Whereas once a trot around Ancoats would have you tripping over sickly urchins and dodging razor-happy street gangs amongst overcrowded slums and thundering warehouses, now you’re more likely to trip over a half-eaten cruffin discarded by some digital marketeer outside a Vietnamese street food diner – the one next to the Japanese tea place.
Once the heart of industrial Manchester, Ancoats is now the epicentre of all that is new and hip in the city’s food and drink scene. The coming of shiny new apartment blocks and amenities has initiated a rush to feed all of these young, trendy incomers, with their empty bellies, disposable incomes and penchant for artisanal anything.
The last few years have seen a number of the region’s most exciting food and drink businesses open in the area. Here we’ve collected our favourites together in a handy guide…
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Manchester City Centre
Ancoats Coffee Co.
If you’re serious about your coffee, Ancoats Coffee Co has to be your first port of call in this part of the city. Inspired by owner Jamie Bowland’s time spent in the flat-white Mecca that is Melbourne, this is a destination for people who really care about what goes in their cup.
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Manchester City Centre
Canto
Canto is a Modern Portuguese restaurant from Simon Shaw, the creative director behind the consistently brilliant El Gato Negro on King Street.
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Book Now Greater Manchester
Chaology
Specialising in Japanese tea and sweets, Chaology provides a unique experience in Manchester with a strict focus on quiet and relaxation.
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Book Now Manchester City Centre
The Counter House
Gut-cleansing spirulina juices, turmeric scented Buddha bowls and raw vegan cookies, The Counter House menu reads like a dream list of Insta hashtags for plant-powered millennials.
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Manchester City Centre
Edinburgh Castle
The Edinburgh Castle is a fortification for fortifying yourself, full of hearty British fare. This defence against hunger has two parts. No, not motte and bailey, but an upstairs restaurant and a downstairs pub. Upstairs, downstairs and all the connotations that go along with that.
The downstairs is a traditional old pub with a welcoming drinking zone and a separate eating area. Traditional pub or not, this is much more than just some Scampi Fries. In fact, this is some of the very best pub food in the city.
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Manchester City Centre
Elnecot
Named after the first recorded name for Ancoats, Elnecot (meaning ‘lonely cottages’) takes its influence from historical cooking methods with lots of fermenting, a little foraging and a few nose-to-tail dishes.
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Manchester City Centre
Erst
“Yet more small plates in Ancoats?” we hear you cry. Well yes, but trust us, Erst is worth your attention. This is a place for serious foodies so don’t come looking for mac n cheese balls. Plenty of other places can satisfy that filthy craving for you.
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Book Now Manchester City Centre
The Hip Hop Chip Shop
A National Fish & Chip Award winner, the Manchester street food heroes opened up their first bricks ‘n’ mortar outlet in trendy Ancoats late in 2018, following a hard fought crowdfunding campaign. A kicked-back dining experience with proper comfort food, cool artwork and a cracking soundtrack, the HHCS collective have reworked the national dish with inventive additions like Jerk batter, Louisiana spiced crab cakes and their chilli battered sausage. Obviously the traditional fish ‘n’ chips are bang on too, livened up by their trademark flavoured salts and vinegars.
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Book Now Manchester City Centre
The Jane Eyre
The Jane Eyre is a self-styled ‘neighbourhood bar’ offering seasonal food, classic cocktails and local beers. Presided over by Eyre siblings Jonny and Joe, it is, mildly disappointingly, not a Gothic homage to the Yorkshire based tragic-heroine but actually named after their late mum.
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Book Now Manchester City Centre
Mana
Michelin-starred restaurant Mana is the brainchild of chef patron Simon Martin who mastered his trade at the renowned Noma in Copenhagen. In his first few years at Mana, Martin has succeeded in carving his own path – one which confuses and delights people in equal measure.
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Book Now Manchester City Centre
NAM
Another neighbourhood favourite in the now achingly hip Cutting Room Square. NAM’s light and airy space with its natural parquet floors and glossy white brick bar echoes the light and healthy Vietnamese cuisine on the menu.
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Book Now Greater Manchester
Pollen Bakery
After an initial stint tucked away in an archway near Piccadilly, this airy bakery and cafe moved to a spot overlooking New Islington’s marina. Since then Pollen Bakery has bagged Best Food and Drink Retailer at the Manchester Food and Drink Awards, and been listed in the Sunday Times top 20 UK bakeries.
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Book Now Manchester City Centre
Rudy’s Pizza Manchester Ancoats
Listed amongst the world’s best pizzerias in international pizza guide, Where To Eat Pizza, Rudy’s Pizza has grown from a pop-up project into a full blown word-of-mouth phenomenon.
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Book Now Manchester City Centre
Seven Bro7hers Ancoats
This bar on Cutting Room Square from the Seven Bro7hers Brewery clan is perfectly placed to cater for the craft beer drinkers of Ancoats.
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Book Now Trafford
Sugo Pasta Kitchen Altrincham
Another Altrincham success story, the Puglian-inspired Sugo Pasta Kitchen opened on Shaw Road – right by the transformative Market House – in 2015. Their simple and uncompromisingly authentic Southern Italian dishes soon won them fans, as good ole word-of-mouth momentum brought diners piling in from across the region. Accolades and glowing reviews soon followed, as did further restaurants.
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Book Now Manchester City Centre
Trove Manchester
Trove Manchester is the younger sister of the original Trove in Levenshulme which made its name through fantastic bread and an ‘everything made from scratch’ philosophy.
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Manchester City Centre
Viet Shack Manchester Ancoats
Nelson Lam and Leo Tran’s Viet Shack empire started with a humble takeaway stall in the Arndale Market which quickly gained a reputation for its dazzling lunch dishes at bargain prices.