If you’re looking for somewhere fancy for a nice meal this summer, I can definitely recommend the River Bar and Restaurant at the Five-star Lowry Hotel. Located just across a canal bridge from Manchester City Centre on the Salford-Manchester boundary, The Lowry Hotel is a five minute walk from town, with it’s luxurious River Bar and Restaurant enjoying views of the river. Having just launched a new à la carte menu at the luxurious two AA Rosette awarding winning restaurant, I headed along to find out exactly what it was like.

I headed along to The Lowry River Bar and Restaurant on a Friday evening around 7ish, and it was pleasantly busy with a nice buzz around it. We were welcomed by our fabulous waiter, Thamas, who I am delighted to say took exceptional care of us all night and delivered fantastic service from start to finish! Particularly fabulous as we started with a bottle of lovely Sauvignon Blanc as recommended by the man himself.

For starters, I chose The Lowry Green Salad (£8.50) which came in a very generous portion served in toasted pine nuts, herbs, artichokes & chardonnay vinaigrette. In fact, this starter was probably better than most of my main meal lunches I have when I grab a salad to go! My guest chose the Potted Shrimps (£10.50) which was accompanied by mango and chilli salsa, toasted lemon sourdough and shrimp mayonnaise. I am told that was delicious and had a lovely tangy taste to it.

When it came to the main course, my guest and I were both really keen to indulge and treated ourselves to a steak each – different types with different sides, mind! I went for the 6oz Fillet Steak (£32.00) taken from Cheshire Beef and served with red wine sauce. Although the steak does come with chips, I wanted to try the mash and Thamas swapped out the side for me with absolutely no hesitation! The steak was cooked Medium to my liking and the mash was creamy and soft. Absolutely delicious. For my greens, I ordered Tenderstem Broccoli and Hispi which was cooked just enough to still be crispy and retain flavour.

My guest chose the 8oz Josper Grilled Cheshire Steak and Chips (£27) served with confit shallot & red wine sauce. I have to admit I shared a chip or two and I have to totally recommend these if you are getting steak yourself – they are amazing chunky chips! The steak was cooked as requested and was a very generous portion again (definitely value for money) and my guest chose a side of buttered spinach for her vegetables too.

For dessert, I went for savoury whilst my guest went for sweet. Like chalk and cheese! She chose her all time favourite dessert, the Sticky Toffee pudding (£7.50) which came with Medjool Date Pudding Madagascan ice cream. She was sweet as pie with this and totally delighted with it. For me, I went for a selection of regional cheese and crackers served with grapes, quince and chutney to compliment the taste. All cheeses were sauced locally in Cheshire, which I love, and Thamas was excellent at recommending his top four favourite flavours which he was very knowledgeable about.

Over all, I would highly recommend The Lowry River Bar and Restaurant if you are looking for a five star, award winning meal in Manchester or Salford this season. The service was exceptional, the food was delicious throughout and it’s a handy location just outside of the city centre. Created by Executive Chef Andrew Green, the new menu is perfect for fine dining in Summer.