Grafene Restaurant & Bar

Almost .. but not quite

We were looking for somewhere new to eat and even thought it has been open for a while we’d not tried Grafene.

The food and service were all good but there was just something that I can’t get quite put finger on that stopped it being outstanding - some may have been our fault like an average (though still £55) bottle of wine but overall I’m not sure the environment and food come together for an outstanding visit.

Could turn down music a little.

had the 3 courses for £50 + surprises. Food was very good and the service deserves a special mention. Micheal was fantastic

Cosy little restaurant, stylish decor, good service and the tapas were very tasty. We would go again without hesitation.

Great venue for birthday lunch. Fantastic food, good wine and brilliant service

Excellent food and great service. Really worth a visit

tried the 7 course tasting menu , really enjoyed it , so went back a couple weeks later , for the al a carte , again was excellent

Service was very poor. We were greeted warmly but then they brought us the wrong menus. When I tracked someone down to help they then argued until I showed them the booking.
We finally sat down with the right menus at 8, then waited patiently for a while for out first course....this finally came at 9. The second course waa 30 mins later which was the point I started to complain. After this the service improved but then the food was clearly being rushed and this resulted in the monkfish being undercooked, dangerously undercooked!
We finally finished our meal at midnight. A deeply disappointing experience and will no be rushing back.
The point I was most annoyed about was several people started fussing over us after they realised that we were having such a horrid experience, but not one manager! It was left to the general waitering team.. Poor.

A very interesting different and tasty menu. The fresh baked bread loaves were amazing

Really interesting and innovative menu. Staff very friendly too.

We had the tapas menu. Very tasty, varied, reasonably priced and served in a timely manner.
I would definitely recommend and will be going again.

Birthday treat for my hubby - lovely food, creative take on the tapas concept. Chicken and duck dishes particularly delicious. Friendly service! Would recommend and will come back again to try the tasting menu.

Left waiting to be seated for 35 mins, then another 30 mins before our starters arrived. Appalling poor service. Won’t be returning

Very nice restaurant: cosy and romantic. I would come back there for special occasion. Very interesting and unique menue: portions small size but enough for two to share

The steak was so chewy we didn’t eat it. The waitress was very apologetic and gave us a free cocktail and didn’t charge the supplement for steak..
Really the steak should not have been chargeable but I felt it was not worth complaining further as the staff were so apologetic .
The lighting is not great , in my opinion it is too bright to create a nice atmosphere for a dinner

I was upset they couldn’t find our reservation as it have been made on opentable app. The reception lady was cocky. Also the table they offered was the worst: very small table that it just for drinks.
They have very nice and modern sofas with bigger tables and loads of them been empty...ok I decided these might be reserved BUT no one came within next 2 hours we been there.
The dishes itself are small but very unusual and delicious- special thanks to chef!

Excellent service, and the set menu I had was decent value too. The food was a bit patchy: bread was lovely, and the mandarin sorbet I had with the date sponge, really tasted of mandarin, but sorbets should probably be smooth not crunchy. The ice crystals in sorbets should be small to give a smooth texture and this had not quite worked here. Also, portion size of the main course was not very large, so you'll be wanting the bread. But at the relatively modest price of the sent menu you do get some tasty food.

I took my boyfriend here last week for a meal to celebrate his birthday. Neither of us had eaten at grafene before and we both thought it was a really lovely place, great service, great location, fabulous cocktails and choice of drinks and the food was really lovely. We will definitely go back again and would recommend to family and friends

Lunch time was quiet - so hard to say how noisey the place gets if/when full. The good points: service was excellent, as was the food. The less good points: wine prices are higher than reasonable. The bill make up doesn't fit with the lunch special pricing, so its impossible to check it and my feeling is that it was higher than it should have been. Left us with an uncomfortable feeling. So, will not be returning.

The service was exemplary, with the just the right amount of attention paid between servings and a warm and welcome smile with each visit to our table. The food was excellent, with one of the best puddings we have ever tasted and we could have stayed much longer sipping our final drinks in the cosy yet modern surroundings. Can't wait to go again.

Consistently good at everything best value for money in Manchester

I booked a table for four.

We were running a tad late. I called ahead to explain.

No problem.

We arrived 8.10, 10 minutes late and wee shown to our table.

One of our party had got stuck in traffic, driven from London, and was not going to arrive until after9pm.

We explained this to the waitress, no problem.

We ordered three starters as well as our three mains and also a fourth main for our fourth person.

The starters came extremely quickly. We ate as slowly as possible , as we were concerned about the timing of the mains and the arrival of our last person.

The waiting staff cleared our starters as soon as we were finished.

I explained again about not serving our mains until the last person from our party arrived.

What time! I called to establish how far away she was and confirmed to the waitress approx 9.15.

We had a good 30 mins to kill, do we ordered olives and bread.

These too arrived at lightening speed.

Needless to say we got to 9.10pm and one of the waiters came over to ask how much longer the last guest was going to be.

I called her find out, she was close but need to park.

I said another 15 minutes.

The waiter was not happy with this. He said the kitchen closed at 9pm and we would have to mains now , as the kitchen staff needed to go.

No problem, let the staff go, get us our bill and we will too!

No problem, the waiter got our bill. He wanted to charge us for our mains too!

Do not go here if you want to enjoy your meal.

Go here if you want McDonalds style service.

The pudding was exquisite, the starter very nice but the roast fillet of beef suggests that they need a different butcher. Bit disappointed though it's a lovely place with polite staff. Bit overpriced given quality of meat.

The meal at Grafene was a Christmas get together of family from far afield. The booking process was easy, we arrived early and a 'special' non alcoholic drink was made for my 9yr old which was so delicious we all ordered it! The food was incredible, it felt like I was at the final of masterchef. I had salmon and beetroot for a starter, fresh and delicious, and the beef fillet for mains was sublime. My family were impressed with the service and we all had a great time. Couldn't recommend it highly enough.

Very enjoyable food staff were very helpful would definitely go again

Had a lovely sunday roast, was served by the most wonderful ladies who gave us a beautiful twist on a classic gin & tonic! Loved it!!

Food good but expensive. Small portions presented beautifully. Good for business or romantic meals.

The waitress was very friendly. The food was delicious. We would definitely go back.

Great but long wait before being seated

The food was delicious. Amazing service.

We had a Sunday Roast, which was superb! The Roast Beef was cooked perfectly 'pink', the roast potatoes were the best we've ever had and the Yorkshire Pudding was fantastic......every element was spot on.......we didn't want our meal to end!!!!! We will definitely return sometime soon.....👍

The only outstanding item of food I ate was the fresh bread which was probably one of the best I have eaten. We opted to go for the 7 course pescetarian tasting menu, of which 2 courses included trout and halibut. 3 courses were vegetarian. The first course was textures of carrot, which were so under cooked that as I tried to cut one of the carrots it flew off my plate. Other courses were combinations of being under seasoned and/or had lack of accompanying sauces/vegetables to cut through the other flavours. I had heard and read some good reviews, even if they were agreeing with me now (in hindsight). I really wanted this dining experience to be special but the service didn't the match the price of the meal for example some courses were dellivered to the table before clearing away the previous course dishes. The waiter didn't always stop to explain the components of each dish. So overall I was disappointed. I have had better service, and better food for less. Sorry Grafene, it's a "not again" from me.

Amazing food and lovely staff, would highly recommend xx

Started the evening with creative cocktails then had a wonderful 3 course meal. Michael our waiter gave excellent service throughout the evening, atmosphere was very good and definitely a place I'd recommend.

The taster menu was fantastic, a great experience and the service was second to none!

Good service and delicious food. Extensive wine list.

My first visit to Grafene - and we weren't disappointed. Excellent tasting menu, well constructed - and well matched wine flight. The amount of food was just right.
We found the service to be personal but unobtrusive.
Not cheap - but food of this quality is worth the premium.

Server was attentive and polite. Food was of amazing quality will be again very soon!

Really enjoyed our meal. Was a business meal and was my fourth visit to Grafene. Although it was quiet and initially we were the only diners we were looked after and served well.

Perfection all round!