James Martin

A fine-dining restaurant inside a casino with a celeb chef name above the door? Alarm bells. Yes, James Martin has his name across the massive billboard outside, but this is not an ostentatious venue.

Tucked away high up in the Great Northern Warehouse, it feels set apart from the bustle of the casino below. Sure, it’s not somewhere you’d visit in passing, unless you were passing between the blackjack dealer and roulette wheel.

However it could just be that the disadvantage of being so far from regular city footfall is what makes the chefs work so hard to provide some of the best seasonally changing British grub in Manchester.

Typical dishes might include Yorkshire wagyu with malt-glazed cheek, celeriac mousse with candied pecans, and white chocolate and whisky croissant-and-butter pudding with single malt ice cream.

The wine list takes in both bargains and account busters, and there’s a fun bar too.