What the experts recommend
Mana 42 Blossom Street, Manchester (0161-392 7294)
Manchester’s gastronomes are already snippy about the dearth of Michelin stars awarded to the city’s restaurants, says Marina O’Loughlin in The Sunday Times. If Mana in Ancoats fails to be so recognised, it will be proof of what I’ve long suspected: “the tyre floggers are having a sniggery time trolling the city”. For this “lofty, airy and modishly austere” fine-dining restaurant isn’t merely good by Manchester standards: it’s good “by world standards”. Chef-patron Simon Martin spent several years at Noma in Copenhagen – and “holy cow, can he cook”. From the first taste of the first of our 16 courses, “I’m blown away”. Some of the dishes have “full pantomime drama”: the sultriest eel, smoky and glazed with blackcurrant vinegar and roasted yeast, arrives sizzling on stones. Others are less dramatic and merely “sensational” – petals of charred onion with a kelp oil of “cashmere suavity” and a fermented barley sauce. Either way, prepare to be “mesmerised”. £105 for 16 courses.
The Packhorse Old School Hill, South Stoke, Bath (01225-830300)
How the local community fought off developers to save The Packhorse is the stuff of fairy tales – or at least the stuff of a “six-part Sunday-night drama on BBC1”, says Grace Dent in The Guardian. This “hulking” old boozer is in a part of rural Somerset so beautiful it “makes city dwellers like me stop the car to gawp”. And to my mind, the villagers’ seven-year campaign to take over, rebuild and re-open the pub was “heroic”. The result is a lovely “olde-English watering hole” with inglenooks and ancient beams, serving “great, fresh” local produce “arranged in a memorable manner”. Food highlights included “well-judged” cod on curried quinoa dhal, and a smoked beef hotdog with jalapeños. But my favourite thing was spiced apple cake, served with pickled raisins and goat’s cheese. I enjoyed this combo with a small glass of Somerset cider brandy sitting in a stone-floored tap room, and “it felt quite magical”. About
£30 a head for three courses.
Mortimer House Kitchen
37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1 (020-7139 4401)
Everywhere you look, restaurants are going under – even very good ones, says Giles Coren in The Times. But if I had to guess which of the recent openings will last the course, I might plump for the Mortimer House Kitchen. First, they haven’t just opened a restaurant: they’ve turned a six-storey art deco building in Fitzrovia into an array of smart spaces, including private members’ club, gyms and even a meditation room. Second, the restaurant – a ground-floor dining room that feels like a private club, but is open to all – is a belter. The room is beautiful, with mid-century seating and Persian carpets over “nicely worn” parquet. And the menu is full of classical Italian cooking that has been given a “little Tel Aviv slap around the chops”. A plate of courgette spaghetti is wound up with smoked ricotta, baby salad leaves and a “chunky pistachio pesto”; herb tortelli come with pistachios and smoked burrata; and among the “large plates”, there is shakshuka and grilled octopus. The vibe is welcoming, the cocktails great; and on a rainy Monday lunchtime this place is packed and buzzing.
Around £50 a head without drinks.