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Each dish on the ambitious tasting menu from ex-Noma chef Simon Martin is a small art project
Manchester, despite being one of my favourite stop-off points for dining, does not have any Michelin stars. This is ludicrous. Yes, any badges, banners and gongs that attempt to define whose is the most delicious destination are a little daft – and who cares anyway? – but Manchester, for me at least, feels like a city where so many restaurants are reaching for greatness. Adam Reid at The French is a world-class talent, and I’ve much enthusiasm for the work of Aiden Byrne, now at Restaurant MCR, once of 20 Stories; and that’s notwithstanding the much-adored Where The Light Gets In over in Stockport, which did wow inspectors into handing it a star.
Yet, despite this continued north-west snubbing, at the end of last year, an ex-Noma chef, Simon Martin, opened an ambitious project called Mana. Think 16 courses, and potentially more, but put aside three hours and £105 a head. Add to that spruce branches as cutlery, flower petals strewn about the place willy-nilly, natural wine flights, foraged stuff, ants, beeswax, picklings, dehydrated scallops, artichoke ice-cream, and cep broth in a cup as an amuse-bouche. Continue reading...