The Hub - Manchester

As a large party, many of whom were staying at the hotel (this 'restaurant is in The Pendulum Hotel, not the Halls of Residence as stated on the address) and all of whom had been at the Conference Centre during the day, we opted to eat on site for the sake of simplicity. The website boasts a boring but well sized menu. After confirming our budget, we were instead presented with a set menu for £17.50/head, comprising of three courses (no drinks) for each of which we had three choices. Starter options were lamb koftas, bruschetta or veg soup. I opted for the koftas, but quickly changed my mind when they were served because they looked awful. I then had the bruschetta which turned out to be nice. Mains options were risotto, chicken in sauce or fish. I had the chicken and I could tell before my cutlery touched it that it was dry and hard. The potatoes were OK, but the sauce was super salty and did little to moisten the chicken. Dessert options were fruit salad, chocolate cake or 'sundae '. I opted for the sundae, which turned out to be 3 small scoops of vanilla ice cream in a bowl with some not quite defrosted but very fizzy melon chunks and raspberry sauce. Colleagues choosing other options were equally unimpressed. The service was a bit farcical, but then it often is with large groups so I won 't judge too harshly. A smile wouldn 't hurt though we were paying customers. The room itself was incredibly bland a typical Travelodge style breakfast hall. No wonder only one other party (equally horrified by the experience) was there besides us. We had our wine, purchased from the bar downstairs, comp 'ed when my manager complained about the terrible food. It wasn 't quite enough though, especially when we discovered that you can get two GOOD courses of food down the road for £11.50. Not recommended at all.

I'm really sorry to write negatively about having dinner in the Pendulum Bistro, after having such a great breakfast as part of the hotel deal. But I feel it would help you to know why it was so seriously below expectations. Someone else paid, so no I didn't complain at the time, as I didn't want to embarrass them, but the food is not good. It was a set menu and the staff were good at organising that. Although 2 guests were given the wrong menu and after ordering, had to do the whole thing again with the correct menu. The room is spacious and nicely furnished- well decorated for Christmas- and the staff are polite and attentive, but not over-bearing. There was no atmosphere on the 2 occasions I was in there not eating the first night though , because it was empty both times. The starters were OK- especially the soup. For the main- which comes on a bit of a grotty wooden board- just looked very sparse. There weren't a lot of chips and it was a strange mix of sweet potato, with the odd ordinary chip thrown in. The pork chop was pretty small and very dry. It also had a few pieces of green salad leaves on it. The pudding was a real let-down. it was advertised as an ice-cream sundae... I expected ice-cream, gooey sauce, sprinkles and cream..... I got rock-hard ice-cream with cream on the top. The chunks of salted caramel were very large and brittle and not overly palatable. One of our party was told they'd run out of the ice-cream REALLY!!!!!! as they handed him a cheesecake. We weren't even asked if we wanted coffee, probably because it wasn't included in the set menu, but I would have had one. Although to be fair, perhaps that was our host's decision not to have it. Given that this hotel represents such great value for money for bed and breakfast, I say all this as constructive feedback. You have a great restaurant, that doesn't seem to be meeting the needs of your customers and in my opinion, is poor value for money. I'd definitely come back and stay at the hotel and eat a hearty breakfast again, but I'd have to avoid the dinner. Sorry!

It was my goto place for food when I stayed in Manchester, it was simply fantastic. though the only problem was a limited menu.

This is a FANTASTIC light dinner experience! So under-promoted. It 's the place that serves the hotel breakfast and then opens quietly for dinner as an alternative to the better-hyped grill downstairs. Service is excellent. The menu is eclectic but enabled me to order the soup of the day always vegetarian and ALWAYS innovative and innovatively spiced], a gourmet garden cheeseburger with chips and slaw, and an ice cream/brownie dessert. Suddenly, an otherwise dull evening was made fresh and delightful. A lot of thought and careful preparation goes into this restaurant 's fare.

The breakfast is served buffet-style and is both hot and delicious. The sausage is especially tasty and there is a wide variety of choices available. The coffee is very flavorful, but I would have preferred a fresh pot of tea.