All Star Lanes, Manchester - New Menu

I bloody love All Star Lanes. I've been to a couple of them now, but the Manchester one at The Great Northern has to be my favourite. We had my friend Lucie's retro bowling party there when she turned 30, we've been for Cake Club 'Meat Up', and I go regularly with my friends for the most amazing cocktails.

Imagine the level of giddiness when I got invited to sample their new menu?! I could have kissed their zombified faces! (I'm not being offensive, it was Halloween). Even better, my pal and I took the afternoon off work and started the weekend early.

Their lovely events manager Natasha greeted us and ran through some of the changes to the menu. Most people associate All Star Lanes purely with bowling, but they also have a fantastic restaurant serving some great diner style food, and a pretty swanky bar.

King prawn taco in a hard shell with guacamole, sour cream, jalapeños and salsa: Not a fan of prawns myself (I find them untrustworthy), but this looked and smelled amazing! I'm assured by Phil that it was beautiful, and they were 'proper prawns, not little ones'!

Nachos to share - nacho cheese, guacamole, jalapeños and salsa: I'm a total nutter for nachos at the moment. Some may say I have become a little obsessed with melted cheese... These were unreal. A good ratio of topping to nacho too. I'm fairly confident I could graze on these all afternoon. 

Chicken parmigiana burger - grilled chicken breast, marinara sauce, buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil: A nice alternative to your standard burger. The only thing that could have made this better would be a toasted bun for a bit of added texture. 

Nacho cheeseburger - ground chuck and rib patty, taco shards, nacho cheese, guacamole and jalapeños: I stayed with my nacho-obsessed theme. Not for the faint-hearted, or those who like to look at all graceful when they eat. A gloppy pile of wonder. I managed half - what a lightweight! 

Monterey Jack corn grit chips and truffled mac and cheese: We had to sample sides... Corn grit chips are a bit like cheesy polenta with a crunchy exterior; unusual but very pleasant! The truffled mac and cheese is likely to induce a heart attack in any decent quantity, which makes it an instant winner!

Drinks: I'm going to be honest with you. There were more than the photos below. These are the ones I remembered to take pictures of! I seem to recall sampling...

• Aloha Jar (left) Finlandia vodka, pineapple juice, passion fruit, lime juices and orgeat.
• Sidecar - H by Hine Cognac is the driving force in this Parisian classic from Harry’s American Bar in Paris, shaken with Cointreau and fresh lemon.
• Roller Girl - Finlandia vodka, Crème de Peche, pomegranate and lemon juice and bubblegum syrup.
• Gin and Elderflower Julep Jar - Bombay Sapphire, elderflower, mint, lemon and apple juice. Churned over crushed ice and served in a jar.
• Bramble - Bombay Sapphire shaken with lemon juice and sugar, with a splash of Chambord black raspberry liqueur.
• Blue Moon - Iconic American wheat beer, Belgian style, notes of coriander and zesty orange.
• Pacifico - Corona’s big brother, rich pale lager with mild hops.
• Pinot Grigio - Matrai from Hungary. Classic dry style with nice acidity, fuller flavour than your average Pinot Grigio, 2012.

Warm cherry pie with vanilla cream and toasted almonds: Sing with me... 'She's my cherry pie!'...No? Oh bugger you then. Very sweet but perfectly sized. I think a dollop of ice cream would assist here rather than cream.

Choc chip cookie ice cream sandwich with maple syrup: Not too sickly and a good ratio of cookie to ice cream.

After suffering from a bit of food overload, we braved a spot of bowling, which was the perfect way to get our backsides into gear after being such horrific gluttons! I'd like to tell you that we both ruled the lanes, Kingpin stylee. Fact of the matter was I got thrashed and we were both equally as terrible as each other. Children at the side of us were practically pros in comparison. However, we didn't damage anything (or anyone) and didn't send the ball hurtling down the gutter too often...

We had a great time at All Star Lanes. The new menu is fantastic, the service was attentive and the drinks were pretty special too. I don't think either of us will be topping the bowling leader board any time soon though...

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Disclaimer: I was invited to sample the new menu by All Star Lanes. In return they wanted our honest feedback on the food. I was under no obligation to write a review, be nice or get drunk on cocktails whilst I was there. I did that of my own accord.