The Elizabethan

Having revisited The Elizabethan recently I thought this would be a good time to revisit my review.
My latest visit to The Liz was with my girlfriend and her mum, who had come over to visit and check out some of what’s on offer in the Heaton Moor area, having decided to try and find somewhere for lunch.
It certainly wasn’t the busiest I’ve ever seen it when we arrived, but there still appeared to be a shortage of tables as everything was either reserved or already taken. There was a table which was reserved from 12:30, however we arrived at 13:40 and there was no sign of anyone being sat there. One of the staff then spotted me and asked if I was OK, to which I said «Yeah, just looking for a table». He then promptly started to search for a table to seat the three of us, and when we mentioned the reservation which was an hour overdue he responded that they were still waiting for them to arrive. Now, I’ve never worked in hospitality, but it doesn’t seem sensible to me to hold a reserved table for over an hour at the expense of other paying custom. 10 or 15 minutes I could understand, but this seemed like they were bending over backwards to accommodate the wrong customers.
Reservation silliness aside, there was a table available which needed clearing so the guy said he’d get that done for us whilst we ordered drinks at the bar. The drinks offering is your standard pub offering; Carlsberg, Guinness and the like, as well as several JW Lees brews as their the associated brewery. I went for a pint of the JW Lees MPA, or «Manchester Pale Ale». It was an enticing looking pint, however looks proved to be deceiving — I found the MPA to be pretty bland and flavourless with the vaguest hint of hoppy flavour but nothing to really recommend it.
For food, the three of us each opted to go for the Sunday roast: two chicken, and a beef roast for me. When it arrived, I was initially underwhelmed by the size of the plate but after I’d finished I was actually pretty full. The meat, both chicken and beef, was tender and well cooked if perhaps ever so slightly — just, barely — dry. The Yorkshire pudding was huge and crisp, the roasted vegetables were nice and the gravy was good if a tad over-​salted. There was some broccoli and cauliflower cheese too, which was nice but not overly cheesy.
The pub as a whole was pretty quiet for a Sunday, but the temperature was far too warm. All three of us commented on the warmth at least once during our visit. The food was decent, though, even if the beer was a bit naff. There was also an amusing moment where one of the bar staff brought some drinks over to the table next to us and ended up spilling a full pint of soda all over himself, the floor and one of the ladies sat down.
I would have liked to have been in a position to leave a more glowing review of The Elizabethan than my previous score of 2, but I can’t really justify it. Again, I must stress that I don’t think The Liz is a bad pub — it’s far from it. It’s just nothing remarkable; it’s the C– of public houses. I am beginning to suspect that The Liz may be much more suited to being a summer pub, as the sizeable terrace and outdoor seating area would be great in the sun with a cold pint or two of [generic lager here]. For the time being, though, I think it’ll stay firmly on my list of «Meh, I guess we can go there» pubs rather than being a go-​to watering hole.
If you’re after a decent meal, then The Elizabethan can do that. If you want some good beers, then probably look elsewhere.

A great regular spot for me. A nice patio for some sun, which tends to get busy on nice days. Inside is spacious and clean. Good beer and food, so worth a stop, particularly if the sun is shining.

The Elizabethan is my local and how glad I am of this fact, its got a great beer garden, a fantastic selection of real ales and whilst I haven’t sampled the food my housemate assures me that it is good. The clientele is varied with quite a young vibe at weekeneds (~25−35) and the atmosphere is decent. I think if I end up moving away from the heatons I’ll still come back from time to time to visit the elizabethan :)

I break tradition with this bar and use it as my local coffee house. The coffee’s are cheap, the staff are great to chat with, a definite place to stop off in the daytime to use the free wifi and take in the hot drinks menu. It will be better off on your pocket than the traditional coffee houses!

This was my first visit to the Heaton’s and as it was a nice night we headed to the Elizabethan and took advantage of their outdoor area. To be honest on a Summer’s night this place is worth 4 stars as the place is busy and the atmosphere good. I Iike the way they have large umbrellas and cushioned seats as it makes sitting outside more pleasant. The drinks are also cheaper than in nearby Didsbury.
However although this place is good in the Summer I doubt it would be worth the trip any other time as the pub itself is rather bog standard. Will be back again next Summer.

Really good pub for everything … In or out spirits or beers food or crisps chats or parties … A little choosy on dress code but for all the right reasons …

If I could then I may give this place 2.5 stars as it may just be worth that — I mean it’s the epitome of average so 2.5 out of 5 may just fit it perfectly. Saying that, it’s definitely not worth a 3 so here’s what I thought:
This Sunday it was the first ‘out of homes’ lunch meet with the parents we’d met on our ante-​natal classes so all decided to go out for lunch to the Elizabethan — a JW Lees pub in the heart of Heaton Moor village.
While nothing was particularly bad about this pub, there was nothing that would set the world alight about it either. The décor looks mass produced and generic, the beers list boring and lacking in inspiration (the barmaid wondered why it took me 3 goes up and down the bar to choose what beer to have — hmm, generic lager A, generic lager B or should I go for generic lager C???) I ended up going for the MPA — Manchester Pale Ale, which was Mehhhhh… I imagine they must have put at least one hop in it somewhere along the brewing process though (maybe)
I had the fish and chips which was ok, my wife had the steak pie which was ok, everyone else had dishes with the same yellow/​grey chips and frozen peas which were ok, most people had desserts which looked frozen but were ok, ok, ok zzzzzz! (Sorry I feel asleep due to lack of stimulation thinking about it)
The highlight of our trip to the Elizabethan was catching up with our friends and the room we were in was nice and relaxed and the staff were very friendly which was a bonus. I also enjoyed a game with them on the pub quiz machine at the end which was pretty neat for 50p a game.
Sorry about my lacking in inspiration for this review but why spoil the theme for the day. If you are a fan of just OK then you’ll be cool going to the Elizabethan — personally if I had to visit places like this regularly then I feel I’d have given up on life a bit and would struggle to look myself in the mirror each morning. Best tip — use Unilocal to find alternative dining options in the local area.