Harden's says
Never a man to stand still, Gary Usher opened the sixth outpost of his growing, crowd-funded north western empire in the heart of the city-centre; the venue will be open from breakfast onwards, and incorporate a 70-cover restaurant, plus a bar set out 'Barrafina-style' where up to 15 people can eat. Rather than feeling rustic, the site is a massive glass-fronted building with polished floors, with marble and lots of black to suit the glass feel.
Harden's survey result
Summary
“Outstanding food” at sensible prices hits the sweet spot at this “really enjoyable” three-year-old, the sixth venue in Gary Usher’s crowd-funded Elite Bistros group. “The service was excellent and the standards really high” – “I loved being able to watch what was going on in the kitchen”.
Summary
“Another of Gary Usher’s triumphant bistros”, this city centre two-year-old offers “great modern British cooking at a fair price, with excellent service” – the signature of the chef’s growing Elite Bistro chain. It’s casual, too. Top Tip: “the candied beetroot and sheep’s ricotta tarte fine was superb”.
Summary
“Usher’s best yet” say fans of Gary Usher’s ambitious crowd-funded opening, which opened in a prominent corner site in the city-centre in May 2019. It beamed down very late for us to receive huge volumes of survey feedback, but such reports as we have say it’s already a hit, with “friendly staff” and cranking out “fantastic” modern bistro fare in the trademark, deft ‘Elite Bistros’ style.
Summary
“Usher’s best yet” say fans of Gary Usher’s ambitious crowd-funded opening, which opened in a prominent corner site in the city-centre in May 2019. It beamed down very late for us to receive huge volumes of survey feedback, but such reports as we have say it’s already a hit, with “friendly staff” and cranking out “fantastic” modern bistro fare in the trademark, deft ‘Elite Bistros’ style.
For 32 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
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Restaurant details
Kala Restaurant Diner Reviews
"super friendly service. not totally accurate, but natural charm and warmth was there in spades. food was interesting. lunch - set menu. some fabulous items - hispi salad with pickles + snitzel salmon knock out. not seen any where else. tongue pasty plus cress salad - again unusual and tasty. beet salad could have done with a touch of salt on caramelised walnuts but was good. creme brulee on point. soft creamy. bitter thin shattering brulee. rhubarb with ginger ice cream made by the delicate ginger ice cream. want to visit didsbury outpost. oh in my view a few tweaks to the dishes and it'd slip to 5."
"Very enjoyable 'modern British' cooking. But when we arrived and through most of our meal, the noise was deafening - peaking at 84dB according to my watch - a level associated with hearing damage. Once a very loud party of 14 left, it was much better. Our nice server apologised profusely, but we could hardly hear what she was saying (hence low score). Everyone dining had to shout to make themselves heard, so it was noisier still, and so on. We won't go back unless they limit party size or create a private room "
Prices
| Availability | 2 courses | 3 courses |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Always | £35.00 | £40.00 |  |
|
|
Traditional European menu
| Pudding |
|---|
| £0.00 |
| Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £22.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £2.00 |
| Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 10.00% |
King Street, Manchester, M2 7AT
Opening hours
| Monday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5 pm‑8:30 pm |
| Tuesday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5 pm‑8:30 pm |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5 pm‑8:30 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5 pm‑8:30 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Sunday | 12 pm‑5 pm |
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