Coriander

Indian/Bangladeshi Restaurant
Barlow Moor Road, Chorlton.
(Definitely a sit-down restaurant - so it's in the sundries section.)
Coriander is quite unique in the Manchester curry scene.  It feels different to the other places, it’s a little bit out on a limb rather than being in a bustling area, it’s relatively serene inside, it’s not Pakistani and professes to make healthy food. If you really want to know what they claim to do there’s a hell of a manifesto on their website:
http://www.corianderchorlton.co.uk/
If any of the staff have read it remains to be seen, however the food was different from the usual stuff and much less oily.  The flavours were different too, with more citrus to them, whether this is a traditional Bengali thing we can’t say but to have something genuinely different in a city of very similar places is a welcome thing.
Now the important part… - The popadoms were good with different accompaniments than usual and more Indian vibe to them.  The tandoori stuff was differently spiced and very tastey – though it didn’t have that sizzle or steam of meatly freshly pulled form the grill, but it wasn’t tough and didn’t taste microwaved, perhaps it was partially cooked then finished off. In either case this was a bit misleading as the waiter was asked if it was cooked freshly and he said yes. However it was nice. The prawn and mushroom curry was a little bit disappointing, tasting of not much other than tomatoes and this vague citrus flavour that was in the other dishes. ‘grandmothers beef’ was good – slow cooked in coconut with chana daal.
Bread and rice were good - not much else to be said on the matter.
I’d return here, it’s different and you don’t leave feeling sluggish, oily or semi-dehydrated with excessive salt.  If the food were one notch better it’d be a real favourite. Recommended in this part of town though. There’s 20% discount Sunday afternoon and some deal on a Thursday too.

The King's Arms

Bloom St.
‘The King’s’ is a little gem of a pub on a relatively small street between the main drag of Chapel Street and Trinity Way. It’s slightly off the main circuit for folk in the centre, which is probably no bad thing. It successfully combines the slightly offbeat character of Salford’s mixture of Industrial and University life without veering too far either way. I.e.  There’s a good mix of folk and it’s not a student pub. So far so good.  There’s also usually a good selection of beer - real ales, cider and bottled Belgian and the food has supposedly taken an upward turn of late. The pub building itself is a real cracker and seems to be an example of the environment really aiding the atmosphere. Apart from it being a bit too chilly on occaision (which extremely picky folk might also say about the ale) there’s almost nothing to complain about. A great little boozer.

O’Shea’s Irish Bar

Whitworth Street
Pretty big, Irish themed, serves a lot of Guinness, has a bit of music and shows the football.  Not really a venue for those wanting a pint of real ale in interesting surroundings. However, if any of the points above appeal it might prove a reasonable watering hole – and certainly preferable to official ‘Sports’ bars for watching the tele - but, to be fair, that isn't difficult.