The Alchemist Spinningfields — Restaurant in Manchester

The challenge with chain bars is that they're, well, chain bars. You walk in, you feel the branding, and you can practically taste the focus-grouped wallpaper. But when is a chain bar not a chain bar? The answer, as it turns out, is The Alchemist in Manchester.

Reason one: when it’s ‘trendy.’ Now, I hate the word trendy. It’s for people who aren’t trendy. Which means I’m not trendy, and you probably aren’t either. And let’s face it, neither is anyone who describes anything as trendy. But The Alchemist? It’s trendy in that effortless, "we don’t try too hard but we definitely try" way. You know, the sort of place where the lighting’s just dim enough to feel intimate but bright enough that you can still make eye contact with your date across a molecular cocktail.

Reason two: the service. Now, I’ve been to plenty of places where the staff are so cool they barely notice you exist. Here, though, they’re actually friendly. Chatty, even. The kind of friendly that makes you feel like you’re the only person who matters – though we both know that can’t possibly be true. Still, it’s a nice illusion to entertain for an hour or two. They smile, they laugh at your jokes, and you’ll leave thinking you’ve made a friend, even though they’ve probably forgotten your face the second you walk out the door. But it’s nice while it lasts.

Reason three: Manchester. It’s not just a city; it’s a state of mind. There’s something about Manchester’s gritty charm, its no-nonsense attitude, that transforms a bar like The Alchemist into something that feels like it belongs here. The city’s energy pulses through the place. Put The Alchemist in London, and it’d feel like every other chain bar in Shoreditch. But in Manchester? It’s got a swagger all its own. You can almost feel the weight of the city’s music scene, its footballing pride, its industrial past, pressing in through the walls. You’re not just in a bar – you’re in Manchester.

So, is The Alchemist a chain bar? Technically, yes. Does it feel like one? Absolutely not. And maybe that’s the real...

Flipping incredible! It's a was really lovely experience. We went on the 24th of May. We had the chorizo and cheese dough balls which were just the tastiest little things, and the calamari which was cooked to perfection, just perfectly soft and buttery; as a shared starter. Then for mains my partner had the active charcoal battered fish and chips, which looks like it's been burnt to get and back but tastes like fish and chips with a slight more sophisticated palette, you don't get that slightly too greasy taste off the fish. And I had the smokey barbeque pork, which was really tasty, it came with the most delicious pork crackling on the side and a really really tasty coleslaw, it had like chia seeds or something, it was one of those interesting and nice flavours that you can never quite put your finger on. It wasn't very smokey though and that's really what I was after when I ordered it so I did feel the tiniest bit let down there, it was still really tasty and I scoffed it right down. Then for dessert we shared the brownie which was just flirting with the idea of being gooey, it was served with a bit of salted caramel sauce and a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream. I capped off the evening with some chartreuse and a negroni, the negroni was nicely prepared. My partner had the frübe cocktail which is not my cup of tea but it's still so tasty I couldn't help but appreciate it. Now all of that was excellent and holds its own as a wonderful night but it wouldn't have been half the experience without the incredible staff, I mean I haven't got the faintest idea about how you would even go about enjoying such a roster of lovely, warm, and friendly human beings. Each person we interacted with was just so wonderful. The kind of people you just want to scoop up into your circle of best friends. All in all a lovely evening, thank you so much to...

Have been for drinks before. Eaten in the Leeds on, and the other one in Manchester. Was lovely. But I suggest not going to the Spinning fields one.

Nut allergy: We ordered humus for starter - it did not have a nuts allergy next it on the menu. When it came it had toppings on which weren't nut allergy safe. We asked for another plain. They brought it. But did not bring anything to dip in it (we couldn't have what came with the other humus as the crackers came already stuck into the humus so could have nuts on them. How were we to eat it, with a spoon?

Egg allergy: We asked for a plain burger, no sauce or anything on it. It turns up, with some kind of mayo on it. So we explain to them, they bring out an allergy book and explain that WE SHOULD have told them of any allergies. ....But if you order a plain burger with no sauce or anything ...you should get this?

Of course the waiting had enough of us by the time we needed the bill. We caught the eye of the the nearest waiter - was the one who'd been serving us throughout the meal, he looked at us (we were all clearly looking at him and gestured for the bill), he walked off to the furthest point of the whole restaurant and bar from us!

Then we managed to ask someone for the bill. They went to sort it. We wanted to know what was going on with it as it was taking ages and the waiting staff looked to be stood around the till confused. So we waved over and one of them shouted across the whole place to us.

In the end we got the bill. They had knocked a third off and the humus without us having to ask. But its still not worth eating there. For the price of the food, you'd expect half a decent service. Not be made to feel a pain , being spoken to and treated rudely by staff and made to feel that it was our fault for not...