Knutsford, Mediterranean Restaurant Guide

2022 Review: Multi-Michelin-starred Barcelona chef Paco Pérez was the marquee signing for Pep Guardiola, Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano, the trio behind Manchester City’s success, when they launched their upscale Catalan restaurant three years ago. The cool interiors – industrial chic for communal eating on the ground floor, minimalist glamour upstairs – are designed to throw a focus on the food, served as ‘tastets’ (small plates with more complexity than tapas). The verdict? definitely Premier League (in both quality and prices), if not yet a Champions League winner.

“The food is something to shout about” at this “great country pub” that has served the village for more than 250 years – “it’s all cosy, warm fires in the winter and a great sunshine patio to catch the sun on a summer’s evening”. (“We class it as our local, but it’s more about food than a local pub, although it’s great to sit at the bar and chat to the friendly staff”).

Opinions continue to diverge on this modern Greek/Mediterranean ‘experiential dining’ venue in the St John’s development, and dreamt up by the Insta-friendly people behind pan-Asian Tattu. While there are fans of the more-is-more, sandstone-themed décor (“beautiful”, “lovely”), and of the “superb selection” of dishes – in keeping with the maximalist approach, courses are referred to as ‘chapters’ – there’s a stronger sense that the food is “extremely overpriced for ordinary grub”, but then again most people aren’t there for the food experience (“we were the only table eating…everyone else was just Instagramming”).