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Bringing authentic Thai cuisine to the heart of Manchester, the Royal Orchid on Charlotte Street uniquely fuses an Oriental ambience with a contemporary setting to give its patrons a wonderful dining experience. Located a short distance away from Portland Tower, the restaurant features a large dining space that combines modern furniture with Thai ornaments and a soft, warm colour scheme. The menu is also a creative blend of traditional fare with modern contemporary influences and is prepared from quality fresh ingredients.

The menu includes starter dishes of spicy Thai fish cakes, garlic spare ribs, king prawns in batter and Thai steamed mussels, guests can move onto mains of garlic and fresh ginger seafood, duck marinated in Thai brandy sauce and prawn stir-fried in green pepper and black bean sauce. These can be accompanied by brown or steamed Jasmine rice or with special noodles. Curry aficionados could choose from spicy Thai jungle curry or the massaman curry.

The restaurant also offers an extensive wine list with a selection of wines from around the world including a number of speciality Thai wines.

A casual European Asian influence is at work with the menu that is offered in the Brasserie. Expect to find crab and sweetcorn cakes with lobster bisque mayonnaise, lamb and almond koftas with tzatzki, or the celebrated Harvey Nichols charcuterie plate with mustard fruit chutney and grissini.

More substantial fare in the form of a 100% English beef burger with tomato jam, onion rings and hand cut chips, or seared sea trout with fennel 'slaw' and semi-dried tomato tapenade to finish, could precede a glorious plate of Eton mess knickerbocker glory.

By day, brunch, light lunch, tea and drinks are served from 10am until 6pm in the Second Floor Brasserie. By night, the Bar extends into the Brasserie to allow people to come up just to drink as well as enjoy the Brasserie-style menu from 5.30pm until 10.30pm.

There is a separate entrance on Cateaton Street, served by two express lifts, giving access to the Second Floor Restaurant, Bar and Brasserie This allows customers the convenience of direct entry during the day and after the store has closed.

Slug and Lettuce has a chain of almost a hundred bars spread across the country sharing a common love of serving down to earth, undemanding food and drink.

The group prides itself on offering dishes prepared using quality ingredients, and you should be attended on by attentive staff in a safe, welcoming and cheerful environment. The Slugs have something for anyone - breakfast for a lively start to the day, lunch for busy people, family meals or even a relaxing glass of wine to bring a tiring day to an end - all in a variety of modern and stylish settings.

The menu features old time English favourites such as Gloucestershire Old Spot sausages in buttered mash or fish pie made with Dartmouth smokehouse haddock, in a Devon cream and leek sauce, although dishes look to Europe and further afield to Asia for inspiration. A good way to start the enjoyment is by sharing platters of Southern fried chicken breast pieces, crispy potato wedges, garlic ciabatta strips, half a rack of BBQ pork ribs, wasabi vegetables with onion rings or some Greek mezze

Hearty steak pies, Thai curry with sticky jasmine rice or butternut squash with goats' cheese lasagne are amongst the more popular main dishes. Sandwiches or wraps - warm tortilla with chicken and Parmesan or aromatic duck in plum sauce - provide for those who prefer something lighter. They also serve burgers as well as tempting salads like salmon, asparagus or tomato and mozzarella. For children they have good old British standby sausage and mash, or pepper pasta and ketchup among other choices, all of which never fail to delight, particularly as some of them seem to have come out of a certain celebrity chef's Book of Forbidden Dishes.

Desserts appear in the form of raspberry biscotti, hot chocolate pudding or a creamy strawberry cheesesake. The wine list is well compiled and substantial. There are not less than seven French, three from Italy and some from Spain, Chile, Australia as well as New Zealand. Slug and Lettuce can cater for events including birthday parties, fashion shows, hen nights, wedding parties or just an enjoyable night out with a few friends.

London's fashionable King's Road was home to the first Henry J Bean's outlet way back in 1985, now a growing establishment spread across major metropolis' across the world. The style can be defined as typical American bar and grill with burgers, steaks and hot dogs in the forefront, complemented by an extensive array of cocktails and spirits.

Nachos, the jumbo Cadillac of starters with paprika, tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole, melted cheese and sour cream finished with jalapeño peppers, olives and tender loving care line up alongside calamari and crab claws. United Plates of America is no longer a typo and these big plates are specially designed to encourage sharing; there's Chicago board of trade, prairie platter and sears towers, which take in anything from half rack of barbecue ribs to Aberdeen Angus burger patties and Cajun steak strips.

The music continues to be eclipsed by American ideas with classics, live music and DJs spinning the wheels well into the early hours.