Restaurant in Manchester, United Kingdom
Set menu dining that earns its occasion.
Adam Reid at The French is Manchester's strongest case for a multi-course dinner that earns its occasion-dining status through cooking rather than just atmosphere. Holding a Michelin Plate (2025) and ranked #604 in Opinionated About Dining's Top European Restaurants, it serves a single set menu Wednesday to Saturday in a Grade II-listed Belle Époque room at the Midland Hotel. Book one to three weeks out depending on the night.
If you have been before, the question on a return visit is whether the kitchen still earns the same conviction. The answer, based on its Michelin Plate recognition (2025) and an Opinionated About Dining ranking of #604 in Europe (2025), is yes — Adam Reid at The French remains one of the most considered multi-course restaurants in northern England, and the one most likely to make Manchester feel like a serious food destination rather than a runner-up to London. Book Wednesday through Saturday, 6–9 pm, and expect a format that does not offer choice: a single multi-course set menu, delivered in a room that has its own gravitational pull.
The technical case for booking here rests on restraint and precision. Reid's cooking does not chase novelty for its own sake. Dishes arrive under cryptic single-word descriptions — 'Fungi', 'Fish' , that the kitchen's personable staff explain and, in some cases, finish tableside. That theatricality is earned rather than decorative: it adds context rather than obscuring whether the plate is good. The sourcing is tight and northern-rooted, drawing on producers such as Sladesdown Farm for duck and day-boat cod with Cheshire leeks, and leaning on regional traditions , a cheese and onion pie rethought, a cold cut of honey-glazed ham with milk bread , without slipping into nostalgia or whimsy. The cooking is playful but the flavour logic is precise. Where peers at this price tier occasionally prioritise concept over taste, Reid's kitchen keeps both in balance.
The dining room at the Grade II-listed Midland Hotel amplifies everything. The oval, mirrored Belle Époque interior , darkly romantic, with high-backed booths that create real privacy , makes a first visit feel like a special occasion and a return visit feel like a recalibration. The casually dressed service and modern soundtrack prevent it from tipping into formality. Two globular chandeliers do the work of relieving any heaviness. This is not a room that asks you to behave; it asks you to pay attention.
Wine programme gives you two flights , alcoholic and non-alcoholic , or the option to work with the sommelier directly. For food and wine enthusiasts who want depth over a simple pairing, the sommelier route is the better choice.
Booking at The French is, by Manchester's fine dining standards, relatively direct. Wednesday and Thursday evenings are the easiest to secure on shorter notice; Friday and Saturday fill faster, particularly for parties of two wanting the leading booths. One to two weeks out is usually sufficient for a midweek table, but three weeks gives you more seat selection. The restaurant opens Wednesday to Saturday, 6–9 pm only , there is no lunch service and no weekend brunch. If your travel schedule is fixed, book as soon as dates are confirmed rather than waiting. The venue is inside the Midland Hotel at 16 Peter St, Manchester M60 2DS, which makes it a practical anchor for a Manchester city-centre stay. For hotel recommendations nearby, see our full Manchester hotels guide.
Dress is smart-casual in practice , the room carries weight and most diners dress to match, but the staff are casual-attired and the atmosphere does not enforce formality. For groups, the high central booths work well for parties of four; larger groups should enquire directly about configuration options.
Adam Reid at The French sits in a specific position in the UK's modern European set-menu category. It is not as technically progressive as L'Enclume in Cartmel or as hyper-seasonal as Moor Hall in Aughton, but it offers something both of those do not: a city-centre experience inside a room with genuine historical atmosphere. Against CORE by Clare Smyth in London or The Fat Duck in Bray, the booking process here is far more accessible and the price point considerably easier to absorb. For those who want serious northern European cooking without a destination pilgrimage, The French is the sensible first call. It also compares well to Aulis London in its chef-counter intimacy and kitchen-forward format, though The French's room is significantly grander.
Within Manchester specifically, the decision depends on what you want from the evening. For progressive tasting menus with more technical ambition, mana is the comparison. For a shorter, sharper creative menu, Skof is worth considering. But for a multi-course experience that places equal weight on room, history, and cooking, The French has no direct competition in the city. See our full Manchester restaurants guide for a broader view of where to eat, and our full Manchester bars guide for where to drink before or after.
Book The French if you want a multi-course dinner that justifies its occasion-dining context through cooking rather than just atmosphere. The set menu format means you are committing without a safety net, but Reid's kitchen has earned that trust. The room, the sourcing, the tableside touches, and the famous tipsy cake with rum and black tea at the close make the case on their own. Return visitors will find the format consistent and the execution reliable , which, at this level, is exactly what you want to hear.
For more eating and drinking in the city, explore 10 Tib Lane, 20 Stories, Another Hand, and our full Manchester experiences guide. For wine context in the region, see our Manchester wineries guide.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Reid at the French | Modern European | Adam Reid at The French is the flagship restaurant of the historic grade ll listed Midland Hotel in central Manchester. He took over as chef-patron in 2016 following Simon Rogan's departure. Just like...; The famous Midland Hotel hotel was first built to herald the arrival of the Midland Railway in Manchester, and its current restaurant has been created in the Belle Époque style to evoke the luxury of the day. Whilst its name remains in reference to its historical past, today, Chef Adam Reid's multi-course menu is more inspired by his northern roots than it is by France. The richly flavoured, occasionally playful, dishes come with cryptic, concise menu descriptions such as 'Fungi' and 'Fish', but the personable chefs are on hand to explain and finish off each course tableside .; The ‘French' has played a leading role in Manchester's social history, along with the monumental railway hotel in which it is discreetly ensconced. As readers have noted, the Grade II-listed, oval dining room makes any meal feel like a special occasion. The mirrored, rococo interior remains darkly romantic and the high central booths provide a cocoon-like intimacy. The moodiness is relieved by a modern soundtrack, casual attired waiting staff and two outsize globular chandeliers, which counter any sense of dull melancholy or old-fashioned stuffiness. The modern Mancunian vision presented here by talented local boy Adam Reid is 'more relaxed and focused on folk having a good time'. A warm and friendly host, Reid emphasises that his multi-course offer (no option) is not a tasting menu but a 'set' one. Small plates, yes, but in a balanced order with thoughtful concepts and a streak of theatricality to enliven proceedings. Out with flambés and in with tableside assemblies such as a salad of Stichelton blue cheese, green apple, walnut, prune and celery – a carnivalesque interpretation of a conventional cheese course. Provenance is impeccable (as one might expect at this level), but one of the main characteristics of Reid’s menu is a playful sense of fun in his loving nod to regional traditions. It’s not childish, however, and dishes such as the standout ‘not an average cheese and onion pie’ with its starburst of flavour or the super-delectable ‘cold cut of honey-glazed ham, milk bread and mustard’ avoid whimsy in their sophisticated references to northern ‘teas’. The menu, divided into themed segments, never bored us – although a few dishes were a notch below others: ‘Cumbrian beef and horseradish on fried bread,’ for example, was overpowered by the pungent root. The cooking shows restraint while shining with flavour, whether delicate or punchy – as in butter-poached day-boat cod with Cheshire leeks and smoked roe sauce, or salt-aged Sladesdown Farm duck paired with stewed offal and cabbage pickle. There are two wine flights (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), otherwise consult the knowledgeable and helpful sommelier. To conclude, the now-famous tipsy cake with whipped cream comes laced with rum and served with cream and black tea (a pairing that works brilliantly). And alongside our espresso (from local ManCoCo roasters), there was a choc ice dusted with shards of Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls. As Mancunian songsmith Mike Harding's iconic theme song says, we left 'all aglow'.; Michelin Plate (2025); Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Europe Ranked #604 (2025) | Easy | — | |
| mana | Progressive Cuisine, Creative British | ££££ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Skof | Creative | ££££ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Erst | Wine Bar, British Contemporary | £££ | Unknown | — | |
| Higher Ground | Modern British | ££ | Unknown | — | |
| MAYA | Mexican, Modern Cuisine | ££ | Unknown | — |
How Adam Reid at the French stacks up against the competition.
Book at least three to four weeks out for a Friday or Saturday table. Wednesday and Thursday evenings open up more readily, so if your dates are flexible, mid-week is the lower-friction route. The dining room is not large, and the set format means sittings are fixed, so last-minute availability is rare.
The French is suited to small groups rather than large parties. The oval dining room, with its high central booths, works well for twos and fours in a celebratory context, but large group bookings are harder to place here than at a venue with private dining infrastructure. check the venue's official channels to confirm capacity before planning anything above six covers.
The atmosphere is deliberately unstuffy: staff dress casually and the music skews contemporary rather than formal. Smart-casual is a reasonable read of the room, though the Grade II-listed Belle Époque interior means most diners arrive dressed for an occasion. Trainers and sportswear would feel out of place.
Yes, and the setting does a lot of the work. The rococo oval dining room inside the historic Midland Hotel makes any dinner feel ceremonial before a dish arrives. The multi-course format, tableside assemblies, and a finale like the rum-laced tipsy cake give the meal a clear arc, which suits birthdays, anniversaries, or any dinner where the event itself matters as much as the food.
The French operates dinner service only, Wednesday through Saturday from 6 to 9 pm. There is no lunch service to compare. If you want a daytime option in Manchester, you would need to look elsewhere.
For a more casual but technically serious meal, Higher Ground on First Street is the most discussed alternative, focusing on produce-led cooking without the formal set-menu commitment. Erst in Ancoats offers a looser, wine-bar-adjacent format with strong cooking at a lower price point. Skof holds a Michelin star and sits closer to The French in formality and ambition, making it the most direct like-for-like comparison if you want to benchmark the two.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
