The nominees for the Manchester Food and Drink Awards 2023 have been announced. And now it’s up to the public to decide who wins by voting for their favourites.
There are 17 award categories in total for MFDF 2023, including Chef of the Year, Plant-based Offering of the Year, and Foodie Neighbourhood of the Year. Here we’re focussing on the big one: the coveted Restaurant of the Year.
Eight Manchester restaurants made the shortlist below. It was compiled by a judging panel made up of food and drink critics, writers and experts but which one do you think deserves to take the top spot? Give them your vote at the MFDF website. The winners will be announced in January 2024.
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Manchester City Centre
10 Tib Lane
10 Tib Lane was one of the brave new openings of summer 2021; a time when securing staff and supplies, never mind diners, was an ongoing challenge for everyone. If you can launch a new restaurant in that environment, you must be doing something very right – so it’s no surprise that three years later, it’s still going strong.
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Manchester City Centre
Another Hand
There is quite some experience behind owners Julian Pizer and Max Yorke at Another Hand, including time spent at Cottonopolis, The Edinburgh Castle and Hispi. In this intimate restaurant on Deansgate Mews, they put it to excellent use on an ever-changing, seasonal menu that takes advantage of some of the best suppliers in the region.
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Manchester City Centre
Climat
The first thing you notice when you step into fine-dining restaurant Climat is the view. Situated on the roof of Blackfriars House, you’re just above the city skyline, close enough to see the details of the architecture, but high enough to feel like you’re in the clouds.
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Manchester City Centre
Erst
“Yet more small plates in Ancoats?” we hear you cry. Well yes, but trust us, Erst is worth your attention. This is a place for serious foodies so don’t come looking for mac n cheese balls. Plenty of other places can satisfy that filthy craving for you.
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Manchester City Centre
Higher Ground
Higher Ground, the permanent restaurant from the team behind Flawd, opened its doors in February 2023. Taking up residence in Bruntwood’s Faulkner House on Faulkner Street, it offers a chilled bistro experience with a focus on championing the finest North West produce.
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Manchester City Centre
Mana
Michelin-starred restaurant Mana is the brainchild of chef patron Simon Martin who mastered his trade at the renowned Noma in Copenhagen. At Mana, Martin has succeeded in carving his own path – one which confuses and delights people in equal measure.
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Prestwich
OSMA
OSMA is a contraction of Oslo and Manchester, the home cities of its two owners. However this portmanteau is even more well-travelled than that. Ingredients are local, lunches are Scandinavian and evening meals are an ever-changing roster of small plates from further afield.
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Manchester City Centre
The Sparrows
The Sparrows serves up a variety of fresh, handmade continental pasta and Central and Eastern European dumplings in an unexpectedly airy space underneath a railway archway in Red Bank.