An Insider’s Guide to Eating and Drinking in Chorlton

The folks at Barbakan have been nose to the grindstone for over 50 years – they were here long before Chorlton became a hip coffee culture destination.

Beech Road’s Bar San Juan is almost always bursting at the seams with customers. This unassuming little tapas bar is one of those hidden gems of almost cult-like status that locals just love to recommend. Rightly so.

Bisous Bisous is a renowned local but French patisserie and they have a café on Beech Road in Chorlton.

An authentic Neapolitan-style pizzeria, Double Zero in Chorlton has been lauded as one of the best in the UK.

“Music is in our blood” proclaim the team behind Dulcimer, the long-standing Chorlton bar named after a funkily shaped hammer-struck string instrument, whose moniker, in turn, comes from the Latin for sweet melody.

Elektrik is an award-winning independent bar with great coffee and a wide selection of beer, wine and cocktails. They offer a people-pleasing menu in collaboration with street food pop-ups. Pop in for Parmogeddon.

Manchester may pride itself on its Northern-ness but Fell Bar Chorlton is the southern outpost of the Cumbrian brewery and its associated bars.

Serving up city centre-standard cocktails in the suburbs, Henry C is a cosy neighbourhood bar in Chorlton with a heavy New Orleans influence.

Indian Affair is a light, bright modern restaurant in the parade of little independents opposite Chorlton Bus Station.

Despite being enormous and giving off slightly-half finished vibes when it comes to the fit-out, Jasmine is always busy. It’s been busy for the last decade and it’s all down to the food.

Mary & Archie Chorlton is a well-loved neighbourhood cafe bar, sourcing the best local ingredients for their famous ‘all-day’ brunch menu.

Miss Dee’s Evoden Bar & Kitchen is a relaxed Caribbean restaurant that offers excellent value considering its chi-chi Beech Road setting.

From the outside, Mumbai Tiffin Room looks like any old Indian takeaway on the busy strip of Barlow Moor Road in Chorlton. Even inside, with its shiny black and red bench seating along one wall, it doesn’t look like much of a step up from a bog standard takeaway. However, this place is a gem.

“Doing lots of little things right” is a definition of perfection. And Oystercatcher – a simple seafood restaurant in Chorlton – is just that.
The kitchen’s Inca grill is masterfully handled by co-owner Recep Canliisik, who churns out dishes such as char-grilled whole sea bream, and Tandoori-barbecued monkfish tail.

Rudy’s Pizza Chorlton is a relaxed outpost of the popular homegrown Manchester mini-chain of independent Napoli pizza masters.

Sambal is one of only a small handful of Malaysian restaurants in Manchester and it’s the only one in Chorlton. It has an excellent reputation in the Malaysian community with loyal customers driving for hours to eat there – but you can get the tram to Barlow Moor Road. It doesn’t look like much from the outside but book ahead if you can because it is very popular.

Shogun Ramen and Bar in Chorlton says it does Manchester’s cheapest ramen (from £7.99 a bowl) and we’ve no evidence to counteract that bold claim. But we’ve not listed it in our guide just because it’s day-before-payday-cheap. It’s here because it does ‘proper, traditional’ ramen and the folks of M16 can’t get enough of it. 

Smoak Coffee is a small coffee and bagel shop on Barlow Moor Road. The caffeine options are very good – roasted fresh every week – with a regularly changing single origin coffee and excellent filter coffee too.

Tea Hive is a quaint little cafe celebrating the nation’s favourite cuppa, and cake, lots of cake. As you’d expect, aside from good old English brekkie, there are Kilner jars full of loose leaf tea in all manner of strains. There’s coffee too, and they recently launched an inventive little cocktail menu utilising their house brews. Think espresso martinis with Origin Coffee Roasters’ coffee, black chai white Russians and Earl Grey gin fizzes.

The Beagle is a bustling, eclectic, neighbourhood boozer which has recently replaced its Tex-Mex trash food menu with NYC-style pizza and ice cream sandwiches from local indie Nell’s Pizza. 

While the city centre Font Bar is often typecast as ‘that student place with the really cheap cocktails’, The Font Chorlton is like a more sophisticated older sibling who’s just got back from a year or two backpacking around the world. Yes, their Happy Hour is resplendent with two-for-one dayglo cocktails, and they have a dazzling array of beers, but there’s more.

The Jane Eyre Chorlton is a neighbourhood restaurant and cocktail bar on Beech Road, Chorlton’s most charming street. This offshoot of the Ancoats original has fitted in nicely to its location which has been home to some of Chorlton’s best restaurants over the years – and a few short-lived mistakes. The Jane Eyre is definitely in the former camp.

Momo Shop is The Little Yeti rebranded with more of a DIY pop-punk dumpling vibe. It’s an establishment of the ‘limited menu but executed very well’ variety, which is more common in Asia than over here, where ‘all things to all people’ is perhaps too often attempted.

Don’t be fooled by the unassuming exterior – the interior is even more unassuming. However, the food is unbelievable. Enormous flavours, friendly service and some of the tastiest Middle Eastern fast food you can find in South Manchester. Quite an accolade.

Yane is a small independent Japanese restaurant in Chorlton. Sushi and ramen are everywhere, but this place specialises in Japanese comfort food in the form of donburi, katsu kare and traditional pickles, all made in house.