101 Brasserie & Bar

We went here for a meal before going to see a show in Manchester. We were really impressed with the decor, the restaurant is gorgeous. We had the 3 course meal Inc wine. I had the soup, it was hot and absolutely delicious, my husband had the fresh salmon, beautifully presented. Mains we both had burger, great quality. Desert cheesecake,not great. Staff were lovely.

Visited as part of a Groupon offer for afternoon tea, we were the only people in there for most of the visit! Service was fast and friendly (drink refills offered without prompting). The food was nice but nothing outstanding as afternoon tea goes - Selection of sandwiches and lots of cake, the scones were served warm and with lashings of clotted cream and jam, very tasty!

Had a meal there tonight to celebrate my g/f getting a first on her degree, she had an olive and bread starter I had garlic king prawns , six to be exact , got lots more olive's and bread , could have been a few more prawns....she had the £27 steak which she said was 'ok' I had the fish and chips , let down by the worst tarter sauce I've ever tasted chips were underdone , they said the sauce was out of a packet , expensive , £58 with a coke and a cider , 3 stars for the food and value , 4 for the staff who were efficient and pleasant

Externally, a handsome building, Inside more work needs to be done on the restaurant section to make it appealing to non-residents. The atmosphere is decidedly 'hotel' in there, bland and cold. The restaurant feels side-lined and unloved. But the food is very good. I began with a ham hock and Stornoway black pudding terrine. This had a tough full-flavored ham, made sweeter with the gentle Stornoway a delight with a wonderful cinnamon doughnut and poached apple. This was a complex little dish with a lot going, that through being led by the sturdy ham, never lost its integrity. Good start indeed. An Eggs Benedict starter came with sauce and eggs prepared to perfection. It was given the required edge and lift by the crispy bacon and the rocket. It was adored by my dining guest. The mains feature pork, the poor relation of the meat world. While chicken has come clucking back with a vengeance onto UK menus, pig is largely ignored. The grunters occasionally get billing in their belly pork variant, but that's about it. The problem with pork is keeping it moist. No problems here. my partners free range pork and apple was fluid flesh at its best. There was belly pork but also loin. Bunched on a fork with an exquisite apple butterscotch sauce plus pickled cabbage and crackling, it was a real winner. I want to rush back and have another go with that very soon. The fat in the belly was a very memorable. The 21 day matured Scottish rib-eye steak with Bearnaise sauce came medium rare as requested. It was more evidence of the skill and competence in the kitchen. The same could be said of the yogurt cheesecake. It had granola on top, an elegant yogurt sorbet, and raspberries, it had a lovely forgiving consistency, and was not - lots of brownie points here - too sweet. I loved the coriander that came with it too. Shame about the space that the restaurant finds itself crammed in. If that matched the cooking then this would be a proper destination.