Family-friendly restaurants in Manchester city centre

If you feel it’s time to spice up your life, look no further than this Northern Quarter indie, where the main offer is ‘kebabs worth sitting down for’. Yep, BAB by name, ‘babs by nature, but that’s not doing the menu full justice – there are also meze small plates to mix and match, skewers and shawarmas, and non-babs such as an epic surf & turf spread.

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.

The Black Friar stood empty and unloved for almost 20 years before reopening in summer 2021 after a substantial renovation project. Now a modern British restaurant and a traditional pub, it has two distinct settings with menus to match.

Food hall meets music festival is how we’d describe Freight Island to anyone confused about what they’ll find at this regenerated rail depot beyond Piccadilly Station. 

Hakkapo is Manchester’s Izakaya – that is, a Japanese bar where people go to eat, drink and just generally hang out after a long day at work.

So named because of Manchester University’s 25 Nobel laureates, The Laureate Restaurant is a large and luxurious space located on one of the higher floors of Manchester’s Hyatt Regency Hotel.

With its terrace overlooking Albert Square and Manchester Town Hall, and a beautiful interior featuring a 40-seater private dining room, an open kitchen, and an oyster bar, Piccolino Caffé Grande Manchester is a real destination restaurant. (And, notably, it’s one that doesn’t price people out of the experience.)

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.

Wagamama St Peter’s Square is one of Manchester’s go-to spots for a casual curry or lunchtime noodles. Right in the middle of the city centre, seconds away from one of the main tram stops, it’s quick, easy, good value, and good quality.

Albert’s Schloss is a Bavarian-inspired fun palace of extraordinary dimensions and clever design. Behind the glistening tiles of the former Manchester and Salford Wesleyan Mission building (est in 1910) you’ll discover a vast bar, real fires, perfectly preserved original plaster, and a wall stuffed generously with flowers by floral artists’ Frog. You’ll also find a stage, DJ booth and network of beer pipes and tanks serving unpasturised Pilsner Urquell to hordes of adoring punters.

Almost Famous Manchester Great Northern is a local legend. It’s OTT in every way. It’s brash, bold and doesn’t seem to care about pissing people off. None of that attention-grabbing means a thing if the burgers aren’t worth the hype. But they are. Almost Famous is the original dirty burger guru and it is by far the best.

Banyan in Manchester’s Corn Exchange has something for everyone and one of the best outdoor drinking and dining spots in the city.

Bill’s has come a long way since it was a market café. The family business is now a sizeable chain but in Bill’s Manchester at least, you’ll still find a warm welcome, some pretty special specials and a crowd-pleasing selection of dishes that sometimes manage to deliver rather punchy flavours. You will be pleasantly surprised.

Fuwa Fuwa, is North America’s largest soufflé pancake and dessert café. It opened its doors in Manchester New Square in October 2022 and is known internationally for its jiggly and airy soufflé pancakes.

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.

With five cinemas, two theatres, a bookshop, and over 500 sqm of gallery space, HOME is one of Manchester’s biggest and most dynamic arts venues. 

Sitting in the old Dough Kitchen spot in the Northern Quarter, Purezza is yet another pizza restaurant for Manchester – but one with the distinction of offering solely vegan pizza and a menu that has many gluten-free items.

Mackie Mayor is a cosmopolitan food hall located in an 1858 Grade II listed market building on the edge of Manchester’s Northern Quarter.

This Brooklyn-style pizza joint was born out of a love of using the best ingredients with care and attention. Nell’s is known for its 22-inch pizzas with fresh, crisp bases and toppings that range from bright and fresh to classic and meaty.

Tampopo Albert Square is the original venue in this Manchester-born chain from restaurateur David Fox. It was here that they devised and tweaked their winning formula of fast, fresh and affordable East Asian food served in an informal, canteen-style environment, ideal for quick lunches or evening meals with groups of friends.

We’d rather see a restaurant that does one thing well than one that does a wide variety of dishes to the same average standard. Yard & Coop Manchester is firmly in the former category. It serves buttermilk fried chicken and that’s about it, unless you’re a veggie in which case you can have halloumi instead.