Hawksmoor Manchester
Manchester, Greater Manchester
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Although it occupies a listed 19th-century courthouse, Hawksmoor Manchester is really more of a banker. It's been making reliability sexy since 2015, when diners first trod the parquet floor, enjoyed the touch of green leather and squinted at a blackboard offering some of the the best steak in town. The clubby look and low-lit bar belie a mixed crowd, which includes babes in arms and a significant youth contingent drawn by a good-value lunch and early-evening deal (£26/£29 for two/three no-compromise courses). Highlights include the heritage tomato salad – a glorious, glistening pile of zebra-striped toms and crumbled Graceburn cheese with saline, wafer-thin toast and loads of black pepper. Then, of course, there's the triumphantly multi-hyphenate beef: British-bred, grass-fed, dry-aged and 'really-delicious'. Informed advice on cuts and cooking are there for those who want it and, from a long list of sides, there are triple-cooked chips (cleverly spritzed with salt and vinegar before they leave the kitchen) as well as nuggety Stichelton hollandaise, bone-marrow gravy and, for those with real commitment and determination, mac and cheese. Puddings tend towards the robust, but with seasonal touches; sorrel granita with a strawberry cheesecake, or a scoop of peach-leaf ice cream. Lovely service is a given – staff have one setting and it's 'moodbooster extraordinaire'. To drink, expect a range of beers (some local) and a fabulous cocktail selection, as well as plenty of big, beefy wines; prices start at £30 but rise to stratospheric four-figure heights.
