At the time Elsa and Ryo first visited Common Bar, it was recently refurbished. Elsa and Ryo were curious as to what this “new” establishment would offer. Neither has been to Common Bar prior and they were intrigued by the small plates on offer after experiencing Superstore’s small plates. We went twice and this review will cover both experiences.
After a meal, Elsa and Ryo find themselves walking around Manchester City Centre with a sudden craving for something sweet. Aiming towards Northern Quarter, something caught Elsa’s eye in the window as they walked on Mosley Street.
Elsa had been wanting to try Federal Cafe and Bar for a while as she heard they make good breakfasts/brunches; they serve New Zealand and Australian food. Elsa and Ryo struggled a bit to find it as the place is relatively new to Manchester at the time and there weren’t many external photos of the cafe, but it was literally opposite the end of Arndale market. We arrived at about 12:30 pm, just as a crowd was leaving and another entered. We were both surprised at how popular this place was.
Try Thai is located within Manchester’s China Town on Faulkner Street. There is a separate bar area with its own entrance, but the actual restaurant is up a few flights of stairs. Ryo has been a long fan of their set lunch menu, which offers decent food at a reasonable price, so this is a semi-regular place for us. Elsa and Ryo arrived in Manchester on a sunny Saturday and felt like having something refreshing instead of the originally planned burgers. We decided on going to Try Thai again.
I signed up to the Byron Hamburgers mailing list (Byron Burger Club) a while back and was informed when they were opening up a branch in Manchester’s Piccadilly Garden. To celebrate the opening night, they were giving away free tickets on Eventbrite to be released at a set date and time. I only managed to get one ticket, but Byron were happy enough to accept my friend to the table if she was paying. As the ticket entitles you to one burger or main course salad, one while-you-wait, one side and one dessert per person, there was plenty of food to go around! We split the bill, paying only for an extra burger, side and drinks.
There is also another Byron Hamburgers in Manchester on Deansgate and another coming to the Corn Exchange, but this review is for the Piccadilly Garden branch. Our readers should take into account that this was the first time the restaurant is open to the public and thus there might be some teething problems. Our opinions were not affected by the fact the food was free.
The Wasabi Dessert Room is an amazing dessert room for Chinese desserts. They are located inside two of the three Wasabi Sushi Restaurants in Manchester: China Town (Faulkner Street) and the Quadrangle (Hulme Street), with the latter only serving cold desserts.
This review is about the China Town branch. To get there, once inside the sushi restaurant, simply indicate to the staff that you wish to go to the dessert room, then walk up the flight of stairs in front of you. Note that the Wasabi chain in Manchester is unique to the area and not associated with Wasabi Sushi & Bento.
