Where the Light Gets In

Terrible. After booking in November, we thought we were going for the tasting menu in Stockport. After arriving and realising they had relocated, and a £25 Uber later - we were bitterly disappointed. Apparently, between January and March, it’s a burger menu. Not only did we put down an £80 deposit we were then served the greasiest food I think I’ve ever had. My arteries are going to take a while to clear. The burger was swimming in oil along with translucent chips, flabby oysters, And onion rings, which would give the healthiest human a heart attack. The wine we wanted was no longer an option and we were served an olive-brine style wine. To be honest, I would have rathered a McDonald’s - it would have tasted nicer and been less greasy. Terrible, disappointing, overpriced, experience.

Easily one of the best dining experiences I’ve had in the UK thanks to the menu of course, but also the emphasis on readily available seasonal produce which is beautifully and thoughtfully featured by a very skilled team. The setting is charmingly authentic yet unexpectedly whimsical. The theatre of the centrally located open kitchen adds (a great deal) to the electric atmosphere and the evening unfolds at a leisurely and luxurious pace. The wine pairing was just another thing that delightfully punctuated the evening and the sommelier was both knowledgeable and approachable, not to mention a generous pourer! Highly recommend! All-in-all an incredibly indulgent night of understated romance and fantastic British fare.

A relaxed yet elevated dining experience, the team here are definitely focused on delivering not only a fine dining tasting platter but also engaging the customer in the journey of the food and wine. It was such a relaxed experience even though you are literally in the kitchen and watching how they prepare and deliver your food. The food may seem small but the flavour certainly packs a punch and if you really want yo elevate your experience then get the wine pairing and enjoy the delicate and robust flavours that it brings to the dining.

Feeling short changed We really wanted to enjoy WTLGI more - but unfortunatley due to overall food quality and quantity, were left feeling dissapointed. The venue itself is wonderful and unique with lofted ceilings and a wonderful ambiance in the evening. Service was attentive albeit it with some mixed experiences depending on which staff members served us throughout. The food unfortunatley is where this restaurant falls short of expectation. We've eaten in many other acclaimed restaurants around the world, and therefore this review comes with a foreword that we are not judgemental around portion size and actually welcome the ethos of quality over quantity - however - where the light gets in pushes this to a place where as a diner you feel incredibly short changed. Snack and amuse bouche courses for sure can be very petite and dainty, but when it comes to the main events of the fish and meat courses, there needs to be more substance than a tiny (and I mean TINY) peice of mullet with a teaspoon of salsa / gremolata... We genuinely thought it was a 'pre' fish course. And the same happened for the main meat course. We arrived at the desert section having had out knives and forks swept away thinking we'd missed the actual mains. The food was tasty as a whole, but not elaborate nor massively immmaginative. Some pretty average mutton with a sprig of broccoli is not the wow factor you'd expect for the main dish. (and no sauce at all is incredibly underwhelming) Pre desert and desert was very nice and infact some of the most accomplished cooking. Clearly a great pastry chef. Wines were interesting but nothing left a wow factor and at 13 a glass, it really should deliver. All in all - we wanted to like this place more - but WTLGI need to address the volume of food on their menu and make the star dishes truly memorable with slightly bigger pieces of protein and more elaborate accompaniments. Currently it falls short of many other more enticing options in Manchester which are a fraction of the price. Our bill at the end of the night was over £370 which is frightening considering what we ultimately ate. We probably won't be back, which is such a shame as a Stockport local.

With such fantastic reviews we were expecting great things for a birthday visit, sadly left feeling short changed. The atmosphere and space itself is great, it's light and modern with part of the kitchen at one end of the room which all tables of two point towards, a nice concept meaning you can chat and watch what's going on at the same time. Music mostly good with a few odd tracks chucked in. Staff were very nice and welcoming, detailed in their explanations although we had trouble hearing most of what our waiter was explaining to us. Food - on the whole the food was very good but not great. There's a lot of skill on show and some tasty, balanced dishes. However, when charging prices like this I'm expecting more than it being just as good as a lot of other non tasting menu restaurants that charge a lot less. The main course was the biggest disappointment - essentially a fancy pie and mash (pomme puree) where the puree and sauce were far too salty, the pie was just a pie and a hare loin was that a comically tiny morsel on a huge plate (see picture). Dessert was tasty but too sugary. In pictures from other favourable reviews I see more interesting plates, maybe we got unlucky. The bread from yellowhammer was great. Drinks - we had the mixed pairing, while we enjoyed the variety and flavour of all of them we still felt incredibly short changed here. One wine, low alcohol fizz, Kernal saison, soft drink and a tea for £66 (inc service) is obscene. Generally small measures and one top up. Several times left drinking water as I didn't want to pay even more money for an extra wine. The saison came with the main course which was a big dissapointment, I'd have much preferred a decent red wine but maybe that's personal pairing preference. I regret ordering the mixed drinks menu and it's absurd that it cost me the same as 3 bottles of wine! Overall I really really wanted to like this place but looking at the bill I just can't recommend you spend so much money here. It simply wasnt worth it.

Fantastically welcoming and engaging staff, in an open kitchen that feels frank rather than performative. Getting a comprehensive description of each dish can sometimes feel like it's intended to impress rather than inform, but here the introductions were all about the origins of the ingredients, the suppliers, and the time the staff had spent with them. The food itself is as exquisitely crafted from a fine dining experience, and the pairings particularly well curated. The option for an alcohol-free or mixed pairing was really welcome as someone travelling to the restaurant.

We enjoyed our evening at this unique restaurant. The tables are all laid out with a view of the kitchen and the concept of each dish and where the ingredients were sourced is explained in detail. Staff were very attentive and polite. You do pay a high price for the freshly prepared, sustainability sourced food but in these tough times I suppose their expenses have gone up enormously. Still, expectations are high given the price. There was nothing I wouldn't eat but some dishes were better than others for sure. We were served maybe 9 or 10 plates altogether, some just being small snacks. We also got the dry pairing which I enjoyed thoroughly. It's £4 for water. On a critical note, I was getting full towards the end but my partner said he could have eaten more, so expect quality not quantity. I also really have to mention the chairs, were they made for people with no backside? I shuffled around feeling uncomfortable all evening. I've seen other reviews saying the music is loud and I agree, it was difficult to hear the explanations and each other even though we were sat directly next to each other. If English is your second language or you are hard of hearing, good luck.

We went to WTLGI for our anniversary and it was fantastic. The food was excellent. Good variety of flavours to try. The staff were delightful - they explained every dish to us and were friendly and welcoming throughout. They all felt relatively equal too, which improved the experience. For example, the chefs would occasionally bring meals to us and do exactly the same explainer as the waiting on staff. No one felt like they were “beneath” any particular task.