Eats

Legendary chef Rick Stein says Higher Ground restaurant in Manchester is one of his favourites in the UK

He said it 'really shows how much food is improving in Manchester'

Daisy Jackson - 28th December 2023

Celebrity chef Rick Stein has just named a restaurant in Manchester as one of his favourites in the UK, in a glowing endorsement for Higher Ground.

The restaurant started life as a pop-up at Kampus but has since put down roots on New York Street.

It’s a modern space with floor-to-ceiling glass windows on two sides, and a whole wine room where diners can pick out a bottle to take home.

In the kitchen Higher Ground is one of the UK’s brightest young chefs, with Joseph Otway creating an ever-changing menu of dishes made with whatever is fresh, local and in season.

Also behind the restaurant is front-of-house man Richard Cossins and wine expert Daniel Craig-Martin. Rick said they are ‘young and just wonderful’.

And it’s not just Rick who approves of it – Higher Ground has already been added to the Michelin Guide and placed in the top 100 in the UK within months of opening.

Rick Stein just named Higher Ground as one of his favourite restaurants in the UK. Credit: Sam Harris

Speaking of Higher Ground to Conde Nast Traveller, Rick said: “This is in a really trendy part of Manchester, but I love it because Joe is one of those chefs who won’t cook anything that isn’t local.

“Of course, it’s not one of those places that won’t use olive oil because it’s not local, but the main ingredients are strictly local. I really liked it, but it’s so unlike the sort of place that you would expect me to like.”

The legendary chef said he first visited when in Manchester for the cricket, and says Higher Ground ‘really shows how much food is improving in Manchester’.

Rick Stein just named Higher Ground as one of his favourite restaurants in the UK. Credit: The Manc Group

Rick said of the food: “I had the most delicious homemade pasta, a pappardelle with heart, liver and lungs of lamb made into a Ragu. You wouldn’t know it was made of heart, lungs and liver if you didn’t know; it was really, really tasty.

“They do organic wine, which is unusual for me, but currently trendy and apparently gives you less of a hangover.”

Rick Stein has travelled the length and breadth of the UK filming a new series Food Stories, where he’ll ‘meet the pioneers of the twenty-first century British food scene’.

And the Higher Ground team certainly fit that description.