Simple

Simple is really good for a casual, relaxing place to eat. I don’t feel it’s as ‘hip’ as a lot of other NQ places, I just find it a really great space to grab a bite to eat and a few drinks.
On the occasion I ate here I ordered the whitebait for a starter and the mac and cheese with garlic bread as a main course.
The whitebait were incredible — and the mac and cheese was good too! If not a little oily at the bottom of the bowl.
Overall I like Simple. And i’m sure i’ll keep coming back here for casual eats and drinks.

Frequented Simple again and glad to say that the service was a lot better — so upped the rating to three stars!!!
Not tried the food as yet but it looks quite nice.

Northern Quarter always can surprise you with nice place for drink and bite to eat. This pub — restaurant is great. For my starter I got 3 mini burgers very big portion and very teasty. Main yummy wow. My favorite ribs with sticky BBQ flavor and big hunky chips double cook testing so great wit pint of lager. I can full recommended this place. Staff very friendly and happy to help.

Simple has recently had a bit of a refurb and has much more of an eaterie/​café feel than a bar now. The menu is mainly brunch/​lunch items with a few main dishes. We went there for brunch today and their breakfast was good value and very tasty. I also spotted that they have a happy from Mon-​Fri 5pm-​7pm when cocktails cost £5.

I’ve eaten here a few times and the food is so so. The burgers are amazing though!!! I’ve had fun sampling many of the cocktails, but the service is a little slow. Atmosphere is ok and I’ve never felt rushed. I’d highly recommend the cheesecake.

I have to confess, Simple is usually my date bar i.e. it’s the bar I always suggest for first meetings for online dates. If anyone I date in the future happens to read this, I’m sorry I’m not more imaginative, but it works so going to stick with it.
I’ve visited every evening on the week and whilst it is busier on Fridays and Saturdays, it has never been so busy that I’ve not been able to get a seat. And the music isn’t too loud. It has a good atmosphere and doesn’t seem to attract chavs. So really, an all round winner for a ‘date bar’. It would also work for drinks with friends/​loved one etc.
Today, I broke with tradition, and went for lunch with friends. This is the first time I have actually eaten here. I had a fish finger sandwich, which came with mushy peas and a side salad. I paid £1.50 extra to have sweet potato wedges in the side. I washed this down with a glass of Malbec, which was good. Overall, I paid about £15 all in which is reasonable for a Saturday lunchtime.
Because there were 9 of us they did add a compulsory service charge. I think quite a few places do this but was not made clear on booking, so just note this if booking for a large group.
I would eat here again but wouldn’t be a first choice. I will no doubt I will be back soon, however, for drinks.

I’ve never eaten here but popped in for cocktails on a few occasions. They’re 2 for £9 during happy hour which is a good deal and ideal for post-​work drinks if you work in the city centre. I would particularly recommend the amarettini, the lychee high tea, and ‘punching above your weight’. The fries are also delicious — thin, crispy and salty.

Took quite a while for food to come after ordering so if you’re in a hurry this isn’t the place for you.
Was also slightly disappointed that my salad wasn’t as fresh as it could have been (some pretty brown in fact) and my fish fingers tasted frozen and were below what I would expect for the price I paid — I was disappointed with these to say the least (see picture to make up your own mind).
The servers were, however, attentive and polite and apologised when feedback was given so top marks there :)
Don’t think id be heading back in a hurry but I did once have a great roast there, so I’ll leave you to make up your own mind.

We visited Simple as part of my search to find the best veggie roast dinner in Manchester. In short, you’ll get a better experience elsewhere (e.g. Blue Pig), although the food itself was fine.
I’ve always been kind of disappointed whenever I’ve visited Simple and this visit was no exception.
Food: Meh, alright. At least they have a veggie roast option, which is what brings them up from the two stars I kind of want to give them. Three potatoes is pretty snide and the veg tasted a bit Tesco-​ish. But it was fine, the nut roast was salty but still nice.
Service: Some of the staff seem friendly enough, but the service is not what you expect given the competition in the area. The server who delivered our food dashed the plates on the table and sodded off rapid without a word to us. I had to chase her back to the bar to get some sauces. She was pretty, pretty poor, but the other staff seemed nice. the food took a while to come considering the place was mostly empty.
Atmosphere: I think this is the worst thing about this place. The music was quite loud for a chilled Sunday afternoon. Yeah, I think that’s it, it just didn’t feel relaxing at all, and felt more like the kind of ambience you’d want on a Saturday evening.
In summary, not awful but there’s just too many brilliant places nearby to bother with Simple.

we shared a sandwich as they looked huggge our waitress was very attentive got us tap waters, sauces etc, she said she’d get the chef to split it over two plates — perfect for smaller appetites — had this as a late brunch and tidied us over til dinner time :)

Great interiors but terrible food. They sent my meal to the wrong table, microwaved it and gave it to me. Coffee was also terrible.

I had been contemplating eating at Simple for quite some time and finally decided to try it. We were a table for two eating in a fairly empty restaurant on a Wednesday night. The staff were keen to take our order but having glanced over the menu I couldn’t decide what I felt like. So, as I often do, I asked the young girl serving us — What do you think is better — the sea bass or the pie?
Hindsight screams that from her response we should have stood up and left. Instead of making up an answer to sell one of the items to me, the girl said that she doesn’t eat fish or chicken (the main ingredient in the pie) and she really didn’t know what I should have. Fair enough, she doesn’t eat it, but she does at least see the items leave the kitchen and should therefore have some sort of professional opinion on the food.
I decided to go for the sea bass, while my dinner companion chose the bean burger and the halloumi bruschetta as an accompaniment. It didn’t take long for our food to arrive and a large plate of food was placed in front of me. The description for the sea bass was a pan-​fried fillet served with roasted vegetables and a tomato and basil sauce. Let’s start with the fish. It wasn’t badly cooked but was very under seasoned and the skin was soggy. It was then plastered in a red gloop that I presume was the tomato and basil sauce. It was the same sauce used to drench the halloumi bruschetta. Under the fish sat a large pile of the roasted vegetables that would probably have been better described as chewy sponges. Aubergine is a tricky vegetable to cook but if you’re going to serve it in your restaurant then you should probably make sure it is done well. There were a few potatoes floating around on the plate too but sadly they were over cooked and tasteless. The overall dish lacked any real flavour. It didn’t taste bad — it just didn’t taste at all.
The halloumi bruschetta was a bit of a disaster too for essentially the same reasons as the fish. It would appear that the roasted sponges and red sauce are used on many dishes across their menu. Well at least two out of the three that we ordered. The bean burger wasn’t overwhelming either but the chips were given the a-​okay.
I had been expecting a lot more from Simple and was disappointed with the outcome. I might come back for a drink sometime but otherwise I don’t plan on eating here.

We decided to visit Simple Bar for a couple of drinks after work with a couple of friends.
We had a voucher for a bottle of house wine for £8.95, so i took the voucher to the bar where they didn’t seem interested in serving me even though i was the only person at the bar?
I passed the voucher over to the bar man and he asked me which wine i wanted, white rose or red, and how many glasses, i took the wine over to the table to find that all the wine glasses were dirty including ladies lipstick on one of them, so i took them back and asked for clean glasses, he gave me clean wine glasses but didn’t say anything, kinda rude really.
The whole place was lacking atmosphere and i don’t think we will be returning in a hurry!

Would you look at that — Simple has earned an extra star!
A few of my friends were after a Sunday drinking session but we thought we should get some food to line our stomachs beforehand. Simple has become a firm favourite among my colleagues so I went along, not expecting a whole lot but still looking forward to my meal.
Although I have heard amazing things about the french-​dip style sandwich, I didn’t want something so heavy so went for the halloumi, pesto and sundried tomato ciabatta instead. The bread was a little bit greasy but, on the whole, it was actually a really tasty sandwich; a little bit salty with a hit of sweetness from the tomato. At £6.95 with fries and salad on the side, it wasn’t to be sniffed at.
My companions had the beef Sunday lunch — which was a super generous portion — and the chicken, potato and mange tout salad. Now this is what I am having next time I go in as it looked and smelled delicious; garlic and rosemary butter, new potatoes, a few leaves, chicken and warm mange tout. An actually filling salad option!
Service was swift and friendly, leaving us with smiling faces and on to the next bar.

This one needs a bit of context before I get on with a set of constructive feedback aimed as much at the great team behind simple as their future customers.
Unilocal organised the first recent Manchester community event at Simple yesterday and we were all invited to come and sample their new Christmas menu. This follows from a bout of refurbishment to give this long-​standing bar a bit of a rejuvenating cure and a change of management (which was probably needed too).
We had a great cockatil on arrival, like a boozy apple schnitzel, nice warm and spicy… rhum based. Loved it. I almost felt like we shoudl have had a scoup of ice cream with it. It’s a mulled-​rhum cocktail and it doesn’t get more christmassy. Anyway, we went on enjoying the company of fellow Unilocalers and were offered to sample the christmas menu which comes at 17.95 for 2 courses of 20.95 for 3 courses.
We were able to sample ALL the dishes on offer by way of having portions to share with the rest of the table. The main thing for me is that it was definitely designed as a non-​sharing meal. Dividing a small, thick soup between 3 is not ideal. Unfortunately they didn’t change the portion-​on-​woodplank format for the mains and dessert so we had to make do with our cutting judgement.
The food itself was nice. A few tweaks are needed in my view. The Beef stroganof was too salty and the flavours not really elegant. The meat was not really that tender either. The couscous with praw (or was it a scallop?) was nice, the soup was ok but the beetroot crisp were drowned by the sweet parsnip.
The mains offer was made of pork with cracklin, turkey with stuffing (both served with gravy) and a steak of Marlin served with a chilli sauce. Roasties, pigs in blanket, red cabbage, sprouts, carrots, parnsips all figure on the veggie sides. We also sampled the vegetarian main which turned out to be a tasty enough but over goaty and messy looking moussaka.
Without going into details, it all was nice enough considering the cost of the meal. I think if the chef really applies himself he can do better though. Attention to detail can bring their food to a higher level. The desserts were really nice.
Overall we had a great time, one mention needs to go to the team who were always patient and professional and were always eager to help. Please guys, keep it that way, service is 50% of a happy customer.
See you soon

Had a preview of their Christmas 2013 menu and a great introduction to the Manchester Unilocal community. There are some great items on the menu, the standouts were the white chocolate cheesecake, vegetarian bake and the beef and blue cheese starter.

(Note: This review is for brunch only.)
Simple is at the top of my list.
It tops my list of worst pancakes I have ever eaten in my entire life. Actually, it holds the top two positions because unfortunately my boyfriend and I both ordered different pancakes (banana-​chocolate and apple-​cinnamon). I have eaten pancakes in America for over two decades and I have no idea what these dense, greasy disks of batter are trying to replicate, but please, please do not think that these are American pancakes.
My boyfriend and I came here for brunch last weekend after some online research listed it as a top new brunch spot in the UK (
— I will never trust Stylist again). The fact that this place is on the same list as my local favourites Dishoom and Caravan makes me question whether Stylist actually visited any of these restaurants, especially the ones outside of London. (My bet is no.) After waiting about 25 minutes for a waiter to take our orders, he appeared and we ordered the apple-​cinnamon pancakes with a side of eggs and sausage, the banana-​chocolate chip pancakes with a side of eggs and bacon, and two white Americanos. After waiting another 25 minutes or so for the coffee and food to arrive, I looked at the plate set down before me with trepidation. As the pictures demonstrate, the eggs were disturbingly dry and overcooked, and the pancakes were not what we anticipated. To start, the banana pancakes were dosed with cheap chocolate syrup, not studded with chocolate chips as advertised. Secondly, the accompanying «maple syrup» was not, in fact, maple syrup, but some sort of sweet artificial substitute. Advertising this poison as maple syrup should be a crime.
Despite all of this, the actual pancakes themselves were the worst part. Leaving a greasy film on the plate and in my stomach, they tasted like cheap oil and flour. I question whether someone in the kitchen accidentally knocked a bottle of oil into a sitting bowl of pancake batter without realising. That would make me feel ever-​so-​slightly better, knowing that the grease factor was accidental.
Once we had begrudgingly eaten our breakfasts, we had to wait another 20 minutes to get someone’s attention for the bill so we could leave, which we were desperate to do at this point. Overall, the poor service and atrocious quality of the food will haunt my memories of Manchester for years to come. Stay away. Try Cornerhouse for brunch or NTP next door for coffee instead.
(Visited October 2013)

Hear ye all New Yawkers, beware the NYC Dog, which had such «negative» snap that it resembled the consistency of sea urchin. As for its flavor, I would imagine a hot dog made by Tang to taste like this. And let’s not forgot its half-​frozen bun to boot. Just the worst, rather than the wurst. Only the regret was edible. Other than that, seemed a friendly, low-​key joint, and the burger was at least edible, though don’t expect Peter Luger beef quality (or even Five Guys).

And (at the risk of sounding like a stuck record) how has it taken me so long to have a proper savoury meal here?
My mum and I split a couple of sandwiches for lunch, and these doorstops were already five star in my book before I’d tasted them. Why? Served with chips as standard, less than £6, dished up on foccacia. Heavens, how good. And when they turned up they did not disappoint. Piled high with sautéed veggies like Cajun spiced courgettes and caramelised onion atop creamy goat’s cheese, or aubergine, spinach and mushroom cuddling up to vegan mozzarella, crisp and non greasy bread, and those chips. Those CHIPS! Skins on, crunched to perfection, fluffy inside. I wanted every meal to be served with them.
We treated ourselves to their Bex T-​approved brownie for desert, served warm with some vanilla-​pod laden ice cream. I asked for chocolate sauce on it as an extra and our lovely, sweet and attentive server did not disappoint. Oh and it’s always good to have a bit of banter — when a member of staff tells you they love how bright and happy you seem, then say they’re not sure they could cope with it when you assure them you’re like that at 6.30am too (I am, it’s pretty disgusting), you know you’re in the company of good people. One of my favourite moments was overhearing, ‘Did that song just have a swear word in it? My god!’ in relation to what was on the juke at the time.
We’re back for a New York waffle and French toast breakfast tomorrow; await yet another update with baited breath!

A quick update to my review of Simple from a month or so ago.
I’ve upgraded it from a 4 to a 5! I really do love the place, and although children frighten the life out of me I want Simple to have my Babies :)
Last night myself and Mrs Z popped in for a drink before hopping on the bus home after the event at Epernay. I love Bourbon, all brands even the cheepy supermarket own brand stuff (it’s still made in Kentucky so it must be good right?) Anyway i normally have either a straight Bourbon with ice or a Bourbon and Coke no ice. Last night though i was feeling a little refined after the Champers tasting so i opted for a Mint Julep (possibly the only Bourbon based cocktail i’ve never tried). And it blew my mind! it was so Bourboney (real word, in my world) and minty and icy and lovely. I was reliably informed by our very friendly Bar Man that i was their first customer to be served a Mint Julep in a traditional Julep cup (think metal glass) and that made me feel all warm and special :)
Mrs Z had an Espresso Martini and that too was a taste to behold, it was surely witchcraft that turned a hot Espresso into a very cold coffee tasting Martini with finely placed coffee beans placed with perfection on the froth on the top.
I would be very drunk and very soon poor if i lived in the Northern Quarter. But oh so very happy :)