Frankie finds nothing Odd with this new menu...

I just love the autumn. Crisp leaves, rich colours, cool air...and the oh-so-delicious release of new restaurant menus.

With a change of season comes a change of specials; and the latest restaurant to pimp up their plates? Odd Bar in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, and I was more than thrilled with the selections on offer.

What I love about Odd Bar, is the utter ease you feel as you slink into the comfortable, low-lit, friends-living-room-esque setting. Mis-matched chairs, quirky wall hangings and even quirkier patrons, it’s the perfect spot for a humble drink, a catch up with your buds or a shameless chow down...or all of the above – which is exactly what we did.

The service in Odd Bar is friendly and relaxed. Owain who took care of us was chatty, personable and had great knowledge on the menu dishes, a quality I really appreciate when faced with an abundance of tasty plates.

Excited by the array of choice in front of us, we ordered the Roast Sweet Potato, Chick Pea and Spinach Curry as a main meal to share (under Owain’s recommendation), with additional small plates of Pesto Chicken Skewers, Grilled Rosemary and Smoked Garlic Marinated Halloumi, Feta, Spinach and Pine Nut Parcels and a House Salad, just for kicks.

We relaxed into our booth, watching the regulars pore in, excited to kick-back with a cold one. The relaxed vibes of the bartenders and heavily pumped old-school tunes provide the perfect, feel-good backdrop for the weekend and is a clear favourite for NQ locals and regulars.



Our food arrived, piping hot from the kitchen and presented with flourish. It’s evident the chefs are proud to present the new menu offerings, and rightly so! Unable to resist the promising smells of our feast, we dove in eager to taste.

The Feta Parcels were a total triumph. Crunching through the crisp filo pastry encasing, you’re met with a soft, creamy feta and spinach filling, a perfect contrast of textures and undeniably moreish. If you’ve ordered these to share, be sure to be the first to take a bite and try and convince your co-diner that they’re terrible and then eat the lot. Try not to moan with joy.



The skewers are loaded with bite sized pieces of chicken, grilled in a coating of fresh basil pesto giving freshly chargrilled flavours to each light, meaty bite. Extra pesto is poured into the dish for extra dipping purposes and is greatly appreciated – that stuff is nectar of the gods.



The halloumi was the squeaky, salty joy we all know and love it to be. I couldn’t make out much of the garlic or rosemary flavours, but regardless these chunky hunks of cheese were a welcome addition to our spread.

Now, I just HAD to save the best for last. Let’s talk curry.

This fella absolutely stole the show, and I advise you drop whatever you’re doing immediately to go order it. You won’t regret it.

A hearty bowl of the stewed curry is accompanied by a plump pile of fluffy coconut rice, a generous portion of torn flatbread and a dish of chunky homemade mango chutney.



The curry is undeniably delicious. Light yet comforting, it’s seriously packed with flavour with each mouthful. The rice is impossibly soft and I honestly couldn’t get enough of it (how does someone make RICE that good?!) The homemade chutney was the perfect sweet balancer of the dish, I especially loved loading up a flatbread with the good stuff, then piling on rice and a spoonful of curry for extra decadence.

Okay, so I may not have looked my most lady-like when loading that into my mouth, but it tasted hella good and I advise you do it too.

We polished off the lot, seriously impressed with the entirety of our feast and pretty emotional that it was over.

Thankfully, being a bar and all, you can ease those post-meal mourns with some seriously naughty cocktails (whilst you plan your next visit obviously).

Odd Bar have really pulled it outta the kitchen with their new menu, and as you can probably gather, I highly recommend you visit to check it out for yourself.

It gets pretty busy in the evening, so head there early and bag yourself a booth...you’re gonna want space for all them plates.

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Posted: Monday 12th September 2016
ID: 3944 - 1755