Hard Rock Café

2 The Printworks
Manchester

Arranging lunch with Becky is not easy.

"What do you fancy?" I asked, "Indian…Italian…Chinese?"

"Dunno, but none of that lot. I don’t do foreign."

Actually, the limitations of this remark have yet to be fully investigated. Embarrassing (and now destroyed) holiday snaps reveal she was more than willing to sample a little 'Turkish delight' last summer.

"What do you mean you don’t do foreign?" I was curious. "Where do you go when you eat out? What’s your favourite?"

"McDonald’s or KFC normally. But Hard Rock Café’s well nice."

The first thing you’ll see upon arrival at the world’s newest Hard Rock Café is 80 feet of electric guitar towering high above the entrance, bringing a little of the rock ‘n’ roll experience onto the streets of Manchester. And it certainly sets the scene.

Inside, the walls are covered with a myriad of music memorabilia. Highlights include a signed Bee Gees electric guitar, another from Eric Clapton and an autographed snap of Oasis. There’s also a postcard from John Lennon, dated January 1970 and signed on the reverse "love – John Yoko." The waitress in the hideous uniform assures me that the company is still collecting.

Hard Rock Café’s philosophy – because you’ve got to have one – is simply "love all, serve all" which kinda says it all and nothing – not unusual for Americans! But we weren’t here for the philosophy; we were here because Becky needs to be able to spell what she’s eating. She passed on the Hickory Bar-B-Que Chicken (£9.95), which I chose, and opted for the Turkey Burger (£7.95).

In some restaurants (see the Living Room) if the menu simply says ‘Steak Sandwich £6.95’ you are surprised to be presented with fine fillet steak sandwiched between two pieces of warm, fresh ciabatta accompanied by a salad garnish, chunky chips and a selection of hot and cold dips. At Hard Rock, if it says ‘Turkey Burger with chips’ that’s exactly what you get. And it ain’t cheap. Our quick bite to eat with just two halves of Budweiser came to £26.40

That’s not to say the food is not good. I found the hickory chicken tasty and moist, though Becky’s burger did look dry. Not that she noticed. She was far too busy mentally undressing the latino guy on the next table.

"Hey, stop gawping," I said. "I thought you didn’t do foreign."

"Well, actually I think now's the perfect time to brush up on a little Italian!"

All in all Hard Rock Café offers a unique dining experience, surrounded by remnants of rock legends from the past and the present.

And, as someone (almost) once said: if music be the food of love, rock on.