Sneak preview inside Manchester’s highest restaurant 20 Stories

Manchester’s newest dining destination is the highest in the city, with a glamorous restaurant and a more casual grill offering distinct menus at different price points.

Occupying the 19th floor rooftop of the No.1 Spinningfields building, 20 Stories features a restaurant, grill, bar, and terrace offering unparalleled 360-degree views of Manchester’s city skyline.

The 15,263 sq ft development is the latest project from the restaurant group D&D London, whose stable includes Quaglino’s, Bluebird, and Michelin-starred Angler in London.

The dining areas are divided by a marble bar serving cocktails and specialty spirits, with a second bar taking centre stage on the large rooftop terrace.

Formerly chef patron at Manchester House, Aiden Byrne comes to D&D with a wealth of experience, having worked at a number of Michelin-starred restaurants including Tom Aikens’ restaurant.

His modern British menus celebrate local produce, with fresh vegetables coming directly from the restaurant’s own farm in Cheshire, and meat sourced from small suppliers throughout Lancashire, Cheshire and Yorkshire.

Bar manager Stuart McLachlan has created a 20 Stories cocktail list paying homage to Manchester’s heritage and inspired by Aiden’s menus.

In the more formal restaurant, starters come in around the £8 – £14.50 mark and include roasted pigeon with cherries and violet mustard, and rabbit loin with roasted langoustine, carrot and green olives.

Mains are priced from £18.50 – £32 and include grilled turbot, savoy cabbage and Morteau sausage served with a sauce of rosemary and Garstang White cheese from Lancashire, while Yorkshire Wolds duck breast is marinated in Forest Gin botanicals and served with confit duck leg and juniper sauce.

The more casual grill offers starters such as crab thermidor and hand-raised game pie with pistachio, prune and quince, followed by hearty northern main courses such as braised Texel lamb hot-pot pie with red cabbage for two to share, and a selection of local rare breed steaks, all carefully sourced from local farmers and presented to guests on bespoke wooden boards before being cooked on the grill. Mains start from £10.

Aiden will also be embracing the region with his desserts, combining shortcrust pastry, raspberry, custard and flakes of coconut in his version of the Manchester Tart, and offering an extensive selection of local hand-crafted cheeses served from a cheese trolley carved from a single piece of yew.

“The different food we’ll be serving in the restaurant and grill mean we will have something for everyone,” says Aiden.

“I am equally passionate about both styles of food. What matters to me is that they share the same ethos and integrity, and that are prepared using the same excellent local produce.”

20 Stories opens on 1 March 2018.

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