"Having taken up an invite to visit Livebait to sample their new spring menu, we went with mixed expectations as we only review restaurants when they don't know our identity and, in all honesty, our experiences here in the past have been very hit and miss.

You can't help but get a buzz of excitement and anticipation when passing through the amazing grand gated entrance of the building into the restaurant and, despite good offerings from the likes of 110 Restaurant, Zouk and Vermilion, Livebait can confidently claim to be the only restaurant in Manchester which dedicates the menu solely (no pun intended) to fish and seafood dishes.

We were met by a very friendly waitress who promptly took us to our table after asking where within the restaurant we would like to sit. With the sun shining in Manchester, we chose a seat by one of the large windows which had a great view overlooking the bustling Albert Square and Town Hall.

The restaurant is very fresh and clean looking with the green colours of the porcelain bar tiles and seating booths working very well with the wooden flooring and table tops. This, along with subtle music, gives a nice relaxed atmosphere throughout the restaurant, which wasn't too full at 2pm (there was about 12 diners throughout which varied from business lunches to old timers having a catch up over Fish & Chips).

I was mulling over what to have for my main course, torn between the Whole Mediterranean Sea Bass with Honey Roasted Vegetables (£19.50) or the Roast Fillet of Cod served on bubble and squeak finished of with a veal reduction (£16.95). I chose the latter and was told by the waitress I had made a good choice.

My partner wasn't playing games and was straight in with an order of the Traditional Fish Pie (£12.95). To accompany our mains we ordered some sides Sautéed Mange tout (£3.75) and some Sautéed Spinach with Nutmeg(£3.75). We left the wine choice to our waitress and she picked out the Picpoul de Pinet Coteaux de Languedoc 2009/10 (£20.00 a bottle).

After a reasonable 15 minute wait for our starters and nearly a glass down each of the incredibly moorish Pinot (which was suitably picked out as it matched all our dishes perfectly), our starters arrived.

First the Prawn Cocktail (or was it?) wasn't in your usual Martini glass, instead being presented rather strangely, resembling more of group of prawns taking comfort on a lettuce leaf whilst hitching a ride on a large crouton.

My partner soon cleared the plate, proclaiming them to be up there with the best.

My scallops also lacked presentation, simply consisting of four Scallops, four cherry tomatoes and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. They tasted bland and lacked seasoning but they still went down well. I wasn't bowled over and would personally give them a scallop rating of 7/10.

The waitress came to take our empty plates and topped up the wine again, which was going down well.

The main dishes arrived again after a good 15 minute wait. I looked straight at the fish pie and was envious that I hadn't ordered it. It was huge and certainly produced a happy grin from my partner.

The Roast Fillet of Cod was placed in front of me and smelt terrific, producing that “sizzler effect” within the restaurant with people on other tables turning their heads to see what I had ordered.

I was dubious about how the veal reduction on Cod would work and whether or not it was a spring dish, either way it worked terrific.

At first I thought the cod was a little on the small side but, looking back, the portion size was just about right and it tasted very good.

My partner was equally impressed with their main, a tell tale sign was that I wasn't offered any. The side dishes of vegetables were also both really fresh and cooked just perfectly.

The waitress came to clear the empty plates again and got the big thumbs up, although I was still left with a small gap to fill so we ordered some desserts.

I went for the Lemon Drizzle Cake (£5.75) and my partner the Cheese Board (£7.50).

The Lemon Drizzle Cake was good, as you would expect, light with that sharp zingy taste giving me a sugar rush to send me skipping out of the restaurant... or was that the wine?

My partner polished off the cheese board but we did question the value for the amount of cheese on the plate. Although, after the huge fish pie, it was probably for the best.

All in all, we had a very enjoyable lunch at Livebait and will definitely be returning soon."

- restaurants of manchester 13/5/11 (visited on a thursday afternoon)