Manhattans Pizza Bistro & Jazz Club

Love that this place is in Guelph

It's really hard to find a good resto-lounge, and it's even harder to find one in a city this size. This is a fantastic place for great llive musice, awesome atmosphere, and pretty good food. I try to stop by every month.

Bad Waitress, good food

We had a party of about 15 people, and one long table. From the beginning the waitress knew we were all separate bills. She wrote everything down which was good, but when 2 people switched seats temporarily she returned to tell them "you can't be switching seats." She only appeared a few times, and we had to get her attention for water, as 9/15 glasses were dry and our food had arrived. It was obvious she knew she would be receiving automatic gratuity since the table was so large, so she just didn't care about doing her job. It was infuriating to have automatic tip added when it was some of the worst service I had seen. Someone who seemed to be an owner came over to ask about the occasion and bought the Man-of-the-hour a beer. He personally thanked us on our way out. The live music of sarah clarke was amazing. The food was ok, but because of the service I won't be giving it a second chance unless someone holds an event.

Fri Nov 19, 2011 - Really Nice Time

Friday night and the place was hopping. There was a nice jazz trio (except for the singing), there was a lot of conversation and happy people. The best atmosphere I've been to in Guelph. Food was good, if not slightly overpriced - $19 for sausage pasta? But will definitely go again.

My girls and I had so much fun here tonight. Thomas was great and the service was fantastic. The food was excillent and we will definatly be back to visit with the staff the bands and eat the excillent food and enjoy the atmousphere. Thanks for a great time thomas!

One of the best restaurants in Guelph

I was amazed at the last review, because this is now one of my favourite places in town. Let's start with the food: I was amazed. Have you ever had honey on a pizza? Neither had I, until I came to Manhattans, and it changed my world. They did an incredible job of melding unique flavours into a cohesive (and delicious) whole. And I can't write a review for this restaurant without mentioning the peanut butter cheesecake; completely satisfies the sweet tooth. The servers were super friendly, playful, and very knowledgeable about the food drinks (they have this great beer I've never had anywhere else... Hecker-something?), and they had this great music to boot. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this restaurant to anyone.

One of the worst restaurants I've been to in...

One of the worst restaurants I've been to in Guelph. Only word I have for this place is pretentious. I guess they're going for a 'high culture' sort of place but in my opinion they failed. They play live jazz music etc and there's neat art all around, but the food is junk. It's mainly a pizza place, but the pizzas on the menu are silly over priced things. The one I had was chicken, spinach and caramalized onion. I thought: Neat, this is interesting. Wrong. The chicken was old and dry. The onions tasted like candy and there was hardly any cheese on it. The pizzas my friends ordered were more of the same. Dry, cheeseless and weak on flavor. A salad, 2 beers and the pizza cost me alone $55. I don't mind spending that but if you're going to charge me $30 for a PIZZA at least make it decent. They managed 'unique and different' but that didn't make up for the brutal prices and bad food.

Recently we received a Gift Certificate to...

Recently we received a Gift Certificate to Manhattan's, and made the mistake of mentioning that to the man who took our phone reservation 2 weeks in advance. We found ourselves in the dark corner by the bar wall, and were served a long wait and cold service. It felt like because we were "just Gift Certificate people" who wouldn't be adding much to the evening revenue, we would have to settle for last place in every way. Not even the peanut butter cheesecake we ordered made us feel much better. It's not worth the drive to this strip mall eatery when there are so many fine dining establishments in down town Guelph. Do yourself a favour and present your Gift Certificate at the end of the meal here.

Martinis are to die for

Mid August, a group of 13 young women enjoyed a bachelorette dinner at Manhattens. The service was excellent. Being a large group, our server was patient, attentive, and quite funny. We all ordered $4 martinis, a couple bottles of wine, and split three pizzas. Some others enjoyed pastas and salads. The martinis were excellent! A good size for the price and tasty. The pizzas were delicious! I cannot remember the three kinds we ordered, but they were fantastic! More than enough for the 8 or 9 of us who were sharing. Because we were a large group, automatic gratuities were added to our bill, and we each paid about $31 for pizza, at least two martinis, several glasses of wine, and an enjoyable evening. The live music was a nice touch! As a former server, I appreciate adding gratutity to a large group, as far too often the hard work servers put into serving large groups, is not reflected in the tips. We even left more tips for our server because she deserved them! Definately dine there again!

Birthday dinner

This was a casual nite out to celebrate my husband's birthday w/two other couples. We've all been here before many, many times. Came this evening to particularly hear Leslie Pike and Katie Rox sing. The server ruined everything though...we felt incredibly rushed, she seemed indifferent, we had to ask for water and the food did not arrive at the same time. Towards the end of the evening our server left & was replaced by another server who equalled the first. Good food as always and the music was great but I'm not sure who Thomas has hired as waitstaff. Sorry...

Great taste, quick lunch

Went for a quick meal and wasn't disappointed. While the inside decor was slightly too dark for my liking, the food was delicious. I was quickly seated and told the specials for the day. Every question asked was answered with a great knowledge of the menu. Being the first time I was trying the lunch menu, it was very simply laid out. While the sandwich took a little bit of time to arrive, the wait was well worth it. The sandwich was warm and flavourful while the salad had just the right amount of dressing on it. One issue was the croutons were a bit on the small side. All in all, a quick meal (in and out in 30 min.) and a definite repeat.

Another good lunch at Manhattans. We were a large...

Another good lunch at Manhattans. We were a large party, but they handled it as well as they could, I think. Food was fresh and tasty.

Food was excellent, service was excellent and the...

Food was excellent, service was excellent and the music was relaxing. Looking forward to going back soon!!! very soon. Not to mention the beer - Hocker or Hacker - Bavarian beer, bit like a Stella but better!

The pizza was "different". I got a really big...

The pizza was "different". I got a really big slice (I thought maybe it would be like a personal whole pizza, but this was a slice of a big pizza.) It was thin crust, but like, the thinnest I've ever had. The dough looked to be whole wheat which is nice. I wish other pizza places offered that. The toppings were really skimpy. It seemed like the pizza had been sitting for awhile. We had a big party so servicing a big party is always a bit difficult and he did okay. From looking at everyone else's lunch specials and having tried the pizza already, I'm going to stick to theirs steak burgers for lunch.

Sandwich was very tasty, but very small. Soup was...

Sandwich was very tasty, but very small. Soup was ok, but tasted like tinned soup thinned with water. Was part of a larger crowd, so service was very slow.

Nice place but menu is limited. Did not handle...

Nice place but menu is limited. Did not handle a large group as well as could have. Salad was nice and dressing is very good.

To start we had the crostini sampler which we...

To start we had the crostini sampler which we loved the flavours and presentation,it was great to put together yourself.I had the steak which was done just how I ordered it the vegetables were done just right the mash potatoes were creamy and so great, the herb butter on top was so making my mouth water it was so good. My friend had the Atlantic salmon which came with the same vegetables but basmati rice instead, the vegetables were done just right the rice had a really good seasoning on it and went well with the salmon.I had a glass of the feature red which went well with my steak, my friend had the feature white which was also a good choice for her salmon. We both had dessert, I had the butter tart square which was sweet and flaky perfect for my sweet tooth.My friend had the peanut butter cheesecake which was the best thing I've ever had, it was excellent. The service was excellent our server was very attentive he checked on us at the appropriate times, our food came out quickly even though the restaurant was getting full.The music was great someone was playing the piano and it was at the perfect volume where you had no problem hearing what people were saying.I would definately return the food seemed very healthy and it said on the menu the desserts were made in house which is a definate plus.

Visited Manhattans for our 4 time since moving to...

Visited Manhattans for our 4 time since moving to Guelph last summer. This time we took our 13 and 14 yr old had a wonderful dinner the kids chose the gillespie pizza which was just amazing. I love the whole wheat thin crust way better than any pizza we have had in Guelph. The large pizza for the four of us was plenty we had caesar salads and bruchetta which were very authentic. I only got taste of the creme brulee but it was very nice. I should have ordered one for myself sharing sometimes is not fair. Nice music playing it was a very nice evening

Dined at Manhattans on march 25,2007. My partner...

Dined at Manhattans on march 25,2007. My partner and I had a very tasty cheese plate to start and he ordered the steak which they cooked exactly the way he likes it. I had a very yummy pomdorini pasta we finished the meal off with a decadent piece of peanut butter cheese cake. Our server was very attentive had a wonderful dining experience

The reason to go here is the entertainment. Great...

The reason to go here is the entertainment. Great live jazz to be heard here. The quantity and quality of the food does not match the price. The pizza's are very pricey. The service was very slow. We waited for approximately 40 minutes for our table (which we had reservations for) and our dinner took forever to come! They told us it was because a larger table order a bunch of pizza's just before us...but if you run a pizza bistro, you'd think you could handle a large amount of pizzas! Luckily the music was good and we weren't too annoyed.

The main reason we have come here a few times...

The main reason we have come here a few times over the past 3 years, is for the entertainment as we know some of the performers. Otherwise, we would not consider dining here just for the food and service as it is a bit pricey for what you get . Crostini sampler was tasty but the quantity of goat cheese to accompany the roasted garlic was miserly. Pesto chicken pasta was very dry, needed more cream sauce. The pizza was good but they got the order wrong the first time. Every time we have dined there, the servers were very rushed and too busy to focus on, or be attentive to the needs of each customer at the table. I'm not certain if the servers are soley responsible, as I've seen servers running across the dining room just to keep up! Perhaps the management should consider having more staff on hand to deal with the number of customers. When I addressed these concerns to the owner, his response was that I should tell the server myself, about his service issues! My intent was to give the owner feedback on some service issues in his restaurant, not humilite a server directly, as he suggested. What kind of owner does that? Very unprofessional on his part!