Bella Italia Celebrate 15 Years in Manchester: Italian History, a Rainy Walk, and some Surprisingly Good Food

Every so often, an event comes along that allows you to combine several interests in an exciting and previously undreamed of way. To wit: this week's event celebrating Bella Italia's 15 years of Manchester residence, which exuberantly threw in any number of things to which I am partial. First, of course, food - and in particular Italian food. I am obsessed with all things Italy and am always happy to pop a few olives or a morsel of bruschetta in my mouth at a moment's notice - I must admit, however, that Bella Italia would not necessarily be my first choice (well, it might be now, but more of that later). Add in the prospect of three different courses at the three Manchester Bellas with a walking tour of Manchester with a focus on Italian history in between and you're on to a winner - I like history, and I love Manchester, and most of all, I have the greedy girl's fondness of a bit of a walk when I've eaten too much.

We begin at Bella Italia in the Arndale, where we are met by area manager Stuart, lovely PR Charli, our Green Badge Tour Guide Sue McCarthy, and a very welcome bottle of Prosecco. This is the venue for our starter course which, fittingly, is a selection of antipasti to share. Bella have been focusing on authenticity on their new menu and sourcing many of their key products (such as pasta, olives and olive oil) direct from Italy; easy to argue, perhaps, that this should have been done earlier, but the new approach is certainly visible in much of the attractive-looking selection laid out before us. We have one of each of the new antipasti boards: the Southern Italian Calabrese board (Calabria Pressed Spianata salami and soppressata salami, dry cured cappocollo ham, Buffalo bocconcini mozzarella balls, Pachino tomatoes, roasted peppers, ciabatta, grissini, rocket leaves and olives), the Northern Italian Alpino board (cured Speck ham, roasted herby Porchetta and classic mortadella alongside the same accompaniments as the previous board), and the vegetarian Legume board (as before, but the meat replaced with peperonata and tomato bruschettas, artichokes and roasted vegetables). Each of these would be between £11.45 and £11.95, and as each is easily big enough for two to share this seems good value, particularly as bottles of good quality olive oil, chilli oil and balsamic vinegar line the tables for extra glugging. My favourite of all the boards is the Legume selection, although I would like a little more salt on my bruschetta. We also agree that the Tempura prawns - wild king prawns in a light, crispy tempura batter and served with a garlic and lemon mayonnaise - are excellent; the calamari is unremarkable but perfectly acceptable (although perhaps a shade on the pricey side at £6.25).

So far, so good - although to be fair, any Italian should be able to get this kind of thing spot on and the mains were always going to be the real test. These are served at the Deansgate branch, so we gamely don our hats and coats and follow Sue out into the Manchester drizzle for the first leg of our tour. Sue is one of the guides at Tour Manchester, and she expertly regales us with interesting stories as she leads us round some of Manchester's most and least salubrious spots - the Town Hall looks stunning all lit up for Chinese New Year, but my favourite place is St Mary's Church, the "Hidden Gem" of Mulberry Street, founded in 1794 and thought to be the oldest post-Reformation Catholic church founded as a church in any large English city centre. Sue tells us a great story here about a Victorian police officer called Jerome Caminada who once solved a crime by sitting inside a grand piano in which he had bored peep holes, a perfectly acceptable modus operandi that should be brought back to modern policing in my opinion.

The walk goes all too quickly and the welcome at Deansgate is a warm one - this is a more traditional, Trattoria-style branch and I prefer it to the Arndale outpost. The food is quick to arrive and - frankly - surpasses my expectations by some considerable distance; so much so that I would actually find it hard to pick a favourite. We have, in order of appearance: Gamberoni (spiralized ‘Spaghetti' made from carrot, golden beetroot and courgette spirals with king prawns, garlic & chilli in a spicy pomodoro sauce), Amore Formaggi (super cute heart-shaped pasta parcels filled with four cheeses, in a basil pesto sauce topped with semi-dried Pachino tomatoes), Beef and Red Wine Ravioli (shredded beef and red wine filled pasta parcels in beef ragú sauce topped with rocket leaves), a mighty Lamb Shank slow-cooked in a garlic, red wine & rosemary sauce and served with mashed potatoes and green beans, and finally a Carne Mista pizza topped with spicy pepperoni, smoked ham, pancetta and Calabrese salami. It's hard to find much fault with any of this - some find the Amore Formaggi a "bit too cheesy" (although I love the contrast between the rich cheese and the fresh basil) and the lamb shank has quite a lot of skin on it, but everything is beautifully cooked (the ragu has clearly been simmering for many hours), the pizza is lovely and crisp and very generously topped, the prawn dish is real winner and has finally encouraged me to get my own spiralizer out its box, and the pasta (all bought from the Agnesi family, Italy's oldest pasta makers) is excellent. The staff know we are coming and we do have the area manager sitting at our table; still, whilst I would be interested to come back in less exulted company and see if the food is as good, I can only judge on what we have on the night and it's fairly flawless and very strong on flavour.

A shorter walk this time, up to the Piccadilly branch for desserts. We are met with an array of riches that includes samples of all the flavours of gelato (chocolate, honeycomb, vanilla, strawberry, tiramisu, bubble gum), the Limoncello Meringue Pie and a board of Shot Desserts (Tiramisu Mousse, Strawberry Cheesecake, Mini Pannacotta, Amaretto Chocolate Pot and Banoffee Pie). I'm not much of a pudding person but I enjoy all of this - the gelato (bought from the Callipo family Gelateria in Calabria) is properly rich and creamy, the lemon meringue pie is well baked with a nice contrast between the rich curd and the light meringue, and the little dessert pots (of which I snaffle the Banoffee Pie) are a great idea for people who only want a mini pudding due to excess greed elsewhere in the meal. We wash all this down with a shot of Limoncello because we are, of course, sunning ourselves on the Amalfi coast rather than sheltering from the rain in a dark corner of Picadilly Gardens.

Was it really quite like being in Italy? Well, the Manchester climate did its best to remind us where we were at all times, but clutching a bottle of Prosecco as a going-home present and with a tummy full of pasta and gelato and a head full of Italian legends, it was almost possible to forget I was on a tram and imagine myself in sunnier climes. Almost.

- Find Bella Italia at 92-96 Deansgate, 11-13 Piccadilly and Unit R8, Arndale Shopping Centre. Contact Sue and the other splendid guides via the Tour Manchester website.

Jackie Kearney's Hungry Gecko Vegan Supper Club Pops Up at Tampopo, Manchester

I feel obliged to preface the following post about vegan food with the disclaimer that I do in fact eat quite a lot of meat. Despite my essentially carnivorous nature, it would be the dairy I really missed if I were to embark upon a vegan diet - yes, no bacon would be terrible, but no cheese, butter or eggs? Still, I do love all veg and all pulses, so I was interested to see if Jackie Kearney, Masterchef finalist and otherwise known as The Hungry Gecko, would be able to make me forget the absence of farmyard favourites at her pop up supper club at Tampopo in the Corn Exchange this week.

The first interesting event of the night was getting there bang on the start time and finding a lengthy queue outside. People don't generally queue for vegan food, but with both nights fully sold out there was clearly something of a buzz about Jackie's take on it; indeed, the fact that the accompanying book, Vegan Street Food, has sold out on Amazon is testimony either to the current enthusiasm for all things plant-based, or Jackie's ability to make such things sexy. The evening was also great value at £20 a head, starting with a lychee fizz (essentially a glass of Prosecco with a big fat lychee in the bottom), followed by canapes and a series of dishes to be shared at the communal tables, supper club style. First up was a tray of Pani Puri Pops, joyous little puffy orbs filled with a mild, creamy filling of lentils and vegetables, swiftly followed by the swaggeringly spicy Tom Yum Shots, served with sticky rice balls to calm their fieriness. The Thai Style BBQ Tofu Skewers came served with a peanut and cucumber dip that I greedily spooned all over my plate; the texture of tofu is not for me (I've tried and failed many times to like it) but the flavours were excellent and I can't pretend I didn't have a second one when the platter came round again.

The mains started with a Balinese Seaweed Salad and some amazing Smoky Tofu Murtabak - fried pancakes which were crispy on the outside and meltingly exciting on the inside. If anything wins me over to bean curd, it's these fellas. The Jackfruit Rendang with lemongrass, coconut and chilli was similarly revelatory - I am very partial to mango and other fruit items in curry, and this little bowl of tender young fruit in a rich sauce with the kind of heat that builds up in a satisfying, cumulative manner rather than a blow-your-head off way was just lovely. The steamed Jasmine Rice on the side tempered the heat to perfection, and cleansed the palate ahead of my favourite dish of the night - the Hungry Gecko Dal Masala (yellow dal with aubergine masala). I'm a big fan of dal, and this one was rich and smooth and perfectly complemented by the chunks of soft, smoky aubergine; even better mopped up with beautifully thin and flaky Roti Bread.

So far, so excellent. A slight hitch with the food quantities though meant that the Vegetable Laab (Laos style lettuce cups) ran out at the two girls sitting next to me (who ate their portion quickly and warily, clearly and rightly afraid I would mug them for it at any second), and the Vietnamese Mushroom Claypot never reached us at all. When we asked a passing waitress she was very apologetic and suggested that despite Jackie's best efforts the food had run out; we had eaten plenty, but it was a shame not to get to try all the dishes - particularly as we all really fancied the Mushroom Claypot.

These organisational issues aside, the food was exceptional. I might not yet be convinced by tofu but the flavours and textures elsewhere were so good that I genuinely didn't miss the meat, and would definitely be persuaded to eat these dishes on a regular basis as part of a slightly less carnivorous diet. In fact, I've put myself on the waiting list for the book - if tofu gives Jackie the energy to cook for a whole restaurant and then come out and smile and chat, then I want IN.

- Tampopo is in the Corn Exchange, Manchester M4 3TR. We were invited as Jackie's guests and didn't pay for our food, but paid for additional drinks from the bar.

Restaurant Review: Ziya Asian Grill, Rusholme

There are few things more likely to make me feel nostalgic than a trip to Rusholme. I lived here for four years, first as a student and then as a penniless graduate, and I loved it - loved its lights, and its buzz, and its shops filled with beautiful pink sweets and, of course, its ever tolerant curry houses, patiently welcoming us after a boozy night out and turning a blind eye to the fact that we would spend about £3 a head over a period of approximately four hours. And then, I grew up and got a job - a real one - and stopped going. Part of this was laziness - I'd moved to Didsbury and had decent curry houses on my doorstep - but part was a sense that its delights had faded for someone who no longer needed to eke out a basket of poppadums over three hours with twelve of their mates.

Anyway, I'm back. You've all known about Mughli for some time, that ferociously successful and ever-excellent Wilmslow Road institution, now expanding into other parts of town to sate its baying public. And it turns out that some of you also knew about Ziya Asian Grill just across the road, quietly garnering an excellent reputation over the last 18 months or so whilst I remained unaware of its charms; I've found it now though, and found much there that will lure me back on a regular basis.

First off, the venue is a good one, spanning three floors (the uppermost of which is available for private hire - it seats 30 and is pictured above), with an open kitchen (by which we choose to sit) and a fresh, clean, open feel. Secondly, the staff are ace - they happily share a box of Indian sweets they'd been given by the manager as a gift with us, polite smiles remaining in place as we snarf the lot. Thirdly, the drinks list is a well-chosen one, offering some excellent cocktails (more of these later) and some decent wines (we share a bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon that arrives suitably chilled and which matches the spice in the food beautifully). All of this means nothing, though, if the food is average - in the face of so much competition on the Curry Mile, it needs to be exceptional, particularly as the prices are dearer here than at some of their more bargainous neighbours (although interestingly, they are much in line with The Place Across the Road).

And the food is very good indeed. We allow the manager Devang to choose for us; a wise move as it turns out. Poppadums arrive promptly, already broken into bite-size pieces (the lazy girl's dream) and accompanied by a tray of chutneys which include a nice spicy onion as well as a tart coriander dip that I proceed to slather over the entirety of my dinner. For my starter, I request something meaty and am duly provided with an almighty Tandoori platter consisting of Chicken Bites, Lamb Kebabs & Peshwari Lamb Chop, each succulent and well flavoured, particularly the chop. They are fastidious about using fresh produce every day rather than anything frozen, and it shows. For my date, I've brought along The Awkward Friend, who doesn't like things too hot and who is sensitive to dairy - Devang's solution is a starter-sized portion of the Chilli Garlic Fish from the main menu (sea bass fillet coated with fresh spices, green chillies and garlic, pan grilled and served with dosai potatoes) and the recommendation is 100% spot on. The unexpected highlight of Round One though is a portion of Szechuan chips from the lunch menu that are brought to us unbidden to try - they are astonishing, hot and spicy and flecked with cashew nuts, and I will need to have them every time I go even if this means crying in front of the chef.

For mains I request a fish curry of some description and the recommendation is instant - the Goan Fish Curry, with tamarind and coconut milk, is clearly something of a favourite here. Little wonder, really - the fish remains chunky rather than disintegrating and the whole affair has a freshness and lightness unusual in such a rich dish. I also desire something spinachy and have a portion of Saag Paneer on the side; spicing and texture is perfect, but the amount of cheese in the dish makes it very substantial - this is definitely a main rather than a side, even for a greedy girl. The Awkward Friend hits the jackpot again with the Rahara Lamb - chunks of meat cooked alongside minced lamb to give a really unusual texture. We also have some plain rice and the world's prettiest naan bread, the layered textures of which means it isn't as heavy or as filling as is often the case.

Despite this, we are of course full by now, and a waitress who has clearly seen such gluttony many times before cheerfully packages up our leftovers for us to take home. For dessert we each have a cocktail perched at the bar - these are on the pricey side at £7.95 a pop, but they don't fall into the trap of being too sweet and they pack a nice boozy punch, so it's hard to imagine not having one for dessert on future visits. My Fig and Ginger Dakka (pictured here with the tall, fruity Bollywood Smash) was perfect - I am particularly fond of both these flavours and am delighted to find them in a cocktail for ease of consumption.

All in all, we really liked Ziya. This was a complimentary meal as we were invited in to review, but I am already in the process of organising a weekend visit as paying customers for a number of friends who now want to go, having seen the photos I thoughtlessly plastered all over Facebook. And those leftovers? Even better the next day.

- Ziya Asian Grill is at 65-67 Wilmslow Rd, Manchester M14 5TB; telephone 0161 257 2010.

Cheese & Wine Tasting with Manchester Wine School: Being Educated Never Tasted So Good

Now, whilst it is not absolutely necessary to partner cheese with wine, it can't be denied that they make very happy bedfellows. Of course, it's not always practical to do so, tempting as it might be to whip out a nice Pinot Noir to go with the cheese butties you're consuming at your desk, but like some ever-so-predictable Pavlovian dog, I seem genetically pre-programmed to crave one when I have the other.

I was excited, then, to go along to the Cheese and Wine tasting session hosted by Manchester Wine School at Jury's Inn just before Christmas, in the hope of learning some new matches and maintaining a knowledgeable expression whilst simultaneously drinking as much as possible. I've met Lisa from Manchester Wine School before, through the excellent masterclasses she runs at the annual Three Wine Men Festival, but this was the first of her own events I've actually been to. She makes for a genial host, managing to be both knowledgeable and entirely normal, happy to chat about the wines that she likes and the best places to buy them; she'd also chosen some perfect wine and cheese matches. In fact, the hardest part of the evening was arriving slightly early and having to resist the plate of cheese that was already laid out so enticingly at each place. She started with a general discussion on how to taste wine, much of which I've heard before at other similar events, but she did genuinely tell me lots of things I didn't already know - she is brilliant on the different wine regions and how to choose good-value alternatives to the best-known ones (and has already emailed me some suggestions). She is also completely independent as she does not sell any wines herself - essentially, she shops for things she likes and then we drink it.

We tried six pairings during the two hour session:

1. Les Floriandes Touraine Sauvignon Blanc (from M & S) with Gorwydd Caerphilly (all cheese provided by Hickson and Blacks in Chorlton). This wine was my least favourite of the night - I find Sauvignon Blanc can be a little tasteless, and this one didn't bowl me over. The cheese, though, was lovely - I wouldn't normally buy Caerphilly but this one was creamy rather than crumbly and lacked the slight dryness that sometimes comes with this kind of cheese.

2. Mystery Hill Chardonnay (Ocado) with Aarenwasser. I'm very partial to Chardonnay, and feel it gets rather a bad deal sometimes at the hands of the wine snobs - I would certainly buy this soft peachy number if I could afford to shop at Ocado (although to be fair, the wine is a pretty reasonable £9.99). Another good cheese choice - a semi-soft Swiss cheese with a sweet nuttiness - and I'd surreptitiously eaten half of my piece before Lisa had finished talking.

3. Luis Felipe Edwards Viognier Reserva (Majestic) with Schlossberger. One of my favourite matches of the night. I actively seek out Viognier, and this aromatic, fruity version from Chile was no disappointment (and great value at £8.99). The cheese, another from Switzerland although this time a hard one, was a revelation - I shall definitely be purchasing this one, partly for the pleasure of eating it and partly for the pleasure of repeating the word "Schlossberger" many times over.

4. Callia Malbec (Majestic) with Oakwood Smoked. On to the reds with a nice fruity Argentine Malbec, partnered by Oakwood smoked Cheddar from Dorset. I'm not normally a fan of smoked cheese but the slight smokiness of the wine made eating this an absolute pleasure.

5. MontPierre Reserve Fitou (Sainsburys) with Cantal AOC. I do actually already buy this slightly flinty, good-value (£7.50) wine but had never had Cantal before - a hard French cheese a little like an earthy Cheddar. Another good match.

6. Sister's Run Barossa Shiraz (Tesco) with Cropwell Bishop Stilton. A good, hefty Australian Shiraz to finish - and as it was paired with the wondrous Cropwell Bishop this was unsurprisingly many people's favourite combination of the night.

The two hours passed very quickly - this was an extremely convivial evening with two long communal tables populated with nice people genially sharing out any of the leftovers in each bottle of wine and trying to eat their cheese in a polite manner. The night was good value at £30 a head (wine quantities were generous, and although I could have managed a little more cheese, I always can and am therefore not necessarily a reliable yardstick) and I would certainly go to more of Manchester Wine School's events - Lisa offers a mind-boggling array of options including eight week courses, corporate events and WSET qualifications (full details here on her website). After all, what could be better than spending a day drinking wine and quite legitimately label it educational? Lifelong learning has never been so much fun.

Festive Crafternoon Tea with Vintage Afternoon Teas and French Knots Craft Studio: Wonky Robins ALL THE RAGE

It is absolutely not a case of false modesty when I say that I cannot sew. I'm reasonably certain that there is a vital link missing between my brain and my fingers: the link responsible for carrying out crafty activities such as knitting, and crochet, and threading sewing machines, as well as more practical things like wiring plugs and, erm, linking sausages (as Bobby's Bangers Sausage School will confirm). So whilst I liked the look of the Christmassy collaboration between the lovely Zoe from Vintage Afternoon Teas and the equally lovely Jo from French Knots Craft Studio, I did not initially think it was for me, due to the inclusion of an alarming interlude where one would make one's own robin decoration for the Christmas tree. Still, as Zoe helpfully pointed out that what I lack in needlework skills, I more than make up for in cake-eating ability, I enlisted the company of a friend who can sew and set off to a village hall in Dunham Massey to make my very own wonky robin.

And unbelievably, thanks to Jo's patience, the robin wasn't even that wonky - a minor miracle considering that large quantities of mulled wine appeared the moment we sat down at the long communal table covered with pretty scraps of material, buttons, needles and myriad different coloured threads (note to self: it is apparently easier to thread a needle after two glasses of wine). We began by cutting our robins out of felt using the templates provided, and then had free rein to decorate however we saw fit; I actually really enjoyed cutting out little pieces of material and amateurishly applying them to my robin, for whom I felt a shameful fondness as soon as he began to take shape. Jo and her team of helpers were on hand with lots of advice and encouragement but - hand on heart - the only bit I had to have help with were his legs. I found the whole process exhausting (I am not good at concentration, and people were laying out an afternoon tea behind me) but am genuinely both proud and fond of my little bird, seen here below with his new best friend.

Then - hurrah - it was teatime. Vintage Afternoon Teas have been around since 2010 and specialise in providing (you guessed it) afternoon teas for events from weddings to hen parties, and won "Best Event Service" at the National Vintage Awards in 2014. It's fairly easy to see why - everything is homemade and served on beautiful vintage china (I wanted the teapot, but had neglected to bring a large enough handbag), and Zoe's idea of serving size is clearly similar to my own. The finger sandwiches - turkey and stuffing, Brie and cranberry, smoked salmon and cream cheese, egg mayonnaise - were nice substantial affairs, and my friend and I, both experts on the matter, deemed the egg sandwiches amongst the very finest of their ilk that we have ever been pleased to consume. There was a scone each with jam and cream, mince pies (I took mine home, lest I burst), florentines, a show-stopping mulled wine bundt cake and a spectacular red velvet cake which I was too full to partake of. Tea was kept generously topped up throughout and Zoe had even helpfully brought plastic bags to allow the greedier amongst us to take the leftovers home.

In short, the whole thing was marvellous - a properly festive, good-value occasion (£30 per head) where, for once, I actually exercised some skills other than those required for stuffing my face. I would go out of my way to attend another event where the Vintage Teas were catering and, even more terrifyingly, I am seriously considering attending another of Jo's sewing workshops. Now I've mastered the art of the wonky robin, the world is surely my oyster.

- You can find out more about French Knots Craft Studio here - Jo runs a whole raft of classes from her studio in Sale - and more about the Vintage Afternoon Teas here (sign up to the newsletter and Zoe will send you the recipe for the mulled wine bundt cake, which you can then make for me).

Pier Eight Bar & Restaurant, Salford Quays: The Lowry Theatre Finally Gets the Restaurant it Deserves

I've long been an admirer of the Lowry, which I consider to be an excellent example of a modern, purpose-built theatre - two differently sized performance areas with very comfy seats, in a super-stylish building with great views and convenient parking. They also have Lowry paintings there, and an interesting programme of high-quality productions, and a ruinously tempting giftshop. What the Lowry hasn't had - until now - is a decent restaurant, the sort of place you make time to visit before a show because you want to eat there rather than being forced from necessity to forage for food before embarking on a three hour opera; indeed, I must confess to more often grabbing a burger at the nearby Lime rather than eat in the Lowry's own restaurant.

Thankfully, that's all changed now with the opening of Pier Eight. This is the Lowry's new bar/restaurant area, and they've worked wonders with the old space, borrowing some of the outdoor area and creating a new venue with its own separate entrance that should lure in locals, shoppers and workers as well as theatregoers. The menu is a total and utter charmer - not exactly groundbreaking, perhaps, but full of things I would like to eat and which show a real understanding of how to combine ingredients to good effect as well as a few touches of finesse here and there. We'd spent the morning Christmas shopping at the Lowry Outlet Mall, and the boyfriend's reward was a mighty starter of black pudding, crispy egg, tomato chutney, creme fraiche and celery salad - an absolute steal at £6. I appreciate it's not difficult to fry sliced black pudding, but the quantities were generous and the perfectly runny egg encased in crisp crumb coating elevated this dish to something really quite classy. That said, there was a great deal of chutney, and while its sweetness went well with the richly savoury black pudding, some of it did prove superfluous. Meanwhile, I had a most elegant dish of scallops with cauliflower purée, bacon, lentils and smoked red wine sauce, which was as dainty as the black pudding was hearty - two plump scallops beautifully cooked and served with a deeply earthy little pile of lentils. I would never have thought of serving scallops with a red wine sauce but it really worked.

The mains were similarly well-balanced in terms of flavours and textures. One of the features of the menu is that the meat dishes tend to include two different cuts or techniques of the animal in question; thus my fillet steak came with a hefty cube of falling-apart-tender braised blade as well as bubble & squeak, artichoke purée, buttered spinach (cunningly disguised as a sprout) and braising sauce. I would have liked my steak a little rarer; when I ordered, I was asked if I was happy for it to be served pink, suggesting that some of their previous clientele prefer a more well-done steak, and I would indeed have liked it even more pink. Still, next time I would simply emphasise this when ordering. To recover from his meaty starter, my lunch date chose Scottish salmon with parsley crust, rosti potato, white beans, celeriac, cockles and shallot cream sauce, another interesting dish that benefitted from its thoughtful partnering of ingredients, particularly the shatteringly crisp fish skin with its fresh green crust again the rich creamy blandness of the beans.

We were very full by this point, but the cheeseboard was quite simply irresistible: Lancashire Bomber, Garstang Blue, Lincolnshire poacher, poached pear, celery and biscuits is my idea of a quality selection - three excellent British (and mostly local) cheeses served at the correct temperature in generous wedges with crackers and more of that lovely tomato chutney we met during the starter course. I've never been beaten by a cheeseboard before, but the generous quantities defeated our enthusiastic joint effort; you will believe me when I say I've rued the cheese I couldn't eat every day since.

Overall, we were impressed. The staff are young and friendly and enthusiastic about the menu, and the views from our table across to the War Museum were most impressive (and it was an unseasonably sunny day, hence the slightly phallic shadow cast by the crispy egg). We thought prices were very reasonable, and although we had the car and therefore weren't really drinking, the wine list offers plenty by the glass and the glass of Chardonnay I had was very good value for something that slipped down so easily. We're already planning our next visit - and I reckon if I'm good for an entire visit round the Imperial War Museum I reckon I'll have earned crispy egg AND cheese...

- Pier Eight Restaurant is at the Lowry Theatre, Pier 8, Salford Quays M50 3AZ. They offer a bar menu and fixed price menus as well as the a la carte that we tried.