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Guide

An Insider’s Guide to Eating and Drinking in Chorlton

Confidentials    2 months ago

Updated for 2024

Long heralded as the go-to destination for anybody with a proclivity for chickpeas and hessian, Chorlton has become a byword for all things hipster and hippy. This ex-village turned middle-class arts graduate’s suburban utopia is often touted as being one of the best places to live in the UK. Although a quick scan of the legendary and hilarious Facebook group hints that things are not always so rosy. Despite persistent crime problems, house prices keep on rising, almost surpassing those of neighbouring Didsbury, and the battle of the boroughs rages on.

If you’ve got complex dietary requirements and a penchant for left-wing politics, you’ll find all your heart desires in Chorlton. Probably. We’ve agonised over a list of our favourite spots to eat, drink and ‘simply be, you know’ around the neighbourhood, from long-standing European delis to brand new Japanese comfort food cafes, and more craft beer and craft pastries than you can shake a Guardian supplement at.

  • Inside Amma's Canteen, the much-praised Indian restaurant on the edge of Chorlton
    Chorlton

    Amma’s Canteen

    Restaurant - Indian subcontinent

    Passionate Keralan-Indian-Brit fusion. A great place to eat can make the back end of nowhere worth visiting – and (largely) Keralan restaurant Amma’s Canteen, on the outskirts of Chorlton, feels like a destination.

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  • Chorlton

    Barbakan Deli

    Groceries

    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.

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  • Beech Road's Bar San Juan is a Chorlton favourite for Spanish food and sangria
    Chorlton

    Bar San Juan

    Bars

    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.

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  • Strawberry gateau at Bisous Bisous, a cafe on Beech Road in Chorlton
    Chorlton

    Bisous Bisous

    Cafes

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

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  • Neapolitan-style wood fired pizza at Double Zero in Chorlton
    Chorlton

    Double Zero

    Restaurant - Italian

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

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  • Dulcimer brings DJ nights and an eclectic line-up of live music to Chorlton
    Chorlton

    Dulcimer

    Bars

    “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.

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  • Cocktails in the beer garden tucked away at the back of Electrik in Chorlton
    Chorlton

    Electrik

    Bars

    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.

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  • Sunny outdoor beer from Fell Brewery at Fell Bar Chorlton
    Chorlton

    Fell Bar Chorlton

    Bars

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

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  • A classic negroni at cocktail bar Henry C in Chorlton, Manchester.
    Chorlton

    Henry C

    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.

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  • A selection of street food dishes from Indian Affair, a restaurant in Chorlton
    Chorlton

    Indian Affair

    Restaurant - Indian subcontinent

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

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  • Selection of kebabs at Jasmine, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Chorlton
    Chorlton

    Jasmine

    Restaurant - Middle Eastern

    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.

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  • La Casita Restaurant Manchester Tacos
    Book Now Chorlton

    La Casita

    Restaurant - Mexican

    After humble beginnings serving up traditional Mexican street food from a little stall at the markets, La Casita now has its own “little house” in Chorlton, where everyone is welcome – “Mi casa es tu casa.” From burritos to tacos, this is a real taste of Mexico, best eaten with fingers – everyone’s friends at this intimate and casual restaurant.

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  • Egg on toast at Little Blanchflower
    Chorlton

    Little Blanchflower

    Cafes

    Little Blanchflower is an offshoot from the justly-popular big sister Blanchflower in Altrincham.

    Call in for coffee and a beautiful pastry or grab lunch or breakfast midweek. There is a relaxed all-day brunch feel at weekends and you can book for dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings.

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  • One of the colourful dishes served at neighbourhood favourite Mary & Archie in Chorlton.
    Chorlton

    Mary & Archie Chorlton

    Bars

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

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  • Miss Dee's Evoden Bar & Kitchen, a Caribbean restaurant on Beech Road in Chorlton
    Chorlton

    Miss Dee’s Evoden Bar & Kitchen

    Restaurant - Caribbean

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

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  • Mumbai Tiffin Room dish and menu
    Chorlton

    Mumbai Tiffin Room

    Restaurant - Indian subcontinent

    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.

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  • A dish served with a glass of wine at Oystercatcher - a seafood restaurant in Chorlton, Manchester.
    Chorlton

    Oystercatcher

    Restaurant - European

    “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.

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  • Rudy's Pizza Chorlton with outdoor seating
    Chorlton

    Rudy’s Pizza Chorlton

    Restaurant - Italian

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

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  • A meal at Sambal, one of Manchester's few Malaysian restaurants
    Chorlton

    Sambal

    Restaurant - Pan Asian

    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.

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  • Vegan ramen from Japanese restaurant Shogun Ramen and Bar in Chorlton, Manchester
    Chorlton

    Shogun Ramen and Bar

    Bars

    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. 

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  • Smoak Coffee in Chorlton
    Chorlton

    Smoak Coffee

    Cafes

    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.

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  • Different styles of tea strainers at Tea Hive cafe in Manchester, Chorlton.
    Book Now Chorlton

    Tea Hive

    Cafes

    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.

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  • Nell's New York style pizza available at the Beagle, Chorlton
    Chorlton

    The Beagle

    Pubs

    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. 

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  • Three dishes served at The Font Chorlton: a Confidential Guides recommended bar and restaurant
    Chorlton

    The Font Chorlton

    Bars

    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.

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  • The outside of The Jane Eyre Chorlton is full of character, making it the perfect neighbourhood bar and restaurant
    Chorlton

    The Jane Eyre Chorlton

    Bars

    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.

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  • Nepalese dumplings, momos, as served at The Little Yeti restaurant in Chorlton
    Chorlton

    The Little Yeti

    Restaurant - Indian subcontinent

    The Little Yeti is one of the newest dining spots on Barlow Moor Rd, but from the well-oiled team behind Didsbury veterans Gurkha Grill. 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.

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  • Chorlton's best shawarma at The Post Box Cafe
    Chorlton

    The Post Box Cafe and Shawarma

    Cafes

    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.

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  • Chicken katsu kare at Yane, a Japanese comfort food restaurant in Chorlton
    Chorlton

    Yane

    Restaurant - Japanese

    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.

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