Aaron S.
Yelp
20 Stories is a high rise restauraunt behind The Ivy in the Spinningfields area of Manchester, I was looking forward to trying out this place which was one of the first openings in the area after the COVID-19 lockdown. They had many precautions including having menus on QR codes (you can request a proper one), as well as temperature checks on entry however my experience wasn't that good, and it was more of a waste of time.
The staff seemed rude and the overall service was unapologetic and pretentious, they seemed to overcomplicate things. I noticed this in the following cases
1. They print of all reservations in the morning, as I only recently reserved a table my name wasn't on there, meaning I struggled to even get in at first but there is no communication between the staff (and trust me there's a lot of them so it wouldn't be hard). I was only asked to book-in again when I got onto the top floor and again had to wait for my table while the staff appeared to just stand there doing nothing.
2. The menu had changed to the online one, which I find to be lazy. The printed menus and QR code had updated but their website hasn't the menu was the same apart from one dish, a risotto dish which I was looking forward to being changed to gnocchi, they had literally copy and paste the whole menu without updating the allergy information.
I came in wanting to try the risotto, so after a long wait to be served I was upset to find out they had run out and changed the menu but this felt like a lie as they seemed to have updated the printed menu and the QR code but not the regular website menu, it was the same wild mushroom and the same sides but with gnocchi instead. I went to order this as it was marked as gluten-free in the menu, however, a staff member went off to check and never returned so I had to again ask an older male server if it was gluten-free, he returned and said "No".
The worst part was, they hadn't changed the allergy details so if I would have ordered it based on the menu (it was listed as not containing gluten), I could have been sick. I explained how serious of a breach this was, and how they should update their new menus and the old one which is on the website, the server seemed rather rude, he didn't apologise and he didn't even seem willing to listen. He was more persuaded in tempting me to order another one of the dishes. I came in wanting a risotto, not something else and the fact he didn't want to listen to what I had to say, meant all my trust for this place had gone if they are able to wrongly list allergen information due to a stupid copy and paste error.
This is a high-end place, and you pay for the view and to make matters worse, I was given the worst table which started at a wall, I didn't get any of the stunning views of Manchester, one of the world's most beautiful cities, I didn't even get to look into the stunning decor or bar, just a booth with no view at all. I mean, what's the point?
Other strange things to note
- The floor on the lift states 19 even though the name is "20 Stories"
- They have multiple lifts but once you are inside the lift there is no button to press, I was confused as the doorman didn't explain this to me
- It is actually a bar and restauraunt even though it looks like an office block from outside.
20 Stories are simply a pretentious nightmare with staff who don't care or communicate, and last-minute changes to the menu, meaning it is rather misleading makes the slow-service and entire experience feel like a waste of time. My excitement to visit this place really didn't meet the overall experience where I walked out before even tasting the food. May I suggest a new name for this place 19 Stories and 20 Nightmares based on the experience and the floor count?