James Martin Manchester — Restaurant in Manchester

There isn't must to say about this. Our server was excellent and ask us a few times if everything was"O.K."? That was the problem, because all we could answer was "O.K." There was nothing much for us to complement about every dish. It was just bland, boring and underwhelming. There was nothing to write home about and nothing to come back for.

Update As requested by Team JMM. A more in depth review.

We've been coming to these taster menu nights for the 3rd year now ,'20, '22 now 2023 and it has gotten progressively worst since our first delightful tasting.

The Bread A good Focaccia. Immediate response was cold and slightly hard but not to the point of stale. On bitting into it, the slightly chewy texture was akin to a good Focaccia, but the surface was much tougher and way too salty giving no chance for the herbs to shine through.

Aged Venison Tartare You will have noticed from the pictures that all the courses were dressed or plated in a less than flamboyant nature. All the colours were dark, natural tones. Although giving an organic , farmhouse feel, it does loose it's attractiveness over the duration of the dinner and begins to get boring. In the lovely dim, lighting of the restaurant, the dishes began to look like just a splodge on the plate. Some gristle in the meat of the tartare was unwelcoming. Flavours were dull. Maybe to not over sensitise the taste buds on the first course, but it was uneventful. Verdict "O.K."

-Wild Mushroom on Toast Apart from the perfectly cooked yolk on top. In a blind test, I wouldn't know I was eating wild mushrooms. There was nothing of the intense mushroom flavour that I was expecting, instead just a mouth full of slightly salty and garlicky something. Verdict "O.K."

BBQ Bream This dish was confusing. BBQ turns out to be Bangladeshi Bream. The fish may have been barbecued, but the accompanying sauce was of a mild curry flavour, which I did like i must add. But the fish was overcooked to a point likened to a fish curry. Verdict "O.K."

Braised Ox Cheek 'Pastrami' The cheeks were soft and falling apart like a braised beef would feel in your mouth, but again, where were the 4hr braised in a red wine , herb, stock beefy flavours? It tasted like a beef cheek seared and boiled in water for 4hrs, with a half decent gravy on top. Verdict "O.K."

Ferrero Rocher O.K. you mimicked the taste of a Ferrero Rocher with ice cream. Bravo but boring. Just look at the plate. Next time, save time and effort. Unwrap a real Ferrero Rocher and add a scoop of ice cream on top because that's what it looks like. Verdict "O.K."

I hope I haven't been too harsh on the comments. In another setting or another restaurant of a lower calibre, this dinner would have gotten 4 stars or more. Or was I just expecting too much. I was eating with a group of 9 people on a late sitting. Maybe the bread had been left out too long and the sauces have lost it's flavour from being kept warm on the stove. I don't know because I don't know the intricacies of a fine dinnjng kitchen. What I do know was not one of us ended the dinner with a smiley face apart from when I suggested to go and...

Honestly.... Very disappointing indeed! Being a massive fan of James Martin (he's my hero ((well was)) and his style of cooking (I watch him on TV every weekend) my girlfriend secretly booked us into his restaurant for my birthday. We drove all the way from Portsmouth to Manchester for this let down too! Having now experienced what we had this evening I have to say that we were extremely disappointed to say the least! The starters were okay but the main course was something else... My girlfriend ordered the Fillet steak, medium cooked, and it came out charred beyond belief (see attached photo) Needless to say the outer meat was as dry as a bone and not tasty at all! Normally his steaks would be glistening with the butter they are finished in the pan with but not this steak for sure... Gutting! I had ordered the Salt Aged Yorkshire Duck served in miso caramel. Unfortunately whoever made the miso caramel obviously didn't keep an eye on it and it had caught in the pan and burnt, needless to say that the burnt taste was big in the caramel flavour, not something you want to taste at all, especially in such a restaurant. Caramel can be tricky to cook I understand that but this is a kitchen with pro's and so whoever cooked this obviously thought it tasted fine, or it wasn't tasted at all before serving it! In my opinion the steak should not have left the kitchen and the miso caramel should have been remade and not served as it had totally ruined such an amazing melt in the mouth duck breast! When we left, Kevin the Casino doorman asked if we had a good meal and he was shocked to hear that we hadn't so he called Charles Powell who is the customer relations executive. Charles listened to us and offered us a free lunch the next day (tomorrow) as compensation but unfortunately we have to head back to Portsmouth early in the morning and so it isn't possible to take him up on his offer, so we are leaving Manchester in the morning with a real bad experience in what was to be a really nice birthday surprise paid for by my girlfriend..... Gutted totally! In all fairness to Charles, he quickly vanished and came back with a signed chef apron with James' signature on it and a cookery book. I haven't checked to see if a steak recipe or miso caramel is in the book but if it is then I shall photocopy those pages and send to the chefs in the kitchen for some tips! Sorry James but this wasn't what was expected at all!

Stu & Gwen...

Unfortunately we were disappointed, we have visited previously for a meal and it was excellent but afternoon tea was below our expectations. We should have spoken up at the time but not once did we get asked if we were enjoying our food or if everything was to our satisfaction, we are generally not ones to complain anyway as we are easily pleased. We had to wait 35 minutes for our food to arrive which usually wouldn't bother us but it is a strict 1.5 hour slot and by 4.30 people were being moved with their drinks to the bar below in the casino area.I saw one lady complaining and asking to finish their drinks at least but they were moved regardless. Maybe we expected too much from the food after our last experience and also as we are fans of James Martin. I have to say that the presentation was beautiful and everywhere was spotless. We were also greeted and taken to our table by a very friendly and smiley lady. The waiter explained our options and when the food came he told us what each item was The food just didn't seem particularly fresh as the finger sandwiches were drying out on top, as if very slightly toasted and the sandwich buns were very hard, I couldn't actually bite one of them at all. The salmon filling in the finger sandwich however was delicious. The banana creme brulee was very nice. The spiced walnut cake was extremely dry, as was the macaron. I also didn't eat my scone as it was sort of salty? It seemed as if it had been prepared too far in advance and left in a warm environment. We enjoyed the glass of champagne and also the Earl grey tea. As I say I really don't like to leave negative reviews if I haven't spoken up at the time, myself and my partner didn't say anything to each other until we left as we were hoping the other one felt differently, we just left feeling...