30 places for Christmas parties in Manchester you might not have considered

11 Central is another venture for Seven Bro7hers, only this time their Sis4ers are on board too so the bar is a fantastic mix of craft beer and craft gin.

Cool Pacific Rim fusion fare for the fashion set. Australasia combines a sense of theatre with professionalism and culinary wizardry, making any occasion feel special.

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.

Bar Hütte Great Northern brings cosy comfort to winter nights out in Manchester. Escape the weather with seasonal hot cocktails, fresh pizza and snuggly seating in toasty karaoke huts. It’s open for Alpine après-ski-style fun from 15 November until 31 December – make the most of it while you can.

There’s a story behind the American and British flags that fly over the entrance to The Bells of Peover, a country dining pub in a village south of Knutsford.

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.

The ‘Burbs is exactly the sort of informal neighbourhood spot you want round the corner from your house.

Once a stall at Levy Market, then a pop-up pizzeria above Fred’s Ale House, Cibus took baby steps to get to where it is today; a fully-fledged and much-praised Italian restaurant and bar on Levenshulme high street, and the winner of The Good Food Guide’s award for Best Local Restaurant North West 2024.

The Dakota Manchester describes itself as Manchester’s best hotel. We’re not getting into that debate but we will say it’s the city’s most glam.

Designed by Amanda Rosa and owned by Ken McCullough, it’s low-lit and brooding, in a stylish, noirish way.

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.

Evuna Knutsford brings together playful Spanish tapas dishes and an excellent wine offering.

October 2003 saw the first of the four Evunas open, grabbing a prime position on Deansgate and a reputation for being a go-to place for Spanish cuisine. Plenty of exposed brick, wine-lined walls and low, dark lighting all add to the atmosphere, perfect for cosying up over those authentic small plates.

The second city centre Evuna, open since 2013, bagsies a corner spot in the Northern Quarter that provides the outward-facing window seats with a prime people-watching position. Wood panelling, Moorish tiles and rustic blackboards offer atmosphere, perfect for cosying up over those authentic small plates.

Exhibition is one of Manchester’s cluster of exciting multi-kitchen concepts (read: food halls) that just seem to be multiplying. In the former home of the Natural History Museum, the location makes it perfect for visitors to Manchester Central, the Radisson Blu and the Midland Hotel.

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. 

Grand Pacific is the work of Living Ventures and it easily outshines its sibling venues in terms of pure glamour. Not in a big chandeliers, glass and chrome Spinningfields way, but with a decadent blend of colonial Raffles-style grandeur and some of the best of the city’s Victorian architecture.

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.

Malmaison Manchester Piccadilly is an impressive boutique hotel in the perfect spot. It’s just minutes from Manchester Piccadilly train station, a heartbeat away from the Northern Quarter with its buzzing nightlife and independent shops, and well-placed for Manchester’s commercial centre.

It was built in the 19th century as a railway terminus, then in the 1980s and 1990s it became a concert venue hosting many of the big names of the Madchester era. Now Manchester Central is the city’s main convention and events centre, and stages everything from comic cons to the Conservative Party Conference.

The MUSU Collection is a group of innovative modern Japanese dining experiences, all under one roof. With three AA rosettes, this is the cutting edge of Manchester’s restaurant scene.

The Pen and Pencil is the Northern Quarter’s cool all-day hangout, modelled on the New York bar of the same name popular with the city’s journalists and ad men in the 1950s and 1960s. It has a reputation for great cocktails, quality food and an atmosphere that makes it stand out from nearby imitators.

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.)

With its large alfresco terrace, complete with a fully retractable roof, Piccolino Didsbury is perfectly located for an Aperol Spritz in the sun or a full three-course meal inspired by the diverse cuisine from all of Italy’s regions.

There’s no shortage of reliably good restaurants in the Hale-Altrincham-Bowden triangle, and Piccolino Hale is up there with the best of them.

Piccolino Knutsford fits in perfectly with the Italianate villas and chic shops of this quirky Cheshire town. Situated on the narrow, buzzy High Street, it offers alfresco rooftop dining, a semi-private area for groups, and a second-floor bar.

From the same team behind Piccolino, Riva Blu Manchester aims to bring a little bit of La Dolce Vita to The Corn Exchange. With a sleek cocktail bar, open kitchen, and alfresco terrace, it’s styled on the high-society glamour of the 1960s, and “modern Italian” cuisine is the name of the game.

Sora Manchester is a rooftop bar and restaurant serving up sushi, Pan Asian small plates and views across the city’s impressive Victorian neo-Gothic architecture.

Three Little Words is housed under the arches at the lesser-visited end of Watson Street, near Beetham Tower. Inside you’ll find the Spirit of Manchester gin distillery, a cocktail bar, and a kitchen serving small plates with thoroughly decent cooking. It’s certainly a place worth knowing about.

Victoria Warehouse has been a fixture on Manchester’s industrial skyline for almost a century. Once used to store cotton, it’s now a huge events space that plays host to concerts, festivals, weddings, conferences, exhibitions and more.

Lincoln Square’s traditional Cantonese restaurant Wing’s has been an institution in the city centre since 2004, when it first found fame through the patronage of Premier League footballers.

It takes more than famous names to keep a restaurant thriving though – and it’s testament to the consistency and quality of the upmarket British-Cantonese food that Wing’s is still going strong 20 years later.

NQ bar and eatery Wilson’s Social is equally popular with daytime brunchers, co-workers and late night drinkers. Situated on the corner of Stevenson Square and Oldham Street, this glass-fronted space is light and airy in the daytime and buzzing at night with DJs and live music every weekend.

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.