It's always been a lovely space with great views over the entire city centre.  The ambiance is suitably swish too with a solid high end feel to things along with a definitively classy vibe to the whole operation, probably driven by customers who've come to seek out that strongly wine-led ethos not just the views. 

Speaking of which, we were gratefully sat at one of the bigger tables which have unobstructed views over the city, rather than one of the smaller ones which are a bit impeded by pillars.  I don’t mind admitting to feeling a tad smug about getting one of these prized spots despite being one of the last guests to arrive.

Not very much at all to be honest.  A rowdy table of 8 caused a lot of unapt background audio, but it's a small point which happens and they were all behaving and ordering spenny wine, so it is what it is. 

It is, in short, one of the most expensive venues in the city.  Some of that is caused by mark ups, and some by the fact that Climat are peddling exceptional juice which never comes cheap once you start pulling out the most interesting drops.

The whole bill for 2 cocktails, 2 nice bottles, 3 starters, 2 mains, 1 side and 1 pudding, came to £320, which included a 20% discount via their January offer.   So the damage would have been £390 apart from this.  Sure, we splurged on the drinks (£250 with added service charge), but still.  Pre discount pricing includes £37 for Steak Frites with circa 150g of protein, plus 12.5% on top, which is lofty.  But ultimately we can only score based on what we paid on the night and not the usual prices, so there were no complaints here.

As touched on, added 12.5% service charge applies.  So £43 in this case.  We'd have tipped anyway, but pre added is no longer cool in 2026.

All evening saw us tended to like VIPs, and the story was the same on every table around us.  And as you'd hope, the wine advice is exceptional.  Dan and Oliver deliver some of the city's very best knowledge and storytelling, no matter which bottle you order.  I can barely remember what I drank last month, let alone mentally recalling a ream of tasting  notes for every bottle in Climat's massive cellar.

Nothing worth noting.

Climat's new menu accent is decidedly French focused, which I actually like amidst a world of confused and all-encompassing small plate menus.  They've also gone back to the old school wording of 'starters' and 'mains', rather than the modern fad of labelling things as said 'small' and you guessed it, 'large' plates.  Welcome changes, for me at least.

The menu contains a snack section which we overlooked to pick something from whilst enjoying our fabulous cocktails.  However, we ended up with a starter of 6 Baked Escargot (£14) which acted as a fine snack.  We greedily picked them out of their serving vessel, leaving oodles of garlic and herb butter in the recesses.  But the whole thing was ingeniously topped with some mini croutons to assist in avoiding any wastage of that butter.  Delicious, and a dish to set the Gallic tone of things to come.

Onto the proper starters and we chose the Sea Trout Gravadlax (£16) which delivered more simple perfection in terms of flavour balance.  A huge fish themed platter with ideally cured fish, garnished confidently with with crème fraiche and horseradish.  Solid.

Duck Liver Parfait (£16) was quite simply exceptional.  A tranche of parfait striking the perfect balance of being light and yet meaty.  Im pretty sure that it was made with as much butter as liver, but the texture was absolute perfection.  Two sturdy slices of quality toasted brioche injected more butter into the early stages of our meal, in true French style.   A cute quenelle of quince chutney acted as the classic sweet balancer to all the parfait's fatty richness.  Brilliant.

We enjoyed the initial courses with a superlative bottle of aged (2009) Giosot Biaumont from Cotes d'Auxerre (£98), which came accompanied with brilliant backstory telling from Oliver, whos always a delight in enhancing your experience.  Sadly he will be departing for other ventures before too long and we will miss him hugely.

Onto the mains and Twice Baked Cheese Souffle (£30) punched like a super heavyweight. A wonderfully light souffle with a divine cheese sauce, sat on shredded leeks, obviously cooked in a slab of butter, topped with bags of grated black truffle to deliver a scent which can only come from France.  You could smell it on its way over from the pass.  Probably the best thing we've eaten in Manchester during January so far.

Steak au Poivre (£32) leapt out at us on the menu and delivered on the plate too.  Great quality beef cooked simply to a blushing pink, with a lovely sauce that had clearly been prepped with plenty of Cheffy-ness, delivering well beyond what you expect from a regular steakhouse  peppercorn sauce. A sprinkle of pickled peppercorns lifted this to the next level.   The steak needed a side order despite its price tag, so our choice was obvious.  Frites (£5); majestically served in an elevated metal bowl, perfectly cooked, properly seasoned, and acted as best mates with that pepper sauce.  Delicious work.

Our mains were amplified with another sturdy bottle, this time a 2012 Bernard & Thierry Glantenay Bourgogne (£88), a superb Pinot Noir driven all-rounder to embellish both mains.

Blood Orange and Pistachio Baked Alaska (£11) to share was enough to satisfy our already full tummies, but you need to order something sweet to end things right?  The contrasting textures and temperatures of a Baked Alaska are always a clever and fun way to end the evening.

But, the circa 150g portion of steak was a bit muted in size for the £32 shelled out.  Serve it avec frites to rectify that, especially since you need a side anyway.  And desserts never seem to hit as hard as the salt-based courses at Climat, and this visit was no exception.  The baked Alaska just lacked visual flare, the meringue piping had all fallen a bit flat/lacked peaks, and crucially, it was way too sweet/unbalanced in delivery of flavour.

We've not reviewed Climat for some time now despite being somewhat regulars, which in itself says how much we enjoy this place.  Anywhere that we choose to head whilst off the clock without even thinking about shoehorning in a contrived work gig is generally somewhere that impresses us and we gladly enjoy handing over our own cash to visit.  It speaks volumes really.  Putting your own money where your mouth is rare in the quietly freebie-driven industry of food writing.

Sure, the prices are getting up there a bit and for me are broadly about 10% over the top, but it is what it is in nice places sometimes.  I posted the meal on my personal Facebook in the taxi on the way home, and a notable ex celeb Chef based in North Manchester messaged me saying simply '£30!!!!!', clearly referencing the souffle.  I told him about the discount and insisted that he should give Climat his money.  And so should you.

On this visit however, that price bumps were nullified by the January 20% off deal, so you can't moan and we can only judge based on what we paid on the night.  Based on that it was a great value meal and even though it's January I'm already nigh on certain about that souffle being amongst the top 20 best dishes that we eat in Manchester this year, come Dec 31st.

It just feels like a really good bistro, the kind that you find in every French town, albeit wrapped up in high end sky-vista'ed wine bar.  It's absolutely essential Manchester food itinerary especially for wine fans, and whilst my comments in the historic review below re. Michelin adorning the guys with a red plaque may not have landed on schedule, at least they got things right in the end.  Maybe it was the new uber French menu?

Quite simply, some of the best dining room views in Manchester are to be had here.  I’ve never been one to visit places just because of the view and perceived glamour.  Usually it’s a recipe for excessive IG snapping over the shoulders of those seated in the window, with little real customer consideration for the seated diners’ experience. 

Not here though.  The tables are all positioned to enjoy those views and were generally comfortable.  Cutlery and glassware are equally as high end, and the polished feel carried throughout with that focus ultimately being on the food and drink delivery.  The vibe is relaxing and in keeping with that food and drink focus.

The entry lobby is a bit dark, unlit and sparce with a security gent perched atop his stool whilst overseeing said space. The main feature was a huge electrical ceramic heater that illuminated, in neon red, both said gent and also said space. 

It rang of Darth Vader’s man cave and felt a bit low on first impressions.  And our table was possibly a bit small for 4 people, once those water glasses, wine glasses, plates, menus and of course the food started to land.

Cutting to the chase; it wasn’t cheap.  We didn’t expect it to be in fairness since you pay for quality, but it was a tad over anticipations and there’s no menu online to do your research ahead of landing.  4 of us racked up £630, so about £155 per head, with one designated driver.

But we did generally go to town a bit on the wine, and even the food truth be told.  You could do it for a lot less, with some restraint and complete lack of professionalism. The cheapest bottle of wine on our visit was the sturdy Moulin Camus Folle Blanche for £29, which has a wholesale price of £12, so a respectable x2.5 mark-up.

Definitely pitched towards the top end of the price points for Manchester.  Added service charge also applies.  We’d have tipped anyway, of course, but still.  And I’d argue that as a wine led venue, the water be it still or sparkling should be included due to necessity, especially when your table has ordered such a variety of vino.

Now it’s a lot of dishes so I’ll keep this compact;

Olives (£4.50) and bread (£4.50) were both good quality. The oil which came with the focaccia was good enough to bathe in.

Coronation Chicken Vol Au Vents (£8 for 2) were a retro smile on a plate. Textbook buttery flakiness, straight out of the ‘80s, crammed full of lightly curried chicken, topped with a flourish of chive.

Sea trout tartare with avocado, clementine, seaweed and sesame (£13.50) was a huge flavour pop. Fatty trout, creamy avo with a strong savoury backbone and ideally acid balanced dressing to pull it all together. Fantastic and another table favourite.

BBQ’ed Celeriac (£8.50) was bang for buck, a hero.  Earthy, smoky root veg with some tart rhubarb and silky crème fraiche, topped with potato sticks for textural variance.

Braised carrots with dukkah, feta and chermoula (£9) was, and I’m ashamed to say this as a meat freak, our highlight plate of the evening. Sweet carrots cooked until they retained just the right about of bite, with tartness and creaminess from the cheese, an all-important a textural pop from the dukkah, rounded off with the punchy chermoula. A dish which had everything, with perfect synergy across the plate. Bravo.

Monkfish with miso butter and sea herbs (£26) was simple yet enjoyable as per most good fish dishes. Well-cooked tail, sauced generously, boosted by a salty pop from the sea herbs.

Roast Artichokes, BBQ Spring Onion, Szechuan dressing and Borlotti bean puree, with optional added truffle (£24.50) was a bit indulgent, largely because the added truffle was more than a light shaving. It perhaps upstaged the ‘chokes, which were still nutty and enjoyable, sat on top some super smooth and well-seasoned bean puree.

Cornish cod with lobster satay sauce, kohlrabi and fennel salad (£18) was another hero.  Superb, daisy fresh fish sat on a rich nutty sauce which begged to be mopped up with gusto, nuanced with some lightness via the salad and kohlrabi ribbons.  A side of carbs with this, and I’d have been happy with it as a main.

Pork Loin, choucroute and pickled pear (£26); I’ll come to that dish later.

Sirloin on the bone with Caesar salad (£70) came perfectly cooked over coals, as it should be a for a purist, with melting amber-hued fat and massive smoky notes. It was a real crowd-pleaser and gives Hawksmoor a run for their money if you want a big bone-on steak. Delicious.

Wines, which obviously need a mention, were all fantastic in selection and quality. We could have stayed there all day just drinking. The Tenuta dei Sette Cieli Scipio Cab Franc was outstanding. Big, bold and unapologetic. The Chateau Haut Bergeron Sauternes was also a stunner, and finished us off in style with our puds, which were;

White Ganache, poached pear, lemon with olive oil biscuit (£8) was impressive in its restrained sweetness. The pear was this time perfectly done with a nice mouth feel from the biscuit. The pud of the evening, without question.

Fennel seed crème caramel (£7.50) was delightfully wobbly, smooth and silky, and came garnished with some delicious Sauterne-soaked raisins to give a nice pop and mix up all that smoothness.

Rum Baba, Armagnac prunes, Chantilly cream and Florentine (£9) was big, way bigger than I’d envisaged. The tuile top was a nice addition to this French classic, which sat in a pool of boozy indulgence.

Cheese board (£5) was simple yet quality, in the form of a single cheese, good crackers and a splendid chutney. Straightforward and confident.

The pork loin warranted little praise at all, especially for almost 30 quid.  It was sliced into rashers rather than being served as a whole chop, so had lost its temperature and moisture en route from the pass to my mouth.  It was just a bit dry and flat, plus the pear garnish was well undercooked inside, despite the nice external char.  The only real ball-drop of the meal.

And more minor points in express format; Was the monkfish a touch too simple and small for the price point?  The crème caramel sauce was over and hence uber-bitter.  You could tell by the colour before even tasting it.  And the baba was both caught and not a baba in crumb structure at all, so struggled to do what it should in sponging up that rum.

Wine is what Climat is largely about at the nucleus, and our wine service was handled by the super knowledgeable yet approachable Nikolai. It takes both skill and natural charm to boss wine service with zero pomp and stiffness, but that was achieved here. The biblical French driven wine carte was verbally trimmed down to just a handful of educated and well measured options, once our tastes and budgets had been discreetly established. Our table of well drank wine buffs and hospo pros felt in the very safe hands of our vino-pilot, all afternoon.

After dinner we were treated to a tour of the wine ‘cave’, where we looked at some bottles that we couldn’t afford to do anything more with than simply look, whilst pretentiously photo’ing them for this piece as if we’d purchased them. Maybe the pretentious crowd had actually landed during lunch service?

Food service was similarly professional, prompt, and warm. The fabulous Grace looked after us like extended family for the entire service.

Glass and plate clear downs were perhaps a bit slow in places during busy periods, which were amplified by those small-ish tables.

Im going to state from the off that I’d bet my fully stocked wine rack on Climat picking up a Michelin Assiette in the next 2 or 3 months. It’s 100% on that level; i.e. a well-regarded local venue with good standards.

The venue is slick, the food is a solid standard without being too fussy for most tastes, service is a definitely a highlight, and the wine offering is without question a match for anywhere in the city and immediate surroundings. Wine, de France, is very obviously the focus here, or at least it feels it in my book, as well as in their black leather-bound wine bible. I envisage many more visits, sitting at the counter with a nice Burgundy and a few small plates, quite happily.

Without question Climat has landed in Manchester with a bang, which was entirely predictable for anyone who’s aware of their sister venue in Chester. I can’t think of anywhere that’s any better in Manchester to relax with a glass or 3 of wine, with some quality small plates.

Cooking standards are probably a touch below the price points, even in the current ‘Climat’.  I just had to shoehorn that in somewhere, sorry. As an inevitable comparison; Erst already has a Michelin Assiette and also serves good wine, as does Another Hand, albeit neither cellar is this high end, but both also serve solid food.

Yet they are both priced about 20% less than Climat.  Maybe you do pay for those views after all?  But the wine experience is 100% worth the asking prices, and that’s the ultimate draw here for me.

And pastry standards felt way below the savouries.  Everything should be consistent.