Montpellier’s

I’m expecting Montpellier’s to undergo a lot of change in the very near future; recently taken over by SoLiTa, it will soon become their ‘holding bar’ for the swathes of people wanting to eat at their NQ branch. Until then, however, it continues to be a fairly standard sports bar with a few Stan Chow prints nodding towards the interior design of SoLiTa.
We recently went along to watch the league final, Liverpool vs. City. Despite being in Manchester, this was a predominantly Scouse crowd, and I felt more comfortable being with a Liverpool supporter than I have done in the past at bars such as Tib Street Tavern. There was one tense moment between the two sides but the bouncer quickly placed himself between and nothing kicked off again.
The bar downstairs, where the sport is shown, smelt very strongly of toilets and all in all feels like it could do with a bit of a spruce up. Despite this, the service behind the bar was really friendly and quickly made us forget that we were sitting in a cold basement to watch (what turned out to be) a disappointing match.
I couldn’t help but have a look at the vast food and drinks menu — and I mean vast. The food offerings go on for a while, with sandwiches, pies and burgers dominating; I’m sure some of it is tasty, but it’s really quite overwhelming at first glance.
It’s good to have a sports bar where you can get out in one piece, but I do wonder whether Montpellier’s can ever be more than this without a real, serious refresh.

Grabbed a liquid lunch here today. I’ve heard it is now owned by the guys behind Solita.
As the only patrons at the time we went (lunch time) it’s a quiet spot. If you are feeling hungover its probably ideal.
£5.60 for a couple of halves of Beaver Town Gamma Ray, I thought £5 at Cane and Grain was enough.
Theres not a great choice of beer for the craft fans. There seems to be a few food options in the sandwich area, starting around £7.
It’s a pleasant atmosphere, away from any hustle and bustle. Despite been down a back street, it tows the line between dinghy and low key.
May revisit for a proper lunch. But there is nothing dragging you back in.

Tucked away down a side street off the busy Thomas St. in Manchester’s busy NQ is this lovely hidden gem of a café bar.
I popped in here at the weekend for a few drinks and to accompany Neil C. whilst he watched the Arsenal match.
Theres plenty of seating upstairs and ample downstairs too! The service is quick, and even though it was a busy Saturday you’re never kept waiting at the bar.
This is the type of place that could very easily be a bar that you revisit time and time again.

I really want to love Montpellier’s. The place is so hidden away that it feels like a real hidden gem. Then you step inside and the interior looks so nice that you really feel like you’ve stumbled upon something really special. We popped in for lunch and Sparky had a chorizo omelette and I went for the croque monsieur.
Now, there was nothing wrong with the food per se but I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more variety in the lunchtime menu. My sandwich came and whilst it was nice, it was covered in a cheese sauce which just seemed a little bit excessive and turned it into a bit of an effort to finish. Sparky’s omelette was also nice, but a bit overly rich and he struggled to finish it.
The other downside was that whilst the room we were in (upstairs, overlooking the street) was really nice, there was something about the acoustics that meant we could barely hear each other but could hear everything everyone else was saying! Maybe the people sat around us were exceptionally loud, but it wasn’t really conducive to conversation.
TL;DR — Gorgeous hidden gem of a place, but with a few rough edges.

I had high hopes for this place as I do love a classic French bistro. Sadly though it was a little underwhelming.
Like some of the other reviews, the menus seem a little out of date as a couple of things we requested we were looked as with a quizzical expression from the staff, as if to say «Why the hell would you order something we don’t stock?» Sorry for assuming you’d have something that was on your menu.
The atmosphere was a little lacking, particularly in the room tucked away to the left of the entrance where we were seated.
We shared a platter of nibbles to start, which were reasonable priced and tast (£15 for 10 choices from memory) served with chutneys and warm bread. It was a reasonable way to start, although many of the options more Italian than French.
The main course selection was quite varied — ranging from omelettes and croq’s to cassoulets and stews.
I was keen to try the cassoulet, but since two others in our party also went for it, I instead went for a house special of confit duck, potato gratin and green beans. It was a pretty shocking plate of food. The duck was greasy and sloppy, and despite having a good understanding of the confit process, I still expect my duck skin to be crisped before serving. Not so here! The potatoes were undercooked and crunchy, and the sauce was a watery red wine gravy.
Thankfully one of the others who ordered the confit was my long suffering fiancé, with a small appetite. I waited patiently with my plate hardly touched until she declared she was done.
Swooping in with vigour, I don’t know why I expected hers to be any better. Virtually the same plate of food with overcooked beans, undercooked potatoes and greasy duck, but with the additional of a bland tomato-​y stew sauce and tough pork.
After our mains, plates were removed. The desert menu did look like it could redeem what had happened during the main course, but before we could investigate, the bill was thrust on our table along with a muttering of «you can have more if you want, but here’s your bill».
I know when I’m not welcome, so we paid the (rather expensive) bill, and wandered home to a tub of Haagen Dazs.

Montpellier’s café and bar is seriously hidden away down a back alley — it runs parallel with Thomas Street. If you were coming out of Cane & Grain (
) walk down the side street opposite and M’s is tucked away on the right hand side.
It’s very relaxed inside, no overbearing music or cacophony of noise — just people enjoying a drink or two.
The lounge bar has booth seating, which was perfect for enjoying a drink with friends. There’s a full bar and the cocktail lists about a dozen creations. We opted to share a bottle of white wine from their separate list and it was very nice.
They also have a food menu which includes a range of stews, omelettes, full plate pies and sharing boards. They serve brunch, oddly, until 6pm. When do people have lunch these days?!
Though we didn’t pop down there, the basement level has regular events on and you can hire it for a private party.
Tip: They have DJs playing on Fridays and Saturdays so the ‘relaxed’ atmosphere might diminish somewhat compared to other nights ;)

I came here for an impromptu bottle of wine with friends and ended up staying for a bite to eat given how nice the menu looked. My friends had the beef bourguignon and one of the menus great sounding selection of pies which they loved. I had one of the croques which was lovely. My only gripe would have been that the accompanying wedges were a bit McCain and unseasoned. But there was no faulting the staff or the venue, I’d just pie it next time ;)

I must admit it took us a while to find Montpellier’s which is tucked down a little back street in the Northern Quarter but it was worth the effort. The bar is very relaxed and I like the exposed brick and wooden tables. They have a good selection of high quality wine and live music in the basement bar later on in the week. We didn’t try the food which is a shame as the menu sounded quite interesting with a good selection of cassoulets, stews and French omelettes. I’m not sure that the French theme is that obvious as apart from the name and the food it just feels like a lot of other bars in the Northern Quarter. I would definitely head back to Montpellier’s for an after work drink or two.

I popped into Montpellier’s as a bit of a random choice really, mainly due to me walking the back streets of the NQ wanting a fairly light snack but somewhere I could possibly get an hour of work done at the same time. Attracted by the outside menu offering a late express lunch (to 4pm), I thought that it sounded good value — only to be told upon entry that they don’t do it anymore.
Having a quick scan through their menu, there was enough to make me want to stay with my main choices narrowed to their gourmet hotdogs or a sharing board. I went for the cheapest board at £6.95 which had a choice of 3 toppings — from vege, meat and cheese. So I went for the brie, merguez sausage and chicken and liver pâté. All of this comes with fresh warm bread, chutneys and a bit of a salad.
I’m giving Montpelier’s a 3 star rating today as there’s enough to make me want to go back to try it again but although I enjoyed the food on the plate, it wasn’t executed as well as I’d have hoped. Just little things really but the bread wasn’t fully baked enough, the pâté was still very fridge cold, the brie wasn’t as ripe as it should have been — just these little bits made it a 3 in my mind.
Overall it’s a cool venue and the girl serving me was very friendly which was cool. It was a shame that I realised I didn’t have any change to tip her after I’d paid on card. I’ll have to go back to eat again just to make up for that!

Not a bad place to watch the footie downstairs but pretty busy. Prices reasonable and we got a seat. Oh City won and Utd lost.

I’d been prejudiced against this place for no clear reason for a while, but found myself in here for some quick pre-​gig food on a Saturday. The space upstairs is a relaxed room for food and drinks, with a larger basement space — mostly used for showing sport.
This is actually a pretty nice bar as things go, although the range of beers is limited. We had a cassoulet-​style stew, a croque monsieur, and the halloumi salad. When they finally arrived, they were good size portions, and decent enough bar food. Nothing special but perfect for fueling up before a night out.
Oh, we also had some chips — mealy, raw-​tasting, they weren’t very nice.
Despite the food taking a long time to arrive, our waitress was pleasant.

Visited recently with two friends. Food very nice, we all had steak sandwiches which were excellent. The young waitress was lovely and very attentive. We had a 10% off card which we used off the total bill and another one was given to us as we left.
Would definately return.

I don’t know how you would ever find Montpellier’s if you weren’t looking for it, as it’s down an alley by the side of SoLIta. But it’s worth looking up because it has a lovely relaxing vibe. It’s the kind of place that has enough of a buzz to have some atmosphere but is quiet enough to sit (on a Saturday night!) and have a relaxed chat. Good music, too.
The menu did not look particularly exciting or good value (standard French fare) so I’m not sure I would try this place for dinner, but I would definitely return for a drink — they even accommodate my wimpy preference for light Mexican beers with several options so that’s a winner!

If you like bars where you can pull up a stool and have a drink while listening to really diverse music and speaking with friendly people then go to Montpellier’s Café & Bar and say hello to Craig and Rebecca. I spent two hours in this quaint bar and it was the highlight of my Manchester trip.
The beautiful bar is off the beaten path in the Northern Quarter and I was about to walk past it until I heard Shuggie Otis’ song «Strawberry Letter 23» by the Brothers Johnson playing. Since I follow the cardinal rule that thou shall not pass a bar that is playing the Brothers Johnson I went in and immediately felt like family. This is just a really cool nicely appointed bar frequented by well-​behaved young people who are eager to share stories about the United Kingdom and America. Craig, will play any song that you like, Rebecca will keep the drinks flowing and before you know it you will be among a crowd of people having a pretty cool time. I requested a couple of songs of Craig he played some of his favorites for me and before I knew it we were introducing one another great stuff we were unaware of.
Suggestion: ask Craig to play some blues or any of his favorite songs and grab a pad and pen to write down the song titles and sip slowly because you will want to hang here for a bit.
I highly recommend Montpellier’s Café & Bar