The story
Stow sits at 62 Bridge Street in Manchester, a modern British restaurant and cocktail bar that cooks exclusively over open fire. The Good Food Guide lists it as Good for 2026, and the short menu changes regularly with the seasons.
The room is small and plainly fitted out, so attention goes to the kitchen. Big cuts of meat and whole fish cook over wood and locally made charcoal, and the chef's table, where offered, puts diners close to the flames. Michelin lists Stow as Recommended for 2026.
Overnight-coal beets arrive with ricotta and smoked honey, a dish with a deep smoky edge. Celeriac pappardelle is dotted with black garlic and bathed in a sharp golden anchovy sauce, and milk bread with burnt-onion butter is the right tool for the sauce. A whole monkfish tail is served in a trout roe and dill beurre blanc. The ex-dairy ribeye comes with garlicky ratte potatoes under a fall of finely grated Corra Linn.
The smoked cream tart with forced rhubarb has its top blackened to a crisp, with a flavour close to cinder toffee and dulce de leche. A white chocolate crémeux with pistachio is the gentler option. The bar pours cocktails and draught beers, and the wine list is entirely French.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
It may be fronted by a cocktail bar but there is nothing fancy about this cramped, barebones space. However, you really won’t care as all eyes are on the kitchen – Stow is all about open-fire cooking, delivered in a rush of heat and flames. We recommend booking a seat at the chef’s table if it's offered, the better to immerse yourself in the whole spectacle of big cuts of meat and fish being licked by fire. The short, regularly changing menu covers a lot of ground. Sharing plates of ‘overnight-coal’ beets with ricotta and smoked honey (a dish full of compelling, smoky flavours) or celeriac pappardelle dotted with black garlic in a punchy, golden anchovy sauce benefit from some soft, fluffy milk bread with burnt-onion butter to mop up the juices. After that, a whole monkfish tail perfectly timed and served in a delicious trout roe and dill beurre blanc should suffice; alternatively, opt for an ex-dairy ribeye and team with garlicky ratte potatoes liberally showered with finely grated Corra Linn cheese. If you’re sweet of tooth, the smoked cream tart with forced rhubarb is a must. Don’t flinch when it arrives with its top blackened to a crisp – it's an unusual flavour combination reminiscent of cinder toffee and dulce de leche. Otherwise, play it safe with a white chocolate crémeux and pistachio. Service is friendly and engaged. To drink, there are excellent cocktails and beers on draught, or you can settle for a bottle from the all-French wine list.
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