A great looking corner unit, and one of the OG Northern Quarter food hotspots, reflected in the fact that they named the venue after its very location. Almost 2 decades on they are still there and rammed on a Friday whilst neighbours are quiet, which speaks volumes. The extensive windows offer great views facing the iconic former Smithfield Fish Market. It’s just a fantastic spot.

Inside the décor is informal, simple yet sharp, clean and to the point. It feels more like a neighbourhood brasserie to me and is quite simply a very nice place to hang out for a while.

The Hemingway inspired wall poster raised a smile. We instantly Googled where to get hold of one, and then took another swig of Albarino.

Nothing really comes to mind. It does what it tries to do, really well.  Perhaps the Churchill Stonecast plates are a bit 2017, but would anybody really notice that anyway apart from a crockery geek like me? Plus, I have some of the same set at home.

We just happened to visit on a Friday when it was 50% off food. Truth be told, that’s a large part of why we visited. ‘Feel Good Friday’ as they call it, was just that.

City centres are generally quieter on a Friday than they’ve ever been, largely due to flexible working office goers now cherry picking the day to ‘work’ from home to create a long weekend. Slackers. So as a result, we are now seeing more Friday dining deals popping up to entice people from out in the burbs to trek into town on a Friday evening. This is one of the best Friday deals in the city, 100%. A couple of quality three course dinners for about £50, on a Friday! Pricing is already fair for such quality, even before the promotion prices. Well worth our personal suburban jaunt.

Value throughout the wine list is generally very decent, peaking at around 3x for the cheaper bins. Our always excellent Chateau Musar was priced at a mere £57, despite costing around £37 retail, so a lovely circa 1.5x markup. The last time we drank this in Manchester was at a top end place over in Ancoats, and it was priced almost double that. Excellent stuff. Also, the wines available by the glass are priced relatively to the whole bottle cost. We love that as it encourages exploration, and it needs to happen at more places.

10% service charge is added, which was fine on this visit as we’d have paid it anyway.  But the 10% is charged at the pre 50% off prices, so service charge comes out at 20% in real terms.  It still didn’t stop the evening from being a bit of bargain.

Chef Anthony Fielden has quietly been knocking out quality plates of food at TNQ for a very long time now. You don’t really see him in the local food media, and in our view, he deserves more praise and recognition for quite simply producing the kind of food which Manchester enjoys eating, and for being a discreet stalwart in our city’s ever improving dining scene.

Crispy Harissa Lamb Breast (£6.75) was a strong start. Spicy harissa-laden lamb breast, rolled and then carved into cross sections, fleshed out with lovely, firm, spiced chickpeas. Whipped goat’s cheese, pomegranate, and some fresh watercress to bring a nod of lightness, with some yoghurt to finish. Shades of Ottolenghi across the plate, and super enjoyable.

Charred Tenderstem Broccoli (£3.98) brought more Middle Eastern vibes, which Ill happy admit, accidentally paired superbly with our outstanding bottle of Lebanese red; a 2016 Chateau Musar. Smokey broccoli with some admittedly stiff textured humous which we still very much enjoyed, some chicory leaves to act as a scooping vessel, with pomegranate molasses for a tartly sweet flourish. I’ve already mentioned Mr Ottolenghi…

Roast Lamb Rump (£13) was a sizeable portion of food, which is always right up my street. Perfectly pink lamb rump, sat on top of a rich lamb neck ragu. Saucing was deep, rich, glossy, and prepared with love, as it should be. Garnish was some fresh, sweet baby carrots, with a square of well-seasoned and cooked potato and leek terrine. Delicious

Sea Bream (£12) reminded us of a dish which we often cook when on holiday in Spain. A simple dish which always delivers on flavour; a chunky fillet of bream atop a smoky chorizo, green bean and tomato ‘stew’. It pains me that decent and varied fish is all but impossible to source on the British high street.

We probably didn’t need sides as the dishes were complete enough, but what else are you doing on a Friday night if it’s not overindulging? Truffle Cauli Cheese (£3) was well cooked, with bags of cheese-laden bechamel. Satisfying in all seasons. New Potatoes (£2.25) were a simple plate, which straightforwardly matched our need to consume more carbs than was probably necessary.

Sticky Toffee Pudding (£4) is my favourite home style dessert on the planet. This was a good rendition! Tons of well-balanced toffee sauce with a nice pudding, topped with a ball of vanilla ice cream and a shard of honeycomb, which was a nice little elevation to the usual solo ice cream.

Lemon Meringue Pie (£4) displayed a good range of pastry technique. We counted 7 elements to the dish, all clearly scratch made. Texture from the pastry, balanced sweetness/bitterness from the gels and sorbet.

NB – All food prices listed are part of the Feel Good Fridays 50% off promotion.

Presentation on the Broccoli starter was a little cluttered.   The Lamb starter was perhaps a little over yoghurted and the Cauli Cheese side lacked truffle scent almost entirely.  Now Im not expecting freshly shaved Alba white truffle garnish for three quid, but a few more drops of truffle oil please Chef.

Everything that you could ask for in a cosy, informal, relaxed brasserie-feeling venue.  Service was chatty, prompt, informative, confident.  We felt in safe hands for the duration of our meal.

Nowhere clearly visable to hang our coats.  But then it’s a 50-cover restaurant not a massive unit.  Chair backs will do.

TNQ has quietly been nailing it up in the NQ for a very long time now, picking up awards from respected national publications and even legit guides in the process. The food is honest, unpretentious, fuss-free yet delicious, with a clear emphasis on being local. They’ve been consistent for well over a decade, producing food which people just like to eat. Simple as that.

Sure, there was a few little food niggles, but TNQ is still one of the best places in town to get hold of a good honest meal, with just the right amount of occasion to it .

Just those little food niggles, largely re. presentation, but then how it tastes is what really matters right?