The Pasta Factory

77 Shudehill, Manchester, M4 4AN

In the shadow of Shudehill bus station occupies the old premises of Baekdu are a group of friends from Northern Italy who spotted a gap in the market for ‘pastificio’ and serve authentic pasta dishes to eat in or take away. 

The decor is no frills, but obviously we weren’t expecting any extravagance from a fledgling eatery. We did, however, find the lighting way too bright in there for an evening meal. Maybe buy a dimmer switch or a few lamps, guys.

First up we ordered a bottle of wine (I never remember to write down the name) which was reasonably priced at £12. It tasted fine, nothing special.

To start we shared a starter plate of antipasti (£7) which was made up of cheeses and meats. I seems to remember there being Salami, taleggio cheese and crackers. Nothing stood out and I found it rather bland.

For the main course, I decided on Reginette Al Barbera Con Ragu Di Cervo (£12) - homemade pasta with slow cooked venison ragu, topped with Parmesan. Now we’re talking - the pasta was superb. I don’t recall seeing any pasta in this shape - long textured ribbons that look like octopus tentacles. The slow cooked ragu was rich, flavoursome and a perfect consistency to stick to the pasta. I managed to try some of the Gnocchi Alla Toma (£11) which was creamy melt in the mouth cheesy potato goodness.

The service was laid back and friendly. I will definitely return to sample some of the other intriguing pasta dishes and the Italian beers on offer. 

Bourbon and Black

2 Mount Street, City Centre, Manchester, M2 5WQ 

We decided to try out this relatively new restaurant which has replaced ‘Velvet’ on Mount Street near Albert Square.

The barman upstairs was run off his feet serving cocktails to the half full bar, greeting and taking diners downstairs to the restaurant. Downstairs there was one waitress and the restaurant was around three quarters full. Both members of staff were literally running around the place, but doing a great job. This is completely understandable - most restaurants run a skeleton staff in the quietest month of the year as everyone tries to stick to their new year resolutions.

The decor was like every other new restaurant - bottles used for lights, exposed brickwork, polished metals and wood to give it a old fashioned feel. I would think twice about bringing my parents here, as the music (classic blues and rock tunes) was incredibly loud.

About an hour after being seated, the starters arrived. This wasn’t an issue for us, but I’m sure less patient folk would not be pleased.

For starters, four of us shared the dry rub wings (£5.50), chilli and garlic tiger prawns (£7.95) and jalapeno poppers (£3.50) - all very tasty, my favourite was probably the juicy, meaty prawns. The ribs were nothing special, but I would have chosen the “freakin hot” flavour if I’d had my way. Sadly we were informed after ordering that the Pigs in Blankets (£4.95) were not available, which we’d been looking forward to.

Onto the main. Me and my girlfriend struggled to choose between the various steak options, but our server recommended we share the Chateaubriand steak (£55). We asked for it to be cooked medium rare and ordered a peppercorn sauce (£1.95) on the side.The steak was cooked to perfection with great charring on the outside and beautiful melt in the mouth pinkness within. The homemade skin on chips were superb too and the sauce was great for dipping.

Sadly I was too full to try a dessert, but they sounded great - particularly the cornflake cake and bourbon sticky toffee pudding. I would have sampled one of their huge selection of bourbons but we decided to move onto somewhere else where we could get served faster. 

Overall we were impressed with the food, but the service does not match the prices they charge. The staff were doing their very best, but were definitely struggling with an unusually busy Tuesday evening. Without the 50% off January offer, there’s no way I would pay these prices. There are a lot of places serving good steak in Manchester, and I fear for Bourbon and Black. They need to up their game to survive. 

Hawksmoor

186, 184 Deansgate, Manchester M3 3WB

The decor was classy, I think, it’s pretty dark in there. The place had a musty smell. It felt like a restaurant that had been there for years despite opening in March 2015.

The staff were excellent, and, even though they are allowed to wear their own clothes, it's obvious who is working as they wear an apron. Our waitress, “Bambi” sensed our indecision over which wine to have so brought out two sample glasses for us. We decided on the 2011 Chateau Labadie, Medoc (£35 for the bottle).

To start we had the scallops with tarragon and rosemary (£14) which Jonathan Schofield had raved about in his Manchester Confidential review. They weren't bad, nothing to write home about. I've had much better scallops for half the cost at a Michelin starred restaurant (Braidwoods in Dalry, Scotland).

Onto the main event - the steak. You order by weight from a chalk board and some mental arithmetic is needed to work out how much you’ll be spending. So try not to go there when squiffy as you may end up spending your rent on a cut of meat. 

We knew going in we wanted it bone-in with two different cuts of meat so decided to share the 850g Porterhouse (£76.50). On the side we had creamed spinach, beef dripping fries and triple cooked chips (£4 to £4.50 each). For the sauces we chose stilton hollandaise and bone marrow gravy (£1 each).

Here's where I will lose marks with some of you - we went for it medium. I know I know, rare or medium rare is the connoisseur's choice, but often restaurants like this undercook and you end up with a steak swimming in blood. I was happy with how it came out - pink in the middle, still plenty of juices remaining. 

The meat was superb and melted in the mouth - easily the best steak I've had outside of America. It went down too quickly and I soon found myself glancing around the room to see if I could get away with gnawing from the bone like a caveman (it was, I did). The sides and sauces were first rate - I had a glug of the bone marrow sauce directly from the jug like the savage I am.

We had thought before our visit that we wouldn't be able to finish the steak but in reality I could have eaten the whole thing to myself.

At £7.50 for a dessert my wallet started to quiver, so we decided to pass and ask for the bill - it was £140 in total for two people.

It was a great meal, nice for a little treat, but eye-wateringly expensive. I won’t be rushing back. There was nothing here to topple “Keens” in New York City, which still holds the title (in my books) as best steak in the world.

Parm NYC

248 Mulberry Street, New York City, NY 10012  

Soon after we arrived at our Airbnb base in Nolita, New York City, we knew we had to have some genuine Italian-American cooking before we hit the hay to sleep off our jet lag. We were quite lucky to get a table as it was a Saturday night and the place was full. The front-of-house managed to rustle us up a table in the back, after some gentle persuasion, having initially said it would be a 45 minute wait.

The menu at Parm is minimal, and it soon became apparent we needed try the Parm signature sandwiches.

The veggie side dishes we ordered came served as a starter, rather than with the main course. Before ordering too many dishes, we checked ourselves, remembering American portions are usually huge. This was not the case, but the quality was superb, so we weren't left disappointed. 

The B&G Poppers are deep fried and stuffed peppers with rice and provolone. It's a delicious gooey, spicy dream served with a cheesy dip. The 'smashed & crispy' potatoes came with herbs, spring onions and two dips.

I had the 'Meatball Parmigiana Hero', served with baked ziti and meat gravy. The meat patty came served topped with beautifully fresh mozzarella and torn basil. It’s quite simply the best meatball sub I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating.

My friends enjoyed the eggplant sub, sausage and pepper sub and the Chicken Francese (white wine and lemon sauce).

The wine and beers were great too. It came to about $130 (including drinks) for the 4 of us, which was great value for such good food. Highly recommended!

Chorlton Green Brasserie

137 Beech Road, Chorlton, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, M21 9EQ

This place has a relaxed shabby chic about it. Lots of wood and exposed floor boards.

Sadly the Sunday Roast I had was not to my liking. Maybe the chef was having a bad day? The beef was good - a generous slab of meat cooked perfectly. We were asked how we wanted it cooked and I went medium. I know, I know, I should have gone rare. Always go rare.

The "twice roasted potatoes" looked the part but were dry, oily and lacking fluffiness. What’s wrong with once roasted? The roasted carrot and parsnip were fine, but where were the greens? A bit of broccoli, cabbage, peas or beans wouldn't go amiss. If not on each plate, then a bowl for the table to share. Stingy.

The Yorkshire pudding was a great size and shape, but overcooked and burnt in places. It was lacking any bounce and was dry, possibly due to being kept under a heat lamp for too long.

I was pleased to see the gravy was in your own personal jug, but it was too thin for my liking and lacking any real flavour. Bisto would have been an improvement.

My parents enjoyed their poached fish main course. I should have followed suit, but I find it impossible not to choose a Sunday roast.

The staff were friendly and helpful throughout, no complaints there. I’m sure their regular menu is good, but I just wasn't impressed with my meal.

Tampopo

16 Albert Square, Manchester M2 5PF

We went here after seeing they had a 'buy one get one free' offer on the back of our cinema ticket. We were seated on long benches the same as in Wagamamas. If you’re on a first date you may want to avoid, as you may be sat very close to other humans. The interior felt more intimate than Wagamamas, with drapes on the ceiling and Asian artwork on the wall.

The concept here is for several Asian cuisines to be spread across the menu - Japanese, Thai, Malaysian, Vietnamese and others are represented here.

To start we had the BBQ Platter to Share. Chicken satay (no introduction needed), Bulgogi (grilled beef, served with Kimchi pickled cabbage), Ga Nuong (chicken skewers wrapped in citrus-scented kaffir lime leaves), Chao Tom (minced prawn wrapped in sugar cane). This was served with various dips and it was very tasty. As this was our first visit, this was a perfect introduction to the starters.

To follow I had the Prawn Panang Curry (Thai) and my girlfriend had the Khao Soi noodles - chicken breast and yellow noodles in a red curry sauce. Both were cooked to perfection, the ingredients feel really fresh and the portions were generous. All of this was washed down with refreshing Asahi beer.

The service was great - I think we were served by 5 different members of staff, all as helpful as each other.

Keep an eye out for their special offers, as if you’re a greedy get like me you can eat your way through their menu.

Roberto's

8 Queens Square Rayrigg Road, Bowness-on-Windermere LA23 3BY

After reading some good reviews on Trip Advisor, we decided to try this place out shortly after it opened on a Sunday evening. I was “hangry “(irritable as a result of feeling hungry) so made the call to get in early, this being a Sunday before a Bank Holiday. As there were only two of us we managed to get a table without a reservation.

The decor was nothing special - inoffensive and far from shabby, but could do with some modernisation.

After a day of climbing hills we were hungry so skipped starters and decided against wine.

I had the pan fried chicken breast, wrapped in bacon on a bed of butter beans and roast veg in a “Mediterranean style” sauce. My girlfriend had the Red Mullet with seafood paella, which was served with a huge prawn and mussels in a tomato sauce. Both dishes were served with broccoli and were around £15, which was overpriced but this is Lake District for christ’s sake, what do you expect?!

The restaurant soon filled up and we saw group after group of people turned away. We had a look at the dessert menu, but decided it was quite pricey at £6 a pop. So we grabbed an ice cream from a nearby shop and sat on some steps, basking in the evening sun before heading to the pub.

The service and atmosphere was good. Overall impression was - good food but overpriced- booking essential.