Climat

Rooftop views in Manchester don’t get much better than Climat, a wine-led, French-leaning wine bar and restaurant in the city centre. 

You’ll find it just beyond the end of Market Street, tucked down one of the city’s many winding streets, through an inconspicuous door, down a monochrome-panelled corridor, up a lift and so on. All very Faraway Tree. 

The altitude is a major part of Climat’s appeal, giving sweeping views all over the city, full of blinking lights and the bare minimum of affordable housing (remarkable work from the Manchester City Council planning department, as ever). The atmosphere is pleasantly laid back for a city centre bar at the weekend. Think culture, rather than dancing on the tables. 

With many, many wines (over 400 at last count), the drinks menu is second to none. But if you want a bespoke cocktail, the well-informed staff can provide it – a requested concoction built around elderflower and white wine proves the sourcing quality is as high as the venue. 

Similarly with the food: meticulously put together cuisine française, including the highly tempting (but prohibitively expensive) côte de boeuf with snail and garlic butter at £135. 

From the snacks, the hash brown, with taramasalata and lemon, is a delicious hot, crunchy, multi-layered treat and probably deserves a more fancy title. If you’re nipping in for a glass or two of vino, which you should, this makes for a fine glimpse into the menu.

The cured bream is pleasant enough option for seafood fans. Delicate pieces of freshwater fish, infused with light amounts of flavours, including green tea, bergamot and tarragon. 

But the pork chop is a true great, and up there with Manchester’s best dishes of the year so far. The meat is spread out like a fan, thick hot slabs with plenty of charred salty fat, dotted with tiny cubes of rhubarb, capers and gherkin. The taste hit borders on euphoric, especially with a mouthful of the tangy-but-creamy cheesy pomme purée. 

End with the beautiful honeycomb semifreddo, an elegant dish with a slightly fluffy, creamy texture. An ideal palate cleanser before you return to Climat’s remarkable wine list. 

Climat is an excellent addition to Manchester’s growing number of rooftop venues, offering a refined and graceful experience.