Brunch with Neighbourhood Spinningfields, Manchester

If there’s one place I’m absolutely loving this year, it’s Neighbourhood Manchester in Spinningfields.  Ever since their relaunch in the summer, I’ve been super obsessed with the neon signs, bubblegum pink booths and kooky wall graffiti.  It’s got a really cool vibe about it and I always have a fab time there, both in the day and at night.

I was really happy, therefore, to be invited by Neighbourhood via Georgie Glass to have a cosy little bloggers’ brunch with a couple of my fave gal pals last Saturday morning.  Food, drink and girly chat in one of Manchester’s hottest hangouts?  You don’t have to ask me twice –  I was there with BELLS on.

If you know me at all, you’ll know I’m always on the last minute and, more often than not, running late but for once in my life I was actually the first to arrive so I sipped on some Prosecco – at 10 am! – while I waited for the others.  In stark contrast from Neighbourhood at night where the bar is full to the brim and every booth is taken with diners and revellers, Neighbourhood by day is a much calmer affair.  First thing in the morning, it’s the perfect place to sit and relax after a late one the night before (it had been Friday night after all) and I couldn’t wait to get some food down me.

Ten minutes later and my party had arrived – I was joined by Georgie (obvs), my lovely new pal Danielle King and the fab Sam Bella of The Travel Crush.  It was the perfect mix of Manchester-based ladies to have a cute breakfast date with and we sipped and chatted as we chose from the delicious new menu of brunch choices available.

Usually, I’m 100% an avo-on-toast kinda gal – this time last year I don’t think I’d ever even tried it and now I’m totally avo-obsessed – but this time I was completely swayed by the French toast option.  It looked amazing on paper and I plumped for cream, banana and mixed berries for toppings whilst Georgie went for the salmon, Danielle for the eggs and Sam made up for my disloyalty by choosing the avo.  To be honest, everything on the menu looked incredible and I could quite happily have had any of the (vegetarian) options and probably have been more than satisfied with what I got.

Whilst we waited for our food (which, FYI, wasn’t very long at all) we caught up with what had been going on in each other’s lives and got excited about future projects in the pipeline.  Sam’s settling back into Manchester life after the most insane time living abroad, Georgie’s planning something huge – get the 1st January in your diaries and get following her on insta girls! – and I literally can’t wait for Danielle’s KIHT brand to launch.

The food arrived and oh my, Neighbourhood DID NOT disappoint.  Like everything they do, from evening meals to cocktails, the brunch was presented beautifully on the plate (and the plates themselves are pretty Instagrammable coupled with the marble tables and powder pink salt and pepper shakers).  Everyone’s meal looked absolutely lovely and tasted even better.  I can’t speak for the others’ dishes – although the chorus of  ‘mmm’ and silence as they devoured their food was a pretty good indication – but the French toast was absolutely delicious.  Sometimes I find that French toast can be quite ‘stodgy’ and lie heavy on your stomach but this was actually quite light and, although I felt more than satisfied when I’d finished it, I didn’t feel like I’d overindulged which is always a bonus when you’ve chosen the ‘naughty’ option off the menu.  The cream, as expected was lovely, and the berries had a really lovely taste, which can be hard at this time of year.  I don’t know what exactly they had done to the banana but whatever it was it was great – it almost tasted like there was some sort of glaze on it – and I particularly liked the side of lime as it gave the whole dish a really nice flavour and a bit of a kick too.  Everyone praised their choice and, all in all, there were four very happy girls.

I think the thing about Neighbourhood is whatever they do, they do it well.  Yes, it’s got the glitz and glam with its edgy decor and guest list full of famous faces but it’s got real substance behind it too with great food, amazing entertainment and fabulous cocktails.  They played the perfect hosts for a catch up with the girls (and, by the way, the service really is fantastic) and I cannot wait to go back there for another brunch.