Winsome

Winsome is a relatively new restaurant in Manchester but it already feels like an established part of the city’s dining scene. Perhaps that’s down to its timeless classic cooking or perhaps the pedigree of the team behind it.

Chef and co-owner Shaun Moffat heads up the kitchen. Anyone interested in Manchester’s restaurants will know him from his time at Ancoats’ Edinburgh Castle where the confidence of his traditional dishes put the pub into both the limelight and the Top 50 Gastropubs. The rest of the team include Tom Fastiggi ex-of Schofield’s Bar, and Owain Williams, one of the founders of Belzan and the dear-departed Medlock Canteen.

All of this expertise is obvious before the starters are even finished. The cooking is pared-back and unfussy. It takes real skill to serve food like this, knowing when to step back and let quality ingredients do the work.

It’s already a Confidential favourite with our own Gordo describing the sea trout dish as ‘flawless’ on a recent visit.

The menu has taken inspiration from the nose-to-tail ethos epitomised by Fergus Henderson. Typical dishes include Yorkshire rabbit, wild garlic and bacon pie, and megrim sole in a parsley liqueur.

Save space for pudding; the sunflower seed and pear Bakewell tart is a revelation.