With a plethora of independent cafes, restaurants and bars housed in an array of quirky historic buildings, Knutsford in Cheshire is a town with a lot to entice foodies in. And now a dedicated Taste Knutsford food tour has been launched which helps visitors pack in to seven or eight such establishments all in one day.
The historic market town is spread out across two distinct streets - Princess Street and King Street that are also known locallly as the "top" and "bottom" street. Here you'll find a pretty patchwork of period buildings with independent shops and eateries to explore.
And there's plenty of showbiz sparkle in Knutsford these days too - with two celebrity-owned bars in the hospitality mix here.
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Boyzone star Shane Lynch runs the D13 bar on King Street, while on Princess Street you'll find the popular craft beer and gin bar and bottle shop Dexter and Jones, run by ex-Corrie star Adam Rickitt and GMB presenter wife Katy Rickitt.
The town itself is situated right next to the entrance to Tatton Park - where you can head to walk off all the food and drink calories from a food tour across the historic deer park.
We headed to test out one of the Taste Knutsford tours, which take around three hours in small groups of around 12 people. They select around seven to eight places to stop from a stable of 18 local businesses that rotate on the tour.
We started with breakfast at The Courthouse, an eye-popping restaurant based inside the former Knutsford Crown Court. As settings go for a lunch or dinner there's few like this one and one of the perks of doing a food tour is you get to find out plenty about the history of the venues you head to.
This Grade II-listed venue was originally known as The Sessions House and was partly built in 1575 before being completed in 1818 by architect George Moneypenny. The court was famously where World War II code breaker Alan Turing was put on trial for “gross indecency” because of his relationship with Arnold Murray before homosexuality was decriminalised. The conviction was posthumously pardoned in 2013.
The building remained as an active Crown Court until 2010, with Flat Cap Hotels acquiring the property in 2016 to be transformed into the hotel and restaurant venue we see today.
The restaurant itself is in the former courtroom - with grand domed ceilings and the original wooden docks still in place. But it's just had a modern refurbishment complete with a rather apt flashing neon sign saying: "If these walls could talk".
After eggs benedict at The Courthouse, we headed on to our next stop on the trail, Knutsford's Market Hall. Here you'll find an array of traders, including a local butchers, bakery and fresh fruit and veg.
Bahattin Atar runs The Market Cafe here, serving full breakfast, baguettes and award winning sausage rolls. He serves us a taste of his Turkish baklava as he says just how much he loved Knutsford.
He says: "It’s a fantastic place and such nice people. The sort of place if people say they forgot their money I can say "pay next time" and they do."
From here we stroll down one of the cobbled back alleys connecting the top and bottom streets to head to Morgan Edwards for some wine-tasting. The shops can be found in an extraordinary building dating back to 1580 - the second oldest in Knutsford.
Friends Morgan Ward, 32, and Edward Speakman, 31, met at Manchester University, and started the business with a stall at the Market Hall but, when Covid happened, were able to pivot to online and deliveries which saw a swift expansion of their business.
So when the opportunity came up to take on the historic building on King Street last year, they snapped it up. They tell us how it was the town barbers for 200 years - at a time when barbers would also be surgeons.
They've transformed the space with a cosy bar area upstairs, which is popular at weekends and can also be booked out for wine tastings.
Morgan said: "As soon as we saw the building we thought it suits our style. If we think about where we started in the market to where we are now it's been a lot of hard work and perseverance, but also a great community here in Knutsford."
We then stroll back to the other end of King Street for some quick nibbles in the historic Rose and Crown pub. The black-and-white clad pub dates back to 1647 and boasts stunning beamed interiors and a huge fireplace bearing that date.
The pub has recently been taken on by husband and wife team Shirley and David Sims who came across the pub on a visit to the town. They fell in love with both the town and the pub and now have big ambitions to maintain its foodie reputation.
Shirley said: "We have got the best team here, and we are famous for our Sunday roast, you have to book at least three weeks in advance just to get in on a Sunday. We like to say we have not only the best roast dinner in Knutsford but in the north west."
We head on to Dexter and Jones on Princess Street, where GMB presenter Katy Rickitt welcomes us in to tell the story of how she and actor husband Adam came to become bar owners in Knutsford.
She said: "We first came here as customers, and the first time I came in here I was like wow, it's like an adult sweet shop in here I love it.
"We said to the owner at the time if she ever wanted to sell up, she should call us. And the next day pretty much she did."
They took over the bar in November 2019 - just before "it all went crazy" with lockdown. But the couple were able to pivot their business.
She said: "Lockdown in many ways was a very happy time for us, we were able to operate as an off licence, and we did home deliveries as well. I was doing 50 a day at one point, but it was a really nice vibe."
When restrictions were eased, the couple took the opportunity to take on the neighbouring premises when the hairdresser there was selling up to expand the business. Meanwhile their neighbour on the other side, a jewellers, lets them use his car park after hours as a beer garden in the summer.
She said: "That's what's so great about Knutsford, everyone is so helpful. We've been able to increase the number of beers, wines and gins we sell and now we make our own gin as well."
Their gins are named after their pet dogs and they are renowned as a dog-friendly bar, so much so there's a dedicated "Dog wall" in the bar of paw-traits.
We continue on for tapas lunch at Evuna on King Street, based inside an old bakery building - where you can even still see the original bread oven in the wall. The Spanish tapas venue started life in Manchester on Deansgate and the Northern Quarter but owner Jane Dowler saw the opportunity to take the brand into Cheshire with the launch of the Knutsford venue back in 2017.
And for coffe and dessert, by which stage everyone is feeling rather full, we head back up to Princess Street to visit Detaljer, an independent coffee shop and lifestyle store owned by Caterine, a native Swede. The doors to Detaljer opened in 2021 and has become known for its Swedish cinnamon and carmom buns baked daily on the premises.
We get to enjoy a taste of a range of their cakes as well as a delightful freshly made coffee to round off the tour. It has been an enjoyable tour around this historic town, as much to hear some of the stories about the people and the places here, as to sample the foods.
How to book
The Taste Knutsford food tour is a walking food tour of Knutsford taking guests to visit 7-8 of the town's independent food and drink providers from 11am to 2pm. The mix can change with the seasons and the restaurants involved but some stops can be tailored to preference.
Tour guides will guide groups of up to 12 around the different venues and our tours run twice a month. They offer private tours for groups of 8+. Tickets are priced at £45 and to find out more info and for booking see the Taste Knutsford website.
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