Permission to Speak

Marriott’s huge new Deansgate hotel pairs heritage archway with a gleaming tower, complete with sweeping views across and beyond the city.

A 5-star countryside retreat complete with spa, golf course, luxury rooms, club lounge and a Gordon Ramsay restaurant.

Japanese sushi and ramen restaurant on High Street, Northern Quarter, founded by Teddy Lee. House-made noodles, eight-hour broths, plus sushi, donburi and vegan options.

A hidden gem in the suburbs of Greater Manchester, serving high-level British small plates to a soundtrack of indie rock and roll.

Historic Hulme pub with a very good live gig space, brought to you by the very capable team behind YES, Gorilla, Now Wave and Manchester Psych Fest.

Pigeon Beer Wanderer brings wine-level ceremony to Manchester’s new “Beermuda Triangle”, courtesy of Joshua Lightfoot and his crack team of booze experts.

The exhibition arm of Manchester indie bookshop UNITOM is a dedicated space for contemporary visual culture in the St John’s neighbourhood.

Relaxed waterside cafe spin-off of the main Tibetan Kitchen restaurant on Upper Chorlton Road.

Portfolio is a Champagne boutique on Manchester’s Bridge Street, offering a set menu of fine-dining small bites.

Cameroonian chef Ngwafu Tansie brings allotment-grown, plant-based cooking to Bridge 5 Mill’s solar-powered Ancoats venue, pairing bobolo with cabbage parcels and live vinyl.

1853 Studios and Gallery is a Creative Studios and community of creative professionals occupying the 3rd floors of Osborne Mill, Oldham.

Podium delivers high-end, seasonal dishes, largely geared around produce and ideas from the British Isles, but with a few deft twists and turns.