Meet the CM: Great Food, Great Wine, Great People – Simple!

My first time at a Unilocal ‘meet the community manager’ event and hopefully not my last!
I tend to shy away from organised events such as these, the fear of awkward chit chat usually puts me off, but the event Jonny organised and Simple kindly hosted.
From entering the venue, having bags of Unilocal goodies thrust upon us along with a truly brilliant warming, spicy apple-​pie with custard-​like cocktail I knew it was going to be a good night.
Simple put on a selection of plates for us to try out from their Christmas menu, and there was enough for us all to get a flavour of what is going to be on offer over the festive season.
Simple was a great little venue for such an event, the first time i’ve actually been to it, though I know it’s changed quite a bit — from what I hear it’s definitely for the better in the layout. The staff at Simple were super too — especially considering we were all being plied with free food & drink. Friendly, attentive and knowledgeable about their products — pretty much exactly what you want from service staff.
In Jonny I think Manchester’s Unilocal community are going to have a person full of passion for the role and the area — onwards and upwards!

Well this event certainly did want it said on the tin! The event promised great food, great wine and great people and didn’t disappoint!
I’ve been to Simple several times over the years I’ve lived in Manchester and this present incarnation is definitely the better one. Much more open and welcome yet still maintaining an air of intimacy.
We were treated to tasting the new Christmas menu — starters came out nicely displayed on a little wooden platter. I tried them all apart from the stuffed pepper (it contained mushrooms which i can’t eat) all other 3 starters were v tasty — i thought the parsnip and apple soup was particularly wintery and warming. We suggested that they do a little starter meze board as the portions were spot on size wise to share.
Mains came next, turkey was nice and came wrapped around stuffing (always a winner in my book!) fish was a little dry but the red pepper sauce it came with helped, the crackling on the pork was immense but it did leave the meat a touch on the dry side again a spot of gravy did the trick. I’m no veggie but i was rather fond of the veggie main course and would have been happy to have this as either a main or a side dish.
Deserts came out and i was quite glad that we only have one platter for the table as I was getting pretty full and the portions were ample– 2 faves were the chocolate torte with peanut butter and the white chocolate and kuluah cheesecake– again suggested a mini platter of deserts as i always get desert envy whenever I go out!
Had a great night with great food and great people! Thanks to the team at Simple, Jonny and my fellow Unilocalers for a great night hope to see you all again v soon :)

I would like to thank Johnny for hosting a fantastic evening at Simple Manchester. I met some great people and had a really lovely evening.
We arrived and greeted by a lovely, refreshing cocktail. We then got to sample the all the food off the Christmas menu washed down with a glass of wine.
As we got to sample the whole menu, I must say the spicy prawns with cous cous and beef with walnuts, red onions with blue cheese starters were amazing! I could have quiet easily eaten these for my main.
The main course was nice, and I say nice as it did not blow me away. It was a typical Christmas meal with the option’s of turkey or pork with trimmings. There was also a fish option of Marlin fish steak with a red pepper sauce. As I don’t like red peppers I ate the fish without the sauce and I found to be quiet dry however, this is personal preference and I hear that with the sauce the fish was very nice. One meal that did surprise me the most was their vegetarian option of Butternut, pumpkin, wild mushrooms and goats cheese bake. For me this was my favourite out of all the options for the main course.
Now dessert did blow me away! I could not stop eating the white chocolate cheese cake with Kahlua topping. I want the recipe! The cheesecake was closely followed by the chocolate tart with ice cream and cherry drizzle YUM YUM.
Simple put on a great night and the service was top notch. There is a nice chilled out vibe and would I return? Yes.
Thanks again Johnny!

What is there left to say??? All the fabulously eloquent Elite Unilocalers have summed up the evening up pretty well!
This was my first time attending a Unilocal event and I was really impressed with the organisation, venue choice and our host — but mainly the toasty rum cocktail that was waiting for me!
Simple is an old favourite, I LOVE what they’ve done to the layout and the staff were super helpful, really attentive without being over bearing and took all the feedback we gave on the menu on board.
In terms of the food — the dishes are designed to be served fully plated with garnishes, veg and sauce etc etc however to suit the Unilocal event these were served sharer style which was a little awkward at times and I think it made it a little harder to evaluate the dishes as a whole. That said I would definitely go back to try the menu and I’ll probably order the prawn cous cous or beef and blue cheese on toast, followed by the Marlin dish (the spicy sauce was off the hook) all rounded off with the cheese cake!
Big thanks to Jonny and Unilocal for organising a great night and introducing me to the Manchester Unilocal Community :)

Had a great night at Simple in the Northern Quarter — thanks Jonny and Simple staff.
I’m a big fan of the new layout and atmosphere in simple since the refurb and the new management seem to be doing a good job. Great for a light bight, full meal, or just a drink.
As disclosure and background to my choices — I’m vegetarian so don’t eat animals.
The xmas menu was broad and had decent veggie choices.
Highlights: the veggie main. It tasted awesome. Very different to normal veggie nut roasts etc and I was very impressed. 5stars. I also really liked the Christmas apple pie cocktail as a welcome drink. I also liked that there was a choice of starters and that you catered for vegans. All the desserts were amazing. The peanuts in the chocolate tart should be a real selling point.
Low points: goats cheese. Everything always has goats cheese and lots of vegetarians including me don’t like it. The veg also seemed to be undercooked and was difficult to even get on a fork.
Suggestions: I’d also feel happier if you specified on ur menus everything that was vegetarian. None of the desserts said they were vegetarian but I just assumed they were. Hopefully there was no gelatin or animal rennet. It would also be good if you could label your wines if they are vegetarian or not as many are not.
Overall I was really impressed and had a good night. Would definitely be more likely to come back now!

Well we definitely had a great time at the event, hopefull that was shared by all.
We had a great cockatil on arrival, like a boozy apple schnitzel, nice warm and spicy… rhum based. Loved it. I almost felt like we should have had a scoup of ice cream with it. It’s a mulled-​rhum cocktail and it doesn’t get more christmassy. Anyway, we went on enjoying the company of fellow Unilocalers and had a go at sampling the christmas menu which comes at 17.95 for 2 courses of 20.95 for 3 courses.
Between us we have been able to try all the dishes of the menu. The food was good but in my view it’s a few tweaks away from being delicious. The Beef stroganof was too salty. The couscous with prawn was nice, the soup was ok but I thought the beetroot crisps that accompanied the soup were drowned by the sweet parsnip.
The mains offer was made of pork with crackling, turkey with stuffing (both served with gravy) and a steak of Marlin served with a chilli sauce. Roasties, pigs in blanket, stuffing balls, red cabbage, sprouts, carrots, parnsips all figure on the sides. We also sampled the vegetarian main which turned out to be tasty enough but overly goaty and messy for me; others raved about it so clearly age is making me fussy.
Without going into details, it all was nice enough considering the price of the meal. I think if the chef really applies himself he can do better though. Attention to detail can bring their food to a higher level. The desserts were all bob on.
Overall we had a great time and one mention needs to go to the team who were always patient and professional and were always eager to help. Please guys, keep it that way, service is 50% of a happy customer.
A great event, promising a great and growing Mancunian community. I look forward to the future events.

Houston we have lift off!
Much like supporting a mid table premier league side, the Unilocal Mancunian community has soldiered on through thick n thin over the last 3 years I’ve Unilocalartaken. Over that time, we’ve showed glimpses of brilliance, promised much, achieved success occasionally but ultimately lagged behind other communities. BUT! Fear not fellow Unilocaleeps, times are a changin. This event demonstrated we now boast a manager capable of steering the ship into uncharted, successful waters. Hallelujah!
Organizing an event with a footfall of over 20 people is seldom easy, yet not an empty seat was found by the time I arrived fashionably/​unfashionably late (depending on unsociablility of the observer)
As a venue, Simple has been the forgotten child of an area which has seen drastic change in the past decade. (Gee whiz, I don’t feel young saying that) Used mostly in the good old days of studentdum as a stop shop, it has now established itself as anything but. The new Christmas menu, sampled with glee by fellow Unilocalers was served by a team of studious/​attentitive staff headed impeccably by manager; Monsieur Bradlie with the suave manner of namesake Cooper.
Awaiting the arriving guests were a selection of cocktails, a fine initial injection to get the night off to a great start. (The spiced Gin variety was the winner in that sweepstake)
After a meet and greet, the Mancunian Unilocal army was soon tabulated awaiting the starter platters which arrived like a train on a platform of hungry passengers. Then came the mains express followed by the desert locomtive. As much as this was a Unilocal Community event it’s only fair to give a verdict on the new Christmas menu provided by Simple, who did a fantastic job in hosting us.
So, allow me to rattlesnake through my verdict on the food I sampled. At this stage I must point out my fussy foodie nature worked to my advantage on the night. I didn’t try everything on offer, which meant I got bigger portions of what I DID like. Can I get a whoop whoop.
Starters:
One can only truly experiance the joy of starter heaven if dining with a group of friends or in this case (even better) with fellow Unilocalaratroopers. The trick is to mix and mash the starters if the seasoning is slightly off in any particualr one. The technique worked a treat once again as I will now explain. The two starters in question were the Sliced beef w/​walnut, red onions and toasted bread sprinkled with blue cheese and spiced prawn & cous cous salad w/​red pesto and rocket. On its own the beef was a tad too salty even before the blue cheese kicked in and the cous cous was saltless. However mixed together the slightly dry/​slightly bland cous cous and the rich salty moist beef was a master stroke. Add in the kick of the spicy prawns which were just about soft enough and voila monsieur, we have starter bliss.
Mains:
Much like the famous Samuel L Jackson character in Pulp Fiction, swine meat and I don’t get along, thus the remaining options were; Turkey breast stuffed w/​spinach and apricot and the Marlin fish steak w/​sweet braised red cabbage and red pepper sauce. Whilst both the Turkey breast and the Marlin fish steak were a little dry, the red pepper sauce and gravy took care of that particualr problem.
Desserts:
The hefty nature of the starters and mains naturally meant there was little room in the tank for dessert, but somehow I managed to slip some in. A slice of Chocolate tart w/​ice cream and cherry drizzle went down a treat. Other hits in this department inculded the Cheesecake w/​white choc & Kahlua topping.
Simple has moved up a few echelons in my Northern Quarter meter after this event, that’s for sure. No longer shall I simply cross Tib street to head towards Odd et al. I shall now regualrly be makiing the sharp left and heading the Simple way. After all simplicity is best has been my motto for a long time.
With all due respect to the menu and the food however this was a «Meet the CM» event and that we did. Jonny organized the whole affair brilliantly and I’m sure no one left without showing their respective appreciation for that. As brilliant as it was, seeds were sewn of future events in the numerous discussions had by him with each table. The community can only go from strength to strength in light of evidence at hand and like those Orange customers of days gone by, for us too the future looks bright.
So keep on getting your Unilocal on and I’ll see you all at the next shindiggerydooo!

It had been quite a while since I last went to Simple, and I didn’t realise it had new management and had undergone a thorough refurb until I walked in. I must say it’s a big improvement on what was there before (I recall the place was almost divided in two with screens and the décor was pretty dark). Now it’s lighter, brighter and warmer with a great layout.
The venue was chosen for the ‘Meet the Manchester Unilocal Community Manager’ evening, and they’d picked well. Just a couple of minutes walk from Market Street metrolink stop with it’s entrance raised above street level so it’s nicely tucked away without being hard to find.
Now although there were complimentary drinks and a three course meal provided I’m not letting that bias my opinion. We were being testers for their new Christmas menu, so were provided with platters of every option available, and left to share and discuss what we thought of each one.
The staff and managers were very attentive and open to the feedback we had (most of mine was «Loved it, wanted more — especially that cheesecake with Kahlua in it!»). Apart from the Christmas pudding (which I’ve never liked to eat) they food was really good — a personal favourite was the vegetarian option, and as a bonefide meat-​eater I shocked even myself.
So a thoroughly pleasant dining experience, meeting some very nice people in the process. A return visit is definitely on the cards.

Well Jonny, what a way to start your time at Unilocal!
Having been to Simple a few times, I have always enjoyed their food and the atmopshere provided by the friendly staff, and this evening didn’t dissapoint. The warm apple pie cocktail needs a special shoutout; rum based, with chai tea, it was not what I was expecting — in a good way!
The tasting menu came out quickly, with two platters per table and course (apart from dessert!)
Stand out starter was the beef, and we made sure to let them know! With blue cheese and walnut, it tasted better than it looked and I would happily accept that for my work’s Christmas do. Main meat, potato and veg were all good, but the red pepper sauce shone; replace the parsnip and apple soup starter with this, and Simple would be onto a winner! Desserts were, naturally, a favourite course — I really enjoyed the crumble and cheesecake and could’ve enjoyed full portions of both.
As Lee Z. says, normal service has resumed; the community is coming back together over good food and drink.

With a new CM and Yuletide around the corner, what better way to dive into the festive season than with a Christmas menu tasting in a favourite haunt of Mr Z and I. Simple has undergone an overhaul since our last Sunday lunch there and it is a great improvement. What once was small and dark has been transformed into a spacious, airy and yet still cosy bar/​eatery. The welcoming sight of friendly faces and Unilocal balloons was delight after the freezing Mancunian wind and a great big welcome from Jonny combined with a creamy apple pie cocktail made me feel like the down times of our Unilocal community had dissolved into the ether.
Sitting around a table waiting for foodie delights with friends is one of my favourite ways to spend an evening. There was an air of anticipation and excited chatter filled the room as wine was served and our starter platters reached the tables.
I previously thought I wouldn’t even try the beef and blue cheese but it looked so mouthwateringly yummy that I forced my hatred of moldy cheese to the back of my mind and tentatively munched a mouthful. What a delight! Salty and creamy with a gentle wash of cheesiness, blanketing tender and moist slices of beef, with a doughy bite of chewy focaccia to absorb the richness. It has certainly opened up the world of blue cheese to my unenlightened palate.
I enjoyed the soup although it was a little too sweet, and the beetroot was not so much crisp as soggy, however the velvety texture was divine.
The stuffed pepper was fine, nothing spectacular however; it is difficult to make goats cheese and rice shine but maybe it was lacking more of a citrus or acidic tang? I also feel that there wasn’t enough of a texture element to the dish which would have made its relative simplicity sing out.
The prawn and couscous was good but lacking in seasoning. Again I think it needed more of a hit of flavours but overall a really nice dish.
Onto the mains. Once more I tried each of the 4 dishes and their accompanying sides. The Marlin was a treat. Superbly moist and flavoursome, the tuna-​like texture was wonderful with the exceptional red pepper and chilli sauce. It would make a real change to have that as my Christmas meal.
The pork was juicy with perfectly rendered fat and of course some great crackling.
The turkey was also moist and flavoursome and the apricot stuffing was a perfect match. Topped of with a rich and meaty gravy, no carnivore could be disappointed.
For the vegetarians there was a superbly tasty mushroom, pumpkin and butternut squash bake topped with an over-​generous layer of goats cheese. They say that looks don’t matter, but on this occasion they really do. What you got was a mush of slippery veg that tasted fantastic but looked terrible. Again though I feel the need for crunchy textures in the dish. Your teeth need some work to do every now and then.
I loved the pigs-​in-​blankets and stuffing balls, but the lemon roast potatoes didn’t taste of lemon! The sprouts were sadly like little bullets and even though I am not suggesting butter-​soft vegetables, it would have been nice to be able to get parsnips and carrots that don’t involve a determined stab with a fork! I know I keep harping on about crunchy texture in a dish but solid veg doesn’t count. The saving grace of the vegetable frenzy was the red cabbage. Sweet and sour cabbagey goodness was the diva of the dish.
And finally dessert. In order of preference, chocolate tart with cherry drizzle (simply heavenly but oh so rich), cheesecake with Kaluha (more Kaluha needed), Xmas pudding (not normally a big fan, but this was great! More brandy needed in the sauce) and last but in no means least, rhubarb and apple crumble and custard (like a big warm hug in a bowl).
Thank you Simple for feeding us lovely things and thank you Johnny Q. You did good.

You want to make Lee happy? Have a tasting event.
You want to make Lee really happy? Have a tasting event at one of his favourite eatery/​drinkeries (Look it up).
You want to make Lee really, really happy? give him all of your money… sorry wrong website.
Well, after what seems like forever it would appear that normal service is resuming in the world of Manc Unilocaldom. I don’t think that our new Lord and Master Jonny could’ve got off to a better start, hit the ground running as someone probably said once.
The host was brilliant, the venue was brilliant, the staff and management were all brilliant and of course the fare on offer was all brilliant (well, apart from the veggie bake, but I suppose even vegetarians need feeding too). Special mention goes to the yule cocktail, the beef starter, the pork main with the stuffing balls and the roasties and the cheesecake for pud. All of which were stand outs for me.
Nice work Jonny, I get the impression we’ll get on like a burger restaurant on fire!!!

Great events and extremely well organised by the new Unilocal Manchester CM, Jonny Q!
The title of the event is spot on. Great food, great wine — although if I am honest, wine is all the same to me but the cocktails were good — and great people.
Sounds like Jonny has lots of excellent ideas for the future.
I am writing this now with a very full stomach so that’s a clue to how much I enjoyed the food (gym tomorrow!). Favourites were Beef with blue cheese on toasted bread, never had Cous Cous before but liked that with tr prawns, the Red Pepper with rice and goats cheese was very nice too. Out of the mains, favourite was actually the veg dish — butternut, pumpkin, wild mushroom and goats cheese bake. And I am far from being a veggie. Fav dessert was the cheesecake.
Once again, top job Jonny!
UPDATE: Just read Jess’ review. How could I forget to mention the Red Pepper sauce — this was to accompany the fish but it went well with anything & everything. Some people wanted it as the soup! :)