Since I first read that Fenix was going to be opening in Manchester, I was excited.

The ‘Modern Greek’ style restaurant cost millions to fit out and is from those behind Tattu, another highly successful restaurant in the city.

However I also had real reservations about this place. Anyone that knows me, knows that I am a massive fan of Greek food, having lived on the Greek Island of Kefalonia for a number of years previously.

On opening, the reviews were not fantastic and I had lots of people mentioning that its not what you might expect of Greek food, this was more a take on it, but that it was very good.

So after giving it a few months to settle down, we went down to the old granada studio site, which is where the restaurant is situated.

The entrance is grand, and as you are welcomed into the foyer, you are walked through the ground floor bar area, and up a sweeping staircase to the dining floor upstairs.

It’s here where I would usually start to describe the decor and feeling of the rooms, however on this occasion I will come back to that later.

We ordered a number of dishes from the al a carte menu, although there are a number of set menus you can choose from, as well as a reasonably priced lunch menu for during the week.

I just had to try the Tzatziki and some pita, as it was meant to be Greek after all. At £6 it wasn’t too expensive, although you had to order pitas separately, at another £4.90, so the dip with pita came to a total of £10.90.

Now I have to say that the dip was sublime, light and airy, but full of flavour, with the pitas fresh and fluffy, I could sit there and eat them all night long, so a great start.

Next we had Chicken Anticucho (£14), which was confusing. Anticucho I know as a South American skewer, usually of hearts or similar cheap meats, so not sure why chicken skewers were being called Anticucho in a Greek style restaurant.

When it came, Indias response was ‘its a mini chicken souvlaki in a pita isn’t it’, which I could not argue with! It looked and tasted amazing, but don’t be fooled, it was the size of a small drinks coaster and when shared was a bite each.

Our second ‘Meze’ dish that we shared was Halloumi Cheese Tempura (£12.90). This was another dish that didn’t really match its name as perfectly as it should. Again, India was blunt ‘Its cheese Saganaki with Lemon’ another Greek classic that we love.

Indeed the cheese appeared to be more like kefalotyri than halloumi, however once again the execution was immaculate, Perfectly coated and topped with the most amazing Yuzu hollandaise espuma that bites with an acidic sharpness.

So far these dishes couldn’t be more Greek if they tried, they were honest Greek flavours, cooked by exceptional Greek chefs and I was loving every single bite.

Next up was mains, and I was so pleased to find that the Langoustine Orzo (£32) did not contain any mollusc, meaning I could order and enjoy it without being doubled up in pain due to an allergy.

Orzo is a dish that I eat lots, having had it in multiple good restaurants in Greece, its something that I also use quite a lot at home.

This langoustine and feta version surpassed all expectations, with every mouthful being rich, creamy and full of flavour. The langoustine tail was cooked perfectly, with the head perched on the dish overlooking everything.

India opted for the Beef Paccheri, which didn’t appear Greek in any way, but India enjoyed it. I would love to comment on it, however very strangely, this beef dish was marked as containing mollusc, so I played it safe and steered clear so as not to ruin the evening,

I was happily full at his point, with none of the desserts really jumping out at me, India however was swayed by the server, and went for the Apple Crumble Creme Brulee (£20) which apparently served 2 (Not on this occasion it didn’t)

I did try a little crumble and brûlée, and again I couldnt really fault it in any way. This was the case with the entire menu and I have to say that the chefs have pulled off some incredible Greek dishes, that I would happily go back for again and again, but there is a but!

In fact, there are two buts, the first is the prices – the meal with 2 glasses of wine each, came in at £175, which I think was a little steep although not a little justifiable, given the amount spent on launching this restaurant, but that’s where the other but lies.

The whole place is way over the top, which Jay Raynor recently described as a set from Star Wars, which I 100% agree with, although I would go one step further. I felt like I was in a Disney themed restaurant, where people had gone to be seen and post about the decor, rather than the amazing food.

The table and chairs were not the most comfortable, and I did not feel like a guest in a welcoming restaurant, although our server was amazingly friendly and great at her job, it was the overall feeling that meant I was just not relaxed.

The feeling was cemented when we left, with the person on the front desk taking our ticket for coats and passing them to us, while having a chat on the phone with someone the whole time.

I loved the food, I think the chefs are amazing, but I wont be going back unless something changes.