The Rivals

Excellent service and excellent food. Great choice for pre-show dinner at the Royal Exchange Theatre, as they are associated. You can even have dessert and coffee during the interval!

Lovely food at a reasonable price. A smashing view from our table over St Anne's Square. A raucous group of women rather wrecked the peace, but hey ho, it's Christmas and they were obviously very excited. Service was excellent until the last course and we waited for over half an hour for pudding, which caused us some problems with transport. I think that the problem lay with the kitchen rather than the waitresses, who were very sweet. In acknowledgment we weren't charged for pudding.

Really enjoy eating here, the menu is vey individual without being off the wall. Great food and good selection of drinks. Good value forgone. Service is good, with pleasant staff. Little disappointed on this occasion at being seated amongst the drinkers, which made it abit noisy.

Delicious food, excellent service, a lovely appetiser to the show. Thank you. Coming back in 2 weeks!

Very pleasant experience with friends. Relaxed, great service and good food before going to watch Gypsy. Makes a pre theatre meal hard to beat for convenience

Perfect setting, excellent food and service - wonderful start to our evening at the Royal Exchange

We have eaten at the Royal Exchange restaurant previously over the years. I have to say though that this new production, The Rivals is excellent. The atmosphere is very classic, almost staged - how appropriate and very warm, cosy in its feel. Very different from the previous contemporary environment.
The staff are attentive but not annoying. The food is excellent and we really liked the menu.
Would definitely recommend and return. It made a night at the theatre perfect.

Good food, good service - great place to dine if you are going to the production. No need to worry that you will be dashing out of a restaurant to get to your seats on time, love the option to have dessert, and/or drinks or coffee at the interval so no need to queue for them. Staff always really friendly and helpful.

We go to Rivals every year when we visit the markets ... As usual we were not disappointed ... Staff were so friendly and helpful especially with my elderly parents who are very precise about their likes and dislikes ... Could not fault it

Very good meal in pleasant, quiet surroundings. Good view from window. Very friendly service if a little slow. Excellent value.

We have been to the Rivals several times and have never been disappointed by the food or the service. It is a special treat after the theatre.

Lovely food and great service

Tasty and inventive cuisine and great value. A great start to an evening at the theatre. Love being able to pop back for pudding I the interval!

Excellent service, delicious food, wonderful ambience. Just lovely.

If asked about my experience I would say that the food is good, although not a bargain, and the restaurant is convenient for the theatre. Tables set out in the bar area are not always comfortable as they get a strong draft from outside the restaurant. We were told we could have a booked a specific table but that isn't clear when making an on-line booking. The decor is rather faux but not unpleasant. On the whole, we have booked often because of the convenience to the theatre, the food is usually good and there are vegetarian choices.

Booked this very last minute before a show but so delighted with the food, and the service. Lovely staff. Great to see the Royal Exchange matched with a restaurant of such high quality.

Loved it here. Had a gorgeous meal before the play and left my son and his girlfriend eating cheese and wine while we went to watch the play. Came back to find dessert waiting for us. Our waitress was really fantastic and helpful. Really a lovely night out and a brilliant atmosphere in the restaurant. Also nice to see some actors drinking in there afterwards. Will definitely be back very soon.

Lovely menu, plenty of choice with lots of different dishes! Well prepared,cooked and presented. especially pleased with the desserts, unlike most reataurants!

Excellent quality food pleasantly served and in a relaxed environment. It made the perfect start to a most enjoyable evening at the Royal Exchange.

A really good meal served with humour and efficiency - great start to a theatre evening.

Didn't have a meal as pushed for time , will definitely get there earlier next time and dine

We were well looked after. I chose a non-meat option which looked lovely however I found it had too many flavours. A bit on the expensive side.

Really good food. Great menu selection. Fantastic service. Will be back.

Great pre theatre dining venue. Food is really good, and it's a lovely setting. Previously we have had our dessert in the play's interval - what a brilliant idea! No rushing to finish, you can take your time and then have pudding in a quiet environment half way through the production. My friend - not a pudding enthusiast - said the eccles cake was the best dessert she'd ever had. I need your recipe so I can treat her to some home baking!

Delicious food, lovely view from the window. Waiting staff were all friendly and efficient. Please try it for yourself !!

Perfect for pre theatre supper. Friendly staff; our waitress checked if were going into the theatre so she knew what time constraints we had. My steak was superb: tender and flavoursome. Good ambiance, but the noise levels rose too high for my liking as the restaurant filled up pre theatre. However, I’m still looking forward to a return visit.

Excellent meal, straightforward food very well cooked. Good value. Friendly service.

Great modern British right on St Anne's Square. Big tables with plenty of space around you and very reasonable wine list too! |Very good friendly service too!

Really great, friendly service from very welcoming and lovely staff. Food was very nice, but I did think it was a little pricey. Great place to go for a pre-theatre dinner and would certainly recommend it. Very good drinks options.

Staff were really friendly and efficient. Food was excellent . Wine reasonably priced . Had a lovely family night out

We enjoyed a lovely meal served by friendly staff. The restaurent had a great atmosphere and is a huge asset for the Royal Exchange

Stunning little restaurant with great service and delicious food, would highly recommend and we will be back

My Daughter & I were attending a play at The Royal Exchange and decided The Rivals to be a great location.
Fantastic choice, the restaurant was not overly busy and had a lovely atmosphere.
We chose to eat from the fixed menu which had some lovely options: 2 courses for £22.
The staff were super attentive and managed time expectations well.

Would return again even if not attending a play.

I love eating here pre theatre. Alway a good veggie and fish choice on the menu. Staff aware you have a deadline of course. I really appreciate being able to come back for dessert or coffee in the interval too.

The perfect place for a pre-theatre dinner at the royal Exchange - we love it.

Great food, surroundings and staff. Good value for a high quality meal. It’s a little cool when sitting by the windows on a cold autumn evening-bit of a draught. Overall very good

had a pre theatre dinner with a friend on Monday night. as always, the food is fantastic, efficient & friendly staff & a lovely atmosphere. a treat in itself! would recommend whether you're going to a show or not. we eat there regularly. one of the best restaurants in Manchester & good value for money.

Excellent food and excellent service, with plenty of time to enjoy before the play started and the opportunity to have desert at the interval!

Enjoyed the varied menu, ambience was very good, along with the service. Have no hesitation in recommending the restaurant to friends

The food was good as always, but we had a vegetarian who thought the veggie prices were expensive for the offer. Given vegetables are usually cheaper than meat, and we weren't having black truffles with morels offered, I (a meat eater) did agree with him. It wasn't something I would normally check up on, but I will do in future. The cheeseboard was its usual star course, although keeping the grapes accompanying them in the fridge is not good, they need to be at room temperature or replaced with a sliced apple or pear, not a big ask surely.