Manchester restaurateur Gary Usher puts negative reviewer in their place
In a review called: "Excellent food let down by Ryanair-style management," reviewer Rob V wrote: “The good news is that the food here is very, very tasty and deserves a high rating.
It’s been a tough year or two for hospitality staff and restaurant owners across the country.
Closures and lack of foot flow rendered the restaurant industry a desolate place for many months, but with the recent re-openings and return of customers, many businesses have been able to breathe again.
However, with customers comes feedback, and regardless of how long hospitality staff have had to wait to serve their customers and provide them with a service they’ve been without for a long time, negative feedback is certainly back on the menu.
It goes without saying that pubs, clubs, bars and restaurants are stretched at the minute. Lay offs were inevitable during COVID and many of them are understaffed while simultaneously having to deal with a little ring rust after being out of the game for so long.
While we are unsure if this is the case or not at Sticky Walnut in Chester, the team at the award-winning bistro had to deal with some pretty harsh criticism last week – criticism that owner Gary Usher was not going to take on the chin without a counter punch.
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Gary Usher outside Pinion in Prescot // Image by Natural Selection Design
In a review called: “Excellent food let down by Ryanair-style management,” reviewer Rob V wrote: “The good news is that the food here is very, very tasty and deserves a high rating.
“The bad news is that the restaurant management doesn’t give a toss about customer experience. I ate here on July 9 had a complaint that was dealt with badly enough by the manager that I wrote to the owner.
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“A restaurant that aspires to offer fine dining experience but has lost the ability to empathise with customers and ignores them when they complain? That really is a shame.”
Gary, who has a solid reputation across the northwest and is the owner of five other restaurants under his Elite Bistros brand, didn’t hold back in his response.
He wrote: “For goodness sake Robert. I’m supposed to be in TwitAdvisor retirement so let’s not waste any time. After all, you’ve waited 11 years since joining Twitadvisor to write your first review.
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“Rob, you reserved a table on a Friday evening and agreed to a 1 hour 45 minute time slot. A standard practice, particularly on busy periods, that guests and restaurants worldwide agree to.
“After your dessert course, the manager, who you said ‘doesn’t give a toss’, gently reminded you that we would need the table back shortly.
“You ignored the manager and proceeded to order another round of drinks. Perhaps if your party had arrived on time for your reservation this could have been avoided.
“When the manager came back a final time to politely let you know we needed to clear the table for our next guests you got up out of your seat, towering over the manager, pointing in their face.
“The manager’s response was: ‘Sir, please can you stop pointing in my face?’
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Gary added: “You proceeded to tell the manager that they didn’t deserve to be a manager and weren’t qualified to be in the position.
“Your mother then joined in by adding to the vitriol being directed towards the manager.
“That’s when both you and your mother showed your true colours with the classic: ‘We’ve both worked in restaurants so we know how it works. We should be getting these drinks for free.’
“You, Rob, then threatened the manager by telling them that you would be contacting the owner because you know him, and that Gary, (me) would be appalled to know how you, ‘my friend,’ had been treated.
Kala on King Street in Manchester is part of Gary’s Elite Bistros family // Elite Bistros
“The manager politely pleaded with your whole table to just listen whilst they explained. No one did.
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“In a strange turn of events you emailed me, your ‘friend’ at Sticky Walnut’s email address. You must have lost my number Rob! Not surprisingly, to either me or the manager, you and I don’t know each other Rob.
“Every few months in a restaurant a rude guest will use the ‘I know the owner!’ line to try and intimidate team members and bully them into thinking that they will get into trouble because they didn’t look after the owner’s ‘friends’ well enough.
“I did read your email. I did ‘give a toss,’ but not about you Rob, but about the way you treated the team. So instead of replying to you, we chose to block your number, and your mum’s, and put a note on our booking system to not accept any future bookings from you.
“With regards to the manager who ‘doesn’t give a toss,’ they have managed Sticky Walnut for the last eight years.
“Coincidentally the same length of time that Sticky Walnut has achieved a top 100 position in the National Restaurant Awards in the UK. I think that makes them both extremely deserving to be the manager and absolutely qualified to hold that position.
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“Regards, Not your mate, Gary.
“Another owner you don’t actually know.”
Savage. If you’re interested in visiting any of Gary’s restaurants, check out the Elite Bistros website where you can reserve a place at all six – we highly recommend Kala in Manchester city centre.
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Clubland at AO Arena, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist and more
Clubland is returning to Manchester this weekend, and we’ve got you sorted with all you need to know so you can let your hair down.
Whether you’re ready to jump up and down for a bit of ‘Everytime We Touch’ or lose it all and go crazy over ‘Now You’re Gone’, you can do both as Clubland is in town.
Instead of waiting months between seeing your favourite artists live, this night brings them all together and pops them on one big stage for a three-hour-long festival, isn’t that handy?
Get ready to live out your Europop dreams, dance the night away and enjoy some feel-good, care-free tunes.
Clubland has toured the UK numerous times and has become a firm staple in some people’s concert calendar every year.
However, fans are in luck as there are just a handful of tickets left to choose from HERE.
Clubland setlist
Basshunter and Cascada are two of the guests lined up for Clubland at AO Arena, Manchester.Credit: Remigiusz Józefowicz via Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
The gig at AO Arena in Manchester will be the closing night of the 2025 UK tour, meaning fans will be dancing like nobodies watching and soaking up all those seriously good vibes.
On AO Arena’s website, the concert is set to feature various artists, including Basshunter, Billy Gillies feat. Hannah Boleyn, Cascada; Darren Styles, Flip n Fill feat. Karen Parry, Kelly Llorenna and Ultrabeat.
Although no setlist is confirmed, based on that lineup alone, anyone attending is in for a treat.
What are the stage times for Clubland in Manchester?
AO Arena has a curfew of 11pm meaning concertgoers can ‘Evacuate The Dancefloor’ before the clock strikes twelve, but we’re sure if you want to continue the party Manchester is always ready for a party and with an array of bars and clubs nearby, our city centre will be waiting with open arms.
Doors for Clubland are scheduled for 6pm with a start time of 7:30pm. The lineup looks to be complete and intact for now; regardless of any drop-outs/latecomers, we’re sure some of your favourite dance tunes will be pumping out through the arena’s speakers.
For those of you heading to AO Arena, luckily, it’s connected to Manchester Victoria Station and it has an integrated Metrolink stop to make your life even easier.
Head along the pink, light blue or yellow lines directly to the Victoria stop, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Train
Considering this live entertainment venue is situated right in the middle of one of Manchester’s most frequented stations, concertgoers should find no problem getting to the arena, wherever they are.
Bus
A variety of buses cover AO Arena andVictoria Station on their route, such as the 2 bus, which stops just a one-minute walk away from the venue.
A full list of buses and their routes can be found HERE.
Getting there by car and parking
The Arena has its own official CitiPark, with 958 car parking spaces including 40 Blue Badge parking bays, which can be booked in advance.
Alternatively, anyone attending a gig can park at their nearest train station and jump on a train service or the various Metrolink park and ride facilities.
Walk/cycle
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes through the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app.
About the AO Arena
The AO Arena has a few strict policies to keep gig-goers safe, so make sure to check entry requirements carefully before you travel.
For example, only one small bag per person is allowed, and bags like backpacks, travel cases and laptop bags are not permitted inside the arena.
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All bags are scanned on entry to check for prohibited items like laser pens, flares, projectiles, weapons, drugs and alcohol, and even selfie sticks.
💥 Following the huge success of last year’s tour, Clubland have announced their live return to UK arenas in May 2025!
There’s a million-pound barn conversion just gone up for sale in Cheshire, and of course, we couldn’t resist looking around.
This property is nestled in the idyllic village of Warburton in Lymm, just a short 40-minute drive from Manchester.
The four-bedroom, two-bath property spans over two properties, featuring a nice little detached garage and a cosy back garden.
At first glance, you may be captivated by the sheer beauty that is the grand barn-twanged canopy which overhangs the property’s driveway, but we’ve still got a barn conversion to explore.
The minimalistic kitchen with accompanying island and breakfast bar.The dining room separated by that quirky three-arch brick wall.Credit: On The Market
Titled ‘The Barn Birch Farm‘, as you enter through the front door and turn left, you’re greeted by a three-arch red brick wall which separates the kitchen from the dining space.
The kitchen is sleek black all around with a large island which also doubles as a breakfast bar in the middle of the room, which is also where the hob can be found.
Each room in this Cheshire barn conversion seems to wow us even more, and this time it’s the living room which captures our attention, thanks to the large log beams which perfectly frame the TV.
There’s an equally impressive log beam and archway which acts as a break between the main living space and a more snug seating area with a hearty fireplace taking centre stage.
If all that lounging around has you tired out, then you’re in luck as the bedroom is right next door with a large open-plan wardrobe and mezzanine en-suite.
There’s a spiral staircase that connects the bedroom to the mezz, which consists of both a shower and a bath. Very stylish and pretty lush, to say the least.
The main bedroom of the barn conversion with above mezzanine en-suite.The bath and shower in the mezzanine en-suite overlooking the bedroom.Credit: On The Market
All the bedrooms are situated under a wooden-beamed vaulted ceiling, which further adds to the character of the property – not a room goes without a sprinkle of this country-barn style.
Each of the first-floor bedrooms has its own skylight too, meaning once you’ve stopped admiring all the intricate barn details, you can opt for a bit of stargazing.
The garden is quite the sight as well, providing the barn conversion with its own mini forest and garage with not one but two undercover car parking spaces.
This barn conversion is the perfect property for anyone wanting to live out their cottage-core fantasy on a much larger scale.
Obviously, the price tag is out of a lot of our reach, but when a house looks as good as this, we can’t help but have a nosy. So, what do you make of The Barn Birch Farm? You can view all the pictures and find out more information HERE.
The snug area just behind the main living room, separated by the gorgeous wooden beams.All the bedrooms have their own wooden beams which helps keep the barn character alive throughout the property.Credit: On The Market
The Manc -
23rd August 2021 
