Award sponsored by

About the award

Each year the AA independently inspects hundreds of restaurants across the British Isles. Introduced in 2000, this award recognises restaurants that provide cuisine of a truly excellent standard, as well as demonstrating innovation and ambience and providing a high standard of hospitality.

Skof, Manchester 

From the Simon Rogan stable, Head chef Tom Barnes (formerly head at L'Enclume and Rogan & Co.) now spreads his culinary wings in his native Manchester. Located in the NOMA neighbourhood in the iconic Hanover building (a former drapery warehouse built by the Co-operative Wholesale Society in 1904), it has lots of nods to the area's industrial heritage in the design and furnishings – open brick, steel work etc., along with a sense of comfort, luxury and quality. The open kitchen gives diners a peek behind the curtain. The mood here is informal but still professional with the team all thoroughly well versed. A slow-cooked beef shortrib dish really encapsulates the ethos here. There is a definite hearty, homely feel underpinning the cuisine, which also exemplifies the precision, technique and finesse of the lineage this cooking comes from.