Northern Quarter Restaurant and Bar Reviews – The Pen and Pencil

As we’ve made it our mission to get out and about in the Northern Quarter to try the local restaurants and bars, our next stop was The Pen and Pencil! Our Senior Recruitment Operations Coordinator, Rachel Wilson and Marketing Executive, Isabelle Turner visited The Pen and Pencil, read about their experience here!

5 things we loved about The Pen and Pencil.

Address: 57 Hilton Street, Manchester, M1 2EJ

Time Visited: Thursday Evening

1. The Happy Hour

Moving away from Spinningfields meant that we needed to find a local bar for our after work drinks, and The Pen and Pencil proved to be the perfect place for that! When we arrived, we didn’t realise that happy hour was on so we selected a bottle of wine off the drinks menu and fortunately for us our waiter informed us that the house wine was £10 so being the economical people that we are, we chose that option which obviously meant we could have 2 bottles instead! Don’t worry if you’re not a wine lover though as the happy hour also includes 2 for £10 cocktails, £3 bottled beers and a very nice bottle of prosecco for £15 – something for everyone!

2. The Food

The food at The Pen and Pencil was delicious and there was plenty to choose from. We had the Philly Sandwich and the Buttermilk Chicken Burger which were both beautifully presented and packed full of flavour! One thing for sure is that you’ll never go hungry, the portion sizes were very generous and the prices extremely reasonable. We can’t wait to try something else next time…

3. The Atmosphere

Walking into the restaurant, you automatically knew that you were in the heart of the northern quarter, it was a great mixture of casual yet lively. Looking around you could clearly see that was a restaurant favourite with a variety of people from office colleagues to young couples. It was the perfect place to relax, unwind and enjoy the music.

4. The Entertainment

Unbeknown to us, at the time of booking we hadn’t realised that there would be a live band playing that evening and what a fantastic surprise it was! The band were absolutely amazing and allowed the audience to interact by letting us picks songs and perform with them (the latter didn’t apply to us, the audience wouldn’t have thanked us for it). It appeared that these sorts of nights were quite regular at The Pen and Pencil as they drew in a large crowd of lively people. We’d go as far as saying that it was the highlight of the night

5. The Service

From the minute we stepped in the restaurant to the moment we left, the staff provided us with exceptional service and where an asset to the business. Our waiter was on-hand to offer us advice on the menu and make recommendations which was very helpful. Whilst we were there, we spotted some friends and once they realised that we all knew each other, they cleared a big table and moved us there without us having to ask! Talk about accommodating!

If you’re ever in the northern quarter, make sure you try The Pen and Pencil! With its flavoursome food, quirky atmosphere and first-class entertainment, you won’t be disappointed!

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Read about Colin and Laura's trip to Evelyn's Cafe here.