The Amblehurst Hotel,
Washway Road, Sale, M33 7QZ
Tel. 0161 973 880

The Amblehurst Hotel is on the main Washway Road and is very close to Sale centre. There is free parking on the grounds. It seems to have been there forever and I have fond memories of attending great Christmas parties there and taking Americans to the restaurant to show them that they could eat great steaks in England as well.

But that was way back in the balmy day when Martin Jones was the par excellence manager and much water has passed under many bridges since. We knew we were overdue to visit again.

The hotel receptionist is a very helpful and pleasant lady called Karen. She pointed us in the direction of the bar and said she would let the waitress know we were there. The waitress came with the menu which was on a single, laminated sheet. Sadly, it contained several spelling errors.

Though compact, it is quite a good menu with five starters, six main courses including a roast of the day, steak, chicken, and fish, and the promise of sweets and cheese later

We placed our order and asked if there was a wine list. There was, and it offered a nice selection at good value. We ordered a Chilean cabernet sauvignon at just £12.

We were called through to the restraunt when our starters were ready and found we were the only diners. What was strange and really gave the room a deserted feel was that none of the other tables were laid up; they just had bare table cloths.

To start I had homemade tomato soup, which was lovely. My colleague had prawns in filo pastry, which were crisp, dry, and tasty.

For the main course we ordered sirloin steaks; one medium rare, one well done. Both dishes were perfectly cooked and the vegetables were fresh, steaming and plentiful, but alas, the steaks were tough and chewy.

There was no staff in the dining room whilst we ate and no-one inquired as to whether we were enjoying our meal.

I asked for the sweet menu and the waitress told us there was no written menu but she did her best and recited it instead. We declined and ordered two cappuccinos, which they do not do so we settled for two ordinary coffees.

The service was there, but only just. The bill came to £50, which is cheap, but what price can you put on a chewy sirloin steak?

Will we return? 

No, I remember when this was a good restaurant.

Our Verdict

Atmosphere: 2/10
Service: 5/10
Food: 6/10
Value for money: 4/10

Editor’s note: If there is a restaurant you think our TMD should visit, good or bad, then let us know with an email to tmd@savhandbook or call us on 0161 975 4925.