Over in Manchester’s Green Quarter, there is a charming restaurant serving up some of the best pasta in the city.
Called The Sparrows, last week it was revealed as one of the new additions to the prestigious Michelin Guide – a recognition that’s truly well deserved.
Long beloved by Manchester foodies, it takes its name from its signature dish, spätzle: a thick, irregularly-shaped pasta so named because its dough looks like birds in flight when scraped, wet, from the board straight into a boiling pan of water.
One-half of the couple behind the restaurant, Chef Franco Concli, hails from Trentino in the north of Italy where dishes often share influences with neighbouring Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The other, Kasia Hitchcock, was born in Poland close to the Ukrainian border, where dumplings are a comforting part of the food culture.
ADVERTISEMENT
It makes sense, then, that on the menu you’ll find plump handmade pierogi and pelimeni dumplings stuffed with the likes of cottage cheese and potato, mushroom and homemade sauerkraut, listed alongside gnocchi, pappardelle, tortelli, and the pasta that started it all, spätzle.
One of the beauties of the menu here, specials aside, is that you pick your own pasta and sauce combination. Sauce options include butter and sage, tomato, guanciale, and bolognese, but the must-order dish, the one I always go back to, is the kase spätzle.
ADVERTISEMENT
Essentially a grown-up, Germanic version of mac and cheese, think fresh egg noodles enveloped in creamy gruyere and Emmental cheese sauce, with braised onions adding a touch of sweetness. It’s a Swabian specialty but also very popular in Germany, Switzerland, and now Manchester too.
As for the bar, there is an enticing list of low-intervention Germanic and Polish wines, plus a strong sake menu.
Before The Sparrows, Kasia’s sake company supplied Umezushi. Now sadly closed, it was once Manchester’s best sushi restaurant and a key player in helping the couple get their start up here.
Owners had recently converted the archways opposite into prep kitchens, and it was here in 2019 that it all began, with dumplings and spätzle served in a tiny arch that seated twelve at a push.
Needless to say, after a rave from Jay Rayner in The Guardian the restaurant quickly outgrew Mirabel Street and moved to a new, bigger arch no more than five or ten minutes walk away.
As time has gone on, its settings and service have become undeniably sleeker. Its menu, however, has stayed pretty much the same – including its low prices.
On my first ever visit in the summer of 2019, I think my friend and I spent just over £50 on a three course meal with wine. This time, a plate of spätzle is still only £10.50 shared between two of us.
ADVERTISEMENT
Given everything that’s going on in the restaurant industry, and the fact that I recently saw a far inferior plate of pasta listed at £16.50 in another Manchester restaurant, it’s a very pleasant surprise.
As it ever was, the staples are still there: gnocchi and spätzle, pappardelle and a daily special, available to order with your sauce of choice from just £8 a plate.
We also try one of the specials, starting our meal sweet with tortell stuffed with butternut squash and seasoned with the almond crunch of an amaretti crumb.
Add to that long ribbons of pappardelle with an indulgent mix of chorizo, cherry tomato, spinach and cream, a small plate of fresh and fragrant dill-fermented cucumbers, and an excellent bottle of Teliana Valley orange wine, and suffice to say our table was a very happy one indeed.
ADVERTISEMENT
The house pierogi still come stuffed with the same choices of potato and cottage cheese, or sauerkraut and mushroom, and popular sides of salted rosemary focaccia and sauerkraut are correct and present, priced from £3.75.
Even better, dumplings can be ‘mixed and matched’ at the chef’s discretion – a good option if you can’t decideon your order and want to try a bit of everything.
As for the dessert menu, there’s still the sweet spätzle with cinnamon butter and brown sugar, as well as Daz’s wife’s brownie (Daz being their postman), although I regret to report I overindulged so immensely on the savoury portion of the meal I was too far gone to contemplate a pudding.
The restaurant itself is chic and stylish, with statement lighting fixtures and tall glass windows looking into an open kitchen. But the real marvel is what comes out on your plate.
ADVERTISEMENT
No doubt it will soon be inundated with new fans, as it should be. Run, don’t walk, whilst you can still get a table. This really is some of the best pasta in town.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
Eats
One of Manchester’s best restaurants is opening a ‘bread kitchen’ in Exhibition food hall
Daisy Jackson
A Michelin guide restaurant in Manchester is branching out with a new project, and this time it’s all about bread.
The team behind Another Hand will be taking over one of the kitchens in food hall Exhibition, launching Jaan, which will specialise in Persian cooking.
The new bread kitchen will focus on Wildfarmed House Flatbreads, which will come with an array of seasonal toppings.
And a lot of the produce heading to the Jaan kitchen at Exhibition will be taken from what’s not used at Another Hand around the corner.
For example, a whole sirloin that’s used for Another Hand’s ex-dairy sirloin dish will provide meat trimmings that will be turned into Jaan’s beef tartare.
The tail and trim from Another Hand’s seared trout will head to Jaan to be used in a fire-roasted sea trout fatoush salad.
And the two restaurants will share other bits of produce too, like a squash that will go into both a Winter Squash small plate at the main restaurant and a scorched summer squash dish at the food hall.
Another Hand’s famous flatbreads will be the staple on the menu at Jaan, which is moving into the beautiful kitchen on Peter Street hot on the heels of the departure of Rigatoni’s.
Since it launched in 2022, the restaurant’s become known as one of Manchester’s best, even earning a place in the Michelin guide.
It’s famed for its sharing plates, as well as the team’s efforts to drive sustainable practices, sourcing produce from across the north west.
Most ingredients used in the restaurant have travelled no more than 40 miles, and the bread comes from Holy Grain while the chocolate comes from Dormouse, both right next door.
Jaan will be moving in to the Exhibition food hall in Manchester
They hope that Jaan will help their sustainable credentials even more, allowing them to use up almost every scrap of produce.
Small plates will all be served with house flatbreads, and toppings will include smoked aubergine, whipper butterbean, black garlic cheese bread, ex-dairy beef tartare, and ras el hanout spiced lamb.
And larger plates will include slow-cooked lamb shank with ancient grains, grilled octopus and nduja, and chermoula chicken rice.
Chef patrons Max Yorke and Julian Pizer said: “We feel extremely privileged to be offered the opportunity to cook alongside Osma and Baratxuri at Exhibition Manchester.
“Over the last few years our small 24 cover restaurant has generated a large waitlist and we are excited to showcase our new concept to a wider audience.
“Most importantly, as we make more steps to improve our environmental standards, our food waste systems showed an obvious area in which we could develop.
“By opening a second kitchen in such a fast paced venue we can take unused produce from Another Hand and even further reduce, and hopefully eradicate, our wastage.”
Jaan Persian Bread Kitchen will open within Exhibition on 8 May, joining Osma and Baratxuri on the venue’s restaurant floor.
Gary Neville lines up Michelin star chef for his Stock Exchange Hotel restaurant
Daisy Jackson
Gary Neville has announced a new restaurant within his five-star Stock Exchange Hotel, which will open almost a year after the previous eatery announced its shock closure.
The magnificent dining room at the heart of the hotel was previously home to Tom Kerridge’s The Bull & Bear, which closed at the end of 2022.
It was then replaced by Stock Market Grill, a restaurant by the award-winning Schofield brothers (who operate officially the best bar in the UK) – but that was open for only a matter of months.
Thankfully, the Manchester United legend and property mogul now has grand plans for the Stock Exchange’s restaurant offering, roping in two-time Michelin star chef Niall Keating.
Niall will be launching Tender this summer, a luxury dining experience ‘named after the tender care put into crafting each dish’.
There’ll be gourmet food for everyday dining within the hotel’s historic dining room, which will undergo a renovation before Tender’s launch.
Its menu will offer weekday brasserie lunches, a la carte dinners, afternoon teas, Sunday roasts, a chef’s table and a special tasting menu.
The Stock Exchange Hotel is home to one of Manchester’s most beautiful restaurant spaces. Credit: The Manc GroupThe Stock Exchange Hotel is home to one of Manchester’s most beautiful restaurant spaces. Credit: The Manc Group
Niall Keating at just 33 years old has already earned two Michelin stars, making him one of the youngest two-time Michelin star chefs in the UK.
His CV has included stints in kitchens at the best restaurants in the world, including Restaurant Sat Bains and Benu in San Francisco (a three Michelin-star spot).
He then headed to The Dining Room at Whatley Manor Hotel, where he earned his first star in 2017 and a second in 2019, as well as a prestigious Green Star in 2021 which recognises sustainability practices.
Speaking about today’s announcement, Gary Neville, owner of Stock Exchange Hotel, said: “We couldn’t be happier to be partnering with Niall Keating for Tender and bringing his culinary expertise to the hotel.
“His vision to create versatile and accessible dining options is exactly what we’ve been looking for, to allow everyone visiting Tender to find the right experience for them.”
Niall Keating added: “From when I first walked through the doors of the hotel into the dining room, I knew this was the place for me and that we could create something really special.
“I immediately felt connected to both Gary and General Manager, Tracy Harrison, and I knew what I wanted to create at the hotel and restaurant. I want a space that feels vibrant, warm and energetic, that brings to life the history of the stock exchange roots of the hotel, while providing an upscale and comfortable brasserie dining experience.
“In addition to the main dining room, we will also be opening ‘The Bank’, which is a beautiful private space for up to 12 guests, where we will be providing a truly exceptional dining experience.”
Gary added: “We will also shortly be announcing a series of events and live music experiences, including a weekly music plan, within Tender, that will really bring the venue to life, making it the heart of Stock Exchange Hotel.”
Tender restaurant at the Stock Exchange Hotel will officially open on 5 June.
Its opening hours will be Wednesday to Saturday, midday to 10pm, and Sundays midday to 7.30pm.