knows what kind of mark up there was on them. They’re served, however, on a tower wrapped around a model of the Empire State building with a sparkler on top, which was really quite fun.
The decorations are very glitzy, with mirrored table tops, and a small photo booth area with a whole range of dressing up items. It had run out of paper for printing so we will have to wait for the e-​mail to come through on Monday morning!

Just about every little girl at some point got her first coveted little tea set. Mine was pink and plastic, but I loved it to death and played with it often. And an oft re-​enacted story with the aforementioned tea set is the classic Mad Hatter tea party from Alice In Wonderland. Various plush toys bearing even a remote resemblance to the most iconic characters were propped in a circle for the tea ritual: the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, Queen of Hearts, the Cheshire Cat and of course, Alice herself.
Afternoon tea was actually introduced in England by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, around 1840. The Duchess would become peckish in the afternoon, but supper wasn’t served until eight o’clock, leaving a long tummy-​grumbling period of time between meals. And stomach growls were simply not acceptable and incredibly vulgar. So Anna cheekily asked that a tray of tea, sandwiches and cakes be snuck into her room during the late afternoon. Ya, know, just to tide her over. But the naughty nibbles secret was soon out, and caught on with her society friends. And voila… afternoon tea was born.
I got the giddies when I heard that the Neighbourhood team had once again come up with a concept that mushed together one of our most cherished childhood memories with a staple of pure Britannia with an ‘Alice In The Hood’ tea party.
Virtually every inch of the venue was decked out in iconic Alice In Wonderland regalia: giant playing cards, handsome tea sets, massive lollies and jars of sweets. Plus there were games for the kiddies; a mini croquette game, a fancy dress trunk and a roaming magician… it spun a fairy tale atmosphere. The food consisted of delicious sandwiches, extraordinary cakes, pastries and charming cupcakes. There were also tasty Neighbourhood classics like Lobster Tacos, Tuna Sliders, Mini Wagyu Burgers and Lil’ Hot Dogs on the menu for those craving something a little more savoury. Besides the 8 varieties of tea and the 20 types of coffee, there were some lovely non-​alcoholic drinks like Fruity Tooty, Berry Kiss and Dreamy Tropical potions to choose from, along with impressive choices of bubbly.
The Afternoon Tea at Neighbourhood is available to public and will run from 2.30pm till 5pm Monday to Friday. You should check it out.

A bit of an all-​rounder, Neighbourhood is a great spot for midweek drinks, working lunches and lazy Sunday brunches.
Offering a quirky menu of New York dishes, you can chomp down all of the NY classics you’d expect (stacked burgers, hot dogs, reuben bagels) as well as some more off-​the-​wall items (lobster tacos, wild boar ragu). I enjoyed a quick working lunch of wild boar ragu and a crunchy rocket salad, and have been searching for a butcher that stocks wild boar ever since! Their food is rich, beautifully seasoned and well presented. The service was friendly and attentive, and the atmosphere was buzzing even on a wet Wednesday afternoon.
Also a good haunt if you are out for a drink in Spinningfields, Neighbourhood is glitzy in the evening with lots of mirrors and low lighting. I’ve never been here at the weekend, but there is a good buzz on weeknights with no compromise on seating space. Perfect.

Picture the scene — New Years Eve, 1 o clock in the afternoon and heavy rain… I decide to go shopping in town and get myself a nice lunch. Having seen a few people mention it online I settle on Annie’s Restaurant — a recently opened restaurant owned by Jennie McAlpine (otherwise known as Fizz in Corrie). However I committed an elementary error — I didn’t check to see if it was open and you can see where this is going… I’m just glad I had an umbrella with me!
At this point my mind blanks and I wander aimlessly in the rain for about ten minutes until I remember a new place that’s opened in Spinningfields, namely Neighbourhood. I was fortunate enough to go to a pre-​opening night event here — I have Twitter to thank for that invite as they sent me a message inviting me (admittedly after I’d shamelessly written «So who is going to take me to the launch party of Neighbourhood tonight then?)
I’d had a really good time at the launch party, which entailed free fizz, cocktails and canapés (all of which were tasty — mozzarella balls on a spoon with a tomato soup, lobster tacos, chicken lollies and a few other things that slip my mind). This meant that despite it not been my first choice for lunch I had high expectations — sadly these weren’t hit
Neighbourhood is a sister restaurant to Southern Eleven (also in Spinningfields) and bills itself as a NYC Eatery — not having been to New York I’m not entirely sure what this means but the place itself scrubs up well (think metal, bare walls, mirrored tables and what they bill as an indoor garden (top left of the pic below)). Whether this equates to New York I’ll have to leave it up to you to decide… and some would definitely think if it’s billing itself as a NYC eatery it probably ought to lose the «U» in the spelling of the name of the place
The lunch menu is a filtered down version of the evening menu (+ the obligatory sandwiches) and wasn’t split into starters and mains so I had to improvise so ended up having what was probably intended to be two main courses.
First up was Wild Boar Ragu (£10). For those of you with a good memory you may remember that this was the dish I wanted from Italia a couple of months ago (which I have since had and was very good). Unfortunately, whilst it was a good sized portion with a pasta I’d not had before and a decent amount of meat in it (real chunks) I felt it lacked seasoning and was a little watery — I was rather hoping that the sauce would have been sticky and clinging to the meat and pasta but sadly not. ⁵⁄₁₀
Main course was Sliders and Fries (£3.50) — Turkey Burger, Wagyu Burger and Meatballs Marinara (£4 each). I know these were relatively reasonably priced and thus I was expecting small, I wasn’t expecting this small but as to taste I’ll score each component individually
Turkey Burger — This is probably my fault for ordering as, despite loving turkey, I’ve never liked a turkey burger and I didn’t like this one — ⁴⁄₁₀
Wagyu Burger — A decent burger but not a patch on the Kobe Burger a few of us had in Prague nor the Wagyu Burger available at Restaurant Bar and Grills. If I’m brutally honest it just tasted like an average burger — ⁶⁄₁₀
Meatballs — Again, it was decent but nothing special — pretty much tasted like the sub of the same name tastes ⁶⁄₁₀
Fries — Skin on and these were good — ⁷⁄₁₀
So all in all the main course cost £15.50 (+10% service) so, for me, was overpriced for what it was. I ought to mention though that this wasn’t officially on the menu and that I created the order — see menu below. However it must be a relatively common order as someone on the table next to me was having the same thing, therefore I think they’re ought to be an option for Sliders and Fries — I guess buy 3 sliders get fries free would seem about right (although I still think a tad expensive for the size of the burgers). I’ve only had sliders once before as a full meal (at GBK) and they were more substantial (and tastier) and £13.20 for 3 with fries
I decided to skip dessert as nothing really caught my eye apart from the sweet pizzetta but this was intended for 2 people (as were 2 of the other 5 desserts)
Well I guess this would class as the least positive review I’ve written however I absolutely would give Neighbourhood another try and there’s a few reasons for that.
1) The evening menu looks a lot more enticing than the lunch menu
2) I don’t think I chose particularly well — it’s not an Italian so why did I have pasta
3) All reviews I’ve read have been positive
4) Great, friendly service
5) Good atmosphere
6) Excellent cocktails (from the opening night and when I went back this Friday for drinks)
7) And the fact a full lobster is £45 but you can get a steak with, in their words, a topping of a full lobster for £43! Make sense of that!

30% off? Well, don’t mind if I do! Thanks to Andrew Y’s forward thinking and posting of this wonderful tip, and after drooling over the pictures he posted of steak on Facebook (and peering into this place with t’other half en route to his workplace in Spinningfields), I was sold. I had to be trying Neighbourhood.
Firstly, the little narrow corridor known as the Avenue North — I simply won’t shut up about it. Every time we go past, I bore Chris M with, ‘Oh, I really like the way they’ve done that.’ ‘Ooh, they’ve fitted that Costa in perfectly and kitted it out real nice.’ ‘Ah, what great décor.’ And such. So it was about darn time I actually entered one of the establishments I kept cooing over, and Neighbourhood hypnotised me with two things… twinkly lights spelling out its name, and neon multicoloured garden furniture. Oh and did I mention it’s NY themed and does breakfast too? Clearly I must return.
Like Andrew, it takes a lot for me to give somewhere five stars right off the bat but this place is doing it right. I went for lunch with Bex T and they had all flavours of juice you could imagine available, including the one she asked for. I went for the Reuben, and mine was a lot like what John L says a Reuben *should* be… bursting at the seams with melt-​in-​the-​mouth pastrami. Looks like I got lucky! We shared fries which were great and Bex had sterling reports on her wild boar pasta. It ticked all the boxes. Whether I’d give it 5 stars if I’d paid full price, I’m not sure, but that’s just your cue to pick up a Yellow Card I guess!
Shameless Instagram reference:
— What we ate, right here.
and
Noteworthy noticing of someone else’s review:
— Andrew Y is a big fan of the steak, so that’ll be my next try.

Cocktails, Champagne, Lobsters, Waffles, Buzzing atmosphere and Fantastic Music —- Presenting you The Neighbourhood Brunch Club launch ladies and gentlemen!
If I had to pick the Glamor Capital of Manchester then Spinningfield would win hands down and Neighborhood would be the place to be seen! But it’s not like a glossy magazine with no content; this place is absolutely no nonsense because they know what they are doing with their food, cocktails and music!
The last time I was here, I tried the dinner menu but I must say I was completely bowled over by their brunch menu — Eggs, Stake, Burger, Salads they have it all! I went for the mini burgers and Berry Waffles (blame my sweet tooth but can never get enough of them) and I kept craving for more because it was absolutely delicious (but the quantity could be slightly more for the price). Now let’s get to the music, DJ Lexey from New York was playing some brilliant tracks and kept the whole venue buzzing with life and managed to get people to the dance floor on a Sunday afternoon (Kudos). The surprise element came at the end when some amazing street dancers just broke into absolutely mind-​boggling moves (in a good way) in the middle of the venue. Finally let me get to the cocktails, Porn star martini, Strawberry Martini, Mojitos, Champagne cocktails were flowing in the house and they looked and tasted incredible (I accuse them for making me groove even though I was hung-​over and it was a Sunday afternoon). The waiters were extremely well dressed and very polite which made such a huge difference because a lot of times we forget how these tiny details can make a whole lot of difference.
Oh and did I mention that there were quite a few local celebrities who were spotted here too!
Verdict: Who ever said Sunday afternoons were to take a nap and watch telly has not visited the BrunchClubMCR yet!

I like the look of this place, and I reckon you could take a group of friends here on a weekend evening and have a lot of fun. It feels like it could be buzzy in a good way.
We visited for lunch, so didn’t get to experience that buzz, so we were left to focus solely on the food. And it was fairly underwhelming. A Reuben should be bursting with beef and cheese with a topping of sauerkraut; here there was nowhere near enough meat, which meant that the topping dominated, throwing the balance of the sandwich all off. Sandwiches are important, and getting it wrong is a BIG DEAL.
The lobster roll was disappointing too. The filling still fridge cold, it was nowhere near big enough. This is supposed to be a food truck classic but it felt more like a church buffet.
Up your food game Neighbourhood!

Only been the once and don’t normally give something ⁵⁄₅ if only been once.
However, the New York Strip steak is delicious. Also tried some of Fillet steak and the Waygu mini burgers and they were also really good.
If you have a Spinningfields Yellow Card too you get 30% off food bill.