The Bank in Manchester City Centre is a beautiful distinctive building with a rich history. Originally The Portico Library, it was conceived in 1803 by a group of businessmen and built in Runcorn stone and in a neo-classical style. The library and newsroom opened three years later in 1806 and the Portico Library still survives upstairs.


Today, it is one of Nicholson's great British pubs, offering good hearty traditional pub food, and a diverse and ever-changing selection of real ales. As you enter, you can instantly tell that this is a historical building simply by the architecture and wonderful high ceilings. It has also been decorated sympathetically with grand brass chandeliers and photos on the walls of  Manchester, and the building itself during its history. Not too long ago the colours were overly rich, in golds and reds, with busy fabrics and swagging drapes, but now it is decorated in cool modern greys and whites for a more streamlined and contemporary image whilst retaining its historical charm and style with stylish tiled floors and warm wood tones in abundance. On the day of my review, I walked in to the wonderful smell of freshly mulled wine being stirred at the bar. Delicious!



One thing that The Bank is known for in Manchester is its high quality food, and in particular its sausages! Happily, they offer a lunchtime menu, where you can order said sausages or one of a few of their other tasty options along with a drink, for £7 or £8, which for the quality of food and drink offered, makes it one of the best deals in the entire city centre. 

I ordered sausage and mash. Yup.



The sausages were substantial and meaty, like a good old fashioned sausage should be. The mashed potatoes were creamy and fresh, and lavished in a beautifully rich gravy. This is real food.

The service is friendly and professional, and another "order-at-the-bar" deal, and service at peak times can predictably be slow, but that's what comes with providing high quality at a good price in a British City Centre... popularity, which it greatly deserves.

I highly recommend The Bank to anyone visiting Manchester City Centre who is in search of a good old fashioned British meal, which will leave you stuffed and contented afterwards.



The Bank
57 Mosley Street
Manchester
M2 3FF
(0161) 228 7560
www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk


The Bank

by on 11:11
The Bank in Manchester City Centre is a beautiful distinctive building with a rich history. Originally The Portico Library , it was conceiv...
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Harvey's Café Bar in Bolton town centre is based in the Old Court Buildings, and so as you enter is has a feeling of grandeur to it with its high ceilings, especially accented by the warm colour pallet used in the décor. Muted golds, reds and warm brown woods give the place a comfortable and sumptuous feeling for something as simple as a restaurant-pub. The huge lanterns that hang over the bar are a striking visual element as soon as you walk in the door.

From the Harvey's Café Bar Facebook page.
Harvey's seems to enjoy being slightly out of the way. It doesn't have loud music, TV screens or arcade fruit machines making noise, it's quiet, and relaxing. However this also means that there's often not very many customers there when you arrive, and my recurring note is that there only usually seems to be one or two staff working at any one time. One out front running around like a headless chicken to keep on top of everything, and one occasionally bringing food out. There's the kitchen team too, but I don't know how many there is. Due to this skeleton staff, it's understandable that it's not full table service, but ordering at the bar and taking your seat where food will be brought to your table. The nice thing is that as busy as the staff get, they are friendly and professional, and always wearing a smile upon greeting you.



The menu is rather unusual, as you would expect from the setting to get standard British pub/restaurant fayre, and although classics are on offer, the menu is rather varied, including breakfast, sandwiches, starters, main courses, enchiladas, 'classics', burgers, sharing plates, sharing platters, side orders, and a smattering of other cuisines, such as meze, nachos, tapas, and fajitas. The prices are fair, if not slightly higher than the average for Bolton Town Centre; the cheeseburger and chips meal I ordered was £9.45, and a Pepsi with it was £1.70. The drinks on offer also include interesting quirky items such as cocktails served in teapots, which is an interesting unique idea!

Here's where the small staff can be an issue, as there were no more than a dozen customers in the venue when I was there (a weekday), but my meal took 45 minutes to arrive to my table, but admittedly with an apology for the wait, which was nice. It was also amusing to hear the single staff member take an order from a mother and child from the Children's Menu, then hear him go into the back and yell, "chicken nuggets, chips and beans from the kids menu!" to the kitchen staff, to the amusement of all of the other customers who giggled.


I'm happy to say that the food which arrived was hot, fresh, and very tasty. The burger was not served on a multi-seeded Kaiser bun as the menu stated, but served on a brioche bun, which in my opinion is actually a better move, as Kaiser rolls often fall apart when used for burger buns. The burger was juicy and substantial, and the chips were hot and crispy. In fact I couldn't actually finish the burger! Staff also made the time to ask twice during my meal if everything was to my satisfaction, which it was.

Harvey's is a great place to pop in for lunch, but it feels as though it's not meeting its potential. It's a great venue and a pleasant environment, and it feels as though it should be a lot busier and fuller than it is for food, as it has a lot to offer. I have eaten at Harvey's before, and would happily do so again.



Harvey's Café Bar
The Old Court Buildings
Mawdsley Street
Bolton
BL1 1UE
(01204) 527 274
www.harveyscafebar.co.uk

Harvey's Café Bar on Urbanspoon

Harvey's

by on 10:38
Harvey's Café Bar in Bolton town centre is based in the Old Court Buildings, and so as you enter is has a feeling of grandeur to it...
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The Crown at Worthington benefits greatly from the internet. If it wasn't for the internet you could assume it was any bog standard normal pub from the outside... that is, if you stumble upon it in the first place. It's pretty much in the middle of nowhere!

However, once within the venue, although a traditional pub style interior welcomes you, the menu on offer is something far greater than the average "Dog and Badger" type pub. A mix of local, traditional, modern, and curious sounding dishes await, including "Desperate Dan Pie" and "Black Pudding and Lancashire Cheese Spring Roll". There is also a regularly changing Specials menu, which offered some tasty treats too, and some rather funny typos, ('fwesh strawberries' anyone?).

We were a party of 4, and although we made a reservation, we really didn't need one, as it was quite quiet for a friday night, and so we were offered our choice of where we'd like to sit in the dining room, so we chose a table in the conservatory.

The service team seemed to primarily be young girls. What they lacked in any particular professionalism/experience, they made up for in friendliness and enthusiasm. It was quite funny to occasionally watch a little blonde girl with an arm full of plates give a waist height boot to the kitchen door whenever she needed to get in. One of our party asked what dark ales were available, and although the server who was asked went a bit deer-in-headlights wide-eyed, she was quick enough to find out for us, let us know the % levels, and offer a tasting. For someone who admitted she was new to this, she was very good.

The starters we ordered were tasty and fresh. I personally ordered the Lancashire Spring Roll out of curiosity, and what arrived was a delicious crispy spring roll with a hearty filling and a side of mustard mayonnaise, which was a tasty accompaniment. Although the salad was a nice addition, given the size of the spring rolls, a second one may have been a nicer offering.

The main courses proved an interesting affair as I had decided I wanted a steak, and was introduced to The Crown's butcher's block station, which is a curious and interesting unique selling point to me. In the corner of the main dining room was a counter, behind which was a chiller containing several large cuts of meat, they were sirloin, rib eye, fillet, and rump. The server asked me what cut I would like, and after washing her hands, hoisted the big slab of meat onto the butcher's block and asked what thickness I would like, before slicing it then and there herself. I was asked how I would like it cooked, and what method I would prefer (pan-fried or char-grilled). I chose the latter. I was then able to add any toppings or sauces of my choice, and my choice of side order. I've not really encountered this sort of setup in the UK before, and I think it's not just a novelty, but a very pleasant attraction, showcasing a high quality of product and availability.

 The rest of my party ordered the Baby's Yed, Fish and Chips, and half rack of ribs. My steak came out cooked perfectly, with a really tasty garlic and herb butter, and home-cut chips. The half rack of ribs looked the most impressive, coming out on a rustic board with corn, and sweet potato fries. The fish and chips and baby's yed were also nicely presented, and enjoyed thoroughly by their respective diners.We ordered soft drinks, and also a bottle of wine, which pleasantly came in an ice-bucket.




The quality of the food was high, and we agreed that they were good value for the quality. The only negative point at all was that the ribs didn't come with any sort of wet-wipes. When we asked, we were given some more napkins, which isn't really ideal for sticky ribs. At the end of the meal, we mentioned this to our server and were told that they usually provide a finger-bowl of warm water and lemon for with ribs, and apologised that it had been overlooked this time. A good idea in future though, if it's remembered!


 The desserts we ordered included ice cream (including a lovely sasparilla flavour!), classic suet-style jam roly poly, banoffee roulade, and an eton mess. They were all very tasty and nicely presented with fresh fruit. I particularly liked the presentation of the Eton Mess as a tower on a plate rather than in an ice cream glass.

Overall, The Crown is pretty good value for the excellent food provided, and although the young staff could do with a little training, they were delightful and made our night a pleasant one. The other aspects of the venue such as décor were lovely and warmly traditional. They just need to give those toilets a refurbishment to get them to the standard of the rest of the place, and get some sugar-soap on those doors! It was nice to see that well-behaved dogs were also welcome, and there was a good little car-park too. I would be more than happy to visit again and sample more from their delicious menu!



The toilets, sadly, were pretty grubby pub-style,
 and were in need of a bit of TLC, but this amazing
 70s looking hand-dryer gave me a giggle.













The Crown at Worthington
Platt Lane
Worthington
Standish
Wigan
WN1 2XF
08000 686678
www.thecrownatworthington.co.uk 
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Handmade Burger Co. is a chain of 20 restaurants around the country, primarily in the North. Their ethos is big on fresh and hand made, from their burgers to their buns to their chips, so although I dine in chain restaurants, I don't usually blog about them, but this time I made an exception when I decided to visit their newest restaurant in Spinningfields in Manchester, with a few friends. 

The venue was nicely laid out, bright, and spacious, but I'm still not sold on the gritty/industrial/rough-and-ready thing that so many burger places have going for them lately. This place's stripped floors, bare sanded walls, and thinly one-coated painted chimney breasts etc didn't really do it for me. In the entryway and at the kitchen there are lovely old fashioned brick-set glazed tiles and green decorative glazed trim. This throughout would've looked really nice. It's also fair to point out that the toilets were nicely decorated and appointed. There are two toilets, both are unisex, and each is its own self-contained room, complete with sink and hand-dryer etc.




The staff were fab! Friendly and knowledgeable, and giving a good service all round! Everyone from the servers to the smiling chefs in the kitchen were all young, enthusiastic, and full of energy.

Before we joined our friends, my partner and I had ordered milkshake each (he had butterscotch, I had strawberry), and we both agreed they were superb, and we enjoyed them thoroughly! They cooled us down after quite a clammy day, and were thick, cold, and loaded with enough ice cream to give me an ice cream head ache (but it was totally worth it!)



Now for the food. The first thing you'll really notice as you open the menus is that there is an overwhelming amount of choice, with over 40 burgers, as well as other foods, sides, desserts etc. I enjoyed that there was a good range, but I think the menu could easily be pared down a bit to say 10 really good burgers, so that the choice is a bit easier than having to carefully read three pages before you decide.

The rather overwhelming menu

The food was good on the whole, but to me it varied. I ordered the classic cheese burger, which for a grilled burger was really juicy and tasty, but the burger bun itself was quite starchy and it started to fall apart quite quickly, something I noticed with my friends' burgers too! My partner ordered his smoky chicken burger in a pitta, which the staff were happy to do, and which he said tasted lovely. The sides however were only ok... the corn was great, the chips were poor (tasted like chippy chips that had gone cold and been reheated in a fryer), which was a shame as their menu gushes about their quality of their chips, and our onion rings never turned up, but we tried some of our friends onion rings instead. Not bad but quite batter tasting, but I'd certainly order them again.

Tell me those don't look like chippy chips



It's surprisingly hard to take a good shot of a burger!
The drinks were good too, with options from beer and wine, to Fentimans soft drinks, Rekorderlig flavoured ciders, milkshakes, and standard soda fountain drinks.

For me the other highlight was the desserts, which were delicious! Big tasty sundaes! Our group tried a chocolate one and a lemon meringue one, the latter being my favourite, with lemon curd, loads of cream, and lots of delicious crumbly meringue pieces! Yum! I'd come here again just for the desserts! 



All in all, I'd visit again, perhaps just for a burger at lunchtime, or on a hot summer's day for one of those lovely big ice cream sundaes! Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area :)

Handmade Burger Co.
The Old Courthouse
184 Deansgate
Manchester
M3 3WB
(0161) 832 0708
www.handmadeburger.co.uk
Handmade Burger Co. on Urbanspoon

Handmade Burger Co.

by on 15:58
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Applewood Farm is a traditional style large food pub in Tyldsley. It serves classic pub grub along with some other interesting additions, and prides itself on its dessert offerings, particularly its cake and ice cream. I've heard a lot of praise for it, so decided to finally give it a try for lunch whilst I was nearby.

The first thing you notice is that this big traditional style pub is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. You drive along, and it suddenly pops up out of thin air. It has a big car park, but seems to get busy pretty quickly.

I must admit, my first impression on walking through the door wasn't positive. It was very busy, and a frantic looking female staff stood behind a large stack of dirty plates sitting on the "please wait here" podium, and then simply said "two?", before dashing off and then coming back to say "just through there on the right hand side". I would've liked to have been taken there really.


The décor is a modern interpretation of a classic pub style, and it works pretty well, remaining efficient and clean looking with bright colours and various bits of art and knick-knacks whilst retaining a traditional atmosphere. It was surprisingly busy throughout the pub for a thursday afternoon, with a bustling but pleasant feel. Once inside you realise the size of the place, with different rooms leading off the main thoroughfare, to booth seating along it. As well as the dining pub option, there is also a large carvery counter further into the pub, where you can choose a plate size for a set price, then go and check out the tasty looking carvery options. 





We ordered a couple of classics in the form of beer battered cod and chips, and steak and ale pie. The wait time for both was reasonable, and the first thing that hit us was the sheer size of the portions! The food was delicious. I loved the crispy bubbly batter, and the tartare sauce, and my partner loved the quality of the "oh god, it's half a pie!" he was tucking into.



We didn't have room for dessert, but had a good look through the huge book of desserts, puddings and ice creams, and as delicious the descriptions of the sweet treats were, we decided that we'd try their "cake-away" option, where you can take a slice of their cakes home with you to enjoy later. Knowing that their target customer would probably be full by now, but priding themselves on their desserts, this is a clever move!

When you get to the desserts counter, you can see how crazy their ice cream presentation is, bordering on American in presentation, but also very tempting! The one thing you'll notice though is the sheer size of the cakes! They're colossal!



The slices are £4+ in the menu, which might make you bawk a little until you see the sheer size of the things! We opted for the Millionaire's Cheesecake, and the Banana Chocolate Chip cake, which come in a plastic box with a small tub of cream each. Lovely. We ate them many many hours later, but enjoyed the flavour lots. The banana cake was tasty and moist with lots of flavour, and the cheesecake was tasty, but just too big. The middle layer was a solid 6 inches of pure cheesecake, meaning that you didn't get so much of the base or the top with it, which made it a little hard going. Some of the other cakes appeared similar to me, where the middle was just a bit too large unless it was in layers, but with how popular they obviously are, who am I to question?!

I loved it here, it's somewhere I'd be happy to bring my mum and dad sometime and know that they'd enjoy it, and the same with friends and colleagues. It has something for everyone. 

My partner has already stated that he wants to return there next month for his birthday! That's that then!



Applewood Farm
Astley Park Way
Chaddock Lane
Manchester
M28 1DP
(0161) 703 3611

www.farmhouseinns.co.uk/pubs/applewood-farm

Applewood Farm on Urbanspoon

Applewood Farm

by on 10:09
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It seems Horwich is definitely becoming the place to be for tasty treats and great food! Evidence of this can be seen in the latest business to open on Winter Hey Lane: CHILL @ The Cowshed. An ice cream parlour!




A lot of work was put into the fixing up of this building, which used to be a butcher shop. The exterior was sandblasted, but the interior keeps the same exposed wall and stone flagged floor, which gives a lovely rustic effect. I'd describe the effect they're going for as seaside vintage shabby-chic, and it works well, complete with rough boards and mismatched china. Its location is excellent, being next door to a bank and a car park. Both handy things for such a visit!



Inside, the cosy space has several tables and chairs, around a central column, behind which is the main counter, which displays a delicious array of tempting ice creams, which (as the lady behind the counter is quick to tell us) we're welcome to taste the flavours of to get us in the mood for more! A most coherent and agreeable suggestion! We were told that a new flavour had just come in, blackcurrant and liquorice, and told that a sample would be brought for us to try. Fab!

There is a blackboard proudly listing the 22 flavours that the parlour stock, and another blackboard mentioning the days food options should you feel peckish. We're also told the soup of the day. This is good really, it means that in the depths of winter, CHILL will have other options as well as ice cream.



I quite fancied something foody first, so went for good and simple cheese on toast and a cup of tea. I asked if I could also have ham on my toast and was told that wouldn't be a problem. It was nice to be asked what type of bread I'd like to. Although initially served open-faced as a classic cheese on toast, a member of staff brought out an extra slice of toast, which we thought was kind and thoughtful. It was hot and tasty, and my tea was served in a dainty teapot with traditional cup and saucer. Very civil.

This reminded me a bit of Delicieux, and with good reason. Debbie Halls-Evans, the owner of the former Delicieux is seemingly on-board helping out here and there, loaning chairs and the such, and is soon to open a pop-up restaurant located within the parlour itself, in an adjoining room.

After my lunch, I had a sample taste of a few flavours (Turkish delight,lemon meringue and the amazing wild cherry), but settled on white chocolate and raspberry flavour. The ice creams are availible in tubs at £1 a scoop, or in cones varying from classic wafer cones, to waffle cones, coloured cones, and chocolate-dipped cones! This is pretty good value considering the price a lot of places charge for ice cream. It also goes without saying that it was delicious!


After such a tasty and good value visit, and with such friendly and pleasant staff, I will most definitely be returning to CHILL, and I look forward to seeing how they progress and grow. I have at least another 21 visits planned to try all of the flavours! They don't have a big internet presence currently, which in the age of Twitter and Facebook can make things tricky, but they have a placeholder on their website, so I have no doubt that we have more in store from them!


CHILL @ The Cowshed
46 Winter Hey Lane
Horwich
Bolton
Greater Manchester
BL6 7NX
www.chillatthecowshed.com

CHILL @ The Cowshed

by on 18:30
It seems Horwich is definitely becoming the place to be for tasty treats and great food! Evidence of this can be seen in the latest ...
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