Manchester’s Higher Ground to relaunch next month

Announced late last year,​​ the restaurant follows the success of owners Joseph Otway, Richard Cossins and Daniel Craig Martin’s pop-up of the same which ran at The Bungalow at Kampus for four weeks in early 2020 before being cut short by Covid.

The trio are also behind Flawd, a low-key yet high-profile natural wine bar in the city’s trendy Ancoats area, which launched in the midst of the pandemic.  

On Faulkner Street, Higher Ground is billed as a British bistro and bar will offer seasonal dishes using locally sourced ingredients, including produce from Cinderwood, the trio’s partner farm in nearby Nantwich.

Otway’s menus will change on daily depending on the season, with all ingredients sourced from the North West with a focus on organic, small-scale agriculture and small herd, whole carcass cookery.

Overseen by Cossins and Daniel Craig Martin, the wine list will ‘encourage discovery and curiosity’ with a spotlight on small-scale, low-intervention winemakers from around the European continent.

The restaurant will accommodate 50, with guests having the option to sit at dining tables or kitchen counter seats which offer a view of the open kitchen and charcoal oven.

A la carte will be offered alongside a sharing menu option priced at £45 per person, made up of both individual courses and sharing dishes, encouraging family-style eating.

Example plates include Cumberland Farmhouse Cheddar quiche; and Jane’s acorn-reared pig belly with grain and mushroom porridge.

Vegetarian dishes include BBQ leek skewers and cow’s curd; and celeriac with Spanish blood orange and bay leaf.

Guests will be offered the choice of sweet or savoury options to round off their meal with Garstang Blue and lager rarebit sitting alongside Yorkshire rhubarb, custard and caramelised croissant on the dessert menu.

“We’re now over three years into our journey of owning our own business and we’re only just about to launch our first full-scale restaurant,” says Cossins. “The most exciting times are without question still to come and we look forward to contributing even more positively to the city of Manchester.”

The trio - who met at famed New York restaurant Blue Hill at Stone Barns - all have top flight CVs. 

Prior to Higher Ground and Flawd, Otway was head chef at highly-rated Stockport restaurant Where The Light Gets In and - prior to that - cooked at Copenhagen’s Relæ. 

Craig Martin's CV includes Noma, while Cossins - on these shores, at least - is best known for his senior front of house roles with Simon Rogan, initially at the first iteration of Roganic restaurant and later at Fera.