Mud Crab Cafe

Mud Crab sits in the centre of Didsbury Village, across Wilmslow Road from Expo Lounge. We went there for lunch, yesterday.
The menu is an eclectic mix of pizzas, burgers, meats and weekend brunch. They have a daily deal between noon and 7PM during which time any main course marked with ‘2’ next to it along with one of three specific starters is £11.95.
We got a capuccino and two teas to drink. We all went for the two course deal. We got a soup, two mid-​eastern taster platters, a chicken burger and two falafel burgers.
The mid-​eastern starter platters had an assortment of olives, humus, aubergine curry, a falafel and some bread. Yesterday’s soup was broccoli.
My chicken burger was fried and it tasted very well. However it was not crisp, which I expected it to be. The falafel burgers were very tasteful too and I think the falafel had more of a patty shape than the spherical shape.
All the burgers came with a generous helpinig of salted chips.
The staff were very good and the service was quick. We had a good experience this time and I wouldn’t mind going back. My only concern is, their menu doesn’t appeal to me that much (which is entirely a personal preference, I must point out) and therefore, in another two or three visits I may not have enough reasons to go to Mud Crab again.
As with everywhere else, I sincerely hope they maintain their levels of service and food preparation. One thing I would really like to see is an expanded menu with a few more burger options (lamb, sweet potato etc).

We sat in one of the booths but I wouldn’t say it was a comfortable dining experience.
The menu isn’t huge and the food is quirky american style, there’s pizza and burgers and other such treats, it’s definitely not somewhere to go if you’re on a diet.
The service was good but the food was average.
If I was visit again I’d probably only go for drinks.

Located in East Didsbury, the Mudcrab Café was the first decent burger place in the area, at least as far as I remember. We went there on a Friday afternoon, hence it was quiet. We ordered two of the dirty burgers — a double cheeseburger and a pulled pork topping. For one burger we ordered the normal chips, for the other we tried the sweet potato chips. We both preferred the normal ones. The burger was awesome: juicy meat, lots of tasty cheese, caramelised onions and super tasty pulled pork in BBQ sauce on top. The bun was an Italian style bread with herbs. Overall the food was as good as we remembered it from a few years ago. The service was very friendly as well.

This place leaves something to be desired in all aspects of the service and food.
Why would you put sweet chilli sauce on guacamole? Service is less than average. Server has nothing short of a bad attitude and impatience. Good luck when the place is less than half full making this place succeed! We are definitely not coming back ever as we are accustomed to American service standards :(

Had heard great things about mud crab and had never been, so when I needed to persuade a friend to move in with me, I thought there was no better place than somewhere with great food and a verrrry long cocktail list to help aid the decision.
On the main road in didsbury, we arrived and although not full, it was busy, we were asked to sit in the bar area for 5 mins while they sorted us a table. We had a look at the drinks menu and ordered before being lead to our table. The service was then a little slow at this point and we had to wait quite a while for our food order to be taken… Eventually I ordered a make your own burger with all sorts of extra additions. Although this can get quite pricey, I liked how I could make a unique burger to suit my slight love of spicy food. My friend ordered the hoisin duck pizza, you guessed it, duck, spring onions, hoisin Plum sauce, essentially a large crispy duck pancake.
The wait for food was about 20 mins, and we were both happy with our meals. The pizza came on a wooden board to keep it crisp, and it was obviously hand made and cooked with fresh ingredients. My friend was very happy with their choice !
My burger came and it was good, some of the extras such as pickles and jalapeños came separately and had clearly been sat out for a while as they were very dry.
The burger itself was fairly flavoursome and the chilli beef brisket was very good. I also ordered the chicken salt fries which came in a huge portion that we shared, very crispy and tasty.
Unfortunately I lost my photos of the drinks and meal due to a failed Iphone software update, but overall presentation was good. The staff were friendly but I think a little over stretched. Parking is limited so be prepared to have to walk a little to get there !
Overall I would go back and would recommend, especially since my friend said yes at the end of the meal thanks mud crab!

Un poco caro pero el personal atento y platos abundantes aunque en mi caso particular el Pulled Pork Sándwich demasiado grasiento. Baños limpios y con el detalle de ofrecer aparte de jabón, crema hidratante de manos.

I went here on Saturday night with a large group of 12 people. We tried to book in advance but were told they don’t take reservations on Saturday nights. Luckily when we turned up, they had enough room for us.
I had the house red wine to drink, which was nice but I have had better house reds in town.
For dinner I had the proscuitto and salami calzone with onion rings. The calzone was very tasty but it was very big. The presentation wasn’t the best. There were only three onion rings, which for £3 I thought wasn’t great value but they were very nice.
Most of my friends had the dirty burgers or trash burgers and said they were very tasty, and I think that I will have one next time I visit here. One friend had the steak and sweet potato salsa. I tasted the salsa and it was very nice.
I had the chocolate mud sundae for dessert which was chocolatey and creamy but not the best I’ve ever had. It was a nice end to the meal though.
For one glass of wine, main, side and dessert I paid £20 (which included a bit of a tip) which I thought was good value for a Saturday night meal.
Overall the experience was ok and I would go again if I was in Didsbury Village, although wouldn’t make a special trip out of town for it.

My office rolled into the Mud Crab for a Friday evening do. We were big fans of its former existence as the Grinch, so had high hopes.
Upon arrival we were told all our drinks *had* to go on the final bill (no paying at the bar) so that was a bad start — 20 people having to remember all the drinks over the course of an evening always courts controversy. That said, they were extremely obliging to our large (and mildly rowdy) group, with great friendly service.
The food is average. It tastes good, fills a spot and pleases everyone, but won’t leave a lasting memory. The portion size is generous without being intimidatingly huge. For large groups it’s a good venue, but I’d never eat here if there were less than 6 people — there are simply too many similar places that do it better nearby (see Southern Eleven or Solita). The cocktails are pretty good though, and the happy hour is good value.
A well deserved 3 stars. No major criticisms, but it doesn’t do anything to stand out from the crowd.

We headed here a few weeks ago to celebrate the end of a very long virus I’d been down with. It was finally gone so I wanted cocktails and dirty burgers to celebrate. I’d previously been to Mud Crab for a friend’s birthday earlier in the year and really enjoyed it however on this occasion it was a bit hit and miss.
The food was ok, my boyfriend polished off his huge burger and mountain of chips very quickly. My portion was also massive, you could easily share a meal between 2 here. I’ve uploaded a couple of photos to show exactly how generous they are with the chips! I enjoyed my peanut butter and fried egg burger (yes really!) but I didn’t leave me craving a return visit the way some other venues in Manchester have.
The desserts were again ok but nothing mind blowing. All that said it was very busy on the Friday night we went and we waited in the bar for while for a table as they don’t take bookings. I think it’s much more of a party/​friends night out than a date place.

Visited here for a late Sunday lunch after hearing a few of our friends talking about it, Mud Crab has a slightly faux diner feel to it with the menu consisting of burgers, hot sandwiches, steaks and ‘comfort foods’.
I wanted something fairly healthy so opted for aubergine and puy lentil cottage pie which ticked this box and was tasty into the bargain, particularly with the addition of a light grating of melty Parmesan on the mash. A side of greens would have been a welcome addition though as it felt a bit one dimensional on its own.
Husband chose the ‘second best burger’ which was a fairly classic double cheeseburger with gherkins and a generous side of crispy and perfectly salted fries. I had a sneaky bite and thought it was really good and was a decent size whilst still being able to pick it up without the whole thing falling apart. Kudos for asking how he wanted the burger cooking too.
We were both pretty full after this so skipped dessert, although it was a fairly small offering anyway and wasn’t particularly exciting.
Not the most original of places but pleasant enough and is probably a good option for large groups in the evening when you could take advantage of the large cocktail menu.

I love going out for lunch on a Sunday and nothing precedes it better than a nice walk in the countryside to walk up an appetite.
After a rather vigorous walk around the nearby botanical gardens, my wife and myself thought it would be easier to nip into Didsbury Village than the cooler and more independent West Didsbury district.
I find the village quite nice to wander around but feel there’s far too many chains than nicer independents and with this in mind thought we’d try the American diner themed Mudcrab after a few friends had been recently.
So Mudcrab was ok. Nothing too great, far too great to be nothing. It all seemed a bit faux-​American diner if the truth be known.
The menu talked a good game — very «hot right now» as Mugatu (from zoolander fame) would say.
Sexy burgers, pulled pork, stews etc — I had the «2^nd best cheeseburger» — tasty, obviously homemade and cooked well. Nice focaccia roll it was served in to.
My wife had the puy lentil and Aubergine cottage pie which was tasty but would get ¹⁄₁₀ for presentation — boring, lazy and nothing else on the plate with it.
Desserts sounded ok but nothing was massively inspiring us to get us in the mood — another day we may have had the Oreo cookies or churros doughnuts, maybe…
Great to see bottled Brooklyn beer on the menu, but definitely seemed like the token nod to its half arsed attempt to stay on theme as opposed to a «we care about the American craft beer revolution» pledge. Amstel, Morreti and the usual lacking in thought suspects were all there, probably through the same big deal with their drinks supplier.
Décor was bright but everything seemed a bit too clean and new, maybe like it had all been bought from ikea or ‘barsbynumbers sup​pli​ers​.com“
So ultimately Mud crab is a great idea, has fairly decent food but is let down by a softly softly approach to the concept. It’s like they know they don’t have to try too hard and people will accept it but that’s just my thoughts.
Overall I’d eat there again no worries. But I’d definitely not go out of my way to go there — SoLita nails this concept a 100 times over Mudcrab

We had a lunch stop here and as I write this somewhat later I cannot recall exactly what we had to eat, but it was satisfying. I drank a Black Sheep Ale from Black Sheep Brewery in Yorkshire, which was nice; unfortunately the rest of the beer selection looked so-​so. The cappuccino was all right.

Upon arriving, we had attentive staff who made a complete effort to make sure we were happy and carried this on throughout the evening!
We were a big party of 14 — highly demanding at times in regards to trying all the different drinks and courses but by gum it was good :)
As a surprise party for the final arrival, the staff member who met us was very cool at making sure we had a great place at the back of the restaurant where we couldn’t be seen!
We had this amazing fried chicken to share at the start between myself and Samuel M. It came in a classic ‘Friends’ style Chinese take away box — you know the one I mean! It had dipping sauce and fries too! I wish I could have eaten more of these… And taken the box home after…
I followed this with the crispy shredded duck salad — to die for! Sesame seeds, Japanese style cut beans, shredded carrot and the duck was lovely.
For the dessert I had the meringue — It was to die for. Unfortunately couldn’t finish because the bottom bit had a cheesecake base but the rest was amazing!
For the drinks, I wasn’t too keen on the cherry coke float… I think that’s just my personal taste though!
The guys around me had the burgers — they looked intense! A triple ½ pounder beef burger with ALL the trimmings — what a beast! And they all finished it! Wish I’d gone for that…
GO VISIT THIS PLACE!!!

Oh oh, forgot to mention — Mud Crab are currently handing out 20% discount vouchers on food when you visit. These are valid for a month, making Mud Crab more of a must if you live in the Didsbury area.