"The dining room at The Alchemist is very nice, minimal, yet funky. I loved the salt and pepper pots, presented in little chemical bottles, ala the alchemy theme. The area is very cramped though, with tables sitting literally a foot apart, with just enough room for a wine bottle holder between them, and you had to squeeze to get in and out. Whilst this wasn't a problem for brunch, due to the dining room being fairly empty, I'd imagine that it would be very loud and quite claustrophobic in the evening, so you're not likely to get an intimate dinner here. It is a bar though for the main part, afterall.
Service was very friendly when it arrived, but it must be said that it was generally very slow and quite inattentive, with a few staff chatting and gathering in groups, and we had to call somebody over to order after a lengthy wait. Other than that, the guys were really good and seemed happy to help. It's worth pointing out that we returned for cocktails later that evening, and sat outside. Service was on that occasion again very friendly and, this time, very prompt. Perhaps the staff needed a morning coffee as much as we did earlier in the day.
We had the Eggs Benedict, which were perfectly soft poached, on really nice salty ham, with a smooth Hollandaise, all for a reasonable £6.75. Also, we went for the Mushrooms On Toast, an absolute steal at £4, so just £6.50 for breakfast including coffee. The Portabello mushrooms were very well cooked, well seasoned, with plenty of garlic, on nice crusty bread, both in ample portions. Our coffees were also cracking too, and it makes you wonder why people bother with the coffee chains to be honest. Where can you get a good, freshly cooked breakfast in town for £6.50? Here it seems. Whilst it was only brunch, still, the whole bill came to about £16, which is brilliant. You pay about that much for a couple of sandwiches and coffees in the big coffee shop chains.
I admit to being pleasantly surprised to be honest. I don't think I'd fancy going back for dinner, as again, this is really a bar, with a small eating area. I can't think of many places in town where you can get such a good brunch/lunch for such prices to be fair, and all for such good value. As for the cocktails, well, I'll save that for the ManchesterBars.com site. Maybe I'll get an Smokey Old Fashioned bourbon cocktail with the Eggs Benedict next time though." - Chris Handley, Salford ~ TRUSTED REVIEWER (8/8/2011 ~ visited on a Saturday morning)
food |
price |
service |
smartness |
overall |
|
|
|
|
|
"very well cooked" |
"a steal" |
"inattentive but friendly" |
"minimal, yet funky" |
"pleasantly surprised" |
