There are a lot of good places to eat around the North West. Some are even great. But very few are exceptional – and only one can claim to be the best not just in our region, but in the entire country.
The restaurant in question is Moor Hall.
This two Michelin-star spot, just outside Greater Manchester in Lancashire, opened back in 2017. It achieved its first Michelin star at break-neck speed, proudly mounting a red plaque within six months of opening. A year later, it got its second. It’s been named the Best Restaurant in England two years in a row at the Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards. And that’s just the tip of the glittering iceberg.
All this might seem quick, but I doubt anyone has walked through these doors without emphatically agreeing that Moor Hall deserves every accolade on its shelves. If I had the power, I’d give it another star on the spot.
The experience begins before you’ve even got through the door.
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You’ll drive through the stone gates and down the winding driveway, passing a lake, a group of geese pottering about on the lawn, and around the back of the beautiful former mansion house.
You could have arrived on the set of Bridgerton (if the Bridgertons happened to have a wine list so comprehensive that the table shakes under the weight of the menu).
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As each guest is given a staggered arrival time, they know who you are the second you walk through the door. Being greeted by name takes us both aback – is this how the Beckhams feel all the time? Fetch me my Birkin! Where’s my security?!
Anyway. The initial grandeur of Moor Hall carries through for the first part of your meal – drinks and snacks in the bar area, where the walls are covered in dark wood and cosy bay windows look out onto the lake.
The main dining room at Moor HallMoor Hall’s Provenance menu The experience includes a walk through the kitchens
Here, you begin to see the many, many cogs that go into making a restaurant like this function. Someone is in charge of water. Someone else is carefully slicing charcuterie into slices so thin it dissolves on your tongue like butter.
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Tiny black pudding bites pack a rich, meaty punch that immediately makes me wish we were staying overnight and could eat breakfast here too (there are 14 guest bedrooms at Moor Hall plus new garden rooms being constructed in the grounds).
The next miniature mouthful bursts open with flavours of barbecued asparagus and smoky chorizo, then a dinky English muffin topped with buttered lobster turns me misty-eyed.
A pair of pretty leaf-shaped crackers, each one embossed with herbs, arrives next, alongside a tin of cod roe and caviar, like a classic pate but 1000 times richer and more interesting.
Crackers with cod roe and caviarAn English muffin with poached lobster
At this point, you’re whisked off your feet by another Moor Hall staff member, who promptly escorts you out the door. Have we done something wrong? Nope – it’s time to see the kitchen gardens.
He expertly points out all the herbs, fruits and vegetables that are grown on-site in the beautiful walled gardens, tended to by a small team of gardeners.
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The tour then spits you out into the kitchen, where each of the many, many chefs whipping up your dinner will greet you with a friendly smile, and chef-patron Mark Birchall offers a warm handshake and yet another snack (this one resembles a small bird’s nest, filled with smoked eel and potato).
While the bar is dark and stately, the dining room is a modern, simple space flooded with sunlight and views of the lake.
The dishes at this stage of the Provenance menu become instantly more theatrical.
‘Royal Oak Rainbow’ – baked carrots with doddington cheese ‘snow’Rudy red Devon beef with beetroot and mustardGuinea hen with morel mushoomsGrilled cornish turbot with mussel and roe sauce
Suddenly we have people spooning brilliant white crumbles onto plates of carrots, herb-infused stocks being poured onto plates and quenelles of butter being rolled out of wooden dishes.
Some dishes are simpler, like a loaf of the best sourdough we’ve ever had, but most are unimaginably intricate, like 80-day aged beef served with beetroot and mustard, and rich guinea hen complimented by even richer morel mushrooms.
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Whatever the dish (and we get through a LOT), it’s the sort of food that makes you stop in your tracks. It triggers involuntary reactions – I keep catching us smiling, or closing our eyes, or gleefully pointing out goosebumps on our arms. I actually well up at one point. I didn’t know ice cream could move me to tears, but laced with spicy stem ginger – a staple on Moor Hall’s menu from day one – apparently it can.
And throughout, Moor Hall will go to great lengths to show you where each dish has come from (because let’s be honest, fine dining sometimes gets so complicated it stops resembling food at all), whether that’s showing the huge joint of meat your dish has been carved from or handing you a tiny card telling the story of Ormskirk gingerbread.
Three of four sweet courses on Moor Hall’s Provenance menu
If you add a cheese course, you’re even escorted into the cheese room (is this… heaven?) to build your own cheese board from the huge selection of British creations inside.
There’s a refreshing level of transparency throughout and although we’re surprised plenty of times, it doesn’t feel like trickery.
It’s hard not to appreciate the meal you’re eating because you’ve seen every painstaking step and every ingredient being used before you’ve even sat down, from the gardener pruning the rosemary shrub to the sous chef placing micro herbs on bright green butter with a pair of tweezers.
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It’s elaborate but intimate, complex but never intimidating.
The cheese room, where you can build your own cheese course
You might wonder how a £235 tasting menu could ever NOT be intimidating to the average person, and that really comes down to the team who work at Moor Hall.
They’re so warm and inviting, it’s like dining with friends. They could switch it up from explaining one of the most intricate menus in the world to joining in with our debate about whether it’s weird for adults to have a favourite colour.
The Bodorgan Inn – The amazing staycation with its very own pub inside
Daisy Jackson
The day starts with a leisurely breakfast around the breakfast bar. Then there’s a bit of a kick-about in the garden. A quick BBQ for lunch before heading to the pub, for an afternoon of Guinness, darts, pool, and a pub quiz. In the evening, it’s a three course dinner, followed by a film with popcorn and pick n mix in the cinema.
Oh, did I mention you’ve done all of this without actually leaving the house?
That perfect day could very easily be your reality (along with more than a dozen of your mates) at this unbelievable house in Wales.
The Bodorgan Inn is a former, historic public house that’s been carefully converted into a home that up to 24 guests can stay in – and they’ve kept part of the working pub inside.
That means that guests can pour themselves a pint, watch the football, have a game of darts, sit around the fireplace, and even use a urinal, all without setting foot outside the front door.
As well as its own pub, the Bodorgan Inn has 10 beautiful bedrooms – some enormous, traditional ones with bay windows looking across the countryside; others modern rooms with en-suites that wouldn’t look out of place in a boutique hotel.
The Bodorgan Inn has its own pubYou can have the bar stocked for your arrivalHost a pub quizPlay pool and dartsAnd generally enjoy your evening in your own private pubPlay at being the bartender
The house can comfortably fit 12 people in every single room at once (we tried it), whether you’re tucked around the kitchen table catching up over a cuppa or dressed up to the nines for dinner in the grand dining room.
You can also all easily fit into the pub, which is split across two rooms; the garden, which has ample outdoor seating; and the snug – the biggest snug I’ve ever seen – with a huge TV, PlayStation, fireplace and comfy couches.
In fact, the only place we couldn’t all fit at once was the hot tub on the terrace in the back garden.
It’s not just the physical space, either – it’s all the extra bits included in your stay, like having ample champagne flutes for everyone, loads of Guinness glasses, and more than enough mugs, plus two dishwashers and a glass wash to help with the clean-up.
Bedrooms in The Bodorgan Inn
It’s extremely hard to tear yourself away from this fabulous home, so we called in a private chef to cook dinner for the group, served up in our own stately dining room after we’d hosted a pub quiz.
And there was a little taste of home thanks to a giant tray of Buttercup’sbanana pudding, and batched cocktails from Stray.
But if you do want to head out, the Bodorgan Inn is in a lovely spot, surrounded by the countryside of Anglesey and a short drive into the village of Rhosneigr, where walks can take in the beautiful sand dunes.
The Bodorgan Inn with Birch StaysThe huge gardensThe nearby village of RhosneigrThe Manc team on the beach in Rhosneigr
Also, handily, the Bodorgan train station is directly opposite the house, whisking you along to Holyhead in one direction or to Bangor and along the North Wales coastline in the other.
Every inch of the Bodorgan Inn is stylish, luxurious, and comfortable, as well as being packed with fun touches and added extras.
If you book with Birch Stays, you can pop extra details onto your booking like having a keg of your beer or cider of choice in the pub, arranging a cocktail-making kit, bags of pick-n-mix for the snug, disposable cameras, and even Christmas decorations.
Movie night in the snugDinner with private chef Meals by ChrisBrought Stray bar with usAnd a Buttercup banana puddingTeam breakfastThe Bodorgan Inn is dog-friendly too (this is Tiger)
We loved the way the house is big and varied enough for groups to splinter off at times too – some watching sport in the pub, others having a glass of wine in the garden, some watching The Traitors in the lounge.
Whether it’s a Christmas do, a stag or hen party, a full family gathering or any other large group occasion, The Bodorgan Inn is well worth considering.
You can see more and book your stay with Birch Stays HERE.
Review | ‘Hopefully!’, you get lucky enough to see the spectacle that is Loyle Carner live
The Manc
The O2 Victoria Warehouse in Manchester has this week played host to Benjamin Gerard Coyle-Larner this week, a.k.a. Loyle Carner, as he serenaded adoring listeners with his captivating lyrics, spine-tingling bass and drumlines, as well as his ever-laid-back warmth and charisma.
His stage name is the only spoonerism you’ll ever find in this man’s craft, as every syllable is as intentional and well-placed as the last.
Accompanied by an incredibly talented band and golden production, the night lends itself to a thought-provoking performance that leaves you wanting more. Consider me listening to nothing but this setlist for the foreseeable.
As the rumble of eager, loyal/Loyle – take your pick – listeners awaited his arrival, you could sense what this artist and his poetic music mean to people.
We've seen @LoyleCarner twice this week. We might even go again tonight – yes, he really is that good. 🎤
Opening with ‘in my mind’, just like that, you saw the crowd suddenly holding each other’s hands whilst comfortably sitting in the palm of Carner’s.
Let’s not forget his brilliant band, either, who all got their time in the spotlight and wowed as a collective.
Carner and the crowd definitely gave them the recognition they deserved, with piano solos throwing a blanket of respectful silence and tentative listening over the whole audience.
Loyle’s well-loved and special lyrics were echoed throughout the venue from start to finish.
He insisted (and not for the first time) that there’s “something special about playing in Manchester” – and we couldn’t agree more.
Carner’s vulnerability onstage opens a glowing portal for his listeners to do so as well. He encourages feeling. And as an audience, this is extremely clear in the room. It was a sea of warm embraces, agreeing heads and ignited eyes.
Loyle Carner was just as good on night two at Victoria Warehouse as he was on the first. (Credit: Audio North)
As the setlist crept towards the end, the crowd were not ready to say goodbye as the customary chants of ‘one more song!’ bounced off the Victoria Warehouse walls.
We were then blessed with a solo Loyle, who shared a typically creative and reflective spoken-word Carner special with us.
Without any demand, the crowd fell sweetly silent and absorbed his every word. A poet, pure and simple.
The 31-year-old rapper and wordsmith plays one more night at the venue to round off his mini residency tonight (Tuesday, 25 November 2025); you can try and grab last-minute tickets HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
12th May 2024 
