#LinksHiddenGems: Links of London at Manchester House

OUTFIT DETAILS: Black skater dress: 5FashionUK*// Black fedora: Primark // Necklace: Links of London // Earrings: YSL via Ebay // Tights: Primark // Studded ankle boots: Cloggs* //

Hello kittens, today’s blogpost is a little different. I’m no foodie (let’s leave that one to the Manc experts), but I couldn’t help but share some pictures from a special meal I attended last week with Links of London, not least because of the stunning location.

As part of their Links Hidden Gems campaign, the lovely ladies at Links of London invited a couple of bloggers to experience one of Manchester’s very own hidden gems. The recently opened Manchester House in Spinningfields has been hotly tipped for receiving Manchester’s first Michelin star, and since following head chef Aidan Byrne on the controversial Restaurant Wars TV program, I’d been hungry to visit – attending with 3 other lovely bloggers and Links of London was just an added bonus. 

Putting on one of my poshest frocks, I grabbed the lift to the 12th floor to meet the other ladies for drinks. Links of London were joined by Stylist magazine, who had collaborated on the national project and were also co-hosting the night. Claire of I Like Tweet, Penny of Fashion Fade and Martyna of El Martyna also attended, who were really lovely company for me! As I sat down and chatted to the others, I just felt really, really lucky. We shared a bespoke Hidden Gem cockail – an ’emerald sour’ created especially for us – whilst gazing over the sunset of Manchester. Gotta love our city. 

Links of London told us all about their Hidden Gems campaign; a plan to discover the most wonderful yet unknown destinations in towns across the UK. If you’d picked up a local Stylist last week, you’d have seen fab journalist Katie Popperwell’s (who joined us on behalf of the magazine) hottest picks. These included Dusk Till Pawn, Cornerhouse, Great John Street Hotel rooftop playground, The Lounge at Manchester House (appropriate!), Corridor, Mr Cooper’s House, The Gallery of Costume and of course, Proper Tea, which we all agreed was our favourite quirky teashop in town. If you’re wondering what my top choices are, look out for a blog post coming very soon… 

After enjoying our very yummy yet very green Emerald Sours, we were invited down to the main restaurant for dinner. Walking past the famous open kitchen – which I was delighted to see Aidan Bryne cooking in, I mean, it’s actually not just for the telly – we were shown to our private dining room (yes, really!) to take our seats. I was pretty overwhelmed – all that, just for us?! – but so thankful. Never in my life would I be able to have an experience like that usually, so I am so grateful to Links of London and Stylist magazine for inviting me. Thank you so much! 

Now, I’m no foodie (heck, there’s tons of Manchester food bloggers that are amazing at reviews) so I’m not going to go into the ins-and-outs of my dinner and exactly why it tasted so good, but I can tell you that it was proper nice! The staff event catered to my slightly fussy veg palette, which I appreciated. Each dish had Aidan Byrne’s quirky and contemporary signature style, presented beautifully and tasting even better. We each had a bread dish, start, main meal, dessert (highly recommend the orange and coffee chocolate cake) and finished with pastel macaroons, washed down with a whole lot of white wine. Perfect! 

As an added bonus, Links of London gave us each a little gift; one of their new mini friendship bracelets. Choosing blindly from closed boxes on the table, we amazingly each chose a the perfect colour for us. Mine is dusky pale blue with silver hardware, which I’ve barely removed from my wrist since. I’m wearing it as we speak… (Type!)

Thank you once again to Links of London for such a fantastic night and giving me a brand new experience in this city which I know so well. Manchester House was the perfect setting to discuss all things Manc, and I’m excited to see where else Links of London will be discovering on their Hidden Gems tour – look out for them visiting your town soon!