"I agree with Roy of Bolton's review (below)! I'm still shocked and angry about my first dining experience at Juniper, which I mistakenly arranged to visit two days ago with my step father, mother and pregnant wife. On arrival, the plates all had a plastic spoons on - to get at the bottom of the following amusé course - served in plastic tumblers, as used for hospital pills or methodone! The later amusé were also served like this.

My starter was nice enough - a warm soup with hints of apple and cinnamon, all whisked into a trendy froth. Fair enough - except the chef had clearly found a trick and used it to death. My main course also had froth, and my dessert had froth. As did every course that everyone else had round the table.

Froth aside, every course seemed to have simply involved a purée of disparate flavours, with the main ingredient tossed in for good measure. In the case of the main courses; this was a minuscule portion of meat. There were no vegetables to speak of (they were all part of the sauce) and the only real texture in any of the courses was provided by seeds or nuts. This was borne out by the fact that the mains were sloppily dumped into bowls, rather than presented on plates.

The restaurant was very hot, and as mentioned in other reviews, no music had a detrimental effect on the atmosphere. The service was beyond shocking.

My wife, who is six months pregnant, was made to feel like she was being awkward asking about whether things were pasteurised or made with raw egg. When we spelled out it was because she was pregnant, the waitress said, well I assumed that before backtracking on her rudeness. To add to an already shocking experience, we asked if a fresh fruit salad could be prepared, as none of the desserts were suitable for my wife. The reply was that the kitchen had no fresh fruit! For a start off, what about the banana with the lamb, or the apple used in the soup, or the raspberry used with the rice pudding? Are they all frozen then? They couldn't be bothered! Eventually they provided some slices of tarts begrudgingly.

The lowlight of the evening was before this, when my wife's main arrived. My wife mentioned that she thought the chicken was raw to the waitress, who suggested, are you sure you don't want to try it? . Oh yes please! We came here to spend a fortune on crap, but if you could poison my pregnant wife into the bargain it would be a bonus.

Plastic spoons on plates. Amusés in Night nurse lids. Apparently no fresh fruit in the kitchen. Starters being served in the same glasses as puddings. Raw chicken. And froth on every sloppy course.

This restaurant sets a new standard in being dreadful - and dreadfully overpriced - which on the upside, certainly raises the profiles of so many other good restaurants in South Manchester and beyond. As for Juniper's Michelin star; it's embarrassing - the comparison between this and L'Ortolan, near Reading, is laughable.

Much like the courses, Juniper is all just froth" - chris morley, cheshire 8/10/07 (visited on a saturday evening)

"Terrific! Definitely worthy of its' Michelin Star. If this place was in London, it would be a "wow" destination. Yes, it's pricey by Northern standards; yes, the food ingredient combinations can be a bit challenging, (take my "Brill and Lamb" starter as an example). But, this place is really interesting and gives you a real experience. The chef goes out of his way to create some great dishes. There are plenty of decent restaurants serving up good nosh but if you want a special experience, it's definitely worth hitting the plastic for this one!" - ian, warrington 14/8/07 (visited on a saturday evening)

"We enjoy modern European cuisine and had admittedly high expectations after reading the reviews below. However, if this is innovation if was so far over the top that, with the exception of the main course and cheese board, we literally wouldn't have recognised some of the dishes as being food. For £47 one doesn't expect to be served the first 2 or 3 "courses" in a plastic thimble no bigger than a medicine measuring jug. The most amusing aspects were listening to the waiter describe the number of ingredients they had apparently managed to cram into a 20ml thimble and our own gullibility in stumping up £130+ for a very dissappointing 2 hours!" - roy, bolton 23/6/07 (visited on a saturday evening)

"Of the 112 Michelin starred restaurants in the UK, it's a travesty to think that there's only one in Greater Manchester. Fortunately for tourists and city centre dwellers alike, Juniper is not off the beaten track. In fact the short 18 minute trip on the tram to Altrincham and a 5 minute walk up the high street probably works out a shorter journey than the walk from many a hotel or apartment to an inferior city centre restaurant. And boy! What a journey worth making!

Head chef Paul Kitching is a gastronomic genius. Taking his influences from so many different flavours and ingredients, he is able to serve up dishes with such a unique imagination it's impossible to pigeon hole his style. It seems rather easy (or should that be lazy?) to describe Juniper as being 'French' but apart from the exhaustive choice of Burgandy's, Champagnes and many regional fine wines from across the Channel, the only nod to France appears to be Geremie, the excellent French waiter, and, on my visit, two tables of French businessmen enjoying the amazing set menu. And whilst the French would be very proud to call Juniper one of their own, there's little on the menu they could identify with. That's where Paul comes into his own - his creations are so unparalleled, no other top chef dare try copy for fear of falling far short.

The 6 course 'Early Summer Herbs' menu on offer the day we visited was incredible. Add an extra 2 courses which came 'with compliments from the kitchen' and it's impossible to argue that you're not getting your £35's worth. For me, the breast of chicken with chives and coriander glaze complete with dill Mayonnaise, black olives, courgettes, chicory and parsley dusted new potatoes was worth the price of the full meal alone - it was quite simply the finest chicken I've ever tasted.

As with many 'French' restaurants, and especially Michelin starred ones at that, quality rules quantity every time. This approach works perfectly with the set meals at Juniper as each dish is just about small enough to leave a little bit of room for another round of even more artistic delights from the kitchen. The journey your tastebuds are taken on constantly changes direction and the extraordinary flavours that are delivered can not be put into words. How do you describe the unexpected delights that Paul can somehow produce from a Chervil, White Chocolate and Sea Salt Ice-Cream? A very brave chef indeed who is complimented with an excellent team.

Katie, his partner and Juniper's manager, takes time out with each customer over pre-prandials in the wonderful basement bar before handing you over to the excellent waiting staff who whisk you upstairs to the intimate luxurious restaurant upstairs. A special mention to Geremie, who has to be one of the best waiters in Manchester even if his Gallic sense of humour isn't at first obvious as he indentifies each region and fromagère represented in the huge assiette of French and Swiss cheese - there's no better way to upset a proud Frenchman than by asking him which one is the Cheddar.

With Paul Kitching's amazingly innovative dishes, outstanding service and a wine list to match, Juniper is certainly a restaurant of a quality not matched elsewhere in the region - and that's exactly why, for the tenth year running, they are the only Michelin starred establishment around these parts!" - neil, Manchester Restaurants 15/6/07 (visited on a thurs evening)

"I will go as far as saying this is the best restaurant I have been to - and I've been to quite alot of award-winning restaurants around Europe!!! Everything was just perfect. All the waiters were very friendly and the food was just out of this world. We had a set menu of 5 courses and we got 2 complimentary dishes from the chef on top. Each dish is small and we didn't feel ready to 'burst' when we were finished with all the 7 (!!) courses. I'll definitely be returning here!" - amy, manchester 14/6/07 (visited on a tuesday evening)