A restaurant in Prestwich, which started life as a pop-up sandwich shop is one of the best in the country.

The Pearl has been named in this year's Good Food Guide UK top 100.

The top 100 list recognises independently run restaurants.

The Pearl's owner Sam Terris Taylor created a pop-up sandwich stall in the early days of lockdown and following its great success, he initiated a crowdfunding campaign that in the summer of 2023 allowed him to open the Bury New Road restaurant.

He said: "The Pearl’s atmosphere is very warm and friendly, people describe it as, feeling like eating in your friend's house, then whereas the food and the plating are more fine dining, it’s very well presented, very thought out, high-quality ingredients and original cooking. You've got delicious food in a little bit more of a relaxed setting.

“It's amazing to be a part of the growing Manchester food scene and also the Prestwich food scene as well, I grew up in Bury and, I live in Prestwich. Which is why we chose to build this place here and improve the high street, so we're proud to be a part of that.”

“We want to be doing this forever, really ,we're not trying to be too trendy or anything,we're trying to create a bit of a legacy here.”

On being in the Good Food Guide top 100, Sam said: “It feels really amazing, to know the people that like what we're doing because we really believe in it means a lot, that people, people really like what we're doing here.”

One of The Pearl's most popular characteristics is its constantly changing menu which is shaped around the local produce to provide guests with the freshest ingredients possible.

Head chef Iain Mark Thomas said: “I think what the unique thing is that the menu constantly changes, we are doing British foods with European influence however we are as local as we can be and work with the seasons and whatever the producers have, so we're constantly changing and evolving.”

Co-owner of the Pearl, Melissa Gage added: “We've got events that we do every month that, we quite get quite excited about. So we've had our one this Sunday, which a tasting menu and drinks pairing. So that's things we're going to definitely carry on doing every month, we also have the Saturday set lunch, which is a bit more affordable for people who still want to experience us but we appreciate times are quite hard at the moment.”

“We feel really lucky to have Iain in the kitchen cooking such great food”

The restaurant's menu and cosy atmosphere have been a hit online and on social media with numerous positive reviews on sites such as Tripadvisor:

One user said: “The atmosphere is fantastic; you really do feel you are in a small bistro in Montmartre, not on the A56! It’s a place to return to again and again.”

Another said: “It’s so rustic and cosy. The food was out of this world and we had a lovely friendly service too.”

For more information about The Pearl you can visit their website: https://www.thepearlmcr.com/