In a frantic search of a place that would show the Manchester games, my boyfriend and I wandered into the newly refurbished Flava's. The shisha garden seemed quite cozy and warm, on the right hand side of the door, and the new terrace on the left. We ventured in to ask one of the 5 gorgeous girls smiling behind the bar, which soccer games they were showing. The manager came to the rescue with the correct answer, and the correct smile: "the one You want". We settled for the booth closest to the TV and to the toilets, quite happy in our new found living room away from home.

The service was quite diligent and fast, in the person of Richard, our waiter, who didn't fail to comply with the standard procedure of checking up regularly on us.

The new menu is quite dashing, sporting a large scope of food from Italy to India. I went for the salada complicada with parma ham and pine nuts, and my better half picked the Indian duck recipe.

The presentation was quite neat and sophisticated, although, like the bar itself, very airy.

Except for the successful shisha garden, which caters for the preppy young professional Indian customers, and the slightly overpriced fancy new menu, not much is new at Flava's. The toilets are still out of tone with the rest of the smart place, with their baby blue for gents, and corny pink for ladies.

Altogether, Flava's feels like the perfect commercial formula: neat and soul less.

I would have liked to try some new exotic cocktail, explored some exciting dishes. There was nothing wrong with my salada complicada, but nothing complicated either. Like the food, the place doesn't holf the promises of the names; I thought Flava's lacked a bit of flavour.