It may be a bit off the beaten track but Emma Johnson finds some fine dining in Warrington
AS BEST kept secrets go, Spirit restaurant has to be up there with Colonel Sanders’ recipe for finger lickin’ chicken and what the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s dog is called.
We first came across the place a couple of years ago after spotting advertisements for it at our gym – not the most obvious of places to promote an eaterie I know, but it got our attention.
Tucked away, as it is, within Warrington’s Victoria Park it is certainly not the sort of establishment you would happen upon by chance and, when we interrogated friends about the place, it seemed everybody had heard of it but nobody had actually been.
We decided to bite the bullet and give Spirit a go for the first time last summer only to be told, on more than one occasion, that the restaurant was fully booked for the evening we wanted.
Clearly plenty of people had got onto Spirit before we did, they just weren’t telling anyone about it.
When we did get a reservation, our first meal there was a delight. From the food to the atmosphere to Brian the fabulous “meeter and greeter” who takes your coats, I loved everything about it.
So, in the interests of foodie journalism and a bit of PR for my hometown of Warrington, I decided it was time we returned.
As these pictures attest, grand does not begin to describe Spirit. If I’m honest I don’t just want to eat there, I would quite like to move in. It is easy to see why the venue is regularly booked out for weddings and special occasions.
The restaurant is located within the stunning Grade II-listed former Park Manor a former lodge which, from 1917 to 1982, served as a maternity home for Warrington.
It was opened as Spirit restaurant in December 2008 by Parag and Mene Bhatnagar a young pair with big ideas.
Head chef Richard Barlow has worked at The Assembly in Didsbury and had a stint at London's iconic Oxo Tower and to say he has brought fine dining to Warrington is an understatement.
On our latest visit we started the evening with aperitifs in the beautiful bar area to the left of the house – a kir royale for me and vodka cranberry for my husband.
Just as we were emptying our glasses we were led to the vast and elegant dining room which was bustling.
