Mana retains Michelin Star but other hopefuls miss out in latest Michelin Guide

The latest Michelin Guide has just been released, revealing the 2023 star ratings for the UK and Ireland.

On Monday night (March 27th), the prestigious guide honouring exceptional fine dining and culinary artistry revealed the winners at a ceremony held at Northampton’s Silverstone Circuit.

The event was broadcast live on the guide’s official Youtube channel. Since 1900, this renowned guide has had the authority to bestow up to three stars for excellence to the finest restaurants.

Despite Manchester’s reputation for having a thriving culinary scene, no new restaurants from the city made it onto the highly-coveted list this year.

However, the city’s only Michelin-starred restaurant, Mana, has retained its accolade for another year, without receiving any additional stars.

Since its launch in 2018, Mana has held its Michelin star and become Manchester’s first Michelin-starred restaurant in over 40 years.

The Michelin Guide has confirmed that Mana will remain Manchester’s only Michelin-starred restaurant, while The Sparrows has been awarded the Bib Gourmand, an award that recognizes top restaurants that offer excellent value for money.

The Michelin Guide has praised Mana for its stylish and modern decor, with every table offering a view of the kitchen, where the chef-owner Simon Martin’s personality shines brightly.

The restaurant serves a fixed-price, surprise multi-course menu for both lunch and dinner, with an emphasis on seafood due to the restaurant’s location on an island.

While most of the produce is British, Mana incorporates influences from Simon’s travels and experiences, particularly Japanese and Nordic.

The chef’s hallmark is powerful flavours, and the sophisticated, modern dishes are precisely crafted, original, and well-balanced, with each dish thoughtfully paired with a complementing wine.

Mana showcases its culinary expertise by creating visually striking dishes using locally-sourced seafood, beef, and vegetables. Fermentation is one of the restaurant’s signature cooking techniques, and they produce their own garum, lacto-ferments, miso, vinegars, and kombucha.

Although the restaurant offers a set dinner menu priced at £195 per head and a reduced dinner menu at £95 per head, the constantly-evolving nature of the dishes means that the restaurant does not post a menu on its website.

Other Manchester-based restaurants that have been recognized in the Michelin Guide include El Gato Negro, Adam Reid at The French, Tast, Osma, Canto, Habas, Erst, Another Hand, 63 Degrees, Where The Light Gets In, Perfect Match, and Levanter.