Rice Flame Bar and Grill

Terrible!
The restaurant was not busy yet it took 20 minutes to bring a simple starter of salt and pepper squid; lukewarm and overlooked; with a slice of old lime.
The main course (Japanese crispy chicken noodles) meant another 20 minute wait. What turned up was heat hot (good!) but greasy and with dried out chicken. There was also an overwhelming taste of vinegar.
The green tea? A dirty glass with boiled water and a teabag in the packet.
All for just under £20. Better off saving your money and going to McDonalds /​Burger King /​KFC or some other crap outlet.
Avoid!

I read the menu for this restaurant on line before visiting the Trafford Centre for my sons 10^th birthday. He loves sushi but I wanted to try something new on this visit. Flame seemed like a good choice as it offered him sushi, me something spicy and my boyfriend a vegetarian choice. We were seated quickly but then we should have been as there were only 3 other couples in the place. I put this down to the slightly odd timing of our visit (4.30 on a Thursday). After a few minutes wait we had our drink order taken. Eventually the waiter returned to take our food order but his mind seemed to wander and we had to wait for him to stop watching passers by twice before our order was taken. The starters arrived finally and of the 3 choices only the chicken and sweetcorn soup could be described as flavourful. I suspect this may be due to the fact that it was not made on site. My beef dumplings were dry, tasteless and tiny. I put this down to an unlucky choice and waited for the main course. Not long to wait as the first plates were snatched away from the table the mains arrived well mine did briefly as the waiter spotted it was not what I ordered. Instead of taking all the dishes away so we could eat together I was left to watch the others eating. This was when I noticed that what ever my boyfriend had been given it was not seasonal vegetables in teriyaki sauce. My son was also incredibly disappointed with the meagre selection that passes as a sushi platter and when I tried one I could see why they were tough and totally devoid of any taste at all. Mine did arrive finally and was probably the best of the 3 but then thats not difficult. We paid and left (again after struggling to keep the attention of the staff whilst the transaction took place). My son was upset by the whole experience therefore I decided not to make more of a fuss there and then but I will be sending a letter of complaint to their main offices. Do yourself and your taste buds a favour and go somewhere (anywhere) else.

Came here on a weekday evening for a meal with my partner and can honestly say I will never step foot in the place again.
The staff were curt and didn’t seem bothered about customers needs, the seating was uncomfortable and the food unpalatable.
Before we had even taken our coats off at out table the waitress came over and asked us if we’d like some prawn crackers, since we hadn’t even seen the menu yet we assumed this was a free offer, as is often the case with prawn crackers, so accepted. We ordered kimchi soup, a dish I had enjoyed many times at other places. The prawn crackers came quickly and were stale and tasteless, the sauce was a cheap chilli dip, fine if they are free. The kimchi soup came and it was just plain awful, they’d used cheap chicken stock as the base and thrown in cheap store bought kimchi and a very dry chicken breast. Kimchi soup is normally more like a stew with lots of veg, tofu and meat but this was a drink! It was so watery that I even tried tipping my whole bowl of rice into it to make it thicker, it did not help, the kimchi soup was still too watery and tasteless and when I saw watery I mean like a big bowl of water with bits in it. We didn’t eat even half of our meals and when we mentioned that it had not been good to the waiter he just shrugged and said ‘it’s a soup so it will be watery’
We decided we’d had enough and got up to leave only to find out we’d been charged £2.80 for prawn crackers!!! We confronted the manger on this and on the fact the food was awful and were told me could have 10% off next time we came and that she would hear nothing about the charge for prawn crackers because ‘that was their selling tactic’
We said the 10% off was no good because we would not be coming back and just got a take it or leave it answer.
All in all stay away from this place. The worst dining experince I’ve had in years. If you want decent Asian food and good service go to Tampopo which is just across from this place.

Rice Flame and Grill Bar in The Trafford Centre was more than disappointing when we visited on Saturday lunchtime.
Their mission statement on their website says they aim «to bring the most flavoursome culinary tastes from all corners of the world to your palate, creating a unique and healthy dining experience.
Our dishes are prepared in front of your very eyes, theatrically cooked with the finest ingredients to create a healthy experience for all the senses.
Live life with the fast grain. FRESH FUSION COOKING!»
Quieter than most of the surrounding eateries, which is part of the reason why we went in because we wanted something quick and tasty. We were seated quickly and had our food and drink order taken efficiently, though sitting on a low stool at a tiny table in a narrow eating area hardly made for the most relaxing experience.
Still, we were looking for «food on the go». There’s no need to be over-​comfy when you are grabbing a quick bite to eat before heading off to visit relatives after a hard morning’s Christmas shopping — this is hardly «Destination Dining». Fuel, not Food, was our reason for going.
While we were waiting, a couple nearby had 20% knocked off their bill due to a missing item, that although promised, never materialised. Others, were looking ostentatiously at their watches, to express their dissatisfaction about the wait. So clearly we weren’t alone in thinking that this was not up to scratch.
I’ll come straight to the point. When I go anywhere to eat, I don’t expect to wait 25 minutes for the food to arrive. End of. Now judging by the fact that we struggled to make eye contact with the staff, or that nobody came over to explain the delay, then I assume that this is their normal standard of service.
Our Surf and Turf Combo arrived finally, aa I said, after 25 long and uncomfortable (blame the stool) minutes, with no apology, so we were right to assume this must be par for the course.
It looked good, though the plates were too small, and the rice barely lukewarm. We couldn’t work out how to get the sauces onto our plate as no spoons were provided.
Still, we did get a napkin each. Yes that’s right, one solitary small paper napkin. You get more than that in McDonald’s FFS! If you serve finger food like Chicken Wings and Baby Lamb Chops, don’t be surprised if people actually use their fingers. The waiter kindly brought over another napkin each when we asked. Thanks mate, I’ll wipe another finger with that one.
We left the tandoori chicken until last, it being the biggest piece of food on the plate, and the one needing cutting up to share between us. As soon as we cut into it, we noticed it was slightly pink in the middle. Now I know my Food Hygiene pretty well and I know that looking at a piece of pink chicken will not make you poorly, so we just cut that bit away and then ate the rest. Still it didn’t fill me with confidence, and I’m sure other people would have ben more bothered by it than we were.
Our bill came to £25.99 (trans #18 555 Server: Robert 13/​11/​2010 14:20) in case anyone from the company reads this). We didn’t leave a tip!
In summary, we would say that if you are looking for somewhere quick for lunch, with great quality food at reasonable prices, and with great service from people paid more than the Minimum Wage then you won’t find it here at The Trafford Centre branch.