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Decor & Ambience  |
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As reported in our previous write up, which was a press preview and hence not a proper critique; it's a smart, tidy, modernly kitted out informal feeling space, with nods to its former industrial usage, in keeping with Manchester’s broader history. It's a really nice space and clearly nothing has changed from 3 months ago so I won't labour this section.
Also, the music was at a much better volume this time around. Im a fan of subtle music in even high end dining rooms, and it's far from being a new thing. Adam Reid has done it on the other side of town for many years now. But, the volume at Skof on our last visit was around 85db at times, driven by customers talking at a level to combat said music and other customers doing the same, in a vicious cycle of excessive noise. This time the music was lower, hence so were the customers. Much better.
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Not much really. It's a lovely spot
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Food & Drink  |
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The menu is in essence largely the same as on launch, which is in no way a bad thing. But large parts of it now sport micro tweaks. I'd expect to be able to say the same again if we went back in another few months as that's how operating at this calibre should be. Constantly evolving. Pushing in the never-ending pursuit of improvement and refinement. Nothing is ever totally complete as much as the core remains. I won't spiel about each course due to the relatively recent previous visit, but here's the headline points.
Onto the snacks; first over the pass was again the beef tartare croustade. Now at the risk of peaking really early and as much as it's a 'mere' snack, this dish will be a strong contender for the best thing which we've consumed in Manchester all year in terms of a pure flavour hit. An impossibly thin casing with wave upon wave of balanced flavours. A masterpiece in technique and taste layering. The protein on the lobster snack is now sliced thinner, allowing you to eat it more cleanly in two bites, rather than dragging away all the lobster in bite number one. And the mackerel snack's radish garnish is now super-fine julienned to again improve smoothness of eating and general refinement.
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Another headline course is the broth of grilled onions, poured at tableside and bejewelled with King Edward potato balls and courgette, scented with copious aromats. It was a lesson in extracting as much flavour as possible from a seemingly humble ingredient. Rich, deep and comforting in any season. Icing on the cake was delivered using a stunning laminated/rolled brioche style mini loaf, served with a splendid butter and herb oil. Easily some of the best bread we've had all year in any restaurant on any continent.
The cod dish was still exemplary, and as a full course was probably the table's overall favourite. Simplistic and stripped back in appearance, revealing hidden depths once explored. The cod was sat atop onions and smoked eel which brought the whole dish alive, belaying that initial perception of simplicity. It's a dish which I've seen an iteration of in a couple of Umbel dining rooms in the last 12 months, both 2 and 3 star adorned ones. But hand on heart, this version was the most enjoyable of the 3. High praise.
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The main course duck now came adorned with a sniff of greenery to break up the brown/beige colour profile. As you'd expect, the duck itself was perfectly cooked, pressed on a plancha to get that skin really crispy whilst retaining the internal pinkness. Fabulous quality bird too. Another individual bread bun accompanied this course, which we suspect was made with different flour this time around, still stuffed with shredded duck leg, to make the most of those whole birds rather than just the Rolls Royce breast meat.
Amasake Sorbet acted as the transition course, and was splendid, as much as it isn't really pitched as a proper course. Ultra smooth with not an ice crystal in sight, loaded with flavour. Simple yet stunning.
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Manchester Honey Ice Cream was a joy, and the star of what was a stellar pudding series. A rocher of top-tier honey ice cream, paired up with chamomile sponge and aerated milk, plus some herbs since this is an Umbel dish after all. A taste and textural orchestra.
Barney's Tiramisu ended our experience, and its accompanying story is touching. But I'll let you hear it from Tom in person when you book in, which if you've read this far then surely you will! The bowl was gratefully left on our table, not because Tom likely knew that this piece was coming, but because there was just a nice amount for us to finish off and he's a very nice lad. We still felt like champions.
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The mackerel snack perhaps needs a pop of texture adding to it somewhere, as every element is very soft. The kohlrabi half-moon was a smidge toothsome and felt underdone as a result, especially when comparing our two visits.
The duck main course wasn’t quite as accomplished as it was on our first visit, namely via the sauce which it came dressed with. It was still excellent, but just lacked the textural punch and richness of its previous iteration.
The stuffed bread bun or the Manchester Bao as we now affectionately call it was also slightly behind the last one which we had too, and we preferred the dough before.
That’s about it.
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Service |
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Front of house nerves have settled down somewhat since launch, as you'd expect on this level. Service was now measured, calm and confident. Every wine is poured just before the accompanying course is presented, like clockwork. A lot of effort, probably too much, was put into the pre-launch media work to assure potential customers that Skof is as informal and free from pomp as a £300 a head meal possibly can be. Service reflects this and you don’t need to worry about feeling as if you're sat in a stuffy Parisian 3 star.
Service is perfectly pitched for the market in terms of friendliness and demeanour. Observing tables around us, as is only professional, it was clear that in terms of being interactive the staff were giving what the customer resonated. If you want to keep it to the point and not interact all that much, then they return that vibe. If like us you prefer some mild banter and a chat, then that was also being duly obliged. Having that kind of service barometer and gauging a customer's personality, from course one, is so important. Pristine.
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For me, anywhere on this level needs to be providing a stool or hook for our handbags. It's common practice these days, and for me is 100% essential. Skof need to make it happen too. And I'm fully aware of how much of a diva that makes me sound by the way.
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Overall  |
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Getting straight to it; I'm braced for the inevitable local keyboard Michelin inspectors chirping re. how Skof will 100% get a Star in Q1 2025. It happens every time somewhere decent launches in Manchester, and usually leads to self-inflicted let downs. Such nonsense is usually written by people who seldom go to this kind of place unless it's either for a special occasion, or dare I say it, when somebody else is paying the bill.
But Skof's case is different from the usual self-promoting praise and misguided forecasts. Firstly, it’s run by one of the top lieutenants of arguably the best Chef in the UK, whose Umbel Group facilitated Skof’s inception and holds a score and stars in the UK and abroad. Michelin love that kind of lineage. Secondly; there’s no politics involved regarding the dining room's owner or location as it’s in a standalone property, not housed within a chain hotel etc. And finally; it's genuinely on the Starred level and that's what matters in a world where getting a Star is now broadly too easy for those located in certain postcodes. Both the culinary and now service standards are very much in place at Skof, along with suitable local tie-ins and strong regional produce usage. So yeah, I’d be seriously surprised if Michelin don’t see fit to adorn Skof with the big one next year. But then again, who knows. You just never do, and secretly, people love it that way
Now reading this review back to myself, I've praised a couple of things as the best that I've had all year etc. I won't edit myself to death here as the praise is real, and it's fully justified.
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There’s only been one blip on the entire launch of Skof for me. Over the years Manchester’s resistance towards anything even remotely formal held us back in getting a Star, 100%. It took a general easing of industry formality in the UK for our own city's preferences to match the status quo. I have a colleague at an esteemed global publication who casually reviews the world’s top 3 Stars whilst wearing pink fluffy slippers, because she’s paying the bill hence can do just that, and does so without fear of judgement. So putting oodles of effort into reminding people that you can gladly wear Adidas Sambas and a t-shirt in Manchester, was for me a tad patronising simply because we’ve grown a lot.
I sat down with Simon Rogan up in Cartmel back in 2013 to carry out Manchester’s very first interview ahead of The French and Mr Cooper’s House and Garden opening. As part of the chat we mentioned to Mr R that Manchester is generally a wet led city, aka drinking takes priority over eating and we prefer uber-casual and a tad boisterous even at the premium level. He smiled knowingly and said ‘Sure, most cities do’. We returned the smile and said ‘But Manchester’s a very, very wet led city’. We then talked to Simon almost a year later and reminded him of said chat, and the penny seemed to have dropped. It’s an entirely different market to Cartmel and whilst this has now registered, maybe Umbel’s push on Skof's informality went a bit too far, along with the early-life music levels. As a food city, we are far from being Toyko, New York or San Sebastian in truth, but we are now a truly international city and have enough understanding and experience of premium dining to not be overwhelmed places which sell tasting menus and Montrachet. |
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But ultimately, none of that pre-launch stuff matters to the end product, which without question sits on Manchester’s admittedly small shelf of genuinely top tier operators, and is undoubtedly a huge positive for our city's hospitality and tourism sectors.
Either way, regardless of what happens next year, Manchester has a new star.
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Skof Preview
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It’s rare that Manchester is graced with a truly high-profile new restaurant. A couple of years ago we heard whispers of a pending Simon Rogan restaurant opening in the city, which ticked that rarity box. The word was that it was going to be a branch of his Aulis concept; a super intimate Chef’s table type setup for up to 10 people. Other Manchester food media folk tried to pick our brains when this was posted on one of our team’s personal social media, but we didn’t spill a further word.
Fast forward a while, and the scoop was a touch uncalibrated yet still in the right lane. Instead, Rogan’s Umbel Group was to facilitate and fund a restaurant which would be led by one of his most trusted Chefs; Tom Barnes, and the name of that venue would be Skof.
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Now sadly, when the press launch happened in late May we were away on hols and hence couldn’t attend. So it was super-appreciated to be invited in during a proper service once the doors had opened. You often don’t get a truly accurate picture of things at press launches, as they are primarily about providing the kitchen with some practice runs ahead of paying customers arriving, along with creating a wave of social media content to boost anticipation.
Accessible, informal, casual; that’s the vibe here. Even the playful name of the restaurant suggests as much. Lots of effort, perhaps an iota too much, went into the pre-launch showcasing to let Manchester know that you don’t need to wear a 3-piece suit to be allowed in or to feel in keeping with the other clientele. The media run up told us that it’s the kind of place that you can pop into for just a few beers, or the full-on high end tasting menu. Of course in truth, the latter is the only reason why you’d really want to visit anyway. Which leads me nicely onto what happened during our visit…
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On arrival it’s a smart, tidy, modernly kitted out space, with nods to its former industrial usage which is obviously in keeping with Manchester’s broader history. I wasn’t sure about the location when it was first released, but if you have a good nosey around the NoMa district, as I’ve admittedly not for a while, you’ll see that the area is blooming so my concerns were swiftly allayed. It’s a good-looking place, undeniably, with its open kitchen being the rightful focus.
There’s 2 tasting menus to choose from; a shorter one priced at £125, along with a full length version for £165. Plus there’s a lunch menu for £50 which feels like balanced value. We were treated to the full length menu, and opted for both the regular and also spenny wine flights rather than getting two of the same, to try more wines, which is a trick that for us gives you a better experience, as well as costing less at the same time.
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So onto the food. Now I’m not going to take up too much of your time with a huge blurb on the whole menu, as 15 courses might be a bit too much to shoehorn in and we want you to discover these delights for yourselves, but our highlights were;
Snacks have always been a cornerstone of the Umbel Group’s culinary journey, and they are typically the best snacks in the country and Skof’s did not disappoint. If forced to choose only two then it would have to be the splendid croustade of Dexter beef. Rich and meaty, with a perfect snap from the casing, finished with accurate acid balance. The BBQ Lobster, wrapped in aged pork fat, soaked in its own emulsion, presented on a tranche of grilled sourdough was a hearty mouthful.
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As to be expected the Orkney Scallop started the savoury section with perfect cooking and finesse but it was the Set Miso Custard with hen of the woods, truffle, and mushroom dashi that really caught our attention. It was an explosion of umami and a showcase of all things fungi. The aromas were huge, with the unmistakable scent of truffle screaming from the bowl. It was a reminder of why the mushroom, in its many guises, is one of my very favourite foodstuffs.
Steamed West Coast Cod took us right back to our last visit to L’Enclume, a comparison which is sadly unavoidable to be fair. Only this variant sported a sauce that was laced with smoked eel, elevating it even further from our memories. A stunning dish and the menu is clearly ramping up in pace ahead of the main course.
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Roasted Sladesdown Duck featured as said main. This was perfectly cooked protein of wonderful provenance, with that punchy sauce being served at tableside by Chef Tom himself. This course also came paired with a fabulous stuffed mini loaf which was the best bread course that we’ve eaten on any continent, all year. Fluffy, pillowy, light, served warm, then glazed with honey. A ‘Manchester Bao’, was our takeaway memory of this. Fabulous.
As any tasting menu aficionado is aware; you order coffee largely for the petit fours, but at Skof this isn’t the case. Coffee or not you’re going to end the meal with Barney’s Tiramisu. I’ll let Tom explain the lovely backstory for this untraditional petit fours, but this is a Tiramisu to more than rival Mancheter’s infamous Tiramisu drawer!
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Cooking standards across the board, even at this early stage, were impeccable, and the guys have hit the ground running for sure. Yes, there was a touch of early life service-nerves, but that’s to be expected from a brand new team after only a handful of services. It’s a given that this will pass, probably by the time that you read this article in fairness.
Now as touched on at the start of this piece; we don’t get too many genuinely top shelf offerings popping up in Manchester. And as a city, our food media often gets ahead of themselves with the praise of places which are doing a good job. The good is often labelled as great, and the very good as world class. But Skof is different from the usual OTT blurb and very much sits on that top shelf with 2 or perhaps 3 other venues in Gtr Manchester, and seems destined for wider national recognition.
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It’s driven and owned by one of the top lieutenants of arguably the best Chef in the UK, whose Umbel Group facilitated Skof’s inception and holds a score of stars in the UK and also abroad. Simon Rogan being that man. His unattended influence at Skof is still clear to see by those with the trained eye, albeit publicly masked to a large degree with the focus rightfully being on Chef Barnes himself.
So, the usual prediction whispers of Michelin Stars will undoubtedly start in a few months, ahead of the award ceremony in early 2025. Usually the speculations are unfounded and shortsighted, but you can be pretty certain that Skof will be on Michelin’s radar already, via a combo of that Rogan link, the 100% independent location, and the genuine quality of the whole package even at this fledgling stage. It’s going to be pretty tough for them to ignore Skof at their awards in 8 months’ time to be honest.
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We heard whispers that Michelin were in Cumbria inspecting venues last week, certainly at L’Enclume itself and also at Source/The Gilpin. So you can be pretty sure that they’ve probably also already been to Skof as part of their NW itinery. And so should you, as soon as you can score a reservation that is. We are booked in for dinner as paying customers, but need to wait until September! It’s without question up there with our very best and will only get better from here once the team really start to flex their muscles. We can’t wait to see how things develop over the next 3 months.
** Our experience was gratefully comped **
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3 Federation Street, Manchester, M4 4BF
0161 669 1961
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Good 
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OK 
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Poor
