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The Round Manchester
Tel: 0871 230 5209*
*Calls to 0871/0872 numbers cost 10ppm from a BT Landline, other networks and mobiles may vary
The Royal Exchange Theatre, St Anns Square, Manchester M2 7DH [map]
A relaxed restaurant situated in the Royal Exchange Theatre open for lunch and pre-theatre supper.
The Round Restaurant

The Round Restaurant Manchester ~ overall readers' reviews
food
price
service
smartness
overall:
most popular dish: Honey and Dark Sugar Glazed Belly Pork

The Round Restaurant ~ Our Review
Restaurant in The Great Hall (November 2014)

Trusted Reviewer "It’s the first day of Manchester’s Famous Christmas markets, so where does a lone dinner head to lunch? Well I’m not in the mood to be surrounded by giddy market goers and tourists, being bumped and bashed as I try to eat a large German Hot Dog or plate or cheesy potatoes in the Manchester drizzle. But I'm not quite as bah humbug as I may sound, and still enjoy watching the hustle and bustle of the markets whilst I tuck into some warming British food. With this in mind I head to The Round.

The Round? I hear you ask 'Where's that?'. Well even as I’m writing this I’m unsure about letting you in on one of the city’s lesser known dining destinations. Do I want to share my relaxing lunchtime destination with the city's diners? Hmm, decisions decisions, and in the words of Magnus Magnusson " I've started so I'll finish".

Anyway, The Round is located in one of Manchester’s most beautiful and well known buildings; The Royal Exchange Theatre. To be precise The Round Restaurant is located just off the Royal Exchange Theatre's Great Hall, hidden behind the café, but make sure you actually make it past the café's impressive cake fridge and into the restaurant dining room.

After a friendly greeting from the staff behind The Round’s bar I was shown to a waiting table on the elevated section behind the bar, which in my opinion offers the best views available, making it possible to look out over St Ann's Square and see the hustle and bustle of the square, and in my case the opening day of the Christmas markets, along with a view of the open plan kitchen so I can indulge in my passion of food voyeurism and watch the chefs work and the food leave the pass.

The Round - Menu
The Round - Beetroot

Settled in my seat, I drew myself away from people watching and turned my attention to the small but well thought out seasonal menu which is packed with big flavours, along with a few stalwart favourites such as Beer Battered Cod and that ultimate lunch combo of Sandwich and Soup. As much as both of these appealed to me I decided on the Beetroot Carpaccio to start, along with the Honey and Dark Sugar Glazed Belly Pork for my main course, and then settled back with a glass of Australian Shiraz (£5.90) to some more people watching whilst I waited for my food to arrive.

The beetroot Carpaccio came beautifully presented; a layer of beetroot topped with oranges, cucumber remolade and mixed leaves.

The beetroot itself was sweet and perfectly seasoned but perhaps sliced a little thickly and unevenly is places. It was complemented perfectly with the tartness of the orange and the slight warming spice derived from the cumin oil whilst the cucumber added a hit of freshness.

Whilst enjoying my starter I saw several main courses being served to other dinners and I have to say the portion sizes are plentiful. I silently congratulated myself for ordering a relatively light starter, as when my belly pork arrived it was definitely a proper Mancunian portion.

Four ample slices of well rendered sweet belly pork served on a soft and fluffy yet crispy root vegetable bubble and squeak cake, with a substantial wave of sweet potato and swede puree, brought together with a pink peppercorn sauce. The pork was perhaps cooked slightly overcooked, but due to the honey and sugar glaze had not dried out. The sweetness from the puree and the bubble and squeak blended well with molasses style pork, but the pink peppercorn sauce was in my opinion more of a gravy and contained a few too many peppercorns which on occasion overpowered the dish.

Overall this was a nice use of seasonal produce creating a well-balanced dish, displaying some solid cooking for an exceptional price of £12.50 for 2 courses.

The Round - Pork
The Round - Pear

Now I know this is only lunch but I had a busy day of early Christmas shopping planned, so ordered the Vanilla and Bay Leaf Poached Pear (£5.50), telling myself it’s fruit, and hence contains one of my 5 a day and must be healthy! Healthy or not this dessert was definitely delicious.

The pear had been poached to perfection, given just the right amount of time in the poaching liquor to become soft and become subtly flavoured with the bay and vanilla, whilst still retaining a slight bite. The Welsh cakes which quite rightly contained hits of cinnamon and nutmeg served as the perfect platform for the pear to stand, on providing extra texture and to soak up the poaching liquor.

The spun sugar basket which topped the plate provided a lovely decoration but a little too much sweetness to the sauce as it started to melt. In hindsight maybe I should of eaten the basket first?

So, The Round is a theatre restaurant, but for me, a little hidden gem, a great place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city centre, and hide away for a quiet, relaxed bite to eat in lovely surroundings, offering a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere whether you're seeing a show or just fancy some food. I just hope now you all know about this little restaurant in the Great Hall, I'll still be able to get a great seat! ~ Restaurants Of Manchester (14/11/14 - visited on a Friday Lunchtime)
food
price
service
smartness
overall
"a proper restaurant"
"set priced"
"friendly and welcoming"
"part of the great hall"
"hidden city centre gem"
The Round Restaurant ~ members' reviews
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