Another Hand

Deansgate Mews and the Sharing Plate Shift in Manchester

The upper mews level of the Great Northern development is not the most obvious address in Manchester's city centre, but it has become one of the more interesting ones. refined above Deansgate on a pedestrian-level walkway, the space draws a mix of neighbourhood regulars and visitors who have done their homework. Bell and The Spärrows are close neighbours, and the cluster signals something about how this part of the city has repositioned itself: less chain-led, more independently driven.

Another Hand fits that pattern with some precision. Bare brick walls, light wood surfaces, an open kitchen at the back, shelves of bottles, abstract art on the walls — the room reads exactly as you might expect a considered city-centre restaurant to read in 2024. That is not a criticism. The format works because the kitchen delivers enough to make the familiar setting feel earned rather than borrowed.

The Case for Vegetable-First Cooking in a Northern City

Manchester's restaurant scene has moved steadily toward produce-led cooking over the past decade, and the sharing-plate format has become the dominant grammar for that approach. What separates Another Hand from the mid-range crowd is the rigour of its sourcing — local, ethical growers supplying the kitchen , and the way the kitchen actually uses that produce. Dishes arrive one at a time, which imposes a discipline that buffet-style sharing menus often lack. Each plate gets a moment rather than competing with six others landing simultaneously.

The vegetarian-led menu does not treat meat as an afterthought that snuck onto the list. A pork chop paired with Crown Prince pumpkin and rhubarb, textured with puffed grains, operates at the same level of invention as the plant-focused plates. That consistency matters. Restaurants that build their identity around vegetables but then coast on the meat dishes undermine their own argument. Another Hand does not do that.

The flavour approach here is direct: smoked beetroot with horseradish, pickled mustard seeds, preserved blackberries and charcoal cream; Shetland scallops with curried carrot, burnt orange and lemon verbena. These are combinations that require confident sourcing and confident execution. The colour collisions are deliberate, not decorative , each pairing has a textural and flavour logic. Lion's mane mushroom steak with chocolate mole and the juxtaposition of bitter chicory with chestnut purée are the kind of plates that get cited by regulars when they explain why they come back.

This style of cooking sits in a broader tradition of British vegetable-forward restaurants that drew energy from Scandinavian influence in the 2010s and have since found their own regional voice. In the north of England, that has meant leaning into preserved, fermented, and smoked techniques that suit the climate and the ingredient calendar. Another Hand's use of pickles, charcoal preparations, and preserved fruit reflects that regional inflection rather than simply importing a London or Copenhagen template.

The Drinks List as a Curatorial Statement

Low-intervention wine and craft beer are the stated companions to the food, and the list is worth reading as an editorial position rather than a convenience. Skin-contact wines feature , a French Gewürztraminer and an Argentinian Torrontés among them , but the conventional selections are handled with the same care, so guests who find orange wine an acquired taste are not penalised. The cocktail list makes its ambitions clear with offerings like a mezcal, blood orange, lime and cinnamon blend that sits logically alongside the kitchen's flavour palette.

The bread, supplied by nearby Holy Grain bakers, is sourced rather than made in-house , a pragmatic acknowledgment that exceptional sourdough is a specialism, and that buying from a specialist produces a better result than baking competently. That kind of sourcing decision tends to reflect a kitchen that is clear about where its priorities lie.

Where Another Hand Sits in Manchester's Dining Tier

At ££, Another Hand prices below Manchester's higher-end tasting menu rooms. mana and Skof operate at ££££ and represent the city's progressive tasting-menu tier. Adam Reid at the French occupies a formal Modern European position at a higher price point. Another Hand's Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025 confirms it as a kitchen with consistent technical merit, not simply a neighbourhood crowd-pleaser that happens to have good press. The Michelin Plate sits below star level but signals that inspectors found cooking worth noting , in a city that also holds starred restaurants, that placement in the conversation is meaningful.

For a broader read of where Another Hand fits in the city's dining geography, our full Manchester restaurants guide covers the range from casual neighbourhood rooms to destination tasting menus. For context on where British regional cooking sits nationally, restaurants such as L'Enclume in Cartmel and Moor Hall in Aughton define the upper register of northern English produce-led cooking. Further afield, The Fat Duck in Bray, The Ledbury in London, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, and Hand and Flowers in Marlow give a sense of the wider British fine and modern dining conversation. Internationally, Frantzén in Stockholm and FZN by Björn Frantzén in Dubai illustrate how the vegetable-forward, produce-led approach has been interpreted across different markets.

Planning Your Visit

Another Hand is at Unit F, 253 Deansgate, Manchester M3 4EN, on the refined Mews Level of the Great Northern development , accessible from street level via the building's internal routes. The price point sits at ££, making it one of the more approachable Michelin Plate restaurants in the city. The atmosphere runs warm and sociable, with service described consistently as engaged rather than formal. For broader Manchester planning, our Manchester hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide cover the rest of the city's offer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Another Hand suitable for children?

At ££ in a lively, informal room in central Manchester, Another Hand is a reasonable option for older children who eat adventurously, though the sharing-plate format and the kitchen's flavour intensity are pitched at adult palates.

How would you describe the vibe at Another Hand?

Lively and unpretentious , the kind of room that feels current without being performatively cool. For a ££ restaurant with two consecutive Michelin Plate nods and a Google rating of 4.8 from nearly 400 reviews, it sits in a Manchester peer set that takes the food seriously without requiring the diner to do the same with the room. The open kitchen, bare brick, and sociable service set the register clearly.

What do people recommend at Another Hand?

The modern cuisine sharing-plate format generates consistent praise for the inventive flavour and texture combinations: the lion's mane mushroom steak with chocolate mole and the chicory and chestnut purée pairing are frequently cited. The kitchen's Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025 aligns with guest accounts of cooking that surprises without losing coherence. The sourdough from Holy Grain, the skin-contact wines, and the mezcal-based cocktails also appear regularly in what visitors single out.