Indie in the city: Manchester’s independent restaurants

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.

There is quite some experience behind owners Julian Pizer and Max Yorke at Another Hand, including time spent at Cottonopolis, The Edinburgh Castle and Hispi. In this intimate restaurant on Deansgate Mews, they put it to excellent use on an ever-changing, seasonal menu that takes advantage of some of the best suppliers in the region.

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.

Whether it’s go-hot-or-go-home Chinese fare you’re after or something a little less tastebud blowing, Ancoats indie Blue Eyed Panda delivers on both fronts. While from the outside, the restaurant doesn’t look like much, there’s nothing bland about the food, which has tons of kerb appeal – and packs plenty of flavour to boot.

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.

This Manchester institution was a much-respected destination for Spanish food long before tapas became a common sight in the city centre.

Known to its friends as ITR, the second of the three bright Indian Tiffin Room restaurants specialises in thalis (a kind of mini buffet) and south Indian tiffin dishes, putting colour on a plate with its street food inspired by the bustling stalls of different parts of India.

The group of friends behind The Pasta Factory’s story originally hail from Turin in the northern region of Piedmont, so this is the place for authentic Italian food full of flavour, with dishes created from scratch using only the best fresh ingredients in season.

“The food speaks for itself,” says Cue Tran, owner of the Pho Cue Vietnamese kitchen, whose aim is to take the authentic street food dishes of his home country and give them a modern “Instagrammable” twist while retaining their flavour, freshness and family traditions.

Modern Polish cuisine is what’s on offer at Platzki, one of the first restaurants to open at Deansgate Mews back in 2018.

Siam Smiles is famous amongst foodies in the city. Once a tiny café squeezed in next to some supermarket shelves in Chinatown, it now has (slightly) bigger premises but the same redoubtable chef manning the wok. Chef May is a bit of a legend on the Manchester food scene because everyone loves a story. She only took up cooking when the chef left and her professional training came down to watching YouTube videos of Thai cooks. Nevertheless, the food tastes like it has been years in the perfecting – and in a way it has: real recipes passed down from generation to generation and then sent out into the world via the magic medium of Internet.

Located in between St Peter’s Square and The Bridgewater Hall, Society brings new life to the quiet yet elegant stretch of city between Oxford Street and First Street. The outside area is a sunspot bordered by a fountain and a garden, making it feel more like Madrid than Manchester (weather permitting of course).

For Street Urchin, think less about raggedy kids hanging about Victorian mills (although it is on the edge of Ancoats) and more about seafood delicacies. Fish is plentiful on the menu at this English market diner, although meat gets a look-in too.

Thai Kitchen No.6 is a real family restaurant. That means it’s a homespun affair without the sheen of some other South East Asian venues in Manchester.

But that doesn’t matter. There are plenty of decadent palaces around if that’s what you’re after. At Thai Kitchen No.6 the interior is basic but there’s a warm welcome and the sort of food eaten by families all over Thailand although they’ve turned the spiky heat down for British palates – perhaps a notch too far if you’re looking for the authentic experience.

There’s a focus on salads with real Thai staples that don’t always make the journey to Western menus.

Spartan and stripped back is the only description for Tokyo Ramen – and that’s both the menu and the restaurant itself. With barely enough space to swing a noodle, the place only accommodates 20 walk-ins. It’s not a sociable place, more a utilitarian slurping station.