Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

It's bright, it's vivacious and it epitomises Italy perfectly, bringing you a lovely and continental setting, right here in the UK. Chic and modern elements fuse seamlessly with traditional charm and classic brasserie feel, and what you get is an ambience that resonates with a vibrant and contemporary buzz. The food is simply some of the best you can have outside Italy, and the fresh and superb quality ingredients along with the Neapolitan wood stone oven, makes sure that every dish is turned out authentically.

The fritto misto with fried squid, king prawn, asparagus and roasted garlic mayonnaise is a great way to begin, and crispy duck with honey roasted apples and Valpolicella red wine sauce makes a delicious main course. Pasta options are plentiful with favourites such as spaghetti carbonara and tagliatelle alla Bolognese; dessert includes the refreshing baked vanilla cheesecake with citrus blueberries.

Predominantly Italian, the wine list at Piccolino offers a number of choices alongside spirits and liqueurs.

You will come across many restaurants describing themselves as 'authentically Spanish', but the understated La Vina lives up to the true Iberian spirit with its décor, home cooked food, range of wines and - naturally - cava, their extremely pleasant challenge to champagne. Warm wooden tones, comfortable seating, subtle lighting and friendly service are trademark features of their three outlets across the UK.

The informal atmosphere positively encourages customers to unwind over a drink or share starters with friends. The impressive range of tapas has something to satisfy those with either vegetarians or non-vegetarian tendencies. There are a number of sides and 'ensaladas' with such unusual combinations as figs, mountain ham and goats' cheese. In addition to this, they also have traditional paellas and, everyone's favourite, calamares a la romana, or, more simply, fried squid rings in light batter.

Passionate about Spanish wines, the staff recommend the best possible accompaniment for any dish. There is always a 'wine of the month'. While some of their distinctive numbers include Bordón Gran Reserva, Rioja 1996, with its ruby red colour and the Baron D'Anglade Reserva, Rioja, offering a heady bouquet of cinnamon, leather and vanilla. Do keep an eye out for their special offers and have an enjoyable dining experience.

Tucked away in the heart of Hale Village upandown is certainly a place not to be missed. The newly opened bar and restaurant in the most desirable part of Cheshire has 2 restaurants and a bar. This very upmarket restaurant and bar offers light and fashionable food at reasonable prices with a suitably sophisticated décor.

Both restaurants offer contrasting menu selections complementing each other together with specially prepared and created dishes of the day. There is no charge for children if they are dining with adults, and house wine is free when you have a minimum of two courses both at lunch and in the evening before 8 pm.

Up opens from Wednesday through to Saturday evening and has an a extensive A La Carte menu with modern and European Menu selections, complemented by the Chef's specially prepared selections of the day. Vegetarian options are also available. Up is able to accommodate small tables and parties up to 10.

Enjoy a pre-dinner drink, glass of Champagne or a bottle of wine in up's own private lounge bar.

Menu selections change monthly, but starters might include smoked salmon and scrambled eggs served in a brioche or chef's homemade fishcake with sweet chilli dipping sauce or homemade chicken liver parfait served with crispy toast and caramelised onions. While mains run from a skewer of chargrilled king prawns and monkfish served with a mango and avocado salad to roast rump of lamb with goats cheese potatoes with a rosemary jus.

Up can be booked for private and exclusive functions more details can be found on Their Website. - Reservations are essential.

Down opens daily for lunch and dinner.

This sophisticated Bar and Restaurant area has the best atmosphere and surroundings that any bar in Manchester has to offer and is by far the best of any of that outside of London. Contemporary music selections is definitely for the over 25s.

Black Leather couches and comfortable seating welcome you on arrival, additional seating frames the long modern bar. Their team of enthusiastic staff eagerly wait to serve you. An extensive choice is available ranging from glasses of Champagne, Cocktails, to a comprehensive choice of fine Wines.

Down's menu is less formal than that of up, with first courses like homemade soup served with crusty bread or chicken satay skewers and crunchy peanut dip, followed by beer battered fish, and chips served with mushy peas and tartare sauce; curry of the day served with basmati rice, poppadum and lime yoghurt sauce or bangers and mash with roasted onion gravy.

Seating is on two levels and is off the main bar and lounge area, allowing you to enjoy the vibrant atmosphere around you. Down's menu is also complemented with a blackboard listing freshly created dishes of the day.

America comes to Hale! Read all about it! Well, forgive the exclamations but for some of the inhabitants of Hale of more advanced years doesn't this invasion come as something of a surprise? Don't you believe it, they're down there getting stuck in with the rest.

Stuck into what? How does New England clam chowder, or The American garden salad sound to you? Or a Cobb salad? You didn't know it existed - wait until you hear this - Romaine lettuce, tomato, Monterey jack, smoked turkey, bacon, avocado and egg, all tossed in a tangy Russian dressing.

Americans like their steaks, it therefore follows that steaks are now big in Hale, and do I mean big? The Angus T-bone weighs in at 28 ozs, and that's before you get to the accompaniments. But the one that really caught my attention is The Guiltless Grill, with a 6 oz New York striploin, lamb cutlet, sausage, Canadian crispy bacon, egg, tomato, onion rings and thin fries. Some sort of legal connotation here?

Thanks to chains that shall remain shameless, the word burger has acquired a bad name in these parts, and many others too. No more! Try the The New Texas State size, two 8 oz burgers stacked to create a full 1 lb burger, char-grilled to order, on a sesame seed bun with tomato and pickle.

And what about brunch? Americans seem to be big on brunch, must be part of that "get up and go" buoyant approach to life, so go for the American with, paradoxically enough, Canadian bacon, eggs, hash browns and Dutch fried tomatoes. Then there's the classic eggs Benedict, made with an English muffin, Virginia ham and poached egg with Hollandaise. No decent breakfast table owing allegiance to America is complete without its maple pancake stack, a warm pile of fresh pancakes "drenched" in maple syrup, and in Hale meets America they do it just right.

All these - any many other - delights are served in a buzzy atmosphere with wooden floors that match the smart modern booth seating, amidst subtle lighting that somehow manages to create a relaxed atmosphere.

Pizza Express remains a hugely popular bedrock of casual eating. Its popularity is testimony to the fact that across the country, they have restaurants where you will always be guaranteed a good nosh, with children's tastes being well catered for.

Pizza Express has gone even more Roman, and following the success of that particular example of listening to their public have introduced Romana pizzas, including the scorching Etna and the hearty Siciliana.

These pizzas are now thinner, bigger and crispier, and if that sounds like a marketing line, it is. However, unlike many such lines, this one is true, and their quality is always consistent, though cleverly they have still managed to retain a homemade feel to their pizzas.

As an alternative to pizza, try their pollo pesto - cavatappi pasta with torn chicken breast, mushrooms, red onions and mozzarella in a creamy gruyere, parmesan and pesto sauce and finished with grana padano - or the niçoise salad with mixed leaves, yellowfin tuna, free range egg, green beans, potatoes and tomatoes with olives, anchovies, capers and house dressing.

Many of the big chains have come a long way, and Pizza Express is certainly amongst them. One of the first to be quoted on the Stock Exchange - in 1993 - Pizza Express is not a franchise operation and retains tight control through its own staff.

Their wine list - though short - contains some surprisingly good offerings, especially their intense Australian Chardonnay, and a big, full-bodied Merlot from Cusumano, Sicilia.

Man-Zen is a modern pan Asian restaurant in Ashley Road, Hale. Step in and you'll be greeted by a spacious interior done up in dark red, gold and white, art on the walls and comfortable dark brown furniture. Diners get an opportunity to treat themselves to an authentic selection of Chinese and Japanese dishes.

Consider starting your meal with a platter of assorted dim sum or skewered meat, crispy duck with pancakes, a classic Singapore laksa, or fried garlic chicken wings. Main course dishes encompass sliced roast pork with fresh mange tout, wok fried sea bass with a Thai sweet chilli sauce, and stir fried beef fillets with fresh asparagus. You could even create your meal by choosing a meat and sauce or vegetable of choice.

The wine list contains popular numbers from both the New and Old World and private parties, business meetings and events are catered for well.

The Hale Grill, part of the Blackhouse family, is a fulsome nod to that classic grill preoccupation - the glorious steak - alongside which runs a healthy obsession with the freshest of produce from our seas. They make no apology for offering a combination of popular requests and old favourites.

The key to their success lies in the quality of the ingredients; all of their beasty-based foods are sourced only from farmers whose wellies are splattered in honest, hormone-free muck, and are in possession of a healthy, ruddy-glow, a clear indicator of time spent chasing live stock around the pasture. Similarly, their sea-produce, while not exactly required to be still jumping up and down on the plate or intoning 'ahoy there matey' as proof of provenance is as fresh as the proverbial daisy. The quality of the meal is in the base produce - the chefs will lightly threaten the produce with a little heat and then arrange it - simply.

The Hale Grill drink selection includes wine, beers and a cocktail list that includes something for everyone.