Manchester is continuing to up its game and open new restaurants constantly. When I heard that boutique hotel, Dakota was opening in Manchester’s Northern Quarter I was very excited to see what it was all about. Dakota is conveniently located only 5 minutes from Piccadilly station making it the perfect spot for anyone out of town to visit. I regularly eat out in the Northern Quarter and was intrigued to see what Dakota was all about. From the outside the hotel doesn’t look as though it would be anything special inside, but when you enter it is another world!

On a recent trip to Israel, I was invited to try out one of Tel Aviv’s best restaurants, Hatraklin Wine and Meat Bistro. The restaurant is located down a quiet street in a restored building. From the outside the restaurant looks like an old building, but after stepping through the front doors you are immediately transported into a magical dining experience which is made up of different rooms each with there own character and style. The most romantic setting was outside in the courtyard, however during August it is just too hot to eat outside so we opted to eat in the main restaurant. As soon as we sat down at the table we were served the house wine which was a semi dry white wine which I really enjoyed. Ben and Shay, our waiters for the evening were extremely friendly and knowledgeable about all of the wine and the meat, explaining how the meat is cooked and served.

If you are a meat lover then Hawksmoor, award winning British steakhouse is the restaurant to visit. It is located in the heart of Manchester city centre on Deansgate and has been open now since March 2015. I was lucky enough to be invited along to try out the Sunday Roast which was by far the best roast I have ever had! I chose the roast rump which is served medium rare with duck fat roast potatoes, carrots, greens, roasted shallots & garlic, Yorkshire pudding and lashings of bone marrow and onion gravy.  The dish featured perfect roast potato that were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside and the biggest Yorkshire pudding I’ve every seen! The greens and carrots were cooked to perfection and lightly seasoned. At the higher end of Sunday roasts, priced at £20 a head, the meat is excellent quality that is succulent and tender and the portion size is generous!

Discovering new places to eat in Manchester is one of my favourite things to do on a weekend, so when I was invited to the newly launched Cabana in Corn Exchange I was very excited.

If you haven’t heard of Cabana, it is a Brazilian barbecue restaurant that aims to capture the carnival spirit of Rio de Janeiro and San Paulo. The interior is very quirky with neon lights, caged fencing and brightly coloured art on the walls. Even the music was reflective of being in Brazil! We began our adventure with a brasilito cocktail which is a modern take on a mojito.