It is that time of year again and the annual Tameside Food & Drink Festival is nearly upon us. If you have a favourite restaurant, café or take away it may be listed and you can vote for it by clicking here. Only one of my favourite Tameside restaurants is listed which is a pity. I can guarantee you there are other excellent places to eat in Tameside which are not on the list.
If I was a judge and the establishments pictured above were on the list this is how I would mark them.
Winner: The Fletchers Arms which can be found on Stockport Rd in Denton. The Fletchers is a traditional carvery which offers excellent value for money and fine food. Some of the staff can by a little snooty at times but all in all it is difficult to fault the Fletchers Arms.
Second: Flamin Nosh which is located on Stamford Street, Stalybridge. The food served at Flamin Nosh is excellent. It can be quite pricey and if you budget at around £70 for a decent meal for two including wine you will leave with not much change. Last time I was there, my quest to become vegetarian was aided by the fact they had run out of fillet steak, this could be excused however because it was fairly late on Saturday night and they had - so I was told, an exeptionally busy day. My only criticism of Flamin Nosh is that the portions are small (for a greedy oaf such as I anyway), but all in all Flamin Nosh get a thumbs up from me.
Third: San Remo Italian restaurant which is located on Manchester Rd, Denton. While not on par with some of the better Italian restaurants in Manchester or Cheshire, it is acceptable and you would not feel embarrassed to invite friends to this restaurant. The head waiter or he may even be the owner can be a bit nauseating at times with his Italian impression of Basil Faulty, but overall it is good. Midweek they have an ’early bird’ offer which is good value. The two dishes I strongly recommend at San Remo is the excellent Lemon Sole and the Salmon Tagliatelle. The Salmon Tagliatelle cannot be found in the printed menu but it is on the blackboard (or should that be chalkboard in these PC times?) on the wall.
The final entrant I would recommend is not somewhere which could be described as a high class pub/restaurant but it represents truly outstanding value for money. This venue is the Queens Arms on Guide Lane, Audenshaw. Their carvery is legendary because the food served is always fresh and wholesome and at £3.95 a go (before 5pm) it cannot be beaten.
22 comments:
Egon Ronay described vegetarian dishes as not being real food. The sooner this insane fad dies out the better.
Vegetarianism is not a fad - it is a way of life. I am really struggling to give up meat but I am sure sooner or later I will succeed. Eating dead animals is soooo 19th century. It is impossible, in my humble opinion, to love animals but at the same time eat them. However I did recently hear an amusing joke on this subject that made me laugh and went something this: If god did not want us to eat animals, why did he make them out of meat?
I wouldn't rate any of the above. As for value, have you tried the Windmill in Denton? The carvery there is only £3.
I like the Wagon and Horses on Mottram Road in Stalybridge. Also the Old Rectory is good, but I have heard stories about some of the Labour hierarchy getting up to no good there.
As for drink the Stalybridge Buffet Bar is great and I would recommend people do the Real Ale Trail. Andrea's at the Angel is a good laugh.
No surprise that we have a bland selection of English and European restaurants listed here! Why no Indian or Chinese? Chicken Tikka Massala is the nations favourite dish, but not obviously with the bigots who post on this site.
STD, I think there isn't any decent Indian or Chinese restaurants in Tameside. My favourite places to eat are not in Tameside, but in Manchester. Akbars is great as is Croma.
Try the Top Astley Dukinfield great traditional English meals,old fashioned Sunday dinner a speciality.
You can enjoy some traditional Beers from Robinson's brewery in Stockport,customers are friendly and you can get your local problems solved by your friendly local councillors who use this facility.
I LIKE A NICE BIG ROAST OF PIG AND BEEF
I don't ever eat out in Tameside, I always go into Manchester of Donatello's in Heaton Moor (which is verrrry nice indeed), but I will be sure to try some of the restaurants listed for a change next time I eat out.
Thanks for the reminder MRM, I completely forgot about The Windmill - and I was only in there a couple of weeks ago! The Windmill is decent carvery but it gets very busy at times. If you are impatient and don’t care for queuing check out the car park before going in. If the car is full move on to somewhere else because you will be in for a long wait.
My dear STD, the reason there is no Indian restaurants listed is because there are no Indian restaurants in Tameside. Despite calling themselves Indian restaurants they are all Pakistani or Bangladeshi, but that is not the reason I do not use them. Back in February 2008 I made a request on this very blog asking if anyone could recommend a non-Halal curry house in Tameside. Sadly nobody could so I dug out the Thompson Local and proceeded to ring around the various restaurants listed and sadly every single one only serves Halal. If the situation has changed anybody now knows of a Halal free ‘Indian’ restaurant in the area please do let me know. Until then I will continue to use the best curry house in Britain - The Great Kathmandu on Burton Rd, West Didsbury. The Kathmandu serves non-Halal Nepalese cuisine and is very highly rated amongst the chattering classes of Didsbury and Chorlton. I could imagine it being popular with some of our more outspoken contributors on this blog because what is hung up on the back wall? A carpet with embroidered swastikas around the edges - honestly!
Now Chinese food is something I do like, I could confidently say I am an MSG addict. Sadly Tameside has no really good Chinese restaurants - and I have tried the one near Hyde Market, the one above the Suzuki garage in Ashton, the ‘eat all you can’ buffet on Ashton Moss - which is definitely quantity over quality . The only one I use on an occasional basis is Phoenix City in Stalybridge. This restaurant has a fairly good value ‘early bird’ menu but the food is not authentic Chinese. Try asking for pak choi in oyster sauce as an extra and you get a blank look. Try asking for Chinese tea and you will get served liquid tar - which is a pity because when I go in a Chinese restaurant I always have green tea and if the tea is no good it is difficult to properly appreciate the food. If you want a good Chinese head to the Little Yang Sing on George St in Manchester. They serve all the regular things you would expect in Chinese restaurant as well as the dishes, which are far healthier, that Chinese people eat because believe me when I say the average Chinese person does not eat chicken fried rice or sweet and sour prawns etc.
I have never tried Donatello’s in Heaton Moor but I have passed it many times. Next time I am up that way I will check it out. If you are ever in Hale, give Piccolino’s a try - you won’t be disappointed. But be prepared to throw up at the antics of the pretentious Cheshire Set who are often found around there.
There is a vegitarian Indian on Oldham Road next to ASM cash and carry. - Its run by Indians, so there is an Indian that is non halal in Tameside
Thanks for the info Anon.
Its been confirmed that there are two Tory gangs now operating in Tameside The Bell end gang, and the Knighton crew.
A split may be on the cards with one gang with Liam Billington second in command in the Knighton crew making it clear he wants to be the leader.
Should Liam split and form his own gang do we have any suggested names for his gang?
The AIDS-ridden bummers?
Being a strong believer in traditional family values I wouldn't vote for sodomites. It's a lifestyle choice that is destructive to civilised society and leads nowhere.
Any members of the RSPCA should check out their gutless and feeble stance on the deliberate extreme cruelty of Halal slaughter. Their priority used to be preventing animal cruelty, now like so many other cowardly, hypocritical organisations it is political correctness. A token condemnation backed up by NO action is worse than useless. If you want to protest write and inform them you're cancelling your membership and explain why.
Try the Battered Fryer chippy on Caroline St in Stalybridge. Rag pudding, chips and their excellent gravy. Proper food.
Yorkshire Pud, what time is food served at The Astley?
I am totally anti-Halal but do love a good curry. It's good to know The Kathmandu in Didsbury serves excellent food without the cruelty. I will definitely go there soon.
Thanks TC.
Your Party's not anti-Halal. Cameron hasn't got the guts, character or integrity to stop this barbaric atrocity. There's only one Party that will; the 'Nazis' everyone loves to hate. (Boo, hiss... rather than DOING anything).
We can only assume that the Cuban Tapas restaurant in Hyde hasn't had a mention because it is so new! "El Cuba Libre" is located in the converted former function room above The Sportsman public house in Mottram road (next to Morrisons Supermarket); the present managers/owners opened early this year. Excellent and obviously all freshly prepared food with many vegetarian options. Very cosy and warm atmosphere, authentically produced food all made on the premises by genuine Cubans! As a bonus, The Sportsman boasts one of the best real ale bars in Tameside - don't let the outside appearance of the pub put you off visiting this wonderful pub and restaurant, the owners are working from inside to outside. I can assure you all that as finances become available from proceeds of the venture(s) they are to be re-invested in re-decoration of the property as a whole; Regardless of government mouth-pieces, the banks are not lending easily to small Businesses!
Thanks for the info Cangui and Geoff. I will check it out sometime this month and give you my opinion on it.
Akbars and Croma are to of the best restaurants in Manchester, that said the four here are also really good eating. For me San Remo would be at the top bus that's just because I enjoy Italian cuisine.
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