Reviewing lunch time food and evening dining in Manchester's city centre
Fast Food Chains
McDonalds Breakfast Wrap £2.49
210 months ago
by Mister Tum
in Fast Food Chains
I hate how absolutely fricking convenient it is to get a McDonalds. There’s about one every 5 yards in England anyway, so you can’t spit without hitting one. But on the way into work this morning the bloody gigantic ads everywhere for their damned breakfast wrap sucked the willpower from my brain and before I knew it I was in their ‘restaurant’ on Oxford Street, tapping my foot impatiently at having to wait 10 whole minutes to be glumly served my wrap by staff looking like they’re carrying out an endless sentence of community service. Which, in a manner of speaking, they are.
It’s hard to describe the flavour. There’s a weird mix of the usual McD’s sausage patty (what the hell that’s made of it’s best not to discuss), their plastic cheese, I think maybe a hash brown, something that used to be bacon in a distant past life, a choice of generic Brown or Red sauce, and all this on a tortilla wrap.
The undulating journey your taste buds go on whilst eating one of these things actually causes them to occasionally fall asleep, and you suffer taste black-outs. As though your mouth is not willing to process the insipid combination of ‘flavours’, as it were. It’s a bit like someone else is eating it for you and describing it to you whilst you’re wearing ear-muffs, and standing in another room, with your mouth full of cotton wool. It’s kind of filling, and it lasts longer than you’d expect if you can be bothered chewing it. But, as is usual with SmackDee’s you really come out the other end of the experience a) still hungry, 2) markedly poorer, and D) needing the loo within the hour or so.
Clearly I deserved the experience for going into McDonalds in the first place, so I blame no one but myself. Stupid golden stupid arches…
Eat, The Arndale Centre
01 year ago
For the second day running I’ve been to Eat in The Arndale Centre.
I’ve had the same thing both times so there’s just one review. The first thing to say is that the food in there does generally look really fresh and tasty. The second thing to say is that it doesn’t really cater for your budget is not generous.
Anyway, I’ve had the crayfish noodle salad both days and its pretty tasty to be honest. Its tossed lightly in a satay sauce and has a freshness added by the inclusion of half a lime to squeeze over the top. Its not a spectacular meal but its tasty and healthy which fits the bill at the moment.
As usual I was with Stevo for both visits and he loves the place which is why I went. I wont be going if I’m not with Stevo as its pricey and further than I normally go at lunch; but then again, I wont protest if he wants to go again next week.
At £7.65 its one of the most expensive lunches I’ve had.
PS There sould be a follow up to this review later this afternoon when I tuck into the Wasabi Peas I treated myself to 
Rice, Piccadilly Gardens
11 year ago
Another late lunch and another decision to treat myself.
My lunch companion was Stevo again and as he was paying he made the decision – after a short walk from the office, we went to RICE
Being as we were having a late lunch (2.30pm), it was fairly quiet when we arrived – no queue, but lots of people still eating. I opted for the Nasi Goreng whilst Stevo had the Thai Green Curry with rice. The cost was £10.98 for the 2 (including our discount for having Piccadilly Partnership cards) and within 5 minutes we were walking back to the office with our food.
My Nasi Goreng was very tasty and I managed to get through it all. It contained plenty of chicken and prawns and the sauce it was cooked in gave it a lovely flavour. A good score – 4 out of 5.
Stevo’s Thai Green Curry. Packed with a good amount of chicken and the vegetable were cooked very well – they still had a great crunch to them. He thought it was very good but was spicier than usual which was the only problem – also a 4 out of 5.
In addition, the service was good and fast, the food boxes were crammed full and the food was piping hot. My only problem with RICE is the price – if it was less than a fiver each, it would be much more stomachable.
Subway, Mosley Street
01 year ago
by Mister Tum
in Fast Food Chains
Thursday 6” Sub of the Day: BMT on Herb & Cheese £2.29.
Subway. Started out so well, sunk so low. Remember when the Sub of the Day was £1.79? Remember the days when they used to give out rewards (buy six get one free)? Or when they used to make it in their words “how you like it”? Now it’s more like “how we like you to have it“, i.e. with little to no filling whatsoever. Also, they take every single opportunity to up-sell you more and more. They honestly put McDonalds to shame for this. I’m pretty sure Subway would happily ask if you wanted to supersize given half the chance.
I’ve been to Subway a shamefully substantial amount of times over the years and here’s what I’ve learned:
- Do not experiment with anything on the menu as it isn’t worth the effort – stick to what you know
- Sub of the Day is the only reason to go, otherwise you might as well sink your cash into something worthwhile and go and have a ‘proper’ lunch
- The quantity of filling you receive is inversely proportional to the number of years/months/weeks that this store has been operating
- The cost of your sub = [x+20p], where ‘x’ is equal to the number of Subway subs you have consumed to date (e.g. my Subs cost approximately £16,864.00 these days)
- The length of your rage fuse is equal to your starting fuse (let’s call this ‘n’) divided by ‘y’, where ‘y’ is equivalent to the number of questions you are asked by the idiotically titled “sandwich artists” as you move along the line trying to prise your lunch from the collective artists’ grasping clutches
This is how I’d like the transaction to go:
‘6” BMT on herb & cheese with everything but olives, please.’
‘£1.79, please, sir.’
‘Thanks, bye.’
Here’s how it actually goes:
‘6” BMT on herb & cheese with everything but olives, please.’
‘Which bread?’
‘Herb & cheese, please’
‘Double cheese for extra 50p?’
‘No, thanks.’
‘Toaster for extra 60p?’
‘No, thank you.’
‘Extra salad for extra 70p?’
‘No, thanks anyway.’
‘Double it up for an extra £5?’
‘Please: no, thank you so much.’
‘Cookie with that for extra £17?’
‘No, just, no.’
‘Drink with that for extra £100?’
‘NO.’
‘Anything else with that for an extra -’
‘For the love of God, just GIVE ME MY DAMNED SANDWICH!!’
Actually, that extract is heavily edited for brevity. Anyway, you finally get your sandwich and tuck in, and you know what? It’s just not very good.
SubWAY? More like SubPAR.
PS. Anyone know what BMT stands for? (My unimaginative guess would be Bad Meaty Tripe . . .)
Philpotts, City Tower, Manchester
21 year ago
by i_am_big_g
in Fast Food Chains
£6.10 for sandwich, tyrells crisps, can of pop and “divine” chocolate bar
Its fair to say that not much can go wrong with a chicken, bacon and avocado sandwich with a squeeze of lemon and a grind of S&P. Not much did go wrong and it was a tasty treat. Lots of mayo mixed in made it lovely and moist and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Then again, I paid £6.10 for lunch and I’d be pretty disappointed it it had not been enjoyable.
Verdict: – a good choice if you’re feeling flush or its raining and you dont want to let the rain ruin your ‘do
Barburrito, Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester
21 year ago
by i_am_big_g
in Fast Food Chains
Tricked into paying for lunch for 2 of us, we ended up in Barburrito. As typical blokes, we both had “the ultimate burrito” as there was a big poster advertising it as we walked in.
This allowed us to have double portion of any filling (I had chargrilled steak twice, SW had shredded beef and chicken), onions or peppers, rice, refried beans, chilli sauce, guacamole, sour cream and grated cheese.
As its Barburrito, we splashed them with lashings of tabasco to add that little extra.
Honestly, they were massive and we both enjoyed ours thoroughly.
The only gripe we both had was the size of the bottomless cups they provide – they were tiny and required constant refills.
At £7.50 each, it makes for a very expensive lunch and reminded me why I avoid it normally. I will be going back, but only when I have saved some money!!
Baguette Express, Mosley Street
21 year ago
Meal: Jacket Potato with tuna mayo, Walkers Crisps and a can of Irn-Bru
There has been a lot of fuss in the office the last couple of days over this new found eatery, A big step up from the likes of Subway in terms of quality of food and customer service, with the bonus of a huge menu (not just baguettes!).
In the interests of comparison, I decided to go for the baked potato with tuna, as this is what I ordered recently at a similar style of eatery down the road. I wanted to see how it compared to another local dish as well as how it favoured my own palate.
So the fight is on…. Baguette Express, Mosley Street Vs Giovannis Deli, New York Street
The potato was cooked to perfection, crispy skin… fluffy potato innards with lashings of tuna and mayonnaise. the crisps and drink were from popular well known brands so not much to say on that front. The only problem I can think of was that the tuna mayo tasted like it was missing something… At Giovannis this was mixed with some chopped peppers and onion to add a little extra crunch but this was just plain tuna and mayo.
In terms of price, Baguette Express wins hands down, while I took advantage of a “2 dine for £4.99″ meal deal, the normal deal is a main, snack and drink for £3, so it fits in nicely with the standard £3 meal deal floating around town at the minute. At Giovannis it was £2.50, just for the meal but as I said it did add that little extra which I think is worth the extra price.
I didn’t eat in, but there is ample room if I did, there is the standard stool/table combination by the front window, with a comfortable looking sofa area between that and the counter area, and then a magical spiral stairway up to a mezzanine level which wonders I did not get to see, but the murmur of happy patrons above suggests it was a reasonable place to munch your manc lunch (see what I did there….).
All in all… I really enjoyed this meal and at a very reasonable price, I shall definitely be going again, will I buy the potato again? hmmm not sure, probably not with tuna as it didn’t do it for me, but with a wide range of other toppings available I will probably be getting it at least once more.
Wings, Cross Street, Manchester
01 year ago
by Mister Tum
in Fast Food Chains
Duck noodle wrap £2.50
Setting my expectations somewhere around the £2.50 price mark (that being the leftover change in my trouser pocket) I meandered into the famously five-star Wings restaurant’s fast-food outlet all a-flutter at the prospect of being able to afford half a pot of aromatic noodles.
Noodles, yeah? With some bits of duck and sauce, right? In a wrap, OK? And that’s it! For £2.50! What’s not to like? Why didn’t I think of it first? Is it because noodles are essentially a variation on bread, and therefore putting them in a wrap is a bit like having a bread sandwich? Maybe. In any case I tell you what: it wasn’t bad. The sauce was pretty surprisingly tasty and the sheer “I’m really eating food here” sensation of filling your gob with noodles in a wrap was quite fun. Till it was over. And it was over fast. It looks like a fairly decent size for what it is. And I suppose it is. But a grown man would need to consume at least two of these to stop himself from going to Quality Save in Piccadilly Gardens immediately afterwards even though lunch time is nearly over just to order 59 pence worth of “37% Chocolate” Chocolate Cookies and scoffing the lot to fill up on whilst his work-mates look on and shake their heads whispering to each other about what a fat git he really is. Just saying is all . . .
I’m drowning in the hoi sin of your lies, so fill me with your noodly goodness.
Subway, Mosley Street
81 year ago
by Gavlar
in Fast Food Chains
Meal: Foot-long Steak and Cheese, w/ lettuce, tomato and mayo (no drink or snack)
I was actually a little disappointed with my lunch today, its been a while since I last visited Subway and I think its going to be another while before I do again. The steak was chewy and tasted a little bland and the bun was over toasted to the point it started to disintegrate when I picked it up. At over £5 for just the sandwich, I actually feel a little robbed! The only upside to this disaster of a lunch was that the lettuce and tomato was fresh and very enjoyable, but if I wanted a tasty salad, I would have ordered one.
I could probably put this down to the lunchtime rush as it was a little busy in there and had to queue for 5 mins or so before I made my order but that’s not an excuse for rushing and spoiling a customers meal.
Rice, Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester
01 year ago
by Mister Tum
in Fast Food Chains
Chicken Biryani with rice.
Normally you’d get a curry from a curry house, but unfortunately, due to being challenged by a fellow foodie and having the 6 loyalty stamps saved up, this reviewer had to forego his usual awesome Nasi Goren to experiment with this dish instead. A pretty standard but sauceless curry that was spicy enough to cause flop sweats but without the prevailing ‘have-I-injured-myself’ after-burn of, say, a particularly piquant Madras from your local curry house. If you’re going to bite the no-diet bullet and hit Rice up for one of its excellent dishes you might as well go with a reliable Nasi Goren or Malaysian chilli chicken, rather than squandering your attention on this arid but still appetising Biryani. Don’t settle for good when you can have great!
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