IF Monday, October 7, was the biggest day of Mana’s year – winning a Michelin star, then four gongs at the Manchester Food and Drink Awards – Tuesday, December 17 is the icing on their Christmas cake.
Simon Martin’s Ancoats restaurant, barely a year old, was named third best in the UK by The Harden's Best Restaurants 2020 guide – the highest ever position by a new entry. They are joined in the Top 100 List by Adam Reid at The French (19th) and Aiden Byrne’s restaurant MCR.
Even though 41 out of the Top 100 are from London the North West h obviously made a big impression on the 7,500 diners who contributed 50,000 reports. Moor Hall, L'Enclume, Hipping Hall, Lake Road Kitchen, Röski and Northcote all feature with Marc Wilkinson’s tiny Fraiche on the Wirral named Number One Nationwide.
It comes after a disappointing showing in 2019, where Manchester had no entries in the list following the closures of Rabbit In The Moon and Manchester House.
Co-founder of the guide (£16.99) Peter Harden commented: “This is an exciting time for the quality UK restaurant scene, with a feeling that expectations amongst diners continues to rise ever higher and a sense that the trade is rising to the challenge of meeting those expectations.
"For many years now it has felt hard to keep up with the pace of change and innovation amidst the capital's ever-changing restaurant scene, and this dynamism seems now to be ever-more widespread beyond the borders of London.”
He also told the Manchester Evening News: “"Hopefully the opening of Mana, and its winning of numerous awards and accolades – including the #3 position in our Harden’s 100 winners – plus the city's other successes this year are symbolic of Manchester finally starting to live up to its great potential as a globally interesting restaurant city."
Check out our Beyond The Pass – A Video Journey with Michelin-starred Mana