Namii Kitchen & Cocktails, Manchester, Exclusive Hire

Don't you just love when a last-minute dinner booking turns out to be a beautiful, and delicious experience that leaves you in a food trance for days? That is the best way I can explain the feeling at Namii Kitchen & Cocktails. Following a surprise proposal for one of my closest friends at cloud 23, the new bride to be craving some sake and that led us to Namii's front steps. Transported to a world where you are surrounded by beautiful flower murals, hanging lights- you can feel the authenticity in the decor and as a huge Vietnamese cuisine lover- the energy felt safe, warm, intentional and I had a feeling we would not be disappointed. I appreciate how lovely, compassionate the staff were from calling ahead to closing time to ask if there had any open tables to our beautifully prepared meals taken as last orders and free dessert for the newly engaged couple- the thoughtfulness was deeply appreciated. I can't thank them enough for accommodating our last minute dinner dash. A special shout out to the team, especially the chefs and our lovely host for the evening CC, thank you so much!! Now on to our orders, with no expectations as usual we asked for a sake recommendation from the staff who suggested the Ginjo Yuzu Sake served cold which was 10/10. Our food order; Namii squid was delicious I really need the recipe for the secret sauce!!10/10, it also paired so nicely with- Double fried Garlic pork! 10/10 My favourite from the kitchen signature- Hoi Sin Goon Seafood roll, my gosh this was light, refreshing and filling 10/10 The Pho Bo was spicy, noodles perfectly cooked 100% recommend! Of course we had to order some udon noodles and both were delicious too and for my seafood lovers please make sure you try the- South China Sea Udon Noodles 10/10. For my meat lovers the- Dragons Breath Xa Xiu Udon was a delight! I have attached the receipt, I hope you enjoy your visit as much as we did! honestly, I will be back for more and hopefully get to try out some cocktails next time too and also arrive in good time!! because if the food was that great towards closing, I am convinced that it'll be more delightful when booked properly in advance. P.S: we were really famished so I don't have many pictures of the meal but believe me when I say you would not regret it!

Disappointing Experience Despite Lovely Ambience The restaurant has a lovely ambiance and beautiful décor, which initially raised our expectations. Unfortunately, the food and service did not live up to the setting. The katsu chicken was a letdown — the sauce was very runny and lacked depth of flavor. The coconut rice was extremely sweet, more like a dessert than a side dish. The chicken spring rolls were misleading — mostly carrots, a bit of vermicelli, and no visible chicken at all. On a more positive note, the mussels were very good and probably the highlight of the meal. Service was where the experience really fell short. We arrived at 6 PM and didn’t finish until nearly 9:30 PM — not because we were lingering, but because we waited over 30 minutes for our starters, and then even longer for the mains. Staff seemed more focused on chatting among themselves than attending to guests. No one checked in on us or took our order proactively. We had to go to the bar ourselves to ask for the bill, only to find a £10 service charge added — which felt completely unjustified given the poor service. I had hoped to introduce my husband to Vietnamese cuisine ahead of our trip to Vietnam next year, but unfortunately, the food did not reflect authentic Vietnamese flavors. With better training and attention to service, this place could have potential, but sadly, this visit left us very disappointed.