Pork Sausages
Crowded House

Crowded House

626 Manchester Road, BL9 9SX, Bury, United Kingdom

Steak • Mexican • Seafood • British


"Well, it 's been a while since I 've reviewed a place but this little gem has certainly reawakened my vigour for it. Visited this evening as a kind of belated birthday celebration with my husband and son and very glad we did indeed. We happened upon this place a few weeks back (passing by and grabbing a cocktail after the days plans fell through and instantly took to the place and it 's wonderful staff and from the off had intentions to visit again an so finally did tonight), within seconds of seating ourself at the bar we were remembered by the owners, which to me shows great calibre on the customer service front. As someone with an exceptionally sweet tooth when it comes to alcohol it was our lucky day to find they had cocktails on 2for£10 and hell can the owner Jo mix like a minx (even doing us an off menu blend to account for tastes). The husband not being a big drinker happily sat at the bar chatting with staff and customers nursing his Peroni whilst me and my son dived headlong into the extensive classical and modern mixed cocktail list. Having been lured into great expectations (previously sampling delicious tasters) from Jo 's lovely husband Dave on our first brief visit we were definitely eagerly placed to dive into dinner tonight. Our lovely waitress Sian, stood patiently while we chopped and changed idea 's and orders, laughed with us, checked regularly everything was to our tastes as did the other young waitress that dropped drinks over to us. Both girls portraying the perfect mix of friendly and professional, a refreshing change to be served by people that clearly enjoy their working environment. And on to the food... we started with olives (and boy was it a substantial portion in comparison with some establishments weak efforts), hubby was first in there, impressed with the quality of marinade (too many places these days forget the little efforts like this thinking folk can 't differentiate something tipped out of a supermarket packet). After much debate (I had my eye on far too many dishes) choices were made, Hubby had the Filo Kefta, which had a light pastry, adequate spice and smoothly complimentary dip, for main he went with the day 's Special of Lamb with fondant potato, heritage carrots and a divinely velvety Jus which he thoroughly enjoyed (and he 's hard to please, being well versed himself and making a point of getting the lovely Chef Darren a glass of wine in appreciation). The lad had a Sirloin steak burger cooked medium rare and is now demanding we visit again soon. lol I went with the Gravlax to start, instantly aware of the clean flavour from its curing cutting through (I even brought a titbit home for my kitty to enjoy), as for main, I 'd initially had my mind on fish but upon discovering the owner Jo was also a blue steak lover I had to try one there and wow they really take care in choosing their suppliers because that was an A grade cut of meat, even my son (who prefers medium-rare) upon trying a slice said it was an exceptional piece of meat I had it with asparagus, no sauce and swapped out the chips for a feta/pepper bowl which worked perfectly as did the glass of Shiraz that Jo picked out to compliment it for me. Genuinely I can not pick fault (read through my other reviews I write honestly, pick fault where warranted and compliment where due). Had this lovely little find been in our usual local it would surely become a regular haunt ours for sure. I would 100% recommend this place and extend our gratitude to all the staff for making our entire visit memorable and perfect."

The Holestone

The Holestone

11 Main Street Parkgate, Ballyclare, United Kingdom

Kebab • Pizza • Asiatic • Mexican


"Came especially for the vegan menu (I’m vegetarian as I heard good things about it. Drove from Lisburn all the way to Parkgate and had 2 very enjoyable nights. First night I had the cauliflower popcorn (bit too salty for my liking and the sweet potato roulade (amazing! . My husband had the soup of the day (very nice and the risotto (little bit stodgy, looked as if cooked too quick . For dessert I had the apple/berry crumble which was very nice and husband had sticky toffee (also gorgeous! . Decaf oat latte’s at the end sealed the deal. Just delighted to be able to order a good decaf coffee! Next evening returned with a friend. I had the salted chilli stir fry (verrry salty, but that’s what it says on the tin and the cauliflower pie. The pie was a bit of a let down. The gravy was overbearing, essentially, the whole dish tasted of gravy. I would have preferred to get it in a dish on the side (like with the roulade to add the amount I prefer myself. Same desserts again this evening, both again very nice. Service was ok, young girls mainly and you could tell some were a bit inexperienced but that really didn’t impact us. Food came out super quick! I will def be back, altho I won’t be ordering the pie again and I hope next time I will be able to try the “scallops” as they were sold out both nights (sat 6pm and sun 7.30pm and they just sounded amazing! If your hesitating to go for the vegan menu, don’t!! It’s the best vegan offering I have encountered to date. I really hope they keep it up."