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...
at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


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...
at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,