Cotton Manchester

Always a good experience.   I've been to Cotton dozens of times over the years and have never been disappointed.  Good food, good drinks and a unique, fun atmosphere.

Their appetizers are creative and delicious   Of special note are their Popcorn Shrimp -- a generous serving of lightly battered shrimp lightly fried and served with a Thai sweet chili sauce.  It is excellent, but the thing that hits it "out of the park" is the presentation -- they are served in a movie theater-style popcorn box!   The other standout appetizer, to me, is the chicken satay.  Slightly crispy with a very slight  Indian inspired flavor, served with peanut dipping sauce and a bed of cucumber cilantro salad.   I sometimes even get it as a entree. (BTW, it's pictured above.)

For entrees, one can't talk about Cotton without mentioning the meatloaf.   Two generous slices of home style meatloaf, grilled, with a rich mushroom gravy and served over mashed potatoes.   If you like meatloaf you'll love it.  If you're on the fence, it might turn you into a fan.
Other standouts are the Buttermilk Fried Chicken, the Turkey Schnitzel and the Bistro Steak.  All really good.

Like any good bar, they have great cocktails.  But there's one glaring oversight.  They bill themselves as a Martini bar, and have a number of unique and seasonally changing offerings that run the gamut from crisp and refreshing to sweet dessert-like drinks. But if you want a traditional martini -- made with gin and a small rinse of dry vermouth, you might be disappointed.   It seems none of the bartenders really know what is in a gin martini.  I had one bartender even tell me she didn't think they even stocked dry vermouth!  It's disappointing that a "martini bar" with an otherwise excellent cocktail menu, can't make this most traditional and classic cocktail.  Now, I simply don't even ask and instead get a Manhattan (which they CAN make, and make well!) or one of their specialty cocktails instead.

Cotton is a great place and I recommend it highly.  It's casual, but fun and elegant.  It can get busy so reservations are a good idea especially on weekends.

Grazing Destination. Today we decided to graze on appetizers. Good choice. The baked goat cheese and calamari were great, the crab cakes looked real yummy but were missing the crab chunks but tasted good. He wedge salad was perfect. Great service and atmosphere. Definitely a come back visit is planned.