Number 19: Discover 10 new restaurants - TNQ

Another new restaurant discovery from my weekend away in Manchester in the middle of November...

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The Northern Quarter restaurant is tucked away down the High Street and although I lived 10 minutes away for a year, I'd never been.

It was the perfect place for a delicious Sunday lunch (with all of the seafood), before heading back home.  Another one that I would highly recommend.

Number 19: Discover 10 new restaurants - Croma

This post should definitely have the disclaimer of "new-to-me" restaurants...

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Croma is by no means new, in fact it's a bit of a Manchester institution; with the first restaurant opening in 2000.  But, despite living in the city for seven years, I had never been...  So, spending a rainy Saturday evening catching up with old friends over delicious pizza and a few glasses of wine seemed like the perfect way to rectify this oversight.

The food was delicious, I can't recommend the Garstang blue and goat's cheese pizza highly enough.  And I will definitely be back to sample more of the menu next time I'm "up North".

Number 19: Discover 10 new restaurants - Wahaca

Last weekend, I headed back up to Manchester for some much needed catching up with friends.  As always, there were tonnes of new restaurants that had opened up in my absence so we took the opportunity to try out a few of them (more to follow...).

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First on the list was Wahaca, which I'd never been to before despite it being quite a large chain.  And I was really impressed - we had delicious food and good service, I'd definitely recommend!  And as they regularly change the menu, I'll be heading back too to see what's on offer.

Number 79: Go to an art gallery that I haven’t been to

A few weekends ago, whilst on a short trip up to Manchester, I got chance to take a look around the newly-refurbished Whitworth Art Gallery.

I know.  I've been to this gallery before.  In fact, I lived next to it in my first year of University and used it, and the surrounding park, as my space to relax away from the flat.  But, with the extensive work they've done it feels like a completely different space.

We enjoyed lunch in the new cafe in the trees, which had disappointing service but excellent food (hopefully the service will be better next time we visit!).  Then we headed out into the galleries to look around the new exhibits, which were beautiful.  If you're in the area, it's definitely worth a visit.

Photos shamelessly stolen from my friend Alexa.

Number 19: Discover 10 new favourite restaurants - Bill's

I know that I'm pretty late to the party but I'm loving Bill's at the moment!  I'd never come across them until I moved to Cambridge, but since then I seem to come across branches everywhere I go!

I really like the laid back atmosphere, the rustic décor and the deli feel.  The food's always been great (the ginger and blackcurrant smoothies are a winner) and the service has been good, even when I freaked the staff out by eating alone!

Bill's holds some good memories so far - the first drinks out with my new colleagues in Cambridge, a solo work trip to Salisbury and an impromptu reunion in Manchester (their first "northern" branch).

The most northerly Bill's (photo c/o Justin)

So, whilst there may be nothing extraordinary about Bill's I still love it and hopefully there'll be lots more good memories to add to those that I've already collected there.  

You've got to love a restaurant that hands out healthy snacks...