The French at The Midland – the unsung hero of Manchester’s food and drink scene
Why is no one talking about The French anymore? Star or not, after dining there last week it seems a travesty that more people aren’t going on about how brilliant the food is.
The French at The Midland, or rather, I should say, Adam Reid at The French, as it is known today, has always seemed like one of those impossibly fancy places that a scruffy food lover like myself with slightly-dirty trainers could never belong.
As a wet behind the ears undergraduate student voraciously reading every Manchester food guide I could get my hands on, it was somewhere I always dreamed of visiting.
Not just for its deep velvet booths and impressively huge, sparkling chandeliers (well, not for that at all, if I’m honest, although they certainly do look stunning), but to experience eating at one of the city’s most famous fine dining restaurants.
It only took me fourteen years to get there – and now that I have been, I am not going to shut up about it.
Newcomers like Climat, Higher Ground, and The Sparrows all deserve the praise they get, and I am among those quick to write them a glowing review. Still, if you ask me, Adam Reid at The French could do with being showered in quite a bit more, so here I am with my sprinkler. Please indulge me.
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Right to left: Chef Patron Adam Reid pictured with new Head Chef Blaise Murphy (ex Mana and Moor Hall). / Image: The Manc Eats
Squid ink crackers topped with whipped roe and pickled red pepper that taste just like patatas bravas. / Image: The Manc Eats
For those who don’t know the history of The French, in 1974 it made history as the first Manchester restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star.
Back then, it was Chef Gilbert Lefevre at the helm and it really did what it said on the tin – serving opulent plates of escargots, foie gras, and caviar, even committing right down to the menu itself, half of which was printed en français.
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The restaurant retained its star for three years, before losing it in 1977, and would go on to have some ups and downs before coming under the stewardship of Simon Rogan in 2013, with its now-Chef Patron Adam Reid working underneath him as Head Chef.
Rogan – already then a proprietor of the Umbel group including L’Enclume, Fera at Claridge’s, and Rogan & Co – famously ended his five-year contract with the hotel two years early after failing to get a Michelin star.
That same year, local lad Adam took on the top dog role and in 2017 re-positioned the offering to reflect his own style – essentially making everything more relaxed.
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He dropped the complicated place settings, brought in music so that diners no longer feared dropping their forks, introduced a new chef station in the restaurant, and revised the menu to pay homage to his Lancashire roots.
‘The warm Northern welcome’ feat. steaming cups of beef tea served alongside Pollen ‘French malt’ bread and thick pats of beefy butter. / Image: The Manc Eats Roast Cumbrian lamb loin with flavours of Cinderwood Market Garden and warm Lancashire oven bottom muffins. / Image: The Manc Eats
As the years have gone on, every year we foodies have wondered – would this be the year that Reid, and the restaurant, is finally given Michelin recognition?
Sadly, so far, that has not happened – but, star or not, after dining there last week it does seem something of a travesty that more people aren’t going on about how brilliant the food is here. And the service, for that matter.
Some things have changed at the restaurant again recently. Since February, the kitchen has been headed up by Reid’s new Head Chef Blaise Murphy – another one with an impressive CV that spans some of the best restaurants in the North West.
Having started his career here at seventeen, Blaise has come full circle after two years at Ormskirk’s Moor Hall, and another three with Simon Martin at Mana – aka the Ancoats chef notorious for giving Manchester its first star since the early days of The French.
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Unpasteurised Stichelton blue English cheese is served at the table. / Image: The Manc Eats
‘For afters’ feat. Stichelton with green apple, walnut, prune and celery. / Image: The Manc Eats
Returning to the place where it all began, he has spent the past few months working under Reid to devise a refreshed offering packed full of down-to-earth Northern flavours – and their 11-course tasting menu can undoubtedly give Manchester’s trendier newcomers a run for their money.
Think dishes inspired by picky teas, miniature cheese and onion pies, and steaming cups of beef tea served alongside Pollen ‘French malt’ bread and thick pats of beefy butter. Pretentious? Definitely not.
There are also ideas, Blaise tells me, to hopefully host some collaborative pop-up supper clubs in the future, saying: “I’d love to do something with Flawd or Higher Ground.”
Between him and Adam, they are reinventing things once again, and the result is absolutely glorious. Where else, I wonder, can you listen to Supersonic and munch a squid ink cracker topped with whipped roe and pickled red pepper that tastes like a mouthful of patatas bravas?
‘Yesterday’s dinner’ feat. house cured Loch Duart salmon with pine creme fraiche, chives and homemade dill pickled cucumbers. / Image: The Manc Eats
Squid ink crackers topped with whipped roe and pickled red pepper. / Image: The Manc Eats
Other highlights include ‘Yesterday’s dinner’ – made up of two deceptively simple-sounding plates using house-cured cold cuts that, in fact, require hours of preparation behind the scenes, starting with the in-house butchery of whole pork legs, and the filleting and gentle smoking of huge sides of salmon over branches of juniper and applewood.
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Plated at the table, these feel special, like a childhood memory on a plate – the Loch Duart salmon served first with pine creme fraiche, chives and homemade dill pickled cucumbers.
Up next, the ham – perhaps the highlight of the night – with shavings of fresh black truffle, wholegrain mustard, homemade Henderson’s relish, and rested egg yolk in a sharp, rich chicken broth first debuted by Adam on the Great British Menu.
Once we get to the bottom we’re instructed to ‘drink it like a ramen broth’, and chuckle as the chef serving it at our table just can’t help but make a joke about Wagamamas as he departs.
Paired with a mixture of low-intervention wines, craft beers, and sakes all carefully selected and served by the ever-friendly Restaurant Manager Karina Kanepe and Assistant Restaurant Manager Alessandra Assuncaodossantos, it’s a magical evening.
In fact, the experience is so far from the stuffy posh hotel restaurant reputation it seems, so unfairly, to have acquired that I almost have to laugh at myself for buying into it.
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This is now a place where “it’s more about what’s on the plate than your feet”, Adam tells me. Finally, both I and my trainers can feel at home.
25 of the very best Sunday roasts in and around Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
From the moment we start to feel the weekend rolling in, we can’t help but turn our thoughts to Sunday roasts, steaming jugs of gravy and big glasses sploshing over with red wine – it’s just the best feeling, and there’s plenty of it to be found here in Greater Manchester.
We’re used to it being wet and miserable most of the year, so while we do love Sunday lunch on a sun-soaked afternoon in the beer garden when we get the chance, nothing warms the cockles more on those darker days than a giant plate piled high with roasted meats, vegetables and gravy.
Genuinely one of the simplest pleasures in life, there’s not much more comforting than this classic English staple. We’re big fans of Manchester’s Sunday roast scene, and we can confidently say this city serves some of the best.
So, without further ado, this is The Manc Eats‘ list of deep reading to discover our top picks for the best Sunday roast dinners in Manchester and beyond. Dig in.
The best Sunday roasts in Manchester city centre
Let’s start with the best in town. Our tummies are rumbling just think about it…
1. Banyan – Corn Exchange and Spinningields
First up is one that’s never disappointed us: Banyan Bar & Kitchen, which boasts two busy restaurants in the city centre and has not-so-quietly been serving up some of the most solid and consistently good Sunday roasts in Manchester for a while now.
Offering a choice of beef, chicken or a veggie roast dinner, you can even go bottomless for two whole hours – and not just with booze: even with your Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes AND gravy, because you can never have too much of the highlights, right?
With red or white wine by the glass and the experience priced at £41.95 with all the trimmings, booking is highly recommended, but you can still chance a walk-in. You reserve your table HERE.
You can even substitute a pie for your choice of meat. ‘Keep going…’Credit: The Manc Eats
2. The Wharf – Castlefield
In at number two is the waterside gem that is The Wharf over in Castlefield, which is both one of the most picturesque and up there with the places for a Sunday roast in Manchester, in our humble opinion.
This family-friendly country-style pub sits pretty on the Bridgewater Canal and serves up great seasonal food and drink all year-round, but we find ourselves going back on this particular day of the week at least once a month for the good stuff.
Our top tip if there’s just two of you: order one of The Wharf‘s Sunday sharing platters and then get the mixed roast and just split the whole lot down the middle. You can thank us later.
Not only has this roast been named among the best in the entire UK in recent years, but it also happens to boast a dedicated cauliflower cheese menu. Need we say more?
The ‘Sunday with Sides‘ roast includes options like dry-aged local shorthorn beef sirloin, rosemary roasted leg of lamb and roast turkey breast with stuffing and a pig-in-blanket, as well as a regularly changing vegan roast served with all the trimmings and a vegan Yorkshire pudding.
All plated roasts are served with ‘proper’ roast potatoes, a giant Yorkshire pudding, seasonal vegetables and gravy, with more sides available such as Tuscan pork stuffing, maple-roasted parsnips, honey-roasted rainbow heirloom carrots, lemon and garlic tenderstem broccoli gratin, and macaroni cheese.
Quite literally drooling at the thought of all this. (Credit: The Manc Eats)
4. Pip – Central
Next up is one of the relative newcomers to the world of Greater Manchester roasts, but make no mistake, there is plenty of wealth of experience behind these stunning Sunday dinners – and they just so happen to be found within The Treehouse Hotel on Blackfriar Street.
We’re talking about Pip, whose Sunday menu is produced and perfected by local chef Mary-Ellen McTague, bringing her pedigree as chef-patron of the late, great Aumbry in Prestwich, Creameries in Chorlton and her time with Heston Blumenthal’s at the legendary Fat Duck to the shiny new Manc hotel.
Admittedly, we had such an indulgent time when we visited that we kind of forgot to take pictures (we were busy marvelling at the oysters and smoked mackerel starters), so you’ll just have to take our word for the time being. Suppose we’ll just have to go back and try that hot pot everyone is talking about.
Not a reference to Charlotte Brontë, but rather to the owners’ mum, neighbourhood kitchen and cocktail bar The Jane Eyre on Cutting Room Square is a must for any self-respecting cocktail lover. It also serves a cracking Sunday roast; we can only assume the same is true for their Chorlton location.
Start with ham hock and manchego croquettes or a salad of fennel, chilli and crab, before moving onto roast sirloin (£18), nut roast (£14) or the selected ‘roast of the day’ (£18), all served with duck fat potatoes, honey roasted carrots, greens, carrot & swede mash, pork stuffing, Yorkshire puds and gravy.
We’d recommend springing for sides, too. An extra £4.50 will get you a skillet of house cauliflower cheese or truffled potato puree. As for dessert, think tarte tatin (£7) or chocolate biscuit cake (£5), both served with ice cream on the side.
Look at the char on that.When the light hits just right.Credit: The Jane Eyre (via Instagram)/The Manc
6. Trof – Northern Quarter
Entries like this are why we’re glad we don’t do these things in order, because it’s simply too difficult to rank things when you remember you’ve got to squeeze top scran like they serve at Trof somewhere in the mix, especially when it comes to Sunday dinner.
Put simply, this is one of our all-time favourites, and when anyone asks us where to go for the best roast in Manchester, this place pretty much always pops into our heads almost immediately. They also hit the sweet spot when it comes to portion size and value for money, if you ask us.
Housed in a former Victorian Courthouse on Deansgate, Hawksmoor manages to be chic, glamorous and entirely unpretentious all at once. Designed to share, roasts here can be split between two or three people – with starters, mains, sides and puddings all included and priced from just £50.
Main choices include perfectly pink cuts of bone-in prime rib, chateaubriand and sirloin, as well as Dartmouth lobster with garlic butter, whilst sides span the likes of creamed spinach, macaroni cheese, grilled bone marrow, carrots, roasties, cabbage and, of course, giant Yorkshire puddings.
We’re talking Yorkshire puddings bigger than your face, crispy beef fat roasties, unlimited jugs of bone marrow gravy, and an oozing skillet of cauliflower cheese made with a four-cheese blend of Ogleshield, mozzarella, Stichelton and ‘good cheddar’.
The next shout-out goes to Maray over on Lincoln Square, which has earned itself quite an impressive reputation in Manchester since arriving here from Liverpool’s Bold Street, especially when it comes to their Sunday dinner.
You won’t find a roast quite like it anywhere else in town, with a unique za’atar and lemon twist on chicken with saffron, roast beef picanha and those unbelievable fenugreek potatoes. They’re also known for some of the best veggie/vegan food in Manchester, including their spiced chickpea nut roast.
We’re just hoping they bring back that freebie offer again sometime soon.
9. The Refuge – Oxford Road
With the option to share a roast platter between two or order individual plates, The Refuge at the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel is not messing about with its roast dinners.
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On The Refuge’s famous sharing platter, think grass-fed rump of Lancashire beef and half a roast Cumbrian chicken plus trimmings, with the option to add on a lamb shawarma shepherd’s pie for an extra £9. Go on then.
Platters are served with thyme and salt roast potatoes, glazed veggies mixed amongst other seasonal greens, Yorkshire puddings, cauliflower cheese and proper pan gravy; meanwhile, individual roasts come with roast potatoes, gravy, Yorkshire pudding and a selection of vegetables. The vegan one is great too.
Another relative newbie is The Trading Route over in St John’s: that cool new neighbourhood steadily fighting for popularity with the neighbouring district of Spinningields.
Well-known for their already famous ‘Roast-tisserie’ chicken, naturally, serves up a brilliant Sunday dinner and wider menu come the end of the weekend.
We’d also argue it’s maybe one of the best places to go if you want a roast and the biggest servings of fresh suds at the same time – you can even make it bottomless. Try it for yourselves.
If you’re a person who cares about where your food is sourced from, Elnecot is the place to come. Owner Michael Clay has excellent connections to local suppliers and celebrates quality British produce in every dish.
Starting from 1:30pm until they run out, roast choices at this Ancoats favourite include dry-aged Welsh wagyu beef, lemon and thyme corn-fed Goosnargh chicken, crispy Yorkshire pork belly, slow-cooked shoulder of Yorkshire lamb and a vegetarian or vegan nut roast.
All served with roasties, fluffy Yorkshire puddings, stuffing, roasted carrots and parsnips, sauteed greens, cauliflower cheese and a rich gravy, prices start from £14.50 for nut roast and £16 for pork.
Located just off Oxford Road at The Quadrangle, Zouk is one of our very favourite curry houses in town, but they also serve an incredible Sunday roast sharing platter with generous helpings of spicy gravy.
Featuring a whole roast poussin, plus slices of roast lamb, topside of beef, and heaps of seasonal veg alongside crispy roasties and loads of Yorkshire puddings, you can also opt for extras like mashed potatoes, cauliflower cheese and tenderstem broccoli with red chilli and garlic.
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We’ve somehow managed to demolish Zouk‘s whole sharing plate multiple times, and here’s the video evidence to prove it. Don’t judge us; this will be you soon.
One for the vegans, the veggies, the flexitarians, and anyone who likes big flavours and doesn’t mind not eating meat, Wholesome Junkies puts an ethical twist on the British Sunday favourite by using mock meat in what was a Manchester first and remains a pioneering part of our culinary legacy.
For the summer, they’ve pressed pause on the traditional roast and introduced a range of roast burgers instead. Think minted ‘lamb’ burgers, ‘pork’ sausage with apple sauce, smashed roasties and fried onions, and a cauliflower cheeseburger. Yes, it’s as good as it sounds.
On Sundays between 12-6pm, Argentinian steakhouse Gaucho serves up its bottomless roast dinner. Specifically designed for overindulging, choose from three different joints of meat to enjoy with unlimited quantities of seasonal vegetables and Yorkshire puddings.
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All Gaucho’s meat originates from Argentina and comes from premium Black Angus cattle, bred at hand-selected farms in the southern province of La Pampa, South America. Every cut is cooked in its own drippings and then presented on steak boards alongside all the usual trimmings.
Priced at £32.50 per person, you can enjoy 90 minutes of non-stop feasting on prime steak here (and make sure you really get your money’s worth).
With its own dedicated margarita and wild spirits bar, The Firehouse on Swan St is one of Manchester’s coolest venues. Attached to popular Detroit pizza place, Ramona, it’s housed inside an old MOT garage and offers (as the name suggests) a selection of wood-fired meats alongside fluffy pittas and sides.
Come Sundays, though, the team also offers a roast with roast Cheshire beef rump, garlic and thyme chicken, slow-cooked lamb shoulder or vegan oyster mushroom wellington, with sides including Yorkshire puddings, crisp roast potatoes and flamed chipolatas
Elsewhere, think buttered greens, melting pots of cauliflower cheese, honey-roasted carrots and parsnips, and lashings of house gravy. This place might straddle the border of both Ancoats and NQ, two of this city’s coolest districts, but it firmly plants itself amongst the best Sunday roasts in Manchester.
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Credit: The Firehouse/The Manc
16. The Bay Horse Tavern – NQ
Want another fantastic roast that also happens to be in one of our favourite city centre bars and late-night spots? If you’ve ever eaten at The Bay Horse Tavern before, you’ll know that they don’t mess about when it comes to their munch.
Also, this might surprise you, but aside from their delicious chicken supreme (which really does live up to the name) and those brilliant garlic and rosemary roasties, we’re going to recommend the miso-glazed and roasted cauliflower above all else. Even the roast beef butties are great if you’re just feeling peckish.
Specialising not only in hearty dishes perfect for the colder months but also delivering big portions at good prices, TBHT is much more than a pub if you order the right thing
Another Manc Sunday roast gem is The Counter House over on Cutting Room Square, which also happens to boast one of the prettiest rooms you’ll probably ever sit down for a serving of meat, spuds, veg and gravy.
Known for great portion sizes, opting for carrot and swede mash instead of the usual and some of the very finest (and largest) homemade Yorkies you’ll find anywhere in 0161, we’ve grown very fond of this place come Sunday afternoons.
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The lemon, thyme and garlic half-roast chicken (£19.50) is to die for, the beef (£21) is always so tender, and we’ve heard good things about their vegan option too. It’s also one of the few places we’ve decided to have starters before the main event, and it’s never disappointed.
With a dozen plates done and dusted, we feel like it’s time to move beyond the city centre now — ready for another serving?
The best Sunday roasts around Greater Manchester
If you’re based outside of town or simply want to find the best Sunday roasts around Greater Manchester, look no further.
We’ll confess that when a friend from Tameside told us that one of the best Sunday dinners in all of Greater Manchester was attached to a barbers, we raised our collective eyebrows and did plenty of head-scratching. What’s worse is that they were absolutely right.
If you haven’t heard of this place before, Gladstone’s Barber and Bistro is one of the crown jewels in Stalybridge’s increasingly decorated foodie crown; it isn’t too far from another place making waves in Cafe Continental, either.
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With a Middle-Eastern-inspired ‘small plate’ menu (they’re not that little, to be honest) throughout the work and one of the most charming settings we’ve enjoyed a roast in some time, you really should give it a try if you haven’t already.
19. Folk – West Didsbury
Credit: The Manc Eats
A longstanding neighbourhood favourite amongst the West Dids set, independent bar and restaurant Folk is owned by four mates with a love for fresh seasonal produce, great coffee, beers, cocktails, as well as plenty of wine, and it’s an absolute Burton Road institution.
The roast here is cracking, with options including roast beef and chicken, a pan-roasted sea bass and a vegan wellington made up of mushroom, cranberry and pistachio. Each is served up with seasonal veg, roast potatoes, proper gravy, and a Yorkshire pudding big enough to cover your plate.
You also have the option to add on seasonal small plates, including cider and honey-glazed pigs in blankets and Tunworth cauliflower cheese.
Over in South Manchester, local bar and restaurant, The Chorlton Green, is serving up a banging Sunday roast – and they’ll even do a special portion for your dogs.
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Perfect for when you want to head out with your furry friends for a gravy-soaked dinner, this cosy neighbourhood spot has you (and your pets) covered for all your Sunday lunch needs.
With a choice of chicken, beef or nut roast served alongside carrot and swede mash, perfectly crisp roast potatoes, stuffing, seasonal vegetables and a giant Yorkshire pudding, this Chorlton favourite dishes up a seriously good roast if we’ve ever seen one.
Heading just beyond the edge of the city centre now and that lovely little reach around Greengate, the lovingly restored Black Friar on the eponymous Salford street has become one of the cosiest traditional pubs in the borough once again, and the food is now of a gourmet standard.
Known for proper homemade pies and hearty pub grub no matter the day or time of year, it’s no surprise that their thick, flavourful gravy goes perfectly with fresh seasonal veg from local suppliers, cooked to the highest quality, making for some bloody unreal roast dinners.
The gravy at Station South in Levenshulme is SO good that some customers famously drink it straight from the glass. The ‘cycle cafe for everyone’ has become something of a neighbourhood favourite since opening its doors this summer, and now we’ve got another reason to go. Roasts.
With giant, fluffy Yorkshire puddings, heaps of potatoes and greens, the plates here are very generous – but you will have to spring an extra £1.50 for a jug of additional gravy. We reckon it works out fair enough, though, thanks to the huge portion sizes.
We could happily die here – that is all. Moving on.
23. Hispi – Didsbury Village
Credit: Hispi
From Gary Usher’s Elite Bistro team, this charming neighbourhood bistro in Didsbury Village is, without a doubt, one of the best places to grab a roast south of the city centre.
Still priced very well even amidst the growing cost of living crisis and multiple sister site closures of their own, mains include roast beef, pork belly, sirloin (for two) and chicken, each served with their own dedicated list of perfectly paired sides.
Elsewhere, you’ll find confit chicken terrine, beer-battered salt pickles, pan-fired sea bass in a langoustine bisque and a chestnut mushroom and goats’ curd linguine. A must-visit this, trust us, and if the egg tart is on, simply order it and don’t look back. You’re welcome.
For proper country feels, head to The White Hart at Lydgate for a bang-up Sunday feast. Priced at £29 for 2 courses or 3 for £35, those after a traditional roast can tuck into grass-fed Hereford rump of beef, Easingwold pork belly or roasted Yorkshire chicken.
Roasts are served from 12-8pm with Yorkshire puddings, roasted potatoes, cauliflower cheese, honey-glazed carrots, savoy cabbage, crispy stuffing, apple and red wine sauce. Alternatively, swing for the coronation cauliflower, crispy haddock and chips or pan-fried stone bass if you fancy something a little different.
A real ‘hidden gem’ before chronic overuse resulted in the phrase losing all meaning.
25. The Pack Horse – Hayfield
Credit: The Pack Horse
Credit: The Manc Eats
This multi-award-winning country gastropub has had some impressive accolades of late, not least an ebullient new inclusion in the Michelin Guide.
All roasts here come served with crispy potatoes, carrot and swede mash, braised vegetables, buttered cabbage, Yorkshire pudding and gravy. Choose from Derbyshire beef sirloin, High Peak lamb shoulder slow-roasted overnight, or a ‘chicken of the woods’ mushroom and truffled Baron Bigod tart with seaweed gravy.
A regular haunt of some of Glossop’s most esteemed foodies, technically it’s not in Manchester but we’re not letting that get in the way of a great scran — and neither should you.
It goes without saying that there are obviously plenty of other brilliant places serving some of the best Sunday roasts in Greater Manchester, and we simply couldn’t include them all — why do you think we couldn’t just stick with 10?
Honestly, if you don’t spot your favourite on this list, we’re sure it pains us just as much, but at least you can feel at peace with the knowledge that this city doesn’t disappoint when it comes to Sunday dinner.
That’s all from us for now, anyway, we’re off to drown in a sea of gravy. After all, that’s the best part of Sunday lunch, right?
10 rooftop bars and restaurants in Manchester with amazing views
Daisy Jackson
The Manchester skyline is ever-changing, and there’s nowhere better to soak in the views of our city than up high in a rooftop bar or restaurant.
Our city used to be pretty terrible for outdoor drinking space full stop, and even worse for sky-high terraces, but there’s been a real switch in recent years.
Now, there are glamorous restaurants perched way above our heads, cosy pubs spilling onto their rooftops, and even hotels with secret terraces and gorgeous views.
Manchester recently gained a brand-new rooftop terrace in the form of Chotto Matte, which had us thinking about where else to head for a sky-high cocktail or three.
Have a read of the best rooftop bars, restaurants and terraces in Manchester.
Chotto Matte, St Michael’s
Chotto Matte opens in Manchester on 10 OctoberCocktails with a view
The newest, shiniest addition to the city centre is Chotto Matte, a glamorous restaurant serving a Japanese-Peruvian Nikkei menu that includes sushi, robata, and plenty more.
This stunning new restaurant at Gary Neville’s St Michael’s development has 360º views of Manchester, and from its 348-capacity rooftop terrace, one of the best outlooks in town.
The all-weather rooftop terrace overlooks Albert Square and the Manchester Town Hall, which is slowly but surely emerging from behind its scaffolding.
YES bar has one of the best rooftop bars in Manchester
YES has not one, but two amazing outside spaces – one a ground-floor terrace that’s weirdly just across the road, the other a gigantic rooftop terrace.
There are cocktails on tap, great happy hour deals, and a few different food spots to order from like Pepperoni Playboy and the Trippy Chippy.
And back downstairs, YES hosts regular gigs and club nights in its iconic Pink Room.
20 Stories is Manchester’s highest rooftop terrace, and probably our city’s best-known spot for a sky-high dinner.
Perched way up above Spinningfields, you can see most of the city centre from up here, in a swanky setting.
Dining here at any time is a special event, with breathtaking panoramic views adding an extra bit of oomph to the equally top-tier food and drink offering.
King Street Townhouse, off Albert Square
Spritzes on the King Street Townhouse terraceThe terrace at King Street Townhouse hotel
Tucked up on the sixth floor of the award-winning boutique hotel King Street Townhouse, you’ll find a rooftop terrace with beautiful views of the city’s skyline.
As Manchester buzzes along beneath you, you can tuck in to everything from full charcuterie grazing boards to seasonal snacks and small plates, all served alongside an impressive wine and cocktail list.
This often-overlooked local spot is a firm favourite of those in the know, thanks to its sheltered location that basks in the sun all afternoon, and when the Town Hall refurbishment is complete it’ll have the best view in town.
Big Hands, Oxford Road
Miles away from the glitz and glamour of the city centre rooftops is Big Hands, a cool, weird and wonderful bar that’s seriously popular with students and gig-goers, thanks to its proximity to the Manchester Academy venues.
With decent prices catering to those gigging on a budget along the busy university strip of Oxford Road, a lovely dimly-lit aesthetic complete with gig posters galore; a rooftop garden terrace adorned with twinkly lights and plenty of plants, it’s a pure vibe in here.
The views might not be the best, but the vibes are right up there, and you can grab some amazing Italian street food from Rizzo’s – formerly T’arricrii) while you’re here.
Climat, Blackfriars House
Climat. Credit: The Manc GroupClimat. Credit: The Manc Group
Most of Climat is long and narrow, following the expanse of the open kitchen – and that happily means that almost every table gets a front-row seat to the views from this rooftop restaurant and wine bar.
Popped up high on Blackfriars House (but not so high up that everyone feels like an ant beneath you), it’s got a spectacular outlook over historic landmarks like the Barton Arcade, St Ann’s Church, and the Royal Exchange.
There are more than 250 different wines on the menu as well as a menu of ‘food you want to eat’, as if you needed any more temptation.
Georgina Pellant -
4th August 2023 
