Autumn has landed on the sixth floor at The Rex, where Reign Restaurant has introduced two new seasonal menus above the Manchester skyline. The Autumn Afternoon Tea leans into savoury invention, with chicken, red pesto and mature Cheddar joining pumpkin cheese mousse and chestnut honey cake.
Evenings belong to the Autumn Tasting Menu, built around Crown Prince pumpkin, sea bass with Champagne sauce and venison with blackberry. Both arrive in an Art Deco dining room framed by arched windows, with the city stretched out below. Between them, the two menus have the day covered, and both lean happily into the season’s best produce.
The Rex Afternoon Tea
The afternoon tea carries the Lutyens name, a nod to Sir Edwin Lutyens, the celebrated British architect behind the building the hotel now occupies. It also carries the Award of Excellence 2026 from AfternoonTea.co.uk, won for its service, its menu and that view above the city. The autumn edition keeps everything that works and gives the savoury tier a seasonal polish.
Chicken now arrives with red pesto and sundried tomatoes, while mature Cheddar comes with a sweet, sticky onion chutney. The house classics still make an appearance across the year, among them ham and mustard, egg mayonnaise, chicken Caesar, and Cheddar with a warm chilli jam. Finger sandwiches are cut with real precision, which is the small detail that separates a proper hotel tea from a plate of triangles.
Warm homemade scones follow, with fruit jam and generous clouds of Cornish clotted cream. From there the tiers turn fully autumnal: pumpkin cheese mousse, a pear tart with custard and Chantilly cream, and a chestnut honey cake that signs off on a gentle, nutty note. It is a lovely run of small, artful things, and the pacing gives conversation room to breathe.
Tea is taken every bit as seriously. The list runs through PMD blends and herbal infusions, including Earl Grey, Silver Tips, green tea, chai, chamomile, peppermint and rooibos, and the team are quick to suggest something that suits. Vegetarian and gluten free versions come with the same scones, savoury bites and cakes, so nobody is left watching. Service runs Thursday to Sunday, 12.30pm to 4pm.
Tasting Menu
Evenings belong to the Autumn Tasting Menu, five courses served Thursday to Saturday and built around seasonal British produce. It opens with Crown Prince pumpkin, brown butter, sea buckthorn, sage and goat’s curd, the tart buckthorn lifting all that sweet, velvety squash. A bright, confident start, and a clear signal that soup was never on the cards.
Fish and game carry things onward. Sea bass arrives with fennel, grapes and a silky Champagne sauce, then venison follows with beetroot, blackberry and celeriac, deep in colour and richly earthy. Each course is composed to balance depth, texture and flavour, and the rhythm suits a long evening rather than a dash to a curtain call.
There is a vegetarian version of the five courses, and several dishes are gluten free, so a table rarely has to compromise. Carefully chosen wines are poured alongside. The menu is available as a gift voucher too, which quietly solves one of the harder names on a Christmas list.
Above King Street
Reign holds two AA Rosettes and occupies the sixth floor of a grand former bank, and the room wears its history beautifully. Restored Art Deco curves, warm low lighting and tall arched windows do most of the work, with central Manchester glittering away beyond the glass.
The rest of the building speaks the same language. Reign’s Private Dining Room is made for smaller gatherings and long lunches, while the Treasury and Strongroom take on presentations and private hospitality. The restaurant itself seats up to 80 guests for events, which gives the floor plenty of range across an evening.
Rooftop hours
One floor of glamour is rarely enough, so the hotel also runs Reserve, its rooftop bar. Comfortable indoor space is joined by three outdoor terraces, with vibrant small plates and signature cocktails from midday to 9pm, every day.
The food up here is built for sharing. Beef short rib, lamb koftas, tempura prawns, barbecue chicken and grilled sirloin steak sit beside vegan options such as a crisp kimchi cucumber salad and warm homemade focaccia, with several dishes marked gluten free.
