Manchester's Grill — Restaurant in Raleigh

Tried Manchester's for the first time and while the food was delicious, the experience overall was very disappointing. A friend of mine wanted to organize a get-together with a good-sized group of us, and Manchester's was the chosen location. She called up a week ago to make a reservation and was told that they didn't take reservations, so she told them to please note that a large group of us would be coming in right at open at noon the next Monday. We arrived at noon and were shown a general area in which to seat ourselves. We had a party of 16, and were the only ones in that part of the restaurant, but when we tried to push some tables together so we could all be together we were told that we couldn't do that. We ended up sitting at three different tables, far enough apart that we really couldn't converse or enjoy one another's company. After about 15 minutes of trying to figure out the table situation before giving up, we ordered. And then we sat for OVER AN HOUR waiting for our food!! We watched as numerous parties who had come into the restaurant after us received their food, and we hadn't even gotten so much as a side salad yet! We were all very hungry and getting frustrated at this point, but no one offered any word of explanation or apology. The food finally came and everyone liked it, but it was hard to really enjoy it with the lack of service. To top it all off, we all got an automatic 18% gratuity added to our bills, which the menu said applied to parties over 6. We weren't allowed to sit together as a party (I was at a table of 5), and yet we were charged an automatic gratuity, apparently for the pleasure of walking into the restaurant at the same time! I thought that was ridiculous, especially considering the poor service.

I realize that a large party coming in all at once is a tricky situation, but we did call ahead to try to mitigate that. Tricky situation or not, Manchester's handled it very poorly. I'll consider giving them another try eventually because the food was very good, but it won't be...

Overall Rating: 5.1/10 Located in a neatly arranged setting with a central bar, this grill offers a broad menu and adequate service but struggles with delivering memorable flavors in its dishes.

Atmosphere: 5.1/10 The restaurant's layout with the bar at the center and tables around it is visually pleasing and functional, presenting a basic but clean environment. However, it lacks distinctive features that might make the space stand out.

Service: 5.2/10 Service was friendly yet somewhat inefficient. The host had to clean the table upon arrival, and there was a noticeable delay before the waiter’s initial greeting, which occurred only when the order was ready to be placed from a diverse menu.

Food:

Cheese Pizza: 4.6/10 While the cheese and sauce were of good quality and tasty, the crust was disappointing, resembling an unsalted cracker and detracting from the overall enjoyment of the pizza. This mismatch between the quality of the toppings and the base left much to be desired. The dough tasted like a 1$ frozen pizza.

Bad Dog Burger: 5.1/10 An utterly average burger that neither impressed nor disappointed. The patty, though perfectly cooked, was bland, and the bun did nothing to elevate the dish.

Supreme Nachos: 5.4/10 These nachos showed potential but fell short in execution. The chips were adequately crispy, but the overall dish felt dry. The chili provided a pleasant sweetness, yet the combination of diced chicken and olives clashed rather than complemented each other.

Value: 5.6/10 Pricing was on the higher side, but the portions were generous. There's an expressed preference for smaller portions at a reduced price, which might better align the cost with the food quality and customer...

Food is good. Server is not friendly. Stood at the end of the long table with all the drinks and passed the drinks down one at a time, so all guests had to basically serve the other guests at the table. She couldn't be bothered to come to the sides or other end of the table to serve each drink. Odd. Manager, David Steadman even worse. We were sitting right next to a TV that was playing a basketball game. When the game went off, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer came on. My son, sister, and I were pleased, as we hadn't seen it in years due to streaming rights. A waiter came over and immediately changed the channel to a football game. My son asked if he could leave it on that channel, and he said okay. He changed it back, and the table next to us started laughing, saying we should have come there on a Wednesday night if we didn't want to see football. (It was Dec. 16th, Saturday night, and there were 2 other tables near by with children) The waiter went and had a group discussion with 2 servers and the manager. The manager came storming over with the remote, changed the channel back to football, looked at the other table and sarcastically said "I think we've all seen enough Christmas movies already.", laughed and turned and walked off. This restaurant isn't billed as a sports bar, as far as I know. Even if it is, he could have graciously come over and apologized, and explained why he was changing the channel back. The way he handled it was unacceptable. We will not be back to...