"Sitting on one of the busiest hubs in Manchester city centre, The Brasserie at the Mal is perfectly located for Piccadilly Station, the Gay Village, the main shopping street and the Apollo Theatre, (all a short walk away). It's a very welcome retreat from the hectic commuter hustle and bustle outside. Having recently undergone a refurbishment, the intimate restaurant is very tastefully decorated and wouldn't be too out of place in a top Parisian hotel.

For our visit, there was a superb 'Homegrown & Local Menu' on offer boasting Mancunian delights such as Bury Black Pudding, Manchester Tart and Eccles Cake amongst many others. As a Bury lad myself, I opted for the Black Pudding - the best I have ever tasted in a restaurant! I hope they keep that dish when their menu theme changes. At just £16.50 for 3 courses, it was also excellent value. That said, my Cheshire-reared T-Bone Steak came with a £4 supplement and no side's (I opted for the delicious Hand-Cut Chips at a hefty £3.25 extra). The steak itself was nice, although rather small and not worth the extra £7.25. That said, I would hardly complain at spending £23.75 in total on a 3 course meal of this quality. My partner opted for the Steak Frites off the Brasserie Menu (£15.50), whilst the trademark Mal Burger (£11.95) seemed to be popular with all the other diners in the restaurant - it looked equally as tasty and gave us another reason to revisit soon.

With an incredible wine list to choose from, including two from Manchester's Spanish twin city of Cordoba on the Homegrown & Local Menu, the feeling of being in a quality European restaurant is reinforced. The window blinds successfully block off any reminder that Station Approach is just outside and with the excellent French waiter who served us, you might as well be in Paris, Nice or the Alsace.

Desserts were interesting, I couldn't taste any rhubarb in my Rhubarb Crumble, although the Raspberries and Wild Berry Crumble I had seemingly been given was absolutely delicious! It turned out there had been a mix up in the kitchen but I certainly wasn't complaining - it was better than any Rhubarb Crumble could have been, plus they offered us free coffees to 'compensate' for the mistake. My partner's sorbets (again off the Brasserie Menu) were slightly expensive at £1.75 a ball - the Mixed Berry Sorbet and Passion Fruit Sorbets were out of this world, whilst the Lemon Sorbet was a bit too overpowering - almost like sucking a very bitter lemon. It made for some funny involuntary facial reactions nonetheless.

Give or take a few minor irritations - like the 10% service charge and then the 'opportunity' to leave a further gratuity when you pay by credit card, the many bottles of fine wine and champagne that surround you, acting as decoration, remind you that the Mal is all about quality. And that's what you get - quality steaks, quality wines and quality presentation. Certainly one of the best in town!" - Restaurants Of Manchester 20/10/07 (visited on a Saturday lunchtime)