| |
| English Lounge Restaurant Manchester - members' reviews |
| "Do not be put off by the often drunk, shaved heads who always seem to congregate outside the entrance - the English Lounge is a decent place. I have been many times, always for Sunday lunch, and always with my family. Prices are reasonable and, in the past, we have always alternated which meat we order from one visit to the next, as every time we go the quality of every dish has been just that good that we always want to try what the other is having next time. It was always a fantastic roast: big, thick slices of meat, very well cooked, a good selection of veg and potatoes, good thick gravy and a hand-made Yorkshire pudding. The food was always superb... until now...Last Sunday, I had what I'm very sorry to say must be one of the worst meals I've had anywhere. The meat was of an awful quality (off-tasting pork with fat throughout), a burnt Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes that were not only clearly re-heated but were also rock-hard in the centre (quite how that was achieved is a mystery to me!) and the normally fantastic gravy was cold, grainy and had the consistency of hair gel.
Quite frankly, it was disgusting.
Another reason for my frequent visits was the quality of the service, with staff always very welcoming, helpful and efficient.
Again, however, this time the welcome was not there, we were simply abandoned at our table and made to wait 45 minutes and any attempt to ask for another drink was met with an almost pained expression by whatever member of staff we were finally able to corner.
The fact that we were seated next to the till made the staff's avoidance of our table nothing short of astonishing, and the perfect end to the affair was the fact that, when we had given up on our food and a waiter came to clear away the plates, we were not asked how everything had been, whether we had enjoyed our meal. This, again, is something the staff had always made an effort to do until now, and I can only assume they were embarrassed about the food they had served us, and their total disregard they had done their best to show.
We did not stay for dessert and I shall not be returning to the English Lounge. All I can say is how extremely disappointed I am to have lost one of my favourite haunts." - chris, manchester - NEW MEMBER (17/6/11) |
|
"We visited The English Lounge on Saturday and checked when I booked that we would be sat in the restaurant and not the pub. When we arrived we were shown to a small roped off area downstairs in the pub, the menu was very limited and obviously the Bar Menu as it was not the same one shown on Restaurants Of Manchester. When we were asked to order, a number of items were not available and no explanation or apology was given. When we asked about the other menu, we where told that this was the only menu available, even though I know this not to be true. When the food arrived, my fish was overcooked and the potatoes were greasy and the mountain of green beans, that seemed not to be in proportion to the plate, were underdone. My friends all ordered the chicken, which was nice if somewhat overly garlicky and was also, again, drowned by the aforementioned green beans. When we enquired about the wine, both of the bottles we requested were not available. All in all, I was very disappointed with the English Lounge as I had heard very good things about it previously." - gillian twist, manchester - member since feb'10 (4/10/10)
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Recently we were asked by a foreign customer to recommend a Manchester pub that served great British food. We racked our brains and ended up pointing them in the direction of the usual chop houses and the overpriced tourist spots in the Shambles. A few days later we found ourselves sat upstairs in the cosy restaurant in the English Lounge, opposite the Arndale Market, and we discussed that if we could turn back time, we would have redirected our customer to this Northern Quarter gem instead. 