| "I
read Restaurants Of Manchester review of the River Restaurant
with great interest as my partner and I had already made a
reservation there with some friends. The review was spot on.
It's a very expensive restaurant that doesn't necessarily
compare favourably to similar, often cheaper, restaurants
in town. Downpoints - the bar staff offered us a drink
before going into the restaurant whilst we waited for our
friends to arrive. A waitress came over and offered to take
our coats. She took my boyfriend's jacket and walked off before
I even had one arm out of my own sleeves. This left me angry
however a nicer waitress later showed us to our table in the
restaurant although, again, no one offered to take my coat
and scarf. Like your review, we also never received bread
despite being presented with bread knives and plates. The
decor, presentation and the meal itself was very nice,
but considering the price paid in comparison with other celebrated
restaurants in town, it was extremely expensive for what
you got. The waitress and waiter were both very nice and
the waitress took time out to speak to me about where I was
from, which was nice. All in all it was a very nice but
expensive experience."
- miriam offersgaard , manchester 20/12/07 (visited on a tuesday
evening) |
"To be fair To The Lowry,
we visited The River Restaurant the night after returning
from our staff Christmas trip - an annual festive tour of
Europe - during which we'd spent a week eating in some of
the top restaurants in Switzerland, Austria and Germany,
including an amazing 16 point Gault Millau restaurant in
Liechtenstein the day earlier. And
whilst it may not be an equal playing field comparing all
our Gault Millau and Michelin starred meals to The River
Room's 2 AA Rossette's, we were able to compare like-for-like
and pound-for-pound with Choice,
The Modern and The French, three
similar Manchester restaurants we'd visited the week earlier.
Ignoring the fact
the staff had seemingly forgotten us shortly after giving
us the menu during pre-prandials in the bar, the first thing
you notice about The River Restaurant is the amazing modern
decor and the light colours, a wonderful array of white's
and creams. Beautiful - there can't be many better rooms
to eat in Manchester!
It should be pointed
out that prices at the River Restaurant are amongst the
highest in the city, starters range from £7.50 for
soup to £12.50 for Terrine of Game and Main's from
£14.50 for Risotto to £32.50 for a 16 oz T-Bone
steak. Whilst this is slightly cheaper than the Midland's
French Restaurant, sadly the quality doesn't compare despite
the Lowry Hotel's extra star advantage. The two restaurants
shouldn't really be compared though - The French is a lavish
dining affair, one in which the diner is made to feel special,
whilst The River Restaurant is less stuffy, more modern
and less complicated. Perhaps it's just the prices that
made us compare like for like.
And that is our
only grumble at The Lowry - the wine list is exhaustive
and the food is good, if not worthy of the price tag. The
Cured Salmon with Buttermilk Panna Cotta and Capers starter
looked and tasted beautiful, a real work of art but at £10.50
you had to ask if you were paying for the chef's superb
design work rather than the quantity of the ingredients.
My Lobster and Sweet Corn Chowder (£8.50) was also
excellent but would have been better complimented with bread
- I'm not sure if the waiters just forget to provide us
with any or if they'd simply ran out as side plates had
been provided. The main courses were a similar story. The
chef is certainly capable of creating amazing artistic servings
and tasty too boot, but pound for pound there's better to
be found elsewhere in town. The Gressingham Chicken Breast
(£19.50) was good but nowhere near the quality I experienced
at The Modern, where an amazing
Goosnagh Chicken Breast cost £9 less, and my partner
complained her Cheshire Beef Fillet was far too small and
not worthy of the £26.50 price tag, especially when
compared to that on offer at the celebrated Harvey Nichol's
2nd Floor Restaurant, available £5 cheaper. For
desserts I opted for Rice Pudding with Poached Damsons from
the Lake District (£7.50). It was slightly too stodgy
for my liking and not in the same league as the one I had
experienced at The French (45p more) nor the one I had at
Grado a week earlier
(£2 cheaper). The Lancashire Buttermilk Pancake with
Roasted Fig and Almond Ice Cream (£7.50) on the other
hand was out of this world and highly recommended!
We couldn't fault
the service; our waitress, from the Dordogne, was friendly,
informative and efficient, although the business party on
the table next to us had complained quite loudly about having
to request their bill three times to various members of
staff. Interestingly, we overheard the other table next
to us complaining that the food wasn't worth the price.
I wonder how many other diners were having the same thoughts?
The saving grace for The River Restaurant is that most of
the diners seem to be hotel guests who charge their meal
to expenses. And that sums up the River Restaurant best,
if cost isn't an issue - give it ago - you certainly won't
find many better locations to have a good meal in Manchester,
or should that be Salford? But
if you're ever in Liechtenstein
on the other hand..."
-
restaurants of manchester, 18/12/07 (visited on a Monday
evening) |
