Just a forty-minute drive from Manchester, The Moorcock Inn is a favourite amongst foodies on both sides of the Pennines.
Recently awarded a top spot in the esteemed 2022 Estrella Damn Gastropubs Top 50, we knew we had to pay it a visit.
The pub recently merged its two menus into one, combining the bar menu with the restaurant tasting offerings into what equates to a long, glorious list of dishes designed to share – each sounding more indulgent than the last.
An unsuspecting candidate, this old-school Pennine boozer at Norland above Sowerby Bridge looks very ordinary from the outside. In fact, as we pull into the car park behind it, a bit stressed in the torrential rain, we all question whether we’re in the right place.
Image: The Moorcock Inn
We are. A chef in a cap, completely unprotected from the blizzard in his t-shirt and apron, is out there getting drenched. Talk about passion. With much of the menu here cooked over fire, we expect he’s accustomed to it. Wet weather is part of the moorland’s, erm, charm.
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Stood in front of a roaring outdoor barbecue, he intermittently runs the gauntlet to grab what appears to be clumps of hay, thrusting his head into a covered box and emerging with armfuls of the stuff to help smoke and fire the huge charcoal grill.
Billowing clouds are smashed to smithereens by the driving wind and rain without mercy. We leg it past the barbecue, landing safely at the end of the bar – all wooden beams, exposed stone walls and black-as-the-night chalkboards – before being taken to our table in the snug.
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The bar area at The Moorcock Inn. / Image: The Moorcock Inn
Snug it is, enough to quickly forget the downpour outside and de-layer whilst poring over the extensive drinks menu. Yes, it’s a pub, so you’d expect the drinks list to be relatively decent – but this offers so much more.
Experienced sommelier Aimee Tufford has put a lot of love and care into composing it, with a huge number of low and no alcohol beers sitting (quite literally) side by side with quality craft, keg and bottle options. There are stouts, hazy IPAs, lagers, saison – the 0.5 percents happily rubbing shoulders with the twelves.
Wines are mostly organic and low intervention, many served by the glass or carafe, more by the bottle. Elsewhere, there is a good choice of gin, kombucha, sake, cider and more. On it goes.
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Image: The Moorcock Inn
Aimee heads up front of house with her British-Australian partner, Alisdair Brooke-Taylor, the chef. Prior to opening The Moorcock, the pair spent years together at Michelin-starred In de Wulf on the Belgian-French border.
Before its closure in 2016, Alisdair functioned as the right-hand man to Kobe Desramualts. At that time, it was considered in some influential circles to be the third-best restaurant in Europe. Let’s just say, the locals here are blessed.
Crispy potatoes, long-smoked over that fire outside then crisped and cracked in the deep fat fryer, take a pub classic to the next level – served split in a heap with a small dish of yeasty mayonnaise.
A serious hunk of sourdough – loaded with queen scallop, spider crab, grated turnip, chives and sunflower seeds – is turned to an eggy-bread sponge, oozing with salty-sweet roe custard that drips down the sides and swims at its base.
A whole charcoaled flounder, roasted and smeared in butter made from dried mullet roe, is soft and buttery, leant an umami saltiness from the bottarga.
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Sauteed greens dressed in garlic and anchovy bring more of that salty, Southern Italian depth to the table, whilst a plate of shaved celeriac frisee with ricotta salata, capers and mustard lends the meal a smoky, pickled, earthy freshness.
Wood roasted flounder with bottarga butter. / Image: The Manc Group
Crispy pig tails stuffed with pork sausage, jerusalem artichoke and apple sauce. / Image: The Manc Group
Sauteed greens with herbs, heritage Carin peas and a garlic and anchovy dressing. / Image: The Manc Group
Crispy pig tails with apple sauce and artichoke, stuffed with sausage meat and blackened to the point of crumbling, are a literal reminder of The Moorcock’s nose-to-tail dining ethos. Nothing is wasted, as their presence so boldly attests.
Meat here is dry-aged and butchered on-site, using mature, whole animals taken from select local smallholdings that work mostly with the Rare Breed Survival Trust as a preference.
These regenerative ethics extend to the rest of the menu, too. Sustainable fish and seafood are taken from native waters in day boats only, and vegetables are organic, sometimes homegrown in their 2-acre kitchen garden, sometimes foraged.
Very much in the school of forage, ferment, cure and preserve, the ever-evolving seasonal menu champions a host of traditional homesteading techniques- right down to the handmade crockery on which everything is served.
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We finish with both of the puddings (there are just two on the list). In a nod to locale, one is a rhubarb frangipane puff pastry tarte doused in a thick. tangy lemon curd with pumpkin seed praline. The other, a giant plate of choux pastry boldly redefining any interpretation we previously held about profiteroles.
Filled with a squash cheesecake mousse and milk ice-cream, it gives off the slightly cheesy tang of fermentation. All is balanced by a huge drizzle of salty-sweet butterscotch sauce. It’s the pudding that keeps giving, all three of us attack with vigour – only turning over to the rhubarb puff when it’s done.
This is a glorious pub, serving glorious food. This new offering feels wonderfully relaxed, combining the best of both restaurant and bar menus. We completely see what all the fuss is about.
Three more Manchester restaurants have been added to the Michelin Guide
Daisy Jackson
Greater Manchester has just had three more restaurants placed in the Michelin Guide, marking a sensational year for our city’s hospitality industry.
This month, the prestigious restaurant guide has added Stow, Climat, and Bangkok Diners Club to its list of the top quality restaurants across the UK.
It brings our total to 18, after three others were added to the guide back in August (Winsome, Pip, and Cantaloupe).
Manchester also now boasts two Michelin stars after going decades with none, thanks to the opening of Skof last year.
While stars remain the most prestigious accolade in the hospitality industry, Michelin also dishes out Bib Gourmands, and Michelin Guide entries to recognise excellent restaurants at lower price points.
The first big Manchester name added to the guide this month is Stow, a brilliant new restaurant on Bridge Street where everything – even the desserts – is cooked over fire.
It’s technical and utterly brilliant and has received rave reviews across the board since its launch.
Stow in Manchester has been added to the new Michelin Guide. Credit: The Manc Group
The Michelin Guide said of Stow: “With its winning combo of cocktails and cooking over fire, Stow feels like a restaurant for our times. Start (and end) your visit with a drink in the front bar, before taking your seat at the counter in the tucked-away dining room.
“The small size gives it the feel of an intimate secret supper club, as you watch the chefs close-up, extracting maximum flavour from their ingredients.
“Prime cuts of meat, including ex-dairy beef, are a feature, but don’t miss the imaginative vegetable dishes too. Finish with the smoked cream tart, its gentile smokiness coming through in every mouthful.”
Stow wrote: “Today marks a very proud moment for us and the team.
“This time last year there wasn’t even a barbecue in the kitchen or furniture in the restaurant. Today, we’re officially a recommendation in the @michelinguide.
“We’re so proud of our team. Up the f*cking Stow.”
Next up is Bangkok Diners Club, a fantastic Thai restaurant tucked up above the Edinburgh Castle pub in Ancoats.
It’s headed up by Chef Ben Humpheys – formerly of the futuristic Thai restaurant District – and his wife Bo, and fuses his 20-year obsession with Thai cuisine with a ‘new-found love for low-n-slow cooking’ inspired by the BBQs of Miami.
The Michelin Guide says: “A taste of Thailand has arrived, of all places, above a Victorian pub in Ancoats. Sitting on the first floor of the characterful Edinburgh Castle inn, it’s a lively, deservedly popular place with a cool rustic-meets-retro vibe.
“Despite the name, the cooking takes inspiration from all over Thailand, including several dishes from the northeastern Isan region, such as raw bass with calamansi nam jim or a classic papaya salad. Each plate looks neat and vibrant, delivering an array of well-balanced flavours and the occasional hit of creativity.”
Bangkok Diners Club said: “We are delighted to be included in The Michelin Guide 2025 alongside the very best of Manchester. Thank you to everybody who has visited so far and we look forward to meeting many more of you.”
And last but definitely not least is Climat, a sky-high restaurant famed for its vast wine collection and fabulous views across the rooftops of Manchester city centre.
Here’s what the Michelin Guide had to say about Climat: “You have to be in the know to come across Climat, tucked away on the eighth floor of a city centre office building. You arrive at a dedicated entrance and make your way up to the chic penthouse, where stunning city views await you.
“An open kitchen is the focus of the room, with its aromas filling the air, and the concise fixed-price menu includes well-executed dishes such as halibut with spinach and sorrel velouté, where the ingredient quality shines through.
“Wine is a feature with one side of the room acting as a bar and the carefully curated list deftly mixing traditional and modern styles.”
Climat said: “Pleased as punch! We’re very happy to have been included in the @michelinguide.
“Thank you to all the team for their hard work and to our suppliers for their fantastic produce. Santé!”
A huge congratulations to all three new additions to the Michelin Guide – another very proud moment for Manchester.
Bar Posie – The beautiful new cocktail bar with an oyster happy hour from the team behind 10 Tib Lane
Daisy Jackson
The team behind Manchester’s 10 Tib Lane restaurant are ready to open a brand-new city centre cocktail bar, with an oyster happy hour.
They have announced that Bar Posie will be opening next week in the old Philpotts sandwich shop, right off Market Street.
The brand-new bar for the city centre will be serving cocktails, small plates and bar snacks, at the foot of Bruntwood SciTech’s Bloc building (also home to the Reset by Form pilates studio).
Bar Posie will be doing an aperitvo and oyster happy hour every Tuesday to Sunday between 12pm and 4pm, with £8 aperitivo and oysters for a quid.
It’s all coming from the 10 Tib Lane team, which opened in the old Bock Biere site back in 2021, transforming the space into a cosy multi-storey restaurant with seasonal sharing dishes.
This week, Bar Posie has shared a sneak peek of its menu, which will feature quality plates like confit chicken and wild mushroom croquettes, pork belly skewers, and a bitter leaf salad with buttermilk dressing.
As for drinks, expect cocktails like a cacao nib negroni, a classic vodka martini, and ‘La Isla’, a blend of Aperol, almond, Takamaka koko, mango and melon soda and acid.
That’s alongside conventional and natural wines, craft beer, and plenty of coffee.
Cocktails at Bar PosieHighlights of the snack menuA selection of snacks and cocktails at Bar PosieBar Posie is just off Market StreetInside Bar PosieInside Bar PosieCredit: The Manc Group
The space itself will be split into a mix of cosy booth seating, bar seats, and al fresco dining across two levels, with the cocktail bar at the very heart of everything.
Sophie Robson from Posie said: “We’re thrilled to finally be opening the doors to Posie. We’ve put all our passion and expertise into curating a menu that feels fresh and exciting, and into creating a space where people feel comfortable, looked after and relaxed.
“We can’t wait to welcome guests and show them the best of Posie.”
Matt Pazos, Retail Commercial Manager for Bruntwood SciTech, commented: “We’re delighted to welcome Posie to the Bloc community.
“The team’s unique style is clear to see in the space, transforming it into a beautiful and inviting bar with an innovative menu offering that is testament to their expertise.
“Posie will make a fantastic addition to Manchester’s food and drink scene and we can’t wait to see how the brand grows in the coming months.”
Bar Posie will open in Bruntwood SciTech’s Bloc building on Tuesday 4 November.