The best halal restaurants in Manchester

Bruncho is a relaxed brunch spot on Deansgate focusing on Turkish specialities. The food is healthy and satisfying with a feeling of sunshine thanks to the Mediterranean diet. Of course, if various healthy iterations of poached eggs just don’t do it for you, then stamp on your fitbit and order pistachio baklava French toast instead.

Dakota Grill Manchester is the work of former Malmaison owner, Ken McCollough and it is as dark-hued and handsome as the successful boutique hotel chain. It’s an inviting place with flickering candlelight, very retro-sexy – sure to be the setting for many a first date.

The focus at Dakota is on steaks which are very good – all grass-fed, 28 day-aged, hand-cut Aberdeenshire beef cooked over hot coals.

Namaste Nepal on West Didsbury’s Burton Road is a relaxed Nepalese spot that is the definition of a much-loved neighbourhood restaurant.

Located in the Northern Quarter, this friendly neighbourhood bistro and bar is the place to avanti if it’s a taste of traditional Sicily you fancy – from authentic street food snacks through to big plates of pasta to desserts and holiday memory gelato, eat in or take away.

Zouk specialises in ‘apna’ – home-style cooking shot through with colour and heat from the spices and herbs. In recent years it has incorporated elements of global street food to its menu (Lahori wagyu sliders for example) but the main focus is still the authentic Indian and Pakistani cooking that made Zouk a success.

Known to its friends as ITR, the second of the three bright Indian Tiffin Room restaurants specialises in thalis (a kind of mini buffet) and south Indian tiffin dishes, putting colour on a plate with its street food inspired by the bustling stalls of different parts of India.

Archie’s Trafford Centre is another of the eye-popping pink burger and shake sites from the wildly popular Manchester mini-empire. The burgers are good but it’s the sweet side that has gathered most of the acclaim, from celeb endorsements to, more depressingly, long queues.

Bombay Brew brings together beer and Indian street food. Bundobust may be the kings of this combo but unlike its rival, Bombay Brew doesn’t just stick to vegetarian food with its IPAs. Instead, you’ll find everything from lamb lollypops to octopus masala.

Comptoir Libanais serves up the bold flavours of Lebanon, its fresh and healthy plates providing much to tempt those following plant-based and gluten-free lifestyles. Non-vegetarians needn’t be shy, either, with grilled meats a well-spiced speciality in themselves. 

From pomegranate and pistachio to saffron and barberries, the authentic flavours of Persian cuisine are promised at this family-run restaurant, whose name means “the royal palace” and whose menu includes “Iranian dishes that we know and love from home”.

This slick 2020 addition to the Corn Exchange is determined to do something different to other contemporary Indian restaurants. And it largely succeeds, bringing flair and originality to the well-worn territory of street food and small plates.

Located on Blackfriars Street with views of the River Irwell, EastZEast is known for its authentic Punjabi dishes and glamorous, fine-dining setting.

Mughli is the contemporary, social media embracing, second generation Curry Mile restaurant that paved the way for the likes of Indian Tiffin Room, Amma’s Canteen and Dishoom.

Remal Restaurant is a family-run place with the warmth and the buzz of real Lebanese hospitality and very happy customers. Food is exquisitely presented and made fresh in the restaurant – from the bread to the butchery, it’s all done by the team at Remal.

Starters are a selection of mezze-style small plates which are perfect for sharing – olives, cheese pastries, babaghanouj, lamb and hummus are all present and correct and in fact, very good examples. The Lebanese bread deserves a special mention.

Tiny and usually packed to the rafters of its converted terraced house, Yara is one of those hidden gems that the locals keep trying to get us to shut up about.