"With only a limited choice of restaurants near The Lowry Theatre, it's important to find the right one. Cafe Rouge fits the bill for a quick pre-show bite to eat. The Baguette Poulet, for example, a chargrilled chicken baguette with oregano mayonnaise, was absolutely fantastic and great value for money. The Poulet Breton (strips of chicken breast, leeks & mushrooms sauteed with fresh herbs in a cream & white wine sauce served with herb mash) is also worth a mention.
The prices, especially the exhaustive wine list, are very reasonable - especially when compared to the overpriced Lime opposite. That said, the very friendly waiter talked me out of ordering the Classic Café Rouge 7 oz Steak Frites dish for a 20 oz T-bone Steak from the specials board instead. It was terrible; the taste of charcoal or fat, in which it had obviously been grilled, overwhelmed what should have been a very big tasty piece of meat - quantity over quality here and certainly not recommended. But really, I'm not sure if I was surprised - you can't really expect award-winning steaks in national chains as big as this - the Lowry branch itself is decorated in the usual Cafe Rouge false French bistro style yet is set in a huge retail unit that takes away all that Parisian intimacy. Overall, highly recommended for a quick bite or coffee, stay clear if its a top quality steak you're after though." - restaurants of manchester 22/9/07 (visited on a sat afternoon)
