Chaophraya
Thai Restaurant Manchester - reader comments |
| "I
visited on Saturday night, we were booked to eat in the downstairs
Bar/Restaurant as I booked the table a little late, but when we arrived
the girl at the door managed to get us a table upstairs which was
very nice as it was for my birthday. The food was fantasic
and the atmosphere was really nice, this is definitely
one of the best restaurants in Manchester."
- lorna foster, manchester 14/4/08 (visited on a saturday evening) |
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| "Our
second visit and just as good as we remembered. Food is delicious,
service is excellent, atmosphere relaxed
and drinks prices reasonable. On this occasion they
went out of their way to find us a table as we had been badly let
down by another restaurant and it was my birthday. Highly recommended."
- melanie, wigan 8/4/08 (visited on a saturday evening) |
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| "It
really was brilliant, a last minute dinner decision
and they accommodated our booking at 5.30 pm! I chose this restaurant
because it was No. 1 on your best Manchester restaurants list and
it didn't disappoint! The atmosphere was great, the
food was authentic, music volume was just
right and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We'll be back
again soon."
- ashleigh drew, sale 9/3/08 (visited on a saturday evening) |
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| "Wonderful
greeting as we walked into the place, and very quickly our
drinks orders were taken. My partner and I decided on a set menu (£25
a head), and, having read excellent reviews on here, were expecting
great things. We were not disappointed. The starters were
excellent, a good range, and fantastic
flavours. We had a soup with our meal, and I have never been
a fan of these, but loved every spoonful. My fiance
has lived in the Far East for a while, and so there were high expectations
set from the start. The main courses were amazing.
We were so full that we couldn't finish the food. We had the Coconut
Rice on recommendation from several reviewers from this website and
weren't disappointed. The Coconut Ice Cream dessert was a fantastic
finish to the evening. A veritable mountain of ice-cream! We shared
it between the two of us. The bill was very reasonable,
and the service was great, very attentive and helpful
staff. Definately recommended and will most definately be going back
there very soon."
- gemma, manchester 27/2/08 (visited on a thursday evening) |
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| "The
service at the restaurant was very good and the waiters
were very attentive, the only slight problem was the delay in our
plates being taken away. However I think this was because me and my
boyfriend were too full to finish everything so they weren't sure
if we were finished! The restaurant is very nicely decorated
and has a good atmosphere as does the bar downstairs.
I wasn't overly happy at first with the position of the table we were
sat at but it was nonetheless a good night. I personally wouldn't
choose to go there myself as I'm not a huge fan of Thai food but my
boyfriend is already planning his next visit! If you do go make sure
to try the Coconut Rice it's lovely."
- alice mccarthy, manchester 13/2/08 (visited on a thursday evening) |
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| "Very
nice food and good service. Best Thai I've ever been too."
- cheryl, manchester 22/1/08 (visited on a friday lunch) |
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| "Very
pleasant atmosphere and plenty of room. Unusual tables
downstairs make it different. Very friendly staff
and very good food. We had a banquette and the food
just kept on coming. Overall very good value for money
and I'll be back."
- andrew, manchester 19/12/07 (visited on a saturday evening) |
|
| "First
time me and husband have had a Thai meal and the waitress helped us
with ordering and choosing food - she did a very good job of this
and the food was delicious. We were recommended a
rice dish which is wrapped in banana leaf and this was the best ever.
Sure will be returning again in the very near future."
- jeanette, manchester 25/11/07 (visited on a thursday evening) |
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| "This
is the best Thai restaurant I have ever been to.
The food was amazing, the waiter's were so
helpful and attentive. I have visited a lot of Thai resturants
but none with a menu quite as big as this. I normally get Thai Green
Curry with Rice and the waiter recommended it with Noodles and it
was perfect!!! I would definatly go out my way to
come here again. The price was so cheap for what we had and
the quality. In fact it was so cheap we left a £15
tip . Make sure you take a trip here - you wont be disapointed."
- leanne wall, liverpool 11/10/07 (visited on a friday evening) |
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| "The
staff were excellent, the food was very tasty
and the spring rolls were'nt greasy!. I have and would recommend this
restaurant to anyone who fancys a nice meal and night out, price was
resonable too."
- diane tomlinson, wigan 13/8/07 (visited on a sunday evening) |
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| "I
went here as it seems to get excellent recommendations - but i was
very disapointed, the food was ok but a little greasy
nothing special (I have been to other Thai restaurants which are much
better) - the staff seemed miserable and the service
very slow - starter took ages to come out - as did the main
meal after - we were sat at an un-comfortable seat and when asked
to move the lady at the bar first said "no" and the place
was empty - maybe we went at a bad time as it seems to get such good
ratings but I am not encouraged to go again - there are much better
restaurants in Manchester than this based on my first experience.
The interior of the restaurant is very nice so is
the low style seating, the menu is very fairly priced
- I may try again on a busier evening and see if it is better - for
the price its worth a try to see what you think"
- scott kavanagh, manchester 5/7/07 (visited on a sunday afternoon
and ate in the downstairs bar area) |
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"We
were there as a party of 11 for a birthday celebration. The restaurant
strongly encourages (insists!) that parties of that size order a set
meal, with the only choice being the price range and the possibility
of including some less spicy options. We went for a £30 per
head banquet, which was excellent. Towards the end
of the meal about 10 of the staff came round our table to present
our birthday boy with a free dessert to a rousing - and very funny
- Thai chorus of "Happy Birthday to You", complete with
cymbals and all sorts of noisy instruments.
A great place for a big bash - even the people who
aren't keen on the spicey food had a great time"
- ian, cheshire 28/6/07 (visited on a thursday evening) |
|
| "Everythin
was great about the place, the waitress tried to
teach me some Thai as well. The only thing was the toilets
need up dating. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone
coming to or who lives in Manchester to go at least once"
- philip dunn, manchester 27/6/07 (visited on a monday evening) |
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| "Very
very nice meal last night. Was treated by the hubby and it
was a real treat! I'd heard so many great reviews from friends so
was looking forward to it.. There was a nice atmosphere
and the staff were lovely.. why aren't all staff
in restaurants as nice?? My seabass was delicious
- very fresh, and my husband's chicken was very tender.. A thoroughly
enjoyable meal"
- paula nightingale, didsbury 27/6/07 (visited on a tuesday evening) |
|
| "Best
Thai restaurant in Manchester! Fabulous atmosphere,
fabulous food & surprisingly not too expensive. This
is my new favourite restaurant and I loved the 'Happy Birthday' song
too! Already made my next booking! "
- louise, manchester 20/6/07 (visited on a saturday evening) |
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|
"Although
food was great as usual - negatives creeped in to
this visit - understaffed - although we got our food
in decent time, waiting for the bill was miles too long. Even though
we booked a table for 5, we were put on a 4 seater table - eventually
moved to a 6 seater table. Although not the restaurant's fault, the
table next to us were incredibly loud throughout their meal which
was off putting (they did mention this website at one point). The
toilets were not up to their usual scratch - taps not working on one
of the sinks. Our welcome wasn't the best either - rather confusing
- didn't take our jackets until we asked them and then we were given
somebody else's on leaving. I will always go back, but this experience
was the worst so far - Sunday nights probably aren't usually this
busy but due to the last game of the football season, it probably
explained why the restaurant was crowded"
- rob, manchester 16/5/07 (visited on a sunday evening) |
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|
"I've
been a regular at Chaophraya since you first featured it as the best
restaurant in Manchester. For me, I still agree it is the
best however standards have dropped somewhat recently. The
food is as good as ever and without doubt the best
available in Manchester. The decor is amazing
and for that reason alone, the prices are surprisingly cheap.
As the previous reviewer says, standards have slipped dramatically
with the service however. I have visited twice in the past
fortnight and both times was left with empty glasses for long periods
and annoying waiting times to request extras or the bill. It's noticeable
too as other diners seemed to show the same impatience on both visits.
Perhaps they just can't cope with the number of diners they now seem
to attract. The gents toilets have also had an 'out of order' sink
for at least 2 weeks and are starting to look a bit grubby too. They
need to iron out these minor blips soon otherwise they'll be letting
their excellent chefs down massively!"
- jim, knutsford 14/5/07 (visited on a sunday evening) |
|
| "The
service wasn't as good as it normally is. We had
to wait quite a long time to get the bill and then we waited a long
time for them to take the credit card. We also noticed other customers
sat around waiting to get the bill. But as always the food
is out of this world"
- newy, manchester 14/5/07 (visited on a saturday evening) |
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|
"I
have been to this restaurant before and I've liked it alot. I agree
with previous reviewers about now finding it hard to book a table.
This time I found the food to be amazing, however
the standard of service they normally give had dropped a bit.
We ordered a bottle of water which never came and we had to remind
them. We were also sat there with empty glasses for a while until
someone noticed and came to check if we wanted more drinks. One other
reviewer mentioned the fish display you see when you go to the toilet
and I must agree that it looks fantastic. I will definitely be returning
and hopefully the service will be better next time!"
- amy, cheshire 8/4/07 (visited on a saturday evening) |
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|
"Malcolm
sums it up best below - I also never had a problem getting a table
at Chaophraya before. Now, most times I call it's fully booked - I
blame this website too as all the other restaurant guides seem to
have the overrated Gaucho Grill as top choice. On Saturday I booked
the only remaining table (2 hours earlier than I wanted). My foreign
friends, over from Italy, were blown away - they
absolutely loved the place and claimed it to be the best restaurant
they'd been to in Britain. The Thai Fisherman's Soup
is highly recommended - although very spicy - and the coconut
rice wrapped in banana leaves is a must accompaniment to
the superb choice of mains - all very reasonably
priced. Both Chaophraya and Akbar's, across town, are imports
from Yorkshire - both are serving absolutely world class food
at incredibly low prices. Other restaurants in town should
take note, otherwise there'll be more following the likes of Mash
& Air, The Lincoln, Le Mont and Establishment on the 'over-priced,
full of self-importance, closed-down' list whilst diners rightly flock
to the likes of Chaophraya!"
- matthew, manchester 6/4/07 (visited on a saturday evening) |
|
| "Best
steamed dumplings this side of the chao phraya river. Friendly
staff and nice to see an open kitchen with live seafood
on ice, nice touch!"
- anna, westhoughton 19/4/07 (visited on a thursday evening) |
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| "I
hosted a business lunch at Chaophraya on the recommendation of my
assistant who'd read this site and I am sure my clients were as impressed
as I was. Without a doubt Chaophraya is the best Thai restaurant
in Manchester. Chaophraya provides impeccable service
only to be matched by outstanding food. I will definitely
be returning!"
- jan wood, manchester 5/4/07 (visited on a thursday lunchtime) |
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|
"Now
I must complain about Manchester Restaurants! Before you listed
Chaophraya as the top restaurant in Manchester we never had a problem
getting a table in this place. The last two times we've visited however
we didn't book in advance and the restaurant was full. Instead we
were offered a table in the bar on the proviso that any starters
ordered would come at the same time as the main course -
"It's a long walk from the kitchen". We were very grateful
for the table but it would be really good if they could remove the
pre-condition"
- malcolm, cheshire 3/4/07 (visited on a saturday evening) |
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| "Following
the reviews on Manchester Restaurants, I thought I'd give this
place a go as I'd heard lots of tremendous comments about the place,
and had some clients to take out. I thoroughly recommend Chaophraya.
Outstanding food in an extremely pleasant environment.
Staff are extremely welcoming and we were thoroughly
looked after. The best restaurant I have eaten in in Manchester
for a long time!"
- rebecca mason, manchester 27/3/07 (visited on a monday evening) |
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"Without
doubt the best restaurant in Manchester! from the
moment you walk in and receive the traditional Thai greeting to the
moment you are seated in the plush surroundings,
you're made to feel like royalty. The food
is out of this world and the price is extraordinarily
cheap! Amazing!"
- marie, manchester 17/3/07 (visited on a saturday evening) |
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