Review
Before reading my review of Abode Brasserie Manchester, please read my post on how I review venues – I have a template and appraise all restaurants against the same parameters, my post outlines my reasons for this.
Reason for Visit
Mr Fitz and I visited Abode Brasserie Manchester in July 2018 for my birthday celebration. One of my main hobbies is entering Competitions. I won a prize for a meal for 2 and wine in a Twitter Competition at Abode Brasserie in Manchester City Centre. The competition was run by the restaurant during the World Cup on Facebook. To enter you had to predict the correct score in the Croatia V England game at 90 minutes. I predicted 1-1 and was correct. I was thrilled to be announced the winner as it was soon to be my Birthday and this would be a great way to celebrate. Free meals are one of my favourite prizes and helps maintain my pre retirement lifestyle. Mr Fitz and I are great foodies and love to eat out in Restaurants.
It was not part of the prize to post a review and the staff had no knowledge that I was going to do this.
Time of Visit
We were booked in for 6pm on a Friday evening – our choice as we prefer not to be out late unless its a special function or we are closer to home.
Time taken to be seated
Abode Brasserie Manchester restaurant is also the bar area. We were a little early and just walked up to the bar. There were occupied tables but no other customers at the bar so we were served swiftly. Our order was a Draught Cider and a single Gin and slimline tonic. They did not sell Cider on draught so John chose a 500 ml bottle of Aspalls Cider
This was around £11 for the 2 drinks and we were advised that we could sit at any table. Nice glasses!
Surroundings and First Impression of Abode Brasserie Manchester
If I’m being totally honest it was not what I was expecting! It was my first visit and had been intending to visit Michael Caine’s Restaurant for ages. Because the exterior of the Abode Manchester hotel is red brick and traditional, I think I expected the restaurant to look more opulent and plush. Instead it was very modern with an urbany, warehouse feel. Now at this point I must say that I’m a little embarrassed that I hadn’t done my usual online research. If I had I would have known beforehand what the interior looked like.
I would also say that it didn’t have a restaurant feel, it was more like a casual cafe/dining experience.
Time to get served/Attention
As we had first got a drink from the bar and sat anywhere we had not formally checked ourselves in with the front of house host, however once seated we were approached quite swiftly to see if we were OK and if we were dining. My husband explained we had a reservation and were prize winners. Menus were already on the table but we were brought the Prix Fixe menu to choose from. The A La Carte menu of Abode Brasserie Manchester was not included in the prize.
Food
We both chose the Ham Hock Pressing – Braised ham hock pressed and served with piccalilli for starters. This was delicious and possibly one of the nicest starters we have ever eaten.
For mains John chose the Asparagus & Pesto Penne, which he enjoyed and I chose the 7oz Bavette Steak-Frites which were average but enjoyable.
For dessert John chose the Chocolat Liegois and the Creme Brulee for me – again delicious.
To accompany our food we enjoyed a bottle of Gavi DI Gavi ‘Fossili’, San Silvestr, Italy. A wine we are both familiar with and closest to our favourite Puilly Fume from France, which was not on the menu.
Service
There was a delay of over 30 minutes between the starter and main course, however once the main had arrived a senior member of the restaurant team approached us and apologised and said that the cost of the main course would be deducted from our bill because of this. We pointed out that we were prize winners which he was unaware of. It was, however, a nice gesture. Excluding this though Service was good and staff were friendly. One waitress was a fairly new starter and was a delight, we wish her well in her career at Abode Brasserie Manchester.
Evaluation
Overall it was an enjoyable experience, decor and ambience was not the best or maybe I should clarify not what we thought suited the Hotel. There was a piano player in the restaurant which was pleasant. Food was excellent and service was good. We did encounter a problem with the cleanliness of the ladies toilet – caused by other users. The Hotel staff dealt with this swiftly one I pointed it out to them.
Would I Visit Again
With the fact that Manchester had so many restaurants and eateries to choose from the answer is probably not. We have a list of favourites and even though we were extremely grateful to receive the prize and sample to venue Abode Brasserie Manchester would not be added to our list.
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