Manchester Steak House, Fresno

First of all, I’ve never heard of Manchester Steak House. Secondly, I would have never guessed it would be attached to the Manchester Mall. Thirdly, this place is a dive bar that happens to serve Armenian food. Two brothers work the restaurant and bar. The one brother who works the front, Armen, is a pleasant guy and seems to always be friendly. Don’t be discouraged by my dive bar and Manchester Mall comments, if you want reasonably priced home-style Armenian food for lunch, this place is as good as any for a bite to eat.

 

Wonderful pilaf, some of the best I’ve had since some family friends made it for me. Generous amounts of butter/margarine/unknown lipid in the rice, seasoned well throughout and absolutely not one grain of rice was stuck to his brother. I know it’s just rice, but I finished all of it. The food here reminded me of something I might cook at home, like a grilled cheese or grilled ham sandwich, without pretention, fast, easy and hearty. My special lulu lavash sandwich was simple enough, thinly sliced meat folded over in lavash bread with some butter and grilled on the flattop. Not much to it, no garnish, no greens, no seasoning other than what was on the meat.

 

The Manchester Steak House is suitable for anyone who is looking for a hearty Armenian lunch with no pretention and no excuses. Like so many catering operations in Manhattan or Chicago, Brioni and Dickies clad workers can both feel satisfied with a freshly cooked home-style meal that won’t break the bank.