The Daily Telegraph
William Sitwell snared something of coup this week, becoming the first national critic to review an ambitious new restaurant from a former L’Enclume head chef, Tom Barnes. William dropped in on its third day of opening, and reckons it does more to promote Manchester as the centre of the world than the city’s energetic mayor, Andy Burnham.
Skof is in an old warehouse in the NOMA redevelopment zone, in what William describes as an “unassuming street” that “could be Manhattan in the 1950s” – which many people might consider rather assuming.
He set aside his anti-tasting menu prejudice to delight in each of his 15 courses, including a ‘BBQ lobster’ dish that was “the pinnacle of surf and turf – sweet lobster, becoming angelic in the melting fat”. The bread – served alongside duck for the eighth course – also invited superlatives, “for it’s a breathtaking layered sort of croissant; literally baking genius, all butter and crunch, as seismic a creation as the Grand Canyon.”
By the end of his meal, poor William was struggling to find metaphors to match his rapture: “Skof is the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids. A monument of pure, victorious conviction.
William Sitwell - 2024-06-30The Times
Charlotte Ivers rummaged through her lexicon of superlatives after a visit to “the most exciting new restaurant in the country” and “the hottest booking in the city — perhaps the country — right now”. Skoff is the first restaurant from Tom Barnes, a protégé of L’Enclume’s Simon Rogan, and most of the staff have worked there too.
But, she stressed, it’s not just a copy of L’Enclume. “It is younger, trendier, made for the city and not the Lakes”. The technical precision and creativity of the cooking were astonishing. Highlights of the 12-course tasting menu included duck in a rich, sweet sauce containing tapioca balls, served with black pudding and a droplet of bone marrow, “absurd and perfect in its decadence”. A dessert of rice sorbet made with milk oolong tea also lodged itself in her memory.
“Every detail here is perfect — a lifetime in the making”, Charlotte said. “What a remarkable thing Barnes has built on the foundations his old boss gave him. I hope Rogan weeps with pride when he visits. I hope they both do.”
Charlotte Ivers - 2025-03-09
