New on Confidential Guides: 11 places to check out this summer

Plere is – whisper it – a wine bar, but it’s one that brings a Europhile cool to Beech Road with a clever selection of under-the-radar wines and quality cheese and charcuterie. If George Orwell’s perfect pub was The Moon Under Water, then maybe Emile Zola’s would be Plere.

Named after the owner’s kids, Leo and Roobs is a neighbourhood cafe from the folks behind The Black Friar. It’s all about fresh, healthy, and comforting food, whipped up from scratch by head chef Morgan Lane (formerly with Pot Kettle Black).

Le Viet Social is an independent Vietnamese restaurant serving up dishes that stay true to its roots. Think vibrant street food, wholesome bone broth pho, and casual favourites like banh mi or loaded fries.

Lily’s Deli is from the family behind Lily’s, the award-wining vegetarian Indian restaurant in Ashton-under-Lyne. You’ll find all the ingredients you need to make your own curry feast plus freshly-made savouries, sweets and seating to enjoy some seriously good manchurian toasties and masala chai.

When people describe somewhere as an institution, they’re usually talking bollocks. Not so in the case of The Musical Box. It is the oldest independent record shop in the country and it has the blue plaque to prove it.

The Strines Nightingale is a country pub, but as you might imagine from the name, it is also a source of beautiful music. It’s not a country pub in the traditional sense, all Sunday roasts and Land Rovers. In fact, it has more in common with Northern Quarter pubs like The Castle Hotel, just with better views and a bucolic setting.

Levenshulme Antiques Village is the first stop if you’re doing up a period property or even just looking to add some character to a rented flat.

When you think of antique shops, it’s often expensive places in well-to-do-towns like Knutsford, all grandfather clocks and unaffordable walnut desks, that spring to mind.

If you want to stay somewhere that’s luxurious and glamorous – but also distinctly Mancunian, this has to be the place. The Kimpton Clocktower Hotel on Oxford Road is in the former Refuge Assurance building designed by Victorian architect Alfred Waterhouse, whose handiwork also includes Manchester Town Hall. Its clocktower is an iconic feature of the city’s skyline – but it’s what lies inside that makes this hotel really stand out.

Aahaa is a new Indian restaurant in Chorlton which has already become very popular. The website is not very convincing but take no notice of that because it’s the honest, authentic South Indian cooking and friendly staff that have won over the locals.

Insitu isn’t your average antiques shop; it specialises in sourcing in vaster vintage pieces like huge steel columns – a relic of Manchester Central Station – or stained glass church windows.

Collect and Survive is only open on Saturdays but it’s worth planning your day around if you like music and a good rummage. As well as vinyl, dig through some very analogue kit, from sound systems that came out of the Ark to game consoles untainted by such new inventions as speedy hedgehogs or plumbing brothers.