Hawkley Restaurant Guide

“Mark Birchall’s achievement of 3 Michelin stars in seven short years in the north, speaks volumes” for the inspirational values he’s brought to revamping his Grade II 13th-century manor house a short drive north of Liverpool. “Not just a meal, it’s an experience” and one that is “superb from beginning to end” – enhanced by “the beautiful location, and the additional touches such as the vegetable garden and the cheese room”. The occasion starts in the lounge for a drink and a snack and then proceeds to the contemporary dining room – a glazed add-on with exposed rafters. “Service from an expert front of house team is spot on: very professional, very knowledgeable, and very approachable and friendly”: “not at all pretentious despite its awards”. Dinner is tasting menu style from £265 per person, or there is a cheaper four-course menu also available at lunch which is £145 per person. Practically all reports acknowledge the food as “faultless in every way” – “nothing to say about Mark’s food that’s not already been said: it is all simply pitch perfect” – “the flavours and ideas are staggering”. This said, even fans feel “it’s just a shame their prices have gone up so much in recognition of the three stars…” – “the cost is now so high, that a visit can now only be a rare treat”.

“Casual by name and feel, but the food quality is really fine dining” – the more casual option for eating at Mark Birchall’s triumphant manor house operation operates in a contemporary structure, with brick walls and pitched timber-frame roof and “its setting is beautiful as you come around the lake to the barn”. “Good value for a Michelin-starred restaurant”, it carries its ambitions quite lightly with food that’s straightforwardly high quality – “top notch ingredients are seasoned to perfection”. Top Tip – “the set lunch an absolute bargain for food and service of this level/calibre”.

“Quite what Aughton has done to earn all these good restaurants, and even more Michelin stars, is beyond fathoming” and although Tim & Mag Allen’s award-winning four-year-old venue is “obviously somewhat in the shadow of its illustrious neighbour Moor Hall, Solo remains an excellent (and much more affordable!) alternative”. “Tim Allen genuinely seems to enjoy both cooking and engaging with his customers and he brings a sense of calm when other staff members seem to be rushed off their feet (although still attentive and enjoying themselves). The food (concept, presentation and delivery) is outstanding and offers excellent value. Every course is exquisite from amuse bouche to petits fours demonstrating his skill for combining unusual and unheard of ingredients (finger lime and meat radish anyone?) to create perfect and complementary flavours and textures”. And in July 2025, the restaurant closed to herald ‘an exciting new chapter’ to reopen in November 2025. The upgrade PR promises ‘a more modern, crisp, fresh new look’, ‘a new Chefs’ Table’; a redefined food offering ‘providing more flexibility through shorter and expanded menu options’; ‘a more casual, and shorter, tasting menu style experience’. (But we’ve left its current high grades in place on the basis that most likely things will only get better).

This “French-style fine-dining experience” in Cheshire has just celebrated its 25th anniversary, serving “the kind of traditional Gallic fare you want to eat – frogs’ legs, coquilles St Jacques, onion soup, profiteroles”, all of it “meticulously presented”. Chef-patron Oliver Troalen trained in Paris and began his UK career at the French Embassy in London (ever the diplomat, he “didn’t bat an eyelid when a friend asked for her steak to be served ‘burnt’!”).

2023 Review: Ex-Manchester House chef, Aiden Byrne’s attractive pub is cutely situated opposite said St Mary’s Church in one of the scenic commuter towns on the Cheshire/Greater Manchester borders. Steaks, burgers, pies and the likes of lobster and chips typify its quality gastrofare; and they also serve pizza and snacks from their garden ‘shack’.

“Very lucky to have this fabulous restaurant in our neighbourhood” says a very local supporter of this well-regarded, small venue in Wavertree. A visiting Londoner agrees, finding “very well-executed and very reasonably-priced Modern European fare in a cosy neighbourhood setting”. Last word goes to the local: “It’s first class – I’ve been many times and never had a bad meal”.

“Fabulous food with unusual flavour combinations, lovely staff and great service” make this neighbourhood bistro from Chris Edwards & Owain Williams “well worth the trip to the student quarter of Liverpool”. “Seasonality is the key here” – but “don’t come here for a romantic dinner-for-two: it’s buzzing!”. Top Tip – “the amazing early-bird dinner menu”.

“What a find”: this “fantastic local bistro” – “in a row of run-down shops on a busy main road in the outskirts of Manchester” – is an “unpretentious gem” serving “excellent dishes cooked with skill, alongside wines by the glass chosen to be the ‘perfect match’”. Locally born chef Jacinda (Jazz) and Italian sommelier Andrea worked together at the Savoy Grill in London; finding they were a perfect match, they got hitched and headed north to launch the venue of their dreams.