Best Casual Restaurants in Deansgate

Lunch for 2 on the seasonal £40 sharing menu in the Saturday before Christmas. I’d heard and read so many good things about Higher Ground but not managed to get here until now, all of which were entirely justified. The interior (my bag) is cool, stylish and well laid out, tables not too close to each other. A really friendly welcome when we walked in, genuine and warm. Superlative staff, informed, enthusiastic without being over attentive, and knowledgable. Wonderful food, a smashing selection of dishes from the full menu. Pea fritters, British crab, incrediblly tasty cured meat, golden beets, warm freshly baked bread & whipped butter, succulent leeks - all excellent. Then a sharing main of Dexter beef on a delicate but hearty mushroom spelt porridge and a bowl of mash homegrown on the HG farm in Cheshire. I’ll be attempting to recreate smoked butter at home but doubtless will fail to make it this delicious. For the quality of food, attention to detail, quality of service, this was £40 per head very well spent. Wouldn’t hesitate to go back.

The rib-eye was absolutely perfect, succulent and cooked to perfection! All four sides were delicious, we highly recommend the turnsworth mash, beef dripping fries, creamy spinach and mac&cheese. The wine was rich and the sticky toffee pudding was the cherry on top. The service was great, our host checked up on us regularly and made sure we had everything we needed. You never have to wonder how to call over for some help! The restaurant is beautiful and feels old and rustic however the noise levels were way too high, the acoustics need to be looked into as I found myself almost having to yell across the table. Some light jazz music would also be nice!

Wonderful meal with my mum, fantastic choices on the set menu. Lovely to see the place full even if it did make it quite loud. The ladies who looked after us were wonderful and I’m sorry I didn’t get their names. Always my favourite place for a treat and already looking forward to coming back soon. X

Great service , live guitar music made for a great ambiance. Food was good. Worth a visit

We had a lovely time. Nothing was too much trouble. The staff and chef coped really well with my husbands allergy. Champagne was excellent and the cakes were particularly pretty. The staff were very attentive and pleasant