Flamin Nosh, Stalybridge

I have driven past Flamin Nosh an enormous amount of times. I have had a stream of friends who have been employed there, and although it is practically on my doorstep it isn't somewhere I frequently patronise.

As group of 8 we visited on a Friday evening for a birthday celebration. We were greeted with friendly service, and comfy seats in the lounge style area, and were quickly seated at our table.

The interior is a pleasant burnt orange set up synonymous with Spanglish Tapas Bars, there is plenty of space between tables and is a warm, comfortable place to be.

The food is described as Mediterranean and the menu covers this nicely, however moves on to include Fajitas, which although certainly not from the Med, they are a popular choice with our group and clearly a clever addition to the menu.

I enjoyed my £4+ pint of Peroni, and ordered my food. Peri Peri Chicken Wings to start followed by a Mixed Grill. Service was provided by the Restaurant Manager who was keen and engaged in conversation, which is always better than the robot like service you quite often receive in non city centre restaurants.

The chicken wings arrived and they were the hottest things I have ever come across! After they had cooled a little I tucked in, and in short they were good! Since Nando's became the success it is, everyone seemed to have jumped on the Peri Peri bandwagon, but happily these wings held up to their own standards, they had a hint of spiciness and nice woody smokiness.

I ordered the Mixed Grill as I couldn't decide between some of the different dishes, and the grill seemed to included all the fun meat parts of the meals I was torn between. On the whole, I was disappointed with this dish. It was carte blanche for the chef to really show off his skills...but didn't. The lamb was lack lustre and had very little meat on it. The pork was better, and beautifully flavoured. The steak was chewy and pretty fatty. The chicken however was the saving grace...it was a masterpiece! Tangy, slightly charred and moist it was a delicious piece of meat, cooked perfectly. I wish I had ordered the chicken based main off of the menu, because of the whole dish was up to the standard of that piece of chicken it would have been awesome.

Good Points: Excellent, personal service. Chicken...brilliant Chicken! Atmosphere.

Room for Improvment: Could have done with a finger bowl with the chicken wings. The other meat on the mixed grill.

All in all Flamin Nosh was far better than when I last experienced it (which was many years back), and although it needs a little honing, this was a good dining experience, and I would certainly go back...and eat chicken!

I visited Flamin Nosh, 97 Stamford St, Stalybridge, www.flaminnosh.co.uk, on Fri 22nd July 2011

The Joshua Bradley

I have visited the Joshua Bradley a few times now, and after each visit I am left in two minds. Firstly, I really like the design of the place. The old mansion house has been stunningly converted into a pub and restaurant. The whole place feels a bit special, like you are visiting a very posh friend's stately home. It is how ever no way unwelcoming or snooty. On the other hand though, the service has always been very amateurish. Often waiting a long time at the bar, and in one case some fat bloke acting as a Maitre ` D was straight out rude.

Today however the Joshua Bradley was quiet, it was 3.30pm on a Monday afternoon. We were greeted by a smart young man who took us to our seats and was super polite throughout. Sitting in the Orangery is splendid place to eat. Bathed in natural light, but without the intense heat often found in conservatories, you are surrounded by neutral greens and beiges, a relaxing, comfortable place to be. Through the windows is the expansive patio area, complete with rope swings for the kids and there's even a bit of a pond if you venture to the far end. This is a great spot for people watching. There is a nice mix of families, men who look like they have raided their son's wardrobe, and Giro WAG's complete with Johnny Choo heels and DnG sunglasses!

We had bread, oil and balsamic to munch as we looked at the menu, the oregano focaccia was particularly tasty, and the white bloomer was light and very floury, I made a real mess...and loved it!

Starters were a Game Terrine, and Stilton Mushroom Bake. My terrine was superb. It was light and smooth like a parfait, but contained the huge sweet, gamey flavours you would expect from a dish containing venison, pheasant and partridge. I enjoyed this dish a lot, and it was nicely complimented with onion chutney and toasted pieces of the oregano focaccia. Although Anna enjoyed the Stilton Mushroom Bake, I thought it was very average. Button mushrooms in a bit of a cheese sauce wasn't to my taste. Personally I think this dish would benefit from using some more interesting flat or field mushrooms, and beefing the sauce up with more garlic and some black pepper.

For the main event Anna had Cajun Chicken and Choritzo Penne, a dish both of us had tried before, and one we both new was a winner! This is a brilliant fusion pasta dish. There is a decent heat provided by the Cajun spices, but this is mellowed by the comforting lipid rich sauce. This is a generous serving too, and although our waitress (or server as the place insists on calling their waiting staff) looked a little surprise when we asked for the plentiful leftovers to be bagged up, the kitchen did box it up for us to enjoy later.

Feeling butch, I had ordered a Mixed Grill, with a medium rare steak, and Pepper sauce. Surely something of greatness. I received a mixed grill, well done steak and no sauce. My server went back tot he kitchen and managed to get some sauce, but she needn't have bothered. It was pleasant but nothing special, there were peppercorns in their, but somehow their flavour had remained trapped inside their hard shell, and this was a creamy sauce, with some peppercorns in. My over cooked steak was actually really nice! The gammon was tasty with enough saltiness to make the peas taste super sweet. The best bit however were the sausages. They were great, dense, meaty and perfectly seasoned.

The Joshua Bradley is Hydes Brewery's flagship pub. It is easy see why. It is visually stunning, a hugely successful design concept. From what I can gather, £2,000,000 was invested in creating the place. The result is very good, but not £2mil good! If I have visitors and we need some good food, I would not hesitate to bring people here, but what they need to do is invest in some quality training and refine their cooking, just a little and take this place from very good, to £2million good.

I visited The Joshua Bradley at 3.30 on 18/4/11. The Joshua Bradley, Stockport Rd, Gee Cross