The Second Floor Restaurant, Brasserie & Bar

The upper floor of Manchester’s Harvey Nichols store feels like it’s devoted to food & drink, with a food market, wine shop, bar & brasserie in operation as well as the big-ticket restaurant. Each of these does a good job – the bar is a popular spot for a Champagne cocktail & some people-watching, & the adjoining brasserie offers salads, sandwiches & pasta & an early-doors ‘Supper Club’ deal (three courses & a cocktail for £20, from 5.30pm). But the restaurant has the monopoly on great views, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Exchange Square, & offers the most refined food in the form of Stuart Thomson’s internationally-influenced menu; try an Asian take on Cheshire beef tartare, venison with choucroute, venison purée & juniper sauce, & lemon meringue pie. The wine list makes for serious reading, & occasional events attract a high calibre of guest chef.