Canteena Bar + Grill — Restaurant in Trafford

I had just returned to Sale from a trip into Manchester on the tram with my eldest Son, and we were famished. It was about 1pm, and we fancied an all-day breakfast, we tried jackalope and the other eateries, but they were all full with a massive wait. I had never been to canteena, so I suggested we take a look as a last resort. Frankly, we should have just headed there to begin with. On entering, it was fairly quiet but not in an awkward, empty way. It was pleasing to step into a nice sized, airy restaurant with families and couples seated around comfortably. No one was shoved in on top of each other or forced to sit by the window to make them appear busy. We got to choose where to sit, and the lady in charge cleared a table for us, wiped it down, and gave us fresh everything before we sat down. She was super welcoming, smiley, and just overall a joy to be served by. It might seem odd but we were offered sparkling water and tap water which was so nice, in other places I've had to ask for just plain old tap water and it's often met with a face pull, grumble or similar like I'm a poor commoner. I'm not either, really. I just can't abide sparkling water and also refuse to pay extortionate rates for bottled water when tap water is more than good enough as a side to meals and drinks. To offer tap water so easily was just so refreshing, and it was done so without any judgement whatsoever. Just a little quirk of mine is all. Canteena doesn't do an all-day breakfast as it's a bar and grill place. Nonetheless, the menu had some fabulous dishes to tempt us. We ordered off the brunch menu, eggs florentine for me, and my son had the chimchurri steak and eggs. It was fabulous, just what we needed after a morning of suit shopping. The eggs oozed with perfection, the spinach was wilted to the right texture, and the hollindaise sauce was so soft and creamy I was left wanting more, all served on beautiful toasted muffin, and sourdough toast. My son virtually inhaled his and said his rump was cooked to perfection and went down amazingly with his eggs. I had the best pot of tea I've had in absolutely ages too, can't beat a beautiful brew, in my opinion. There was no rush to finish. Staff monitored us discreetly from a distance and didn't disturb us. How nice it was not to be asked how my meal was just as I've placed a forkful in my mouth! As I finished up my brew and my son was absorbed in his emails, I took in my surroundings more. The venue is clean, open, fresh, and welcoming. The other side of the restaurant had all the tables dressed up. Maybe a planned party was happening. It looked beautiful, intimate, and cosy, quite a hard task to achieve in such a big space, yet they had done it and some. The staff all walked around with purpose and smiles, not a sullen face to be seen considering they were working on a weekend. The room was filled with laughter from staff and customers, and it was just so pleasant to be comfortably sat amongst it all. You've guessed by now that I'm recommending you pop in and try the place for yourself, it's a real gem in a corner of Stanley Square, Sale. You won't be disappointed, and I shall be returning soon as possible to try more of the menu and maybe take them up on one of the great offers...

Bizarre experience last night. Five of us came in for a friend’s birthday meal, three of us had the steak frites deal and two had other mains. When we were discussing pudding we saw that there was a Thursday offer - buy any bottle of wine and get a complimentary cheese board. We thought this was great so ordered two bottles of wine (£30 each) to share, with some cheese. A waitress then comes over and says I’m sorry but my manager says you can’t have this deal as you’ve already had the steak deal!! Utterly ridiculous - at no point is it ever pointed out on the menu that you can’t order “another” offer, plus only three of us had the steaks anyway so why couldn’t our other two friends order a bottle of wine and cheese, if this was the case? My friend went to ask the manager for clarity and he was very dismissive and just said “if I let everyone order the deals, that’s all people would do”?! Don’t put them on the menu then!!! We decided to just get out bill and go elsewhere. After we asked for the bill, the poor waitress was sent over again and told us “he says he’ll honour it, just this once” 🤣🙈 what are you talking about?! We aren’t trying to pay with a discount voucher or take the mickey, we’re trying to order £60 of wine and to enjoy the cheese that comes with it as your very clear Thursday offer! Very strange, rude and bad business sense. The restaurant was quieting down at this point, we would have likely ordered coffees, maybe some more dessert, and settled in spending money for another hour or so. Instead we were made to feel like sneaky grabbers, trying to take advantage of a clearly stated menu 🤷‍♀️🤣 On the plus side the food we had was delicious & our waitress was great, not her fault. A real shame and left a very...

Absolutely phenomenal! From the moment we walked in the night was perfection. Karina and the front of house staff were super friendly, nothing was too much and we couldnt have faulted them. They were tentative to our special occasion and the service was exceptional. Now the food... Emiel, the head chef and his team turned out nothing less than unreal food! We had the king prawns and camembert starters that were amazing! The prawns were massive! And then the steaks. I am South African so a bit of a steak snob. I have not had steaks this good since I left South Africa! Fillet and Ribeye, cooked to absolute perfection!! They were like a hot knife through butter. The truffle mash and sweet potato fries were also delicious. As full as we were we acted like total pigs and shared a crème Brule. This did come in the normal 1inch deep ramekin, it came in a ramekin about 2.5 - 3 inches thick and it was delicious. Perfectly set and smooth. Last but not least, due to being pregnant i had a mocktail. This was no mocktail of fruit juice only, they used the Seedlip alcohol free gin that actually tastes like gin. The raspberry very berry was the exact refreshing drink i was after and ended up having two of them. Being a catering manager myself, I can always find something to improve on but I cannot fault the team or the evening. Everything was absolute perfection. This is was very special celebration evening for my husband and I and Im so glad that we chose Canteena and will...