October 20th, 2008
With four friends we found ourselves eating out at the Zinc Bar and Grill in Manchester on Saturday evening. Situated in a strange place called Hanging Ditch within The Triangle, the place was busy when we arrived. At first we were told they had no space for the six of us, but on checking whether we could book a table for later, they suddenly found one free. We climbed the small number of stairs from the bar up to the restaurant level and sat down amongst many other free tables! At first the waiter was a little icy, but warmed as the night wore on. We ordered up our drinks first, selecting a range of beers, soft drinks and a couple of bottles of wine, all reasonably priced. I was pleased to note linen table napkins and nicely polished glasses on the table, so all looked well.
We ordered up our food. I went for the roasted red pepper and tomato soup (£4.60) as a starter and the char-grilled rib eye steak (£15.50) for my main, while Paul went for the Thai prawn cakes starter (£6.15) and the Thai green curry main (£13.50) Our friends went for a number of other dishes including Fish and Chips (£12.95) and roast lamb (£16.95)
The starters were all served up reasonably quickly except for mine. Everyone waited a little while for mine to arrive before starting to eat, but in the end Paul had to remind the waiter we were still waiting for a starter to arrive. They apologised and it then soon arrived (fresh from the microwave no doubt). There were mixed views around the table as to the quality of the starters. My soup for example for lifeless and needed a good deal of seasoning to spice it up. Paul’s Thai prawn fish cakes were rubbery and could have been successfully bounced off the floor.
Having cleared our plates, the mains quickly followed. This time, all arriving without the need to prompt! My char-grilled steak was excellent. Well cooked, seasoned and flavoursome. I’m told the Fish and Chips were very good as well (although a few more chips would have been welcome). The Thai green curry though was a bit of a disappointment around the table. There was no traditional Thai heat and the addition of grated coconut left Paul puzzled.
As for the restaurant, the toilets were down some stairs, a left turn, a right turn, down some more stairs and then along a corridor. Not good for anyone disabled or in a hurry, but generally clean.
All in all, a trendy place to hang out with friends with food served up at reasonable prices. The service was fine in the end and we paid the bill that included a 10% service charged automatically added. The average being £30 pp which was good for a two course meal with drinks.
Pryordurkin rating. 3 Stars.
T: 0161 827 4201
Posted in Food and Drink