Shlurp Food And Drink Review

SHLURP shone at the Manchester Food and Drink Festival this year where they won an award for Truly Good Food venue - presumably for their concept of quality, home-cooked food at reasonable prices.

Shlurp is well worth going to if you want something quick, hearty and healthy for your lunch. 

The daytime only, fast food eatery on Brazennose Street is popular with health-conscious, suited and booted office workers, who were queuing out the door when Confidential went for lunch.

Shlurp calls itself a soup bar (note- not kitchen), but there’s actually much more to it than that - one special was a game casserole in cider cream sauce and a puff pastry lid (£3.95). They also serve up salads, wraps, breakfasts, smoothies, coffee and cake.

Soups are categorised into value, skinny, veggie and fish, and can be combined with a choice of salad or wrap for a meal deal (£4.45).  

I had the skinny deal, but there was nothing lean about it. My red lentil and country vegetable soup was hearty and topped with croutons (made from real bread, not that rock-hard packet muck) which became all nice and mushy after soaking up the soup. My salad was overflowing with sweet potato and chickpeas, and both dishes together filled me up nicely.

Neither were culinary revelations, but fulfilled the Shlurp mantra of quality, home-cooked food. I could feel the goodness going in and definitely got my five a day in one Shlurp sitting. Besides, sometimes simple is best.

When you’re popping out for a quick bite to eat on an average weekday lunchtime, you don’t always want a rich three-course meal, and Shlurp is so much better than those bog-standard cardboard sandwich deals from the supermarket.

Other soups on offer were a Thai red curry with egg noodles, and an Italian tuna fish caponata with a rich tomato base and chunky black olives and capers. The helpful staff, sensing my indecision, offered me a taste of any of the soups.

The choice of wraps and pitas is endless, I counted about eighteen. There’s teriyaki salmon, Cajun chicken, peppered mackerel, roast ham, crumbly Lancashire... I was completely overwhelmed by the chock-a-block menu boards. If you haven’t got much time to spare, have a look at the menu online and decide what you want before you go.

Everything at Shlurp is fresh, seasonal, locally sourced, and according to their website, it’s prepared and sold on the same day. I can well believe that as the customers didn’t stop coming.

Most people were getting takeaways, which was probably a good thing because the unit is quite small with only a handful of seats at a breakfast bar by the window. They do have outdoor seating and although it may be chilly in the winter, slurping on a hot, steaming soup will keep you warm enough.

In keeping with the healthy theme, Shlurp also have fresh fruit smoothies (£1.90) and pieces of fruit on sale. And, if you’re after something a bit naughty, they have a range of cakes and crisps too.

Shlurp is well worth going to if you want something quick, hearty and healthy for your lunch. For such a small place it’s incredibly well-stocked, and whilst they may not win any awards for amazing culinary feats, they do deliver simple, fresh food really well. It’s chemical-free, good quality and a decent alternative to other lunchtime fast food options in the city centre.

ALL SCORED CONFIDENTIAL REVIEWS ARE IMPARTIAL. 

Shlurp 
2 Brazennose House
City, M2 5BP. 0161 839 5139

Rating: 14/20
Food: 7.5/10
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 2.5/5