"Tempus in the Palace Hotel, is a visually appealing restaurant, with modern touches and Victorian class meeting to form an unusual yet striking dining room. It is a shame that the same cannot be said about the food. Where do I start... we went to Tempus for a pre-theatre meal. We booked the table for 6pm, thinking it would be long enough as the show didn't start until 7.30 and the theatre is opposite. It took nearly and hour and a half to have just two courses. Although the waiting staff were polite and helpful, the food took far to long to arrive. The pre-theatre menu was £12.95 for two courses which sounds very reasonable, and on looking at the lavish restaurant, you would assume you will be getting a good quality meal. I ordered the Minestrone for starter, 'minestrone' applying loosely here. It tasted like tinned tomato soup with a few cherry tomatoes and undercooked beans dropped in. The portion size was horrendous, with my tiny bowl being only a third full, I felt an Oliver moment coming on. I thought 'at least the main can't be any worse'... how wrong I was. The Belly Pork did not have a crisp, crackling edge with succulent well cooked meat. No, it was a soggy lump of 80% fat, served with two roast onions and a couple of roast potatoes. Part of my main was also missing and, on complaining, I was offered nothing more than a free coffee. This restaurant is punching above its weight, with a pricey wine list reflecting its delusions of grandeur. Shame the culinary competence would match little more than a bottle of Lambrini, never mind fine French wines. Just one more note, on ordering one of their bottles of fine wine, it came with a screw cap. There is something highly dissatisfying about having the waiter unscrew a cap and glug wine into your glass. I won't be returning to Tempus. Shame, because with such a beautiful dining space, improved culinary talent or kitchen management could turn this place into something quite special." - claudia, manchester - TRUSTED REVIEWER since Feb 2009 (4/5/09 visited on a saturday evening)

"The Palace Hotel's restaurant, Tempus, is one of the most-breathtaking dining arenas in Manchester and the location is perfect, nestled on the corner of Oxford Road and Whitworth Street, opposite the Palace Theatre and Cornerhouse Cinema. We opted for the pre-theatre menu, which at two courses for £12.95 was remarkable value for money for the quality of food on offer. The Chicken Breast was cooked to perfection and the portion sizes were very generous, especially for the price.

As pointed out by other reviewers, the only grumble was that the warm bread was too hard and service, which otherwise was excellent, could have been faster, especially for those leaving it last minute to eat before the theatre. But, to be honest, these were only minor gripes that would certainly not put you off revisiting.

The various cocktails we enjoyed from the exhaustive Martini menu, which is very well priced, were so enjoyable we almost forget we had a show to go to. And with the Palace Theatre, Bridgewater Hall, Dancehouse, Green Room, Cornerhouse and Academy all on the doorstep, for pre-show dining in this area, you'd struggle to find anywhere better than Tempus." - restaurants of manchester 15/7/08 (visited on a monday evening)

"During the special offer time, we'd certainly recommend a visit to Tempus as it was excellent value for money for the quality of dishes on offer. If anything, the service needs speeding up, especially if you are in a rush to get to the theatre or a film at the Cornerhouse. All in all, a pleasant experience though." - rob, manchester 9/7/08 (visited on a tuesday evening)

"We visited Tempus after being impressed by the photographs on Restaurants Of Manchester. On arrival, the front of house manager greeted us and told us that they couldnt fit us in before 8.30pm despite the fact the restaurant visibly had over 20 empty tables. My boyfriend told him that the time was 8.28pm and then the manager replied that it was going to be another 10 mins and asked us to have a drink in the bar. Whilst in the bar (which is excellent by the way), they took our food order and told us they'd come and get us when our starters were ready to be served (interesting practice).

As promised the starter arrived at the same time we were sat at the table. Accompanied by warm crusty bread that was too hard to eat - all the other diners seemed to have left their inedible blocks of bread too. The food was average, although prices very high if not eating from the pre-theatre menu. My medium rare steak was served very well done and the vegetables were either over or undercooked.

The worst experience of the night though came with the dreadful service. Many diners on tables around us were growing frustated at trying to get the attention of the waiters and we were left with dirty plates and empty glasses for most of the evening. Our order of mineral water never came so we prompted another waitress (who was following up a complaint from the table next to us at the time) she informed us 'my colleague has already gone for your water', but again it never came. After finishing both the starter and main courses without any drinks, we angrily asked another waitress once more for the water and she rudely poured us some tap water from a jug she had just cleared from another table! We then sat for 20 minutes with empty plates, waiting to order desserts (by this time we were timing every request).

When they finally took our order it was again a long time before the desserts came (and they weren't that great to be honest). We then asked for the bill but, like the table's around us, it never came. We asked once again 15 minutes later and a nice waitress was very apologetic, telling us the manager was doing it - he wasn't; we could actually see him below us in the corrider fooling around with other staff. The waitress promptly returned with the bill (and all the other tables at the same time). Surprise, surprise - they had charged us for the water, that never came. The waitress corrected the error and we left without leaving a tip. Throughout the meal, with the exception of one couple, we could hear every customer around us complaining about something. During our meal we could see all the staff and the so-called manager stood around the till or in the bar area below, chatting, laughing and even play fighting whilst all the tables had empty plates, no drinks, or unfilled requests. Both staff and manager seemed very unprofessional - no one was in control of the restaurant - the manager was busy looking important in his suit at the till. It's a pity as Tempus is as impressive as the photographs on the website - it's a gorgeous dining arena, arguably the best in Manchester. They need to employ a professional front of house manager and full-time waiting staff instead of part-time students. As it is, I will not be returning." - nancy, manchester 4/4/08 (visited on a thurs evening)