Fine dining in Manchester, creative but stay true to its northern roots, a great restaurant to celebrate your special occasion
From the second you’re welcomed in to the French, any pretence you may have about being intimidated by the huge crystal chandelier adorned room are put at ease by the friendly northern welcome, a theme that will form the core of the evening. The service throughout was spot on: relaxed but incredibly on it, at times you don’t even realise they’re there. It’s a huge departure from white tablecloth silver service and military brigades of straight-back servers of some of the fancier hotel restaurants. Great playlist, loads of Talking Heads and somehow quiet enough you can have conversations without raising your voice but buzzy enough to not feel stale. It all feels relaxed whilst feeling incredibly special, really hard to get that balance right. That said, the elegance runs through a seriously stunning menu, a menu that starts with a ‘northern welcome’ of bread and butter served with an onion broth I could have chugged by the gallon. The 12 course menu runs like clockwork, with that ‘northern’ element being key to its charm. Standouts are the crab and tomato tart, a tartare on beef dripping toast, a woodland mushroom and yeast foam, the theatre of the cheese course served table-side, and the magnificent tipsy cake. This is a real snarl at those ‘you’d need a takeaway when you get home after 12 little courses’, we basically rolled out of there. Everything is full of surprises, table-side service and a little extra touch, but none of it feels over-the-top or hack whatsoever. The servers are proud of the food and it shows. Both the wine pairing and the drinks pairing are so well thought out, with two lovely sommeliers who with their bafflingly detailed knowledge make everything simple to understand. The sake with the tart and umeshu whisky pairings are outrageous. As we sipped our tea and cake, the hotel fire alarm went off. We felt so terrible for the staff but their professionalism and friendliness remained unmoved and the way it was handled was really great, given it was 11pm on a Saturday. Quite amazed this place still doesn’t have a *, I’ve no doubt they’ll get one but it’s miles ahead of some places elsewhere that do and it remains the best in class, and one of the finest meals of 2025. Nb: there’s no service charge on the bill, you need to ask to add a tip!
Visited on 13/08/25 for our anniversary. Words can’t describe the experience we had, from the moment we walked through the door we was greeted by the sous chef with the warmest welcome our glasses filled with the finest wines by Dimitri who kept a close eye on us to make sure we was getting the most out of our experience, quite literally waited on hand and foot Adam and his team created dishes beyond what we had ever imagined possible, the attention to detail in explaining the food whilst the flavours teased your senses, each mouthful complimenting the last and the next. This place is art in the finest form, a night we won’t forget. Thank you to The Fench.
Celebrated my 25th wedding anniversary- The signature tasting menu was insanely good! The service impeccable and the music soundtrack was brilliant (c 1980s) . Will be booking again for Christmas time . Well done!
Celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary with a wonderful meal. The presentation was amazing and the food delicious! The head chef Blaze was so welcoming and our sommelier Dimitri did not miss a beat! I'm not sure why you dont have a michelin star but you deserve one or two!!! I'll never eat at mana again after experiencing The French! Thank you so much for making our evening super special!
First dining experience for quite some time. Located in the Midland Hotel, this restaurant provided a wonderful succession procession of tastes, flavours and textures. Mid week and not so busy but the staff were attentive and helpful. Done a few tasting menus over the years and this was one of the more expensive but was well worth it. No complaints. Highlights were the scallops with blood orange, and the rhubarb dessert. Excellent!
My partner and I went here with a friend and his wife to do the taster menu. His wife is gluten intolerant and they catered for this with gluten free options. This was a ten course meal with each and every dish is presented and served to the highest standard, the chiefs talk you through each one explaining how and what makes the dish as they serve it to you. Obviously each dish is bite size but full of flavour. We also paid for the wine pairing including the non alcoholic option. Both of these are quite expensive but they have chosen very nice wines to match each dish. The non alcoholic one was very refreshing, a mix of fruit drinks. I was impressed all round it was definitely a special treat. I'd go as far to say if this restaurant was in London and not Manchester it would be michelin star rated.
We had the tasting menu, about 17 courses. We sat down at 7pm and departed at 11pm. The staff were all fantastic and very helpful. It was a belated 80th birthday present for my wife. It was paid for by her sister, family and friends in Switzerland. We weren't disappointed. Please pass on our thanks to all the staff for making it very special. Chris and Dorothy Massey.
What a great experience this was. The food was incredible from start to finish. The apple dessert was one of the best desserts I've ever eaten. Every dish was well thought out and by the end I was absolutely stuffed! It was all finished off with a thoughtful touch of a signed menu to celebrate my graduation. I'd definitely recommend.
This place is something else!!! we have eaten at restaurants with a star and the food and dining experience here is so much better, such a lovely dining room, food comes out at a nice pace, and it put of this world..... already booked to come back!
Adam Reid at The French is located at 16 Peter St, Manchester M60 2DS, UK
You can contact Adam Reid at The French at +44 161 235 4780
You can find directions to Adam Reid at The French by following this map link