DISTRICT

"District fell well below of our expectations of what was presented as a fine dining experience. We had the lunch menu for £20, so admittedly we might not have experienced all there was to offer. Nevertheless, we found the dishes to be over-seasoned, and the menu lacking cohesion and inspiration: part of the problem, in our view, was that there weren’t enough recognisably Thai elements. In any case, we left feeling slightly hungry, and whilst we appreciate that we’d opted for a tasting menu, it compared unfavourably in terms of quantity with other Mancunian restaurants’ executions of the same concept. A separation issue with District is its commercial attitude toward the customer. The full cost of the meal – including service charge (we hadn’t been served yet!!?) – is required to be paid in advance, in our case 10 days before the reservation. We found this unacceptable, even greedy. It would have been much more appropriate to have taken a deposit or card details in case of no-show. On the day, filtered tap water came at the price of a £1 charitable donation: £1 per person, it turned out. The bill also revealed that a 10% service charge had been applied for a second time - not only to the regular drinks we’d order, but also to our filtered water. In our opinion, restaurants ought not to induce customers to support charitable causes for access to what is after all a basic human right (clean drinking water). Adding a service charge to the donation was shameless on the part of District, and we refused to pay this portion. We don’t normally write reviews, but we saw this relatively new restaurant appear on the Michelin website and were excited. We respect the intention of the chef and owners to create something new, and to expand Manchester’s current gastronomic scene. However in our opinion, the restaurant currently falls well below Michelin guide recommendation standard, with the food relying too heavily on strong, salty flavours."

"The food was very inventive with a few stand out dishes and it was all delicious. However, everything was over-seasoned. We went for the £50 tasting menu and supplemented it with the duck dish but I have to say that we did leave still feeling hungry, which is a genuine gripe. A restaurant’s main purpose is to feed you. The tasting menus really do need to be more substantial to represent proper value for money. However, I’m still giving it 4 stars for the quality of the cooking, the outstanding cocktails and the excellent service."

"A unique experience that has some of the most explosive and delicious flavours my partner and I have ever come across! We had the full experience for Episode 2 (£100 a head) and each meal was outstanding. The fantastic presentation of the food alongside beautiful flavour combinations worked a treat. The Tacos and the Duck were particular favourites on the night. Staff are incredibly attentive (Ethan is a babe), able to run through (in detail) what is in each course. Never did a glass sit on the table empty for long either. Drinks wise we tried each and every one of the cocktails from the "Tech Noir" list, and all bar one was bang on. Personal favourite had to be the Dark All Day (who knew Spring Onion Cordial was even a thing?!) Atmospherically, the place is gorgeous. Cyberpunk-esque blue and pink lighting coupled with a Synthwave playlist that really makes you buy into what District is trying to present to you - a futuristic Thai vibe that won't be found anywhere else."

"Really good meal. Flavours were excellent (although some dishes very spicy). I think what made it so great was the really attentive service. Everyone was very attentive and organised. We sat in the bar stools in the window and it made a change as well as we could people watch. Will definitely be returning!"