Tom Barnes’ restaurant becomes city’s second holder of the accolade
Skof has been awarded a prestigious Michelin star at tonight’s 2025 Michelin Guide Ceremony, held at Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
Headed up by Tom Barnes - protegee of Simon Rogan and onetime executive chef at his three-starred L’Enclume - the restaurant, in the rapidly-evolving NOMA district of the city, has picked up plenty of local acclaim since opening in Spring last year.
Now it has joined mana, in Ancoats, in holding the prestigious Michelin accolade and in doing so confirms Manchester’s reputation as a culinary city in resurgence.
The Confidentials team paid a visit to Skof in June, with Gordo on reviewing duty writing that “Skof is truly outstanding in all ways and there is already huge interest. It’s booked out until October. Blimey.”
This rush of interest continued later that month with The Telegraph’s William Sitwell positively wetting himself with praise when he declared that “Skof is the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids. A monument of pure, victorious conviction.”
Add to that a visit on New Year’s Eve from the hugely influential Off Menu podcast hosts Ed Gamble and James Acaster, and there’s no doubting Skof had become Manchester’s most talked-about restaurant.
Prior to tonight’s win there had only been one Michelin-starred restaurant in the city, mana in Ancoats, which had been awarded a star back in 2019. This was preceded by four decades of increasingly desperate bids for recognition, as Neil Sowerby described in his piece, Stars in their Eyes: 40 years of Michelin-less Manchester.
Despite last year’s Michelin Guide Ceremony being held in Manchester at The Midland Hotel, rather controversially there were no new stars in the city despite rumblings that The French might finally bag one in its own back yard.
Editor-at-Large Jonathan Schofield described the snub in his own inimitable style: “In 1946 the first consignment of bananas reached Britain after World War Two. The new Labour government decided each child should have the treat of tasting a banana. Three arrived at the household of renowned novelist Evelyn Waugh, one each for his children. Waugh placed the bananas on a plate, summoned his children and ate all three as they watched.
“The Michelin Guide ceremony for Great Britain and Ireland was akin to that. Among the 500 plus guests at the Midland Hotel on Monday 5 February there was a large contingent of Manchester media including Confidentials, the MEN and a number of other usual suspects. We watched as the Michelin Man ate all the bananas with a smile on his face.”
This time, in Glasgow, Host Amanda Stretton said: "An acolyte of Simon Rogan, Tom has now made his mark on the Manchester food scene. The dishes are clearly thought-through and the inspectors were particularly impressed with the delicate seasoning."
On now being only one of two Manchester restaurants to hold a star, Tom said: “I opened Skof to share my own take on fine dining with Manchester and beyond, so to be recognised by the Michelin Guide for what we do, means everything.
“The idea of building something that people love and that celebrates this industry was the fire inside that pushed me to try again when something didn’t work or to tweak a dish to see if an even better version could be achieved.
“This determination of mine wouldn’t have got me very far if it wasn’t shared by my team. Words will not be enough to show my thanks for their ambition, hard work and above all, skill. Every single one of them is vital to the success of Skof and every accomplishment is theirs to claim.
“The encouragement from our guests and supporters has given us hope to keep going through a very long build and has made us smile countless times. You’ve brought so much joy into our restaurant and without you it wouldn’t be the same.
“And to my work family, Simon, Sam, and the support from the team at UMBEL restaurants and ASM Global, thank you for your trust and helping me grow.”
Congratulations to Tom Barnes and all the team at Skof on their well-deserved star.
For the rest of us, if it wasn’t a nightmare to get a table before, it certainly will be now.
If you fancy trying your luck, book at table at Skof here.
Main image credit: Cristian Barnett
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