TNQ - The Northern Quarter Restaurant & Bar Reviews Summary

Service

Pros:

• "Service was excellent and such a relaxed atmosphere, particularly at the moment."
• "Service exceptional, very friendly and attentive."
• "Service friendly and professional."
• "Service was quick and pleasant."
• "We were waited on by Ali, who was incredibly helpful, polite and quick with our orders and was very informative about wine pairings."
• "The service was top notch."
• "The staff and service was spot on, polite but friendly, attentive but not overbearing."

Cons:

• "They essentially seemed to have forgotten about us for the entirety of our meal."
• "Service poor."
• "Although the last time we visited our waiter was quite abrupt and dismissive and left us feeling like we couldn’t ask for much."
• "The waiter said he forgot to tell me that they don't do pints in a reckless manner."
• "Drinks were slow to arrive."
• "The service was so complacent and slow, I wondered if it was deliberate."
• "Waitress was rude."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Incredible food! We were a party of four and had three courses, all our meals were delicious."
• "A lot of the food was fantastic. My friend had the lamb which looked and tasted incredible."
• "The squid and little fishes were perfectly fried, the batter was light and crispy on the outside and the squid and fish were fresh and soft on the inside."
• "Every course was beautifully presented and the tastes sublime."
• "The pork belly was roasted to a perfect crisp and fat had completely melted off, leaving tasty crispy savoury bits."
• "The food was exceptional and I'll definitely be coming back."
• "The food was special but unpretentious and I did not leave hungry."

Cons:

• "The steak I found a bit chewy though for my liking."
• "The food was only just above average."
• "Very disappointing food, doesn't justify the price."
• "This restaurant should have phoned ahead and cancelled if they were not able to cook food properly especially when it’s seafood."
• "Our mains were such substandard in quality that we were very disappointed."
• "The prawns they use are not fresh from shell."
• "The friend said the squid in her starter had a weird texture and was not like a squid cooked from fresh."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "You definitely get value for money. It's well worth a visit!"
• "The deal on a Monday is good value and good to see the restaurant so busy."
• "Prices are very reasonable, especially for the quality of the food."
• "The food was excellent and great value."
• "Good for a formal dinner or some special occasion. I would classify it as fine dining at a decent price."
• "The prices were very reasonable for a 2 or 3 courses for under £20."
• "The 35 per head for 3 courses and unlimited wine is exceptional value and a la carte presentation and flavours!"

Cons:

• "When the bill arrived it was well over what we had expected to pay."
• "Did we all think it was value for money, NO, and would we go again NO."
• "We ended up feeling cheap but still spent nearly £100, not a great experience."
• "We were advised to take a side of potatoes and veg which were definitely not needed and added a tenner onto the price."
• "Spent 154 quid on a meal for 2 and left feeling hungry."
• "Absolute rip off food mediocre portions are tiny not worth the money."
• "Given the price in comparison with other high end restaurants I was expecting a more 'melt in your mouth' experience."

Ambience and Entertainment

Pros:

• "The restaurant is lovely with a nice ambience, you can see the chefs cooking from wherever you sit."
• "Live music on a lot of the week."
• "You're pretty much guaranteed good live music for the night."
• "The music is varied yet superb throughout the week."
• "Regular improvisational Jazz nights guaranteeing variety for each act performing, very entertaining."
• "Great venue and atmosphere."
• "The best place to come for Jazz music in Manchester."

Cons:

• "Though I couldn't help but find the clientèle a little pretentious."
• "The music sometimes isn't suitable for chatting over and getting to know people better."
• "The restaurant gets very loud when busy. I was on a table of 6 and we were unable to have a conversation as a group."
• "The only thing that stops it being 5 stars was limited availability and the price of drinks, particularly beer."
• "A lot of tables are set out in front of the stage to the detriment of some performances as it results in the audience being more passive than necessary."
• "2nd time, the Music was a bit commercial pop & too load for my elderly mum."
• "Not convinced by their pricing - free entry to see amazing jazz professionals one night then £5 to see a college band the next."