Mans Market — Restaurant in Leeds

I had my birthday brunch here over the weekend and I am really disappointed with how it went and wish I had booked elsewhere.

Firstly, the table set up was separated which I wasn’t told about which meant I was table hopping, they were nexto each other but not connected and completely divided the group. I’d of much rather they put a table between the seperated ones to join them together or have told me and I’d of looked at booking elsewhere.

Secondly the service was absolutely shocking, the lady who came round was quite abrupt throughout serving for the first half, told me “no you can’t have that” when trying to place drink orders rather than explaining why I couldn’t order a specific drink as it wasn’t included in the brunch which my friend explained after she’d left. Our first order didn’t come til 30 mins into the brunch, the second drink after that was 1hour 30 mins into the brunch- I asked the lady serving what was going on and she just said “we can’t do anything about it we’re busy” and shrugged her shoulders, at this point I found the manager and raised the issue where she apologised doubled up our orders and gave us an extended time of 15 mins which i was happy with as we had already had so much time wasted waiting around for drinks in the first place, 2 drinks in 1.5 hours is the worst serving service I’ve ever come accross and to blame them being super busy when it’s a controlled environment and should be used to such busy constant orders coming in and out this seems more of an internal issue on overbooking and not being able to keep up. There were a few drinks orders that were wrong too by giving alcohol to non alcoholic orders.

Food was ok, mine and my sisters order was wrong which I couldn’t even be bothered raising and just ate it, the tofu seemed undercooked too and meat portions were minimal. This brunch is more expensive than most other places and is the worst experience I’ve had to date.

I appreciate the manager trying to resolve our issues however it doesn’t take away from such an awful experience where I’ve had to leave my party and find staff multiple times to see what’s going on. A really hope this type orf issue isn’t a regular thing for other customers. My whole birthday brunch was a shamble.

EDIT: in response to your response, it was 27 minutes for our first order and 1.5 hours before I had to leave my table a second time to speak to the manager - a birthday brunch is always complimentary and unsure wether I’d of just paid an addition £10 for the upgrade however the rest of the guests still had an unpleasant experience and celebration. Your response in itself trying to bash the party of guests who booked and paid for such poor service is very telling. There were staff members arguing in front of our table and the quality of care to your guests who choose to spend their money with you was not ok. I had pre ordered so the food should of been correct and I actually stood with the gentleman who served the food reading out from the email with the guests names and on two ordered there was rice instead of noodles and one lady had boiled rice instead of egg, I am not writing this review for a mad laugh. Thanks for the response however you’ve managed to show me even further you don’t care and would rather just make up excuses and blame anyone but yourselves for this experience which 14 people had the same views as this review made today. Nobody was rude to the staff as the manager was helpful towards the end but made no difference to the experience so if making staff aware and asking for help is rude then you must be on a different planet. Absolutely...

I had been looking for halal Chinese restaurants in Leeds city centre to book lunch with a friend when I came across Mans Market. While several reputable options appeared online, Mans Market stood out, notably due to the positive recommendations from city-living guide and food reviewers on Instagram. Navigating their website was straightforward, with downloadable PDF menus and booking options easy to access. A separate halal menu is offered, with chicken dishes alongside pescatarian, vegetarian and vegan choices. I was especially impressed to see the note on the halal menu state that while the kitchen cannot be described as fully halal due to also preparing non-halal food within the vicinity, all the halal dishes are cooked and prepared completely separately. This level of transparency and accommodation is rare. Many restaurants advertise to offer halal food yet prepare with the same oil or utensils as non-halal items, thus deterring me, and likely other Muslims customers, from dining there. Mans Market’s clarity however gave me complete confidence to book a table for my friend and I. It is also worth noting that the restaurant welcomes walk-ins as well as bookings.

On the day of our visit, my friend and I were delayed, but I was able to easily contact the restaurant using the number listed on Google to push our booking back by half an hour. When we arrived, we were warmly greeted by the front-of-house hostess and shown to our table. Initially, we were seated at a rather cramped two-seater against the wall, but as the restaurant was quiet during lunchtime on a working weekday, we were able to move onto a larger table in the centre of the dining floor.

As first-time diners, we further appreciated being guided through Mans Market’s distinctive ordering system. Each dish is labelled with a number, which guests note on laminated order cards with whiteboard pens and then hang on pegs above the table. The same process is used for requesting drinks, additional dishes, or even the bill.

While browsing the menu, we were served prawn crackers with sweet and sour dipping sauce. Though reasonably priced at £3.50, the portion was much too big, and better suited for a group rather than only two people, so to avoid waste. For our main meal, I ordered the chicken chow mein, while my friend chose the hoisin chicken and broccoli. We also shared a portion of salt and pepper chips and ordered Diet Cokes. My chicken chow mein was good, but the noodles were much heavier and oilier than expected, detracting from the taste slightly. The hoisin chicken and broccoli, however, was incredible. Our salt and pepper chips were also good, though grew progressively saltier as we ate, suggesting they had not been evenly tossed prior to plating. Nevertheless, we enjoyed all our food, despite the ever so minor drawbacks, and tried to eat as much as we could given the generous size of the servings. Towards the end, we did have to request for takeaway boxes to take home what we were unable to finish

Overall, my friend and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit. The detailed interior design, inviting atmosphere and generous portions made for a lovely lunch outing. I look forward to returning to Mans Market in the near future to taste more...

Was expecting a nice meal out, but the bottomless brunch was a huge disappointment. The starters were covered in Chinese 5 spice, they were ok but nothing out of the ordinary to warrant such a hype over what they offer. The prawn cracker plate was huge but half of it was left uneaten as it had no flavour at all; also it was served with a watered down ketchup as a sauce which was as odd as anything. The main courses were a total disappointment, drowning in chilli sauce as otherwise the meat had little to no flavour. We had 2 hours to "enjoy" their menu but we left in about 30-40 minutes as it was genuinely not worth the time and money. After speaking with the manager it was made clear that if you didn't like your food but had any drinks whatsoever - tough luck. The servers were nice, which is honestly the only positive I take away from this experience. The manager's attitude of "if you don't like something that's your problem" was quite off putting especially when we very clearly didn't enjoy our food and left it. I suppose it would be a good place for groups that want to get drunk on a deal; otherwise don't bother. The price absolutely does not reflect the quality (again, unless you go there just to drink). Won't be returning, won't be recommending it to anyone either.

EDIT: To the manager who clearly needs a very serious lesson in customer service, ethics as well as truth telling. I'm shocked at what I've read, especially since you totally assumed the author of this review. First of, which of the 2 servers that came around to our table to collect an empty bottle and a glass felt "uneasy" and for what possible reason? This is purely absurd and a recuring theme in your rants to any bad reviews. I would also add that you are simply lying because we did tell the server we didn't like the food - I wonder why you left that bit out? Second of all, having read your responses to any of the negative reviews says more about you and the place than the people who are simply sharing their experience. Third, if each person eating 1/3 of their meal is considered "eating huge amounts" then fine, in your world - maybe. Absolutely, we didn't feel like handing over £100 in vouchers was adequate or warranted given how bad of an experience this was. So lucky for you, your place will get paid twice even though we feel it doesn't deserve one bit. Obviously nobody's daft enough to lose this much money as you categorically refused any refund to the original buyer. I guess we were too sober for your establishment after all. It seems like anyone who gives this place a negative review receive a rude, passive-aggressive rant in return. As for "our bad reviews", anyone can freely see what they are - I'm afraid you might be exaggerating quite a bit in an effort to make your rant and inaccuracies look more valid. The tone and the complete fabrications in your public response is shocking and beyond disgusting. As for your 5* reviews, a quick tip: next time you "educate your staff" on their importance, make sure you don't do it so openly in front of waiting customers. Well done sir, your reply just downgraded your service...