AManchester restaurant has been named amongst the best in the UK just a few months after opening its doors.
Higher Ground restaurant, which comes from the same team behind Ancoats wine bar Flawd, was ranked in the UK’s top 100 restaurants at last night’s prestigious National Restaurant Awards.
The swanky eatery headed up by chef Joseph Otway was listed as number 51 out of 100 restaurants at the annual event, which is sponsored by Estrella Damm.
Judges praised its “impeccable sourcing and creative cooking”, describing the new restaurant as a “modern and thoughtful Manchester bistro.”
Manchester’s only Michelin-starred restaurant Mana, meanwhile, ranked twenty points below at number 71 this year – moving up seven points from its 2022 placement.
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Inside Higher Ground. / Image: The Manc Eats
Jane’s Farm pig shoulder ragu, Cinderwood Market Garden mustards, Marfana potatoes with smoked butter at Higher Ground. / Image: The Manc Eats
Other local eateries to be featured in this year’s list include popular pub The Parkers Arms in nearby Lancashire, which was awarded Gastropub of the Year and ranked at number 12 out of 100 in this year’s list.
Higher Ground was first launched as a four-week pop-up back in February 2020, but closed when Covid struck and the country went into lockdown.
This February, the bistro made its return after securing a new permanent home in Chinatown’s Faulkner House.
The brainchild of chef Joseph Otway, front of house pro Richard Cossins and wine expert Daniel Craig Martin, dishes here change on a daily basis depending on the season and showcase organic produce grown on the team’s Cinderwood Market Garden in neighbouring Cheshire.
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Mackerel, salted gooseberry, and elderflower at Higher Ground. / Image: The Manc Eats
Coal-smoked onions, Cumbrian goats curd, yeast Fosters Mill wholewheat rolls and Lancashire butter at Higher Ground. / Image: The Manc Eats
Its wine list centers around small-scale, low intervention winemakers from around the European continent, whilst dishes put a focus on small-scale agriculture and small herd, whole carcass cookery.
With either a tasting menu or a la carte option to choose from, seating options span traditional dining tables and stools overlooking the open kitchen and charcoal oven.
Locally, Higher Ground is becoming famous for its ever changing daily pasta dish; hand rolled in the open kitchen every service, the super-value Chef’s Choice menu where the decision is in the hands of Joseph and his team, for just £35 at lunch and £45 at dinner.
Speaking on the win, the Higher Ground team said: “What a night. Incredibly proud of the Team who we are lucky enough to work with.
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“Congratulations to all of the other teams involved last night – the future is very exciting indeed!”
The Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards is Restaurant by BigHospitality’s annual countdown of the top 100 restaurants in the UK.
More than 200 industry experts have voted for their best restaurant experiences over the past 18 months across the British Isles, taking into consideration not only the food, but the staff, atmosphere, music, design and price.
The academy of voters is made up of chefs, restaurateurs, food writers and critics and other food experts and gastronomes.
Featured image – The Manc Eats
Eats
New pie shop with Indian-inspired fillings opens at Greater Manchester train station
Emily Sergeant
At long last, Patel’s Pies – the proper pie shop with Indian-inspired fillings – has got its very own site, and we couldn’t be happier about it.
The business is already a familiar name (to the blue half of the city, of course) thanks to its matchday spot outside the Etihad Stadium, but now, Patel’s Pies will be serving its delicious savoury bakes to the people of the Heatons too – with its brand-new pie shop now opene at Heaton Chapel train station.
Here you’ll find their legendary curry pies with homemade pastry – filled with the likes of keema, butter chicken, and beef madras.
You can grab hot and cold pies to take away, all setting you back an affordable £5.95 each.
Patel’s Pies is now open at Heaton Chapel train station / Credit: The Manc Group
From 11am-2pm, you can also get your hands on the lunch deal, which is any pie, masala mash, spiced mushy peas, and gunpowder gravy.
Patel’s Pies has teamed up with Manc legends Gooey, so you can grab the bakery’s famous cookies and doughnuts here too.
There’ll also be local beers and canned drinks up for grabs.
All pies will set you back an affordable £5.95 each / Credit: The Manc Group
Inside, the shop keeps things traditional, complete with classic pie warmers on the counter and hand-painted signage by Cactus Sign Painting, giving the space the feel of a proper old-school pie shop with a modern twist.
Announcing the new venture, Steve, the owner of Patel’s Pies has said: “We’d love for you to come down, say hello, and support our new venture. It’s our very first day, so please bear with us as we get settled in, we can’t wait to serve you all.”
Patel’s Pies is open now at Heaton Chapel Train Station on Tatton Road South.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
Eats
Trendy Ancoats wine bar Blossom Street Social to close after six years
Emily Sergeant
Trendy neighbourhood wine bar Blossom Street Social has announced its closure after nearly seven years serving the Ancoats community.
Blossom Street Social first opened its doors back in 2019, just months before the country – and the res of the world – was plunged into the COVID-19 lockdowns, but despite all the challenges during the early days, this wine bar went on to become a true staple of Ancoats life – hosting events, exhibitions, wine tastings, and everything in between.
But now, the owners have had to make the heartbreaking decision to close, saying they’ve ‘danced our last dance, played our last record, and poured our last glass of wine in Ancoats.’
Announcing the news in a statement to social media this week, Blossom Street Social said: “Blossom Street Social closes its doors after six and a half years at the heart of the Ancoats community.
Blossom Street Social has announced its closure after six years / Credit: The Manc Group
“When we opened in 2019, just months before the world changed forever, we couldn’t possibly have imagined the journey ahead. Through lockdowns, uncertainty and everything that followed, we somehow managed to build something that became far more than a wine bar.
“Wine was always at the heart of what we did, but so were the conversations, the music, the art and the community that grew around it.
“We’ve hosted tastings, exhibitions, launches, celebrations, social sessions and countless memorable nights. We’ve introduced people to wines they’d never tried before, watched friendships form and shared in some truly special moments.
“We’ve watched first dates become engagements, engagements become marriages, and couples return with babies in tow. We’ve celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, new homes and countless milestones alongside you. We’ve shared conversations, laughter, music and moments that mattered from our little corner of Ancoats. We will never forget them.”
The team then went on to thank ‘every customer, artist, DJ, supplier, collaborator and friend’ who became part of their story.
The owners also gave a special thank you to the staff members who stayed ‘to the very end’ and ‘showed up when it was hard’, admitting that they couldn’t have done it without them all.
Georgina Pellant -
13th June 2023 
