My husband and I were recently invited to try out "The Broadway" a new theatre dining experience which has recently opened at the Trafford Centre in Manchester. The Broadway diner is a semi-permanent fixture at the Trafford centre so will only be there for a limited period of time so if you want to visit don't wait too long or you may be disappointed. The Broadway is actually located outside the Trafford Centre in the Orient Carpark, in the unit which used to house Frankie and Benny's, you can clearly spot it as it has a Marque on the front of the building with its name on.
The Broadway is an immersive musical theatre dining experience where the wait staff will randomly burst into song singing show tunes in between serving you your food. I have wished for a dining experience like this to open in Manchester ever since I visited Ellens Stardust Diner in New York back in 2016 and now my wish has come true.
We visited the Diner for lunch on a Friday afternoon when it opened at 12pm, the Diner only opens for lunch Friday - Sunday 12pm-10pm and Opens for Dinner Monday -Thursday 5pm -10pm
When we entered the venue, we could instantly hear show tunes being played over the restaurants sound system and we were greeted by red velvet curtains a lit-up neon 'Broadway' sign and a giant lions head. We were shown straight to our table but for busy times they have a bar area where you can buy drinks whilst waiting for your table, the diner offers a few Show-themed drinks including 'My Fair Lady' an old fashioned (£15.95), 'You Can't Stop The Heat' a spicy margarita (£15.95) and 'Seasons of Rum' a Mai Thai (14.95) other drinks which are available include wine, prosecco, spirits, beer, cider and a range of soft drinks.
As we were shown to our table we walked past a grand piano and I noticed lots of musical posters on the walls and 2 large projector screens one at the front of the restaurant and one at the back which were showing scenes from some musical movies. In the centre of the restaurant was a lit-up stage with a microphone set up on it, this is where the waiters perform. We were seated right in front of the stage but don't worry if you don't have a great view of the stage as the waiters will also walk around the restaurant whilst they are performing.
Once seated we browsed the menu, the menu is well themed and all the food on it has fun musical theatre pun names which really adds to the fun and charm of the experience. From the menu you have the option of picking a few small tapas type plates to share (there are Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten free and Halal options which are clearly marked on the menu) which includes things like 'Blow Us All Away' Buffalo chicken wings served with blue cheese sauce (£6.75), 'Hakuna Ma Tartar' Calamari served with tartar sauce (£8.95), 'Bernadette Peppers' Padron peppers with rock salt (£4.95) and 'I like to be in America!' chicken and waffles served with maple syrup (£8.95). This is a great option if you want to try a few different things but if you don't fancy the small plate option there are a few large plates you can choose from these include 'Got to pitta pocket or two' a falafel stuffed pitta served with waffle fries (£11.95), 'Suddenly Caesar' a buttermilk chicken burger with bacon and Caesar sauce (£11.95),'Cheesus Christ superstar' a bacon and cheese burger with homemade burger sauce served with waffle fries (£13.95) and 'Mean Bean Mother' a bean burger served with waffle fries ( £11.95). Dessert options include 'Rocky horror road' rocky road served with ice cream (£8.95), 'New York, New York' New York cheesecake (£8.95) or 'The worst (best) pies in London' Apple pie served with custard (£8.95).
If you are coming to the restaurant with children there is a children's menu which is 2 courses for £9.95, with this the children get a main and a dessert. For the main they can choose from fish fingers, mac & cheese bites, chicken nuggets, cheeseburger sliders or veggie sticks with hummus all are served with potato rostis and a choice of beans or peas. for dessert they have a choice of vanilla ice cream, waffle & vanilla ice cream or a chocolate brownie and vanilla ice cream.
From the menu we opted for the large plates I went for 'Suddenly Caesar' and Lawrence my husband went for 'Cheesus Christ Superstar' we also got dessert I opted for 'The worst (best) pies in town' and Lawrence went for 'Rocky horror road'. Both our mains and our desserts were delicious, and I would definitely recommend those dishes if you are going to be visiting the restaurant.
The staff at The Broadway are fantastic they are really friendly, helpful and are also fantastic singers. When we visited the wait staff that performed included Lottie, Freya and Amelia Rose all sang amazingly and we were treated to 9 songs whilst we dined. We got to hear songs from a variety of musicals including Six, Cabaret, Les Misérables, Hamilton, Phantom of the Opera and Frozen.
The Broadway is an amazing dining experience which is perfect for musical theatre fans, they have a great menu with lots of options and the food was delicious. The variety of songs which were performed was great as the sang songs from both modern and old school musicals. The one thing I would suggest that could possibly improve the experience slightly would be to have a request board as this would give the audience the opportunity to hear their favourite songs. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at The Broadway and can't wait to return again soon.
If you would like to make a booking for The Broadway 'Musical Dining' you can do so by clicking the button below.
If you would like to view the menu click on the button below
*Our dining experience was kindly gifted to us by the venue in exchange for an honest review
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