The best restaurants in the UK have been named at the National Restaurant Awards – and Manchester has done pretty well for itself.
The prestigious awards took place last night, listing the top 100 places to eat in the entire UK.
Three restaurants within Manchester itself managed to make it into the top 50 of the country’s best restaurants.
And there was a glowing endorsement for a brand new spot that’s only been open for a couple of weeks.
Skof is a beautiful new spot by celebrated chef Tom Barnes, who has worked at L’Enclume, the three-Michelin star Lake District restaurant widely considered one of the best in the world.
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His first restaurant, located in the NOMA neighbourhood, has been named the ‘One to Watch’ at the National Restaurant Awards.
Judges said that Skof is set to make ‘a big impact in a city that has a pumping restaurant scene but is in general unmoved by fancy restaurants’.
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Food at Skof in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
The highest-ranking restaurant in the Top 100 list for Greater Manchester is Michelin starred Mana, which came in 14th place.
The fine dining establishment in the heart of Ancoats got its Michelin star just a year after opening and National Restaurant Award judges praised it for being ‘understated and confident’ with ‘highly technical and precise’ cooking.
Higher Ground is operated by a powerful trio – one of the UK’s brightest young chefs Joseph Otway, front-of-house man Richard Cossins, and wine expert Daniel Craig Martin – and made the list thanks in part to its focus on regenerative farming and local produce.
Higher Ground in Manchester has been awarded a Michelin Bib GourmandErst in Ancoats is Michelin-recommended restaurantHigher Ground and Erst in Manchester have both been named among the UK’s best restaurants. Credit: The Manc Group
Completing the Manchester portion of the best restaurants in the UK list is Erst, which has swooped in at number 50.
The beautiful Ancoats restaurant was named as ‘the perfect neighbourhood spot’, with its ever-changing menu of small plates and natural wines hailed as being ‘an antidote to the glitzier ‘going out out’ restaurant scene for which Manchester is traditionally known’.
All eyes have been on Erst in recent weeks after Trove – the bakery which is a sister site to the restaurant – suddenly shut down.
There was a lot of success for the North West in general too at the National Restaurant Awards.
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Two Michelin-star Moor Hall, just up the road from Manchester in Lancashire, placed third overall in the UK but lost its crown as the best restaurant in England.
L’Enclume in the Lake District sits in 20th place, The Parkers Arms pub in Lancashire made 51st, and Forest Side in Ambleside came 75th.
You can see the full top 100 list from the National Restaurant Awards here.
‘Hidden’ Manchester cocktail bar shuts down after only six months
Daisy Jackson
A cocktail bar in Manchester city centre that opened only last December has reportedly closed down, with its final service today.
Ego Death, a ‘hidden’ speakeasy-style bar in the Northern Quarter, told CLASS magazine that they were told by backers that they would have to close.
It opened under the steer of acclaimed bartender Cressida Lawlor, co-founded by Beau Myers, who also founded the original Almost Famous.
The bar is beneath newcomer smash burger joint Super Awesome Deluxe and accessed through an unmarked door within the takeaway.
Shortly after Super Awesome Deluxe opened, Almost Famous went through a high-profile closure of all of its restaurants this year, later bought out and reopened by D2.
And now just six months after launch, Ego Death looks set to be closing for good.
Cressida told CLASS: “The team here is wildly talented so the goal now is to get them into jobs so they can pay their bills and keep a roof over their heads.
“No one wants Ego Death to die and I think we’ve made enough of a stir in the six months that we’ve been open to find a new site and investment.
“Our last day is going to be Sunday, so anyone who can get here for one final party should come down.”
She later added on Instagram: “Truly gutting but there is always light in any form of darkness. Come see us this Sunday for the final service as we go through a true ego death.”
Ego Death came from the same team behind Socio Rehab (which if you remember it from 2004 was a bit of a local institution) and had a cocktail menu inspired by the speakeasy bars of New York City.
Behind the bar the stars were bourbon and champagne, plus cocktails inspired by the Big Apple – including one named after Sex and the City’s Samantha Jones.
Beau Myers, co-founder at Ego Death said at the time of its opening: “It’s been 20 years since we opened Socio Rehab so it seems pretty poignant to be opening another amazing cocktail bar. We changed the landscape of cocktail bar culture then and that’s something we’re trying to do again.
“We’ve partnered with Cressida Lawlor to make this dream happen. She’s a total firecracker and reminds me a lot of myself 20 years ago, she’s the future of cocktails and bartending and has that maverick spirit.
“Together we’ve created Ego Death, hidden in a basement behind an unmarked door at the back of a burger shop will be this cocktail haven. An underground escape throwing out the best classic cocktails, bourbon, and champagne from top level bartenders.”
This Manchester bar serves a bottomless cheese fondue with endless beer and wine
Georgina Pellant
There’s a bar in Manchester serving a bottomless cheese fondue with endless wine and beer, and it honestly sounds like the perfect treat.
While it might scream cosy winter night in, with a huge outdoor terrace, The Mews is also a firm favourite during the summer months.
Add in a board of melt-in-the-mouth charcuterie, springy pieces of garlic sourdough and a host of crunchy cheese biscuits, and you’ve got yourself the ideal afternoon if you ask us.
But there’s more. Alongside all that cheese and meat and bread, included in the price of The Mews’ bottomless fondue, cheese lovers can also enjoy 90 minutes of non-stop drinks.
Bottomless cheese fondue at The Mews on Deansgate in Manchester. (Credit: The Manc Eats)
Costing £37.50 each, included in the deal is a huge pot of melted Italian Fontina cheese served with homemade garlic croutons, sourdough crackers, and slices of British charcuterie.
You’ll also get to enjoy an hour and a half of endless pints of house pilsner and carafes of red or white wine to enjoy alongside.
Serving up to six people, the bottomless cheese fondue is available only when you pre-book, so make sure to get in touch ahead of your visit to let The Mews know that you’re coming.
If you’re not on the sauce, you can opt for the cheese fondue alone. Without the booze, it’s quite a bit cheaper at £25 for one, and £2.50 on top for any additional people who want to get stuck in.
Housed up on Deansgate Mews, just behind the main hustle and bustle of Deansgate, there’s plenty of space inside as well as a large, secluded terrace that is quite the suntrap (when the Manchester sun is shining).
Daisy Jackson -
11th June 2024 
