Apparently the Marble Arch was built by workers from Victoria train station after they were barred from the other pubs in the area. Using materials they erm, 'borrowed' from the station it is quite easy to see certain architectural traits that reflect the station - namely the girders in the ceiling and the beautiful tiles and mosaics. The sloping floor (to aid your progression to the bar) is quite bizarre and the bar itself is full of real ales, continental beers, potent ciders and of course the wonderful selection of beers brewed on the premises! It doesn't get much better than this and as an example of victoriana I'm struggling to think of a match let alone anything better! Wonderful...

And thats before I've even mentioned the food - well what a surprise! I am all for down to earth pub grub at reasonable prices and thats what I thought we would get - were we disappointed? In a word *no* - far from it in fact, everything, from the halloumi cheese salad, chicken liver pate and toast, sardines on toast and the soup for starters, to the loin of lamb, chicken tabbouleh, fish and chips and veggie burger for the mains and finally manchester tart and neopolitan ice cream for sweet were all good honest wholesome, tasty and visually appealing! Everything was home made (yes even the rather delicious neopolitan ice cream) with an eye for quality, perfect portions and just the right amount of embellishment - Marble Arch really have got the pitch towards modern cooking styles based on traditional fayre just right! I've seen this done wrong so many times where pubs try to make their food more 'fancy' and fail; leaving you with something that is neither good wholesome traditional food nor something new and exotic - this slight tilt towards the fancy added just the right amount of interest to what was a fully satisfying meal! Cost - damn reasonable - in fact value for money is excellent! Highly recommended!

A word about our host Rob, even though we were such a large group (I really don't think they are used to so many people arriving for dinner all at once - this is not a restaurant!) and farting around from people at the last minute he managed to accommodate everyone and patiently noted down last minute changes to plans and made everything work - cheers Rob - you did a grand job! All in all a top night!

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/15/1519/Marble_Arch/Manchester