My favourite place to eat out in Manchester is… I’m hard pushed to pick a favourite in a city with so many amazing restaurants so I’ll go for my favourite place of the moment, which is Sugo Pasta Kitchen. I’ve been to the Altrincham and Ancoats restaurants and both are excellent – serving up gorgeous Puglian dishes. It’s about the beauty of simple cooking where amazing ingredients are allowed to shine. I love that about Italian cuisine… that a bowl of pasta becomes a work of art.
The best dish I’ve eaten in Manchester recently is… The croquettes at the new tapas bar ‘Abeja’ at Hatch – the food, drink and retail destination on Oxford Road. Abeja is in one of the shipping container restaurants theree, so it’s the smallest tapas bar in Manchester. Ana and James, the owners, have created their own little corner of Spain. They source all of their ingredients from small, independent farms and producers from Granada – the region which their little tapas bar is inspired by (and where Ana is from). The Croquetas de jamón y pollo are Ana’s family recipe (serrano ham and chicken croquettes) and they are to die for.
My favourite dining room in Manchester is… The back room at Dishroom is amazing… particularly when it’s busy. You can lose yourself for a good few hours in there among the hustle and bustle. The dining room at Grand Pacific is also magnificent. Set within the former Reform Club, an iconic, Grade II listed building it’s a space that is steeped in history. The natural features of the restaurant (built in 1870) combined with the opulent interior created by Grand Pacific make it an extraordinary dining experience.
My favourite lunch spot in Manchester is… Bundobust. Their lunchtime £7 deal is an absolute bargain. I sometimes go in for the lunch menu but end up going off piste and exploring new dishes and specials because they do them so well and there’s always so much temptation. Their Sprout Bhaji Butty for Christmas is a cracking lunchtime sandwich and a great twist on the festive sarnie market. Everything is so well delivered there that you can’t really go wrong.
If I had to eat only on thing for the rest of my days it would be… A steak from Hawksmoor. Perfect for eating for the rest of my days because you can cheat and have its cuts cooked however you like on any given day and vary the sauces (the peppercorn and béarnaise are excellent and my favourites). However it is cooked, I would ALWAYS have it accompanied by a glass of red wine.
Andrea George is Director of Retail and Leisure at Manchester-based property company Bruntwood. With over 22 years in the industry, Andrea provides strategic, specialist asset management and leasing advice to pop-ups and independent businesses right through to national brands. Bruntwood’s food, drink and retail concept on Oxford Road, Hatch, recently trebled in size to become the biggest destination of its kind in the North West. Currently hosting the Evergreen Winter Festival, it is part of the Circle Square neighbourhood, the first main phase of which will open in summer 2020.