Mana

Mana opened in Ancoats in 2018 and, in 2019, won Manchester its first Michelin star in more than four decades — a landmark for a city whose fine-dining scene had long been overlooked. It is the project of chef-patron Simon Martin, whose reputation is inextricably linked to his time working closely with René Redzepi at Noma in Copenhagen, including the restaurant's Mexico pop-up. Martin has held the star every year since, retaining it in the 2026 Michelin Guide, where Mana remained one of only a handful of starred restaurants in the region. The name is set in lower case, but the ambition is anything but modest.

The restaurant occupies Sawmill Court on Blossom Street, a soaring, pared-back room of neutral tones and statement lighting — reviewers have singled out its cruciform, almost ceremonial light fittings. It seats just 30, with well-spaced tables arranged so that every seat looks onto the open kitchen. Fermentation and fire are the twin pillars of the cooking: a hyper-seasonal tasting menu that shifts roughly with the seasons, leaning on British produce, plenty of seafood and Asian technique, with obsessive kitchen craft (one juice is famously reduced from 400 litres down to a single concentrated litre). Recent menus have run from a reduced lunch around £70 per head to a condensed dinner near £110 and a full "complete" menu around £175, with a sommelier-led wine flight alongside.

Crucially for non-drinkers, Mana treats the alcohol-free option as a proper pairing rather than an afterthought. A dedicated non-alcoholic drinks flight runs course-by-course beside the wine flight, but it must be selected and paid for when you book — pre-booking is required, so it cannot be added on the night. The programme reflects the kitchen's Noma-rooted fermentation focus: house-made kombuchas, cordials, cold-pressed juices and infusions built to match the food, with reviewers noting serves such as a thick, almost soup-like whisked green tea among the paired drinks. Beyond the flight, the standing drinks list carries a still-generous alcohol-free selection, including six or seven non-alcoholic cocktails, so even walk-up glasses are given real thought.