Eat.

I called in EAT today while shopping in the Manchester Arndale, I have been confused over which branch my review is for, with there being 2 different branches in the Arndale, If I’m wrong, please correct me, but I’ve spent time trying to find the right one.
This particular store, like the other EAT is very close to Starbucks, this one in particular is close to CEX, Build A Bear and TK Max too.
With pleasant experiences at The Trafford Centre, and Liverpool One branch, I decided to call in here, as they normally do have a gluten free soup on offer. Today they was offering Spicy tomato and basil, alongside a Chicken Pot Pie, which was listed as a «soup» so I guessed it was, unfortunately I could not try this with it containing gluten, so I had to settle for Spicy Tomato and Basil.
I was disappointed to see the screens had broken, and they had to use paper to tape over today’s soups, hence tomorrows soups and the allergens were missing, hence I had to depend on EAT’s website to check if my soup did have gluten in, which I feel would have been the easier option rather than asking my server, who already seemed stressed as it is, being the sole staff member and with the queues stacking up.
She didn’t mind giving me a sample of the soup to try as I wasn’t sure whether it would be too spicy for me, she gave me quite a generous portion too, normally staff at EAT do this and most stores in the past have.
I decided to try the soup as it did taste quite nice, and the soup was nice but after stirring it was a little too spicy for me, and I would have prefered more of a plainer tomato soup, with the basil added to give it a bit more of a kick, and I’d have preferred that. My soup was a little expensive too, costing £2.99 for a small portion and I couldn’t eat it as it was too spicy, although apart from that the flavours were nice, and you could tell they had used fresh tomatoes.
I also had a freshly squeezed orange juice, bottled and ready to drink, it was a little pricey but when you are eating in somewhere and you get a bottle of around that size, you can expect to pay that, even though it is frustrating, the orange juice was actually poor quality compared to the likes of Tropicana, and although it was still a good standard, it just had a non-​fresh feel to it and the «bits» inside just tasted too large, and normally that is an addition to the orange juice I enjoy.
This is quite a nice store, with a nice set of seating with views of the arndale, and more towards the back of the store, with the best views being a wall that could do with some painting, so if you are staying here, the front is probably the nicer place to sit, but if you want somewhere quieter, with charging facilities, the back part is probably your best best.
EAT is quite a nice addition to the Manchester Arndale, with average food and a little pricey pricing, this is a relatively nice store and they do offer some nice soups, it is just a shame my soup was disappointing today. I also found it a little bad to see a young server left to work alone, hence having to handle everything the store needs, including dealing with getting customers foods and the large queues all to herself, but she did seem to be doing a pretty good job considering the circumstances.

Simple quick lunch, it isn’t particularly amazing nor does it suck. A good way to grab something HEALTHY on the go or snack on before meeting up with someone for lunch or dinner. Service is always friendly: D

My friend’s were busy shopping till they dropped and I needed to park my bum for a bit :) the reason I popped in to Eat is because there was a sofa free and you got a good view of the arndale which meant I got a good chance to people watch and also had a comfy corner from which to do it in.
I just popped in for a peppermint tea, the service was really good and it was clean and tidy in the café. I was chatting away to the guy behind the counter whilst he served me and he was really frendly. I thought the price was cheap for a large peppermint tea and I liked the way he tucked the tab of my teabag into the lip of my cup to stop it falling in.
They had music playing but it wasn’t dead loud but loud enough to hear over the general hubbub of the arndale.

I’ve always been a fan of Eat. I used to work just opposite one last year and therefore every lunchtime I would pop over for something to munch on. It was always good during the winter because they do these huge big soups, different ones each day and they’re so tasty and warm, just what you need for a winters afternoon in Manchester.
I wandered in here today around 8am as I realised I’d never had breakfast at Eat despite always looking at it on the menu board longingly!
I went for the Eggs Benedict, inexpensive at £2, it was small but very satisfying, just what you need in the morning.
As I was ordering I was impressed by Eat’s range of hot food on offer, the breakfast was a range of different muffins but lots of them including good vegetarian options, the weeks soup menu was available to look at and I was impressed with the new additions since my last visit including Thai Green Chicken Curry and Chorizo and Chickpea.
One really good thing about Eat is the vast vegetarian selection, they offer two soups everyday and one of them is always veggie.
They have a range of breads on offer to go with your soup, these are served in ‘wedges’ complete with butter, my favourite is the soda bread… mmm!
Other than the soups they also serve hot pies which always look amazing but I’ve never had one yet… I may end up back here for lunch at this rate though so watch this space!
Eat also serve a range of hot drinks, sandwiches, cakes and desserts, long story short… check it out!