Skof Chef Tom Barnes Brings Warmth and Precision to Fine Dining in Manchester
From the moment Tom Barnes walked into the building that is now Skof, he knew it was meant to be. Barnes and his mentor, Simon Rogan, had been looking at sites around Manchester for 18 months, but nothing seemed to fit Barnes’ vision for his debut restaurant.
“A lot of them were amazing,” he says, speaking to Observer from the restaurant’s light-filled dining room in June. “But they were too big for what we wanted. One day, we came to look at a site across the road from here, and the guy showing us around said he wanted to show us something else that hadn’t been listed anywhere online yet. As soon as I walked in, I knew this was it. It just felt right for the first time.”
Although the restaurant was only a shell at the time, Barnes saw potential in its exposed brick walls and open layout. Signing the lease and renovating the building, located in Manchester’s NOMA neighborhood, took another year and a half after they’d found the space.
Skof finally opened its doors on May 29, 2024, quickly earning accolades like “Newcomer of the Year” at the Manchester Food and Drink Awards and then a Michelin star in 2025.
“A lot of people in Manchester have really been rooting for us since the beginning,” Barnes says. “Getting a star was amazing. Obviously, I was buzzing for myself and for the team and for all the hard work they put in. But also for all the guests, who were really happy to bring another starred restaurant to Manchester because they got behind us and supported us. There were loads of positive things and awards I didn’t see coming, especially not this early on.”
Having a solo restaurant has been a long-held dream for Barnes, who grew up in Barrow-in-Furness, England. He didn’t enjoy the classroom setting of school and didn’t have a plan for what to do when he graduated—something that frustrated his mom. Barnes had always enjoyed cooking with his grandma, so his mother suggested he take a part-time kitchen job at a nearby hotel called Trinity House on Saturdays. “I loved it,” he remembers. “It wasn’t something I’d thought about doing as a profession, but as soon as I got into the kitchen, it was the first time I felt naturally gifted at anything.”
Barnes was 15 when he started at Trinity House, and at 16, he went straight into a full-time apprenticeship at Lakeside Hotel in the Lake District. The head chef there, Duncan Collinge, immediately took Barnes under his wing. “It wasn’t until years later, looking back, that I realized how lucky I was,” Barnes recalls. “Even though the restaurant didn’t have a star or anything, Duncan worked at a good level. Everything was made fresh. I was learning knife skills, butchery, how to make stocks and bread and stuff like that.”
It was Collinge who helped Barnes move on to his next gig at The Vineyard Hotel in Stockcross under chef John Campbell. “He was very passionate about teaching, too,” Barnes says. “If you asked him a question, you could be there for 20 minutes while he answered it. He taught me a lot.” Campbell introduced Barnes to Phil Howard, who hired him to work at Mayfair fine dining restaurant The Square. “What I learned from him was the quality of ingredients,” Barnes says. “Everything was very seasonal and everything was about the flavor. How could he get the most flavor out of everything, which really inspired me.”
Although Barnes could have continued his upward trajectory in London, he decided to move back to the North of England when his dad got sick. At the time, there were very few restaurants in the region where Barnes could pursue his career. He ended up as a chef de partie at Rogan’s acclaimed L’Enclume in 2011, where he became head chef three years later. Barnes worked for Rogan for 12 years, with a stint at Copenhagen’s Geranium in the middle. It was Rogan who encouraged Barnes to open Skof, and ultimately partnered with him on the venture.
“I’ve had great mentors and I’ve taken stuff from all of them,” Barnes says. “I wouldn’t have had the confidence to open Skof without Simon, not to mention his backing and support of the restaurant itself. He has done so much for me. It was Simon who said, ‘You need to think about moving on’ after I was promoted to executive chef.”
Barnes always assumed he would settle down in the North, and he initially picked Manchester because his girlfriend lived there. But the more time he’s spent in the city, the more he’s fallen in love with it. Skof has become part of a burgeoning culinary scene, and Barnes’ love of music fits in well. “I just love this city,” he says. “I love the people. I love the friendliness. It’s a great place to have taken this step.”
Skof’s vibe is particularly well-suited to Manchester, a city without much pretension. Barnes wanted to create somewhere that showcased a seasonal, vibrant tasting menu, but still fun and friendly. A buzzy atmosphere was important to Barnes, and he succeeded in creating it—the laid-back yet animated ambiance was something I noticed immediately during my visit to the restaurant, a relief when you’re used to more buttoned-up Michelin-starred restaurants. The music was upbeat and contemporary, and the staff welcomed us in with the sort of genuinely friendly greeting that’s rather rare in London. Barnes even curates the restaurant’s playlists, highlighting the indie and rock bands he loves. Everyone in Skof seemed to be having fun, creating an infectious sense of camaraderie.
“I wanted Skof to be a place where people from Manchester would like to come and have a night out,” Barnes says. “I didn’t want people worrying they had to whisper. If you go into a Michelin-starred restaurant for the first time, it can be a bit intimidating, even for me. When you come here, you’re greeted in a warm, friendly way and you hear a playlist of familiar songs. It settles people in right away.”
The food is more elevated, but Barnes is careful to present it in an accessible way. Diners take turns enjoying one of the courses at the chef’s counter, which gives them a closer glimpse of the busy open kitchen and an opportunity to talk to Barnes. “I’ve always found it a little bit awkward if you just go to the kitchen and stand there, have a look around and then go sit down,” Barnes, who describes himself as shy, admits. “We wanted to make it more comfortable for people. It’s good for me as well, because then I can talk to the guests about what they’re eating, and it makes it easier to chat.”
Skof offers a shorter four-course lunch tasting menu and two dinner tasting menus, one with 12 dishes and one with 16. All highlight Barnes’ distinctive approach to modern British cooking, emphasizing quality ingredients and diverse flavors and textures. The dishes shift from season to season, but the structure of the menu has remained the same since Skof opened. The dinner experience begins with a series of snacks, including a glazed langoustine served on buttery grilled sourdough and perfectly cured Chalk Stream trout. Barnes wants to build a journey that is artfully timed and carefully presented. There is no bread course. Instead, two different types of bread appear alongside specific courses; notably, the heritage beef short rib that concludes the savory portion of the meal.
“I find it more interesting this way,” he explains. “If there’s a sauce that’s particularly nice for mopping up, we’ll add a bread. I like it because I have no self-control. If an amazing bread course comes out at the beginning of a meal, I’ll smash through it and end up filling myself up. This gives us more control over that. And, really, I just love having a dish where you can finish the sauce up with your bread.”
Many of the dishes have evolved, but the miso custard, adorned with hen-of-the-woods mushrooms and mushroom dashi, has quickly become a staple. The memorable dish, a perfect balance of creamy and crunchy textures, dates back to 2020, when Barnes appeared on the cooking competition show Great British Menu for its Christmas-themed episode. He attempted a festive chestnut custard, which came out too grainy. “It was a bit shit,” Barnes says. “But I came back to it afterwards and tried it with mushrooms, and it worked quite well. It has a really deep umami flavor to it.”
Other staples include an amazake sorbet, which bridges the savory courses and the desserts, and the meal’s unusual closing bite: Instead of finishing with the traditional petit fours, Barnes opts to end the experience with a generous dollop of tiramisu, which he has named Barney’s tiramisu after his now-deceased father, who slowly declined from a neurological disease, struggling to eat in his later years. “He could only eat soft foods, and he was quite stubborn,” Barnes recalls. “It was hard to get calories in him. But he loved desserts. He had a massive sweet tooth.”
Barnes began making tiramisu for his dad using a recipe he learned at The Square. His dad loved it so much that the chef concocted a big batch each week to ensure he could dig in every day. When Barnes was developing the menu for Skof, he decided to pay homage to his father.
“I wanted to serve something at the end of the meal that meant something to me and was personal, but also that was unexpected,” he says. “It’s a surprise because our dishes are intricate and very precise, and then the server shows up with a pan and a big spoon. We want to be generous about it. Most people can’t manage a second portion, but we’ll give them one if they want it. Every now and then, we get someone with a big appetite. My dad would be buzzing to have his name on the menu, too.”
Impressively, Skof’s experience can be adapted for vegetarians and vegans. I was accompanied by a vegan friend, who got almost the exact same menu with like-for-like substitutes. Skof will cater to dietary requirements with advance notice, and Barnes is careful to ensure that everyone is welcome. “The vegan menu is something we worked really hard on to make it an experience,” he says. “I would hate the thought of someone coming here and being an afterthought, or having to eat something that was just flung together.”
It’s not just the food that’s inclusive. The non-alcoholic drinks pairing is as exciting as the wine list (if not more so), and the alcoholic drinks pairing includes beer, because Barnes prefers it to wine. He remembers feeling overwhelmed and intimidated at fancy restaurants that begin the meal with champagne and encourage exorbitant bottles of wine. Barnes developed a lager with local brewery Track as an alternative to the usual bubbles.
“It’s really light and crisp and fresh, and can potentially be done at the start of the meal instead of champagne,” he says. “The first thing I said to the team here was, ‘I don’t ever want to hear anyone ask if they can start someone with champagne.’ If you want to start that way, brilliant. But I don’t want anyone to feel they have to because that’s just how it’s done. It’s also fine to start with a beer. I want people to come in and order whatever they want to drink.”
Even though Skof has been open for over a year, Barnes says it still feels surreal to have his own restaurant. He’s kept the same team in the kitchen since it debuted, and every service has been fully booked. In fact, it’s almost impossible to get a reservation at Skof, which opens bookings on the last Tuesday of every month. Tables tend to go in under an hour. Barnes hopes to keep that momentum going while also continuing to refine the food.
“I want to keep Skof busy and popping,” he says. “And I want to improve every day. We never just sit back. We’re always looking for little tweaks that can make it better. I want people to want to return. Before we opened, I didn’t sleep for three nights because I was worried no one would book in. It’s been a complete relief to see that they have, and I don’t take any of this for granted.” Neither do his guests, who have regularly returned to Skof since it opened. The vibe, the food and the approach to fine dining certainly warrant a repeat visit or two.
