Restaurant in Liverpool, United Kingdom
Bold flavours, fair price, book ahead.
Manifest holds a Michelin Plate (2025) and a 4.9 Google rating in Liverpool's Baltic Triangle — a compact, kitchen-forward room where the open-pass counter seats are worth requesting and every bottle on the wine list is available by the glass. At £££, the seasonal tasting menu with wine flight is the format that justifies the return visit.
If you have already eaten at Manifest once, you should book again. The kitchen's seasonal tasting menu evolves enough between visits to justify a return, the wine list is genuinely worth working through systematically, and the open kitchen format means a second visit delivers more than the first — you know where to sit, you know what the format rewards, and you arrive with context. At £££ per head this is not a casual Tuesday option, but it is meaningfully priced below the city's top-end splurge restaurants, and the 4.9 Google rating across 162 reviews suggests consistency, not a one-night fluke.
The Baltic Triangle address matters more than the postcode suggests. This is Liverpool's creative regeneration corridor — converted redbrick warehouses, independent businesses, the city's most considered new openings , and Manifest fits that context without performing it. The room is compact, and the open-plan kitchen at its centre means the ambient energy is kitchen-forward: there is noise, there is movement, and the line between dining room and pass is deliberately thin. Counter seats directly at the kitchen are the ones to request if you are returning. On a first visit you might want the distance; on a second, proximity to the action is the point. The atmosphere runs warm rather than hushed , this is not a white-tablecloth quiet room. If you want the calmer end of the experience, book early in service.
The format gives you a choice between à la carte and a seasonally influenced tasting menu. For returning visitors, the tasting menu is the more useful path: it shows what the kitchen is doing right now, it changes with the seasons, and the 'chef's choice' version with a three-glass wine flight is the practical option if you do not want to move through the list yourself. The wine flight is worth calling out specifically , more on that below.
Wine list at Manifest is one of the more considered in Liverpool at this price point, and the structural decision to offer every bottle by the glass is significant. It means you are not committing to a full bottle to try something interesting, which in practice encourages more adventurous ordering. For returning visitors this is the lever to pull: use the by-the-glass availability to explore the list across multiple dishes rather than defaulting to a safe bottle choice.
'chef's choice' menu with a three-glass wine flight deserves specific attention. Wine flights at this level can be perfunctory , three generic pours matched loosely to courses. At Manifest the pairing approach is described as carefully considered, and given the kitchen's preference for fermented, foraged and preserved ingredients, there is genuine pairing complexity to work with. Bold acidity, umami-heavy components, char and smoke all require deliberate wine decisions. If you are returning and have not tried the flight, that is the change to make. If you have tried it, going à la carte on the wine list and using the by-the-glass option to match each course individually is the logical next step.
For context on what Manifest is doing relative to the broader Modern British conversation, the kitchens at CORE by Clare Smyth in London, L'Enclume in Cartmel, and Moor Hall in Aughton all place similar emphasis on British provenance and technical precision , but at significantly higher price points and booking difficulty. Manifest sits comfortably in that wider conversation at a fraction of the cost.
The kitchen's identity is built around foraging, fermenting, and preserving , techniques that produce bold, assertive flavours rather than delicate ones. Dishes cited in Michelin's 2025 assessment include torched sea trout with squash velouté and nasturtium, celeriac prepared char siu-style with burnt apple and hazelnuts, Creedy Carver duck with beetroot, plum and pancakes, and cod loin with sea buckthorn, carrot and smoked mussels. A vegetable-forward option (January King cabbage with yeast extract, potato salad and garlic) demonstrates that the kitchen takes non-meat dishes as seriously as the centrepiece proteins. Finish with the cheese plate or the rhubarb with spent Champagne and sablé biscuit. The warm vinegar crisps that arrive early in the meal have apparently acquired near-legendary status among regulars , a useful calibration point for what the kitchen thinks good snacking means.
The Michelin Plate recognition (2025) confirms technical competence without overstating the case. This is not a starred kitchen, but it is a kitchen cooking at a level above the Michelin Plate threshold. For a fuller picture of where Liverpool's serious dining scene sits, our full Liverpool restaurants guide covers the full range. Also worth considering nearby: OXA, The Art School, and Delifonseca Dockside for different points on the Liverpool dining spectrum. If you are making a longer trip, our Liverpool hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide cover the rest of the visit.
For comparison further afield in the Modern British category, hide and fox in Saltwood, Hand and Flowers in Marlow, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, The Fat Duck in Bray, and The Ritz Restaurant in London all represent different positions in the same category at different price and occasion registers.
Reservations: Book 2–3 weeks out minimum; booking difficulty is rated Moderate, which means tables are available but the leading times fill quickly , do not leave it to the week before a Saturday dinner. Address: 4a Watkinson St, Liverpool L1 0AG, Baltic Triangle. Price: £££ per head (tasting menu with wine flight is the higher end of that range; à la carte with careful wine-by-the-glass ordering lands in the middle). Format: À la carte or seasonal tasting menu; counter seats at the kitchen available on request. Wine: Every bottle available by the glass. Chef's choice menu includes a three-glass wine flight.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manifest | £££ | Moderate | — |
| “8” By Andrew Sheridan | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| Belzan | ££ | Unknown | — |
| Bistrot Vérité | ££ | Unknown | — |
| Mowgli Water Street | Unknown | — | |
| NORD | £££ | Unknown | — |
A quick look at how Manifest measures up.
Yes — the counter seats facing the open kitchen make solo dining a genuinely good option here, not just an afterthought. You're positioned close to the action, which gives the meal the feel of a chef's table without requiring a private booking. At £££ for a Michelin Plate restaurant, it's one of the stronger solo-dining propositions in Liverpool.
It works well for a special occasion, particularly if the two of you want a considered tasting menu rather than a loud celebratory setting. The 'chef's choice' menu with a three-glass wine flight is the format to request for that kind of evening. Compared to NORD or '8' By Andrew Sheridan, Manifest sits at a similar ambition level but with a more intimate, warehouse-converted room.
The seasonally influenced tasting menu is the kitchen's strongest statement — it reflects the foraging, fermenting, and preserving focus that defines Paul Durand's cooking. The 'chef's choice' menu with a wine flight is the most direct route through that repertoire. If you prefer à la carte, the dishes documented across visits suggest bold, assertive plating rather than safe crowd-pleasers.
Book 2–3 weeks in advance and request a counter seat if you want the full open-kitchen experience. The room is compact, and the centrally positioned kitchen means most seats feel close to the cooking. Manifest holds a Michelin Plate (2025), which signals cooking quality worth the £££ price point — this is not a casual drop-in venue.
The menu documented in available sources includes a considered vegetarian main (January King cabbage with yeast extract, potato salad and garlic), which suggests the kitchen takes plant-based options seriously rather than treating them as an afterthought. For specific allergen or dietary requirements, check the venue's official channels before booking — phone and website details are not currently listed in this record.
Counter seats at the open kitchen are available and are the closest equivalent to bar-style dining at Manifest. These seats put you directly in view of the kitchen, making them the format to request if you want a more interactive meal. They're also a practical option for solo diners or walk-in attempts, though availability is not guaranteed.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
