Kro Bar

...those in Manchester City Centre Kro catering do delivery services so you do not have to face the hoards of students.

Would I recommend Krobar

What do you think I am going to say? Of course I would recommend it. I must go there more often. I am looking forward to trying the coffee and the breakfasts. t may not be the cheapest place but it is reasonable and is not pretentious. If you want cheap and cheerful trey the Hogshead ...
...UPDATE 6/03/2006

Kro has recently opened up a new branch in the new Piccadilly Gardens development in Manchester City Centre. I visited on Friday night for supper with a friend.

It is more like Kro2 as the building is very modern with very little personality. However it has big windowns and thus is an ideal place to be seen or do a little bit of people watching. We arrived about 19:30 and the bar area seemed pretty full. ... more

Manchester has many fine bars and restaurants and I have yet to review any of them properly. Today I want to address this by writing about a very classy award winning bar called the Krobar as I had a lovely dinner there on Sunday after finding our first and second choice of eateries were full of football supporters watching the Manchester United game.

If I said to you that Krobar was a Danish inspired bar what would you think? Perhaps you might think yummy bacon and pastries or perhaps you would think oh no all the bar staff will be wearing horned Viking helmets and fake blond plaits and Valkery costumes.

Be rest assured there are no tacky references to Denmark in this rather classy place. It is Danish inspired as the bar's name comes from the Danish word for a pub or an inn Kro. The owners are also Danish in origin giving it an authentic touch. They do Danish pastries, bacon and Danish specialties though.

Where is the Krobar?

It is located in a Georgian terrace opposite the Manchester University Student's Union on Oxford Road. It is pretty easy to get to using public transport as it is on the busiest bus route in Europe.

On approaching the Krobar you will see a beautiful classic building with outdoor seating. In the summer months this outdoor space is chock a block with both students and young professionals sipping a beer or glass of wine and enjoying the sun.

The interior.

The Krobar is on two levels. I must admit I really have not ventured up into the second floor apart to use the toilets. So I can not comment on this however the downstairs seating is pretty spartan but comfortable. There is no fake Victorian furniture here. There is also more outdoor seating outside. It is a very pleasant place to sit. I have been to the Krobar a few times after work and find it a nice atmosphere with a mixed crowd as I have already mentioned. I have always found the Krobar to be fairly clean and not too noisy or smoky so it is a great place to meet friends and chat.

The food.

The Breakfast Menu

The menu for the Krobar is fairly large with just about something for everyone. Although I have not tried them they have a wide range of breakfast items combining traditional ingredients and different types of breads and bagels. They do a humongous breakfast for six pounds and bagels and sandwiches are 3.95. This might be more a treat than an everyday breakfast as I feel that it is a wee bit expensive The bar opens at 8.30 for breakfast,.

The Main Menu.

This is quite expansive and has something for everyone. I was tempted by the roast dinner with a pint of either Carling or London Pride for just undeer £6 but opted for a vegetable enchilada. My sister had stuffed roasted peppers and Duskman had the Farafal pasta which was pasta with chicken in a white wine, cream and red pesto sauce. We also had a side order of sweet onion bread. The prices are reasonable. I do no think any of our meals were over £6 or £7. I noticed the steak at £9 was the most expensive thing on the menu. They also do a wide range of sandwiches and wraps between £2 and £5. They also do home made soup. There is a deal to get a soup and a sandwich for about £4-£. They also do some Danish specialities such as Danish sausages, Frikadelle and Danish breaded plaice. All food according to the website is freshly cooked and the products come form environmentally friendly sources.

We had to wait about fifteen to twenty minutes for our meal to be served. I do not mind this as I know that it is not just going to be heated up in a microwave. The meals arrived all at once and the service was friendly. My dinner was very nice with chunky vegetables, and a nice amount of spicyness. There was a lot of tasty tomato and cheese sauce surrounding the enchilada. I felt the portion was a decent enough size The roast peppers were declared delicious and lovely and sweet by Fiona. I had a little taste of Richard's pasta and it seemed tasty. The onion bread rounded off a nice meal.

Drinks

Yes I know we are in a bar and I have not mentioned the drinks. They have a fairly extensive wine list with bottles costing12 or 13 pounds and a house wine 9.50. My sister had a glass o the house white and said it was nice and dry. For the beer drinkers among sat you they seem to have a fail selection of both common and less well known beers specialising in European beers. I am sure it was here I was first introduced to Hoegarten. I had a half of a Bavarian wheat beer which I felt was distinctive and very easy to drink (I will try and remember the name for those of you beer aficionados). With Richard's pint of Storngbow the drinks total came to around six pound. I would not say Krobar is the cheapest place for drinks but it's a nice place to drink and they do have a good selection if you are looking for something unusual. They also have a range of coffees for in the morning or for those who are teetotal (the building was once owned by Manchester Temperance Society) Apparently you get a free croissant with every large mug of coffee. Another reason for visiting the Krobae.

The facilities

The toilets were cleanish and were a mixture of modern and old with those big square sinks I associate with sculleries.

Other Krobars.

Krobar is an independent bar but there is also the Krobar2 further up Oxford Road towards the City Centre. They have also recently opened the new café in Manchester Museum also on Oxford Road. Just to note Krobar was Citylife's bar of the year in 2000 and Krobar2 won the same award in 2002. Oh and for those in Manchester City Centre Kro catering do delivery services so you do not have to face the hoards of students.

Would I recommend Krobar

What do you think I am going to say? Of course I would recommend it. I must go there more often. I am looking forward to trying the coffee and the breakfasts. t may not be the cheapest place but it is reasonable and is not pretentious. If you want cheap and cheerful trey the Hogshead down the road
All in all It is a great place with a nice mix of people with a lovely menu and some interesting beers. What more do you want from a bar!!

http://www.kro.co.uk/
UPDATE 6/03/2006

Kro has recently opened up a new branch in the new Piccadilly Gardens development in Manchester City Centre. I visited on Friday night for supper with a friend.

It is more like Kro2 as the building is very modern with very little personality. However it has big windowns and thus is an ideal place to be seen or do a little bit of people watching. We arrived about 19:30 and the bar area seemed pretty full. Luckily re is a separate restaurant area which is more spacious and slightly quieter the music was certainly quieter and I could hear myself think. I also liked it as it was not at all smoky. It was an ideal place for a good old gossip over a bottle of wine and nice food.

The menu was shorter and slightly more expensive than I remember the original Kro bar being. It has a rel emphaisis on fish dishes but there are also two vegetarian dishes and a couple of steak type dishes However it was still very nice. I had a big bowl of Moules Marinere (£7.99) which came with slices of fresh crusty bread. It was a lovely simple dish. We shared a bottle of nice rose wine which was bout £13 and a isde order of lively crisp chunky chips I rounded it off with a shot of Countreua. This was the part of the meal I was most disappointed with as the ice had melted and it tasted watered down. The bill came to £37

The service was friendly and pretty prompt although I was bemused about how we would order at first as there were no staff in sight when we sat down for food.

Kro seem to have done it again offering stylish good food. The advantage is not having to trek down to Oxford road and studentsville.

 

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