Blacklock Manchester — Restaurant in Manchester

April 2025 update. Upon second visit place continues to be amazing! Can add that..

the Spring Slaw Beef Dripping Chips Bordeaux Blend red wine Chop Sauce

are all superb. The Blacklock Gravy, for us, was just fine but not outstanding in the way the Chop Sauce was. And in reality the steak here is so good you don't really need sauce.

And another former Hawskmoor superfan now converted to 'The Blacklock Way'. 👍🎉

Original November 2024 review..

In summary.. amazing steak & sides Blacklock red wine that perfectly complements steak beautiful, warm venue flawless service extraordinary value

We both had ribeye steaks perfectly cooked to medium & medium rare. Tender, juicy, tasty and near perfect seasoning which is perhaps why they don't serve salt & pepper unless you ask for it. I've only had the steak 2x now but they appear to be imparting a smoky flavour to their steaks that you rarely experience in the UK but that is a signature hallmark for high-end US steakhouses. Either way just another added dimension of great flavour on these steaks.

A kale/parmesan side dish provided a great contrast to the steak. The sweet potato another excellent side. If we were to split hairs we have had sweet potatoes previously that were a bit better roasted with perhaps just a touch more sweetness. Having said that we'd happily order it again.

Our wine was the Blacklock Syrah red which has a whole backstory on the menu. This is a red that was designed by God for steak. I'm not a wine expert but what I liked about this wine was that it struck me as having a perfect acidity to cut through the fattiness of the ribeye and refresh the palate with every sip. Either way our compliments to the wine buyer. 🍷

Lovely dining atmosphere that would work whether you're with friends, family, business, date-night or dining alone. Even the table spacing was just right. Great to see they've designed the seating to maximise the number of corner style table seats too. (Sitting at right angles has been shown to be the superior seating arrangement for conversation vs face2face.) Glassware on the table is also interesting and unique. It's all this attention to detail that just keeps adding to the experience.

The service was flawless. Attentive, informed with a relaxed friendliness that reminded me of the southern charm in North Carolina restaurants where my Mum lives.

As I'm sure many others have remarked the pricing & value of Blacklock is truly extraordinary. Normally you get great food, service, wine & venue but then pay through the nose for it.

It's worth noting that Blacklock are a B Corp. I've heard a fair amount about the rise of the B Corp movement but this is the best manifestation of a B Corp business I've experienced so far.

I think the normal way many restaurants/businesses operate today is "how much can we possibly charge just short of sparking a revolt?" Blacklock seems to harken back to an old-school community capitalism with a conscience. Let's create an amazing experience, treat our people well so they in turn treat our customers well. And then price it in a way that is comfortably sustainable for the enterprise while allowing as many in our community as possible to be part of the experience.Beautiful. 🙌

Bravo Blacklock. You told us you put the restaurant in a basement because you set out to become a 'destination restaurant.' From where we sat & ate you definitely...

Last night was my second visit — the first was for Sunday lunch a few months ago, which was so perfect it nearly brought me to tears, and I couldn't wait to go back.

Last night, we tried our luck with a walk-in since there were no slots available in the online booking system until much later in the evening and we didn't want to eat so late. A cheerful man in a great shirt welcomed us and, despite how busy it was, got us seated straight away. We felt very lucky! Our server (whose name I didn't catch) was wonderful — friendly, attentive, knowledgeable, and gave excellent advice.

We shared a large porterhouse, cooked perfectly to medium rare as requested. In hindsight, for my taste, I might have preferred it rare, but the quality of the meat was so good that it barely mattered — I'll know for next time! The beef dripping chips were outstanding — crisp and fluffy like little roast potatoes. The gravy was so delicious that I could have drunk a bucket of it, and the chop sauce was the best version of peppercorn sauce I've ever had — intense! We debated ordering the garlic bone marrow as a side and decided against it, but our server brought us a portion on the house — it's always nice to receive a freebie, but to get a personalised freebie based on an offhand comment made us feel quite special.

Sometimes, dessert can be an afterthought in restaurants with a specialism like this, but the crumble was so good and fresh, and the vanilla custard was absolutely exemplary. Afterwards, we went over to the bar to have a look at all the exciting booze. The bartender was clearly very excited to tell us about all of his creations, and he gave us a tour of the homemade infusions and let us sample a few of them for free, before we finally settled on a cocktail (the rhubarb one, which was amazing). His passion was a real highlight and added to a wonderful sense of hospitality and real generosity that defined both of my visits.

The only slight downside for me, being a little sensitive to noise, was the acoustics. The space — with hardwood flooring and brick walls — can get quite loud when busy. While it was by no means difficult to have a conversation with the person sitting opposite me like it is in some places, and at no point did I feel massively uncomfortable, a slightly lower music volume might have helped, or some soft furnishings or acoustic screens to help absorb the sound a bit, without compromising the nice decor and the lively atmosphere.

100% worth every penny and more, particularly since we went on an Monday and got butcher's prices. All in all, a fantastic night which far exceeded my already high expectations — warm, generous and genuine service, perfect food, and a...

There’s something gloriously primeval about a big plate of meat. Stick a group of blokes in a room with dim lighting, throw down a hunk of animal, and watch them gnaw away with the sort of quiet reverence that makes you think maybe civilisation was a mistake. I’ve been called a caveman before — usually when I forget to shave, or when my wife catches me eating straight from the fridge — but this, at Blacklock in Manchester, was the sophisticated, metropolitan take on it. No fire (at least not in the dining room). No chasing after wild beasts across the savannah (thank Christ, because my fitness has gone the way of my hairline). And no dragging a bloody carcass back to camp. Just meat. Lots of it. Brought to you.

And Blacklock is bloody marvellous at it. The service is as slick as the juices running down your plate. Efficient, but never hurried. Friendly, but never false. There’s something about Mancunians — that blend of easy confidence and genuine warmth — that makes you feel instantly looked after, like you’ve been invited into someone’s home, if that home happened to be a dark, moody, carnivorous temple with cocktails.

The room itself helps. It’s all shadows and atmosphere, the kind of place where you lean in across the table because your eyes are still adjusting, and then you’re hit with the smell — charred fat, seared beef, roast juices. It’s the sort of scent that has your stomach standing to attention before you’ve even ordered.

And the meat. Good lord, the meat. Stacked, sliced, charred, dripping. Lamb that falls apart like a napkin in a puddle. Beef with the kind of dark crust that makes you believe in God again. Chops so perfectly done that you start to measure all future decisions in life against them.

If you like meat, go. Honestly. Don’t overthink it. This isn’t somewhere you come for tasting menus and tweezers. It’s not for people who describe food as “playful” or “challenging.” This is meat. Big, unapologetic, joyous meat. Done properly, served generously, eaten in the dark with a grin.

Blacklock is Manchester at its best: confident, warm, unpretentious, and a little bit bloody...