{"id":4730,"date":"2021-11-09T11:45:25","date_gmt":"2021-11-09T11:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eatmcr.co.uk\/?p=4730"},"modified":"2021-11-09T13:55:15","modified_gmt":"2021-11-09T13:55:15","slug":"a-day-out-in-stockport-town-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eatmcr.co.uk\/guides\/a-day-out-in-stockport-town-centre\/","title":{"rendered":"A Day Out In Stockport Town Centre"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Stockport. Home of Blossoms, the Hat Museum, the iconic Stockport Plaza and Edgeley Park. It’s not necessarily the first place that would spring to mind when thinking about places to find great food and drink but over the last few years a few operators have been starting to put Stockport on the map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We decided to take the 10 minute train from Manchester Piccadilly to Stockport (of which there are 243 a day) to explore some of the best places to eat in Stockport. There are of course plenty of brilliant places to eat across the borough of Stockport, but for the purposes of this article, we\u2019re focusing soley on the town centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First up, we headed over to Where the Light Gets In<\/a>, Stockport\u2019s most widely acclaimed restaurant. Walking up into the airy space during the daytime, the chefs are preparing for that evening’s service. The open kitchen here takes the idea of cooking in front of guests to a whole new level, a couple of kitchen islands at one side of the room, without even a counter to separate chefs from diners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The very open kitchen at WTLGI<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

There is an overwhelming feeling of calm in this beautiful space, where the light really does get in, or rather floods in, through large loft-style windows. There is exposed brick, natural wood floors, dried flowers and ears of corn hanging from large wooden beams, a wool rug with the sheep’s painted marker still visible and hand crafted ceramics on each table. If you ignore the tables laid for dinner and pots bubbling on the counter, it feels more like a yoga retreat than a restaurant kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the shelves are large jars of unusual ingredients: kohlrabi kraut powder, fennel pollen, wild oregano and dried scallop. And out the back, balls of dough are being shaped, ready to be baked into fresh sourdough loaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why did chef patron Sam Buckley choose to open his restaurant in Stockport? Well, according to head chef Samuel Munstermann, Buckley was looking all over for somewhere to open his new venue and was all set to open somewhere in London. It just so happened that he had a friend who owned a chandelier shop around the corner who told him about the space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Munstermann tells us that more important than anything else for Buckley, was creating somewhere where people would want to work. A refreshing shift in priorities for an industry which hasn’t got the best reputation for employee wellbeing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The light really does get in<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A sample menu for the restaurant featured a series of nine courses with dishes like; oyster with tomatillo and jalapeno; BBQ ray with preserved garlic, smoked tomato and bisque; and apple tart, whey caramel and sweetcorn ice cream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are hoping to get a table at WTLGI, you’ll have to wait until next year as the earliest you can book right now is for January 2022, with a nine-course tasting menu costing \u00a375 per person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where the Light Gets In is in the process of setting up a bakery called Yellow Hammer<\/a> which will sell freshly baked bread. This was something they trialled at their lockdown convenience store ‘The Pickle Factory’ and the bread was always the first thing to sell out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The loaves will be sold alongside chutneys, preserves, country wines and their own house-made cider which is made from apples brought in by local people. If you have an apple tree and are looking to pass on any surplus apples, you can give them to Where the Light Gets In who will turn them into cider and you’ll get a free bottle from next year’s batch. More details on that here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The first batch of apples delivered for the cider drive<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The cider drive is part of the restaurant’s sustainable ethos, for which they received a green Michelin star for earlier this year. The award celebrates restaurants who lead the way in sustainable and ethical practices, for example by working directly with growers and producers, and also those who address the quality of life of their staff and contribute to charity and educational projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out the back of the bakery will be a pottery studio run by local maker Joe Hartley<\/a> who will create ceramics which will be used in the bakery and the restaurant, as well as to bottle the cider and there will be workshop opportunities in the space too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walking back towards the centre, we pass through the traditional Market Hall, a site which has operated as a market since the Middle Ages. There are the traditional traders you’d expect – grocers, fishmonger, butcher, cheesemonger, delicatessen – as well as small shops selling gifts, homewares and more, as well as four cafes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s also a stall called Wine Boy<\/a> selling natural, organic and minimal intervention wines, and craft beers which is open between 9:30am and 4:30pm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A post shared by WineBoyUK (@wineboyuk)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>