Grado

Paul Heathcote’s take on Spanish cuisine offers clean lines & diligently sourced produce on an effectively smartened central Manchester street. However, it’s really the excellent Spanish wine list – especially the sherries – that helps Grado stand out. For a little something to go with the fino, the tapas list runs from the unreconstructed (chips with brava sauce, say) to crisp braised rabbit with creamed white beans. The carte includes daily roasts from the charcoal oven: on Mondays, for example, it’s roast beef with hot smoked paprika, while Friday means salt-baked sea bream. Sticky rice dishes, or fish such as hake with clams, fino & jamón, are other possibilities. Grado has never managed to shrug off reports of inconsistencies in both food & service but, on a bad day, there’s always the sherry.