Confidential Recommends 18/05/11

Ramsons 

Ramsons in Ramsbottom has won more plaudits than you can shake a baguette at, including the Good Food Guide Restaurant of the Year in 2009. Run by some very weird people who deliver absolutely fabulous food, the cooking is Italian influenced with classics like seared shetland scallops with fennel puree and saffron sauce. This is high end heaven. You will not have eaten anything like it anywhere.

16 – 18 Market Place, Ramsbottom BL0 9HT
01706 825070

The River Restaurant, The Lowry Hotel 

The Lowry Hotel focuses on delivering good food in a great atmosphere and is one of the leading dining destinations in the area. The River Bar and Restaurant is a spectacular riverside restaurant located in the heart of the city combining contemporary and classic design. The menu extends from classic British dishes to the more diverse flavours of fusion cuisine. It’s also a good people watching place as the five star crowd swish elegantly through.

50 Dearmans Place, Salford M3 5LH
0161 827 4041

Room 

Room stands at the top of King Street in the Gothic splendour of the magnificent former Reform Club. In terms of grandeur there is nothing like it in town. The menu is eclectic, with well thought out modern British food combined with flavours from other continents. There’s playfulness at work here too, so make sure you ask about the food, and the staff will be more than willing to help out. The present brigade at Room is cooking better than ever.

81 King Street M2 4AH
0161 839 2005

Podium, Hilton Hotel 

The boss chef at Podium is David Gale, a stalwart of the Manchester food scene and winner of this year’s Food and Drink Festival Chef of the Year Award. The menu makes for delightful reading, revealing Gale’s trademark gelling of subtlety with strong flavours.

Presentation is another of the man’s strong suits, scarcely will you see better looking nosh. The elegant modern space and the sharp service adds to the experience.

303 Deansgate M3 4LQ
0161 870 1600