New on Confidential Guides: Over 30 places to check out this autumn

If you loved Hispi, you’ll love Arcadian even more. This new addition to Didsbury Village from award-wining chef, Andrew Sheridan, continues the swish-casual neighbourhood restaurant feel but also offers something more idiosyncratic with spot-on open-fire cooking. Arcadian has a ton of personality with big flavours and the skill to bring them together on the plate. It’s somewhere you ‘warm’ to immediately if you’ll forgive the fiery pun.

Kontrast Leeds is the city’s first sauna and ice bath cafe, bringing together community and wellness. This hip urban hangout offers a fresh take on hot and cold therapy.

The Abbey – formerly The Old Abbey Taphouse – is back open in Hulme. And it’s in the capable hands of the team behind Yes and Now Wave, making it a top spot for live music as well as pint and a pie.

Proper traditional-style pubs with good fodder; the countryside (and even the suburbs) is littered with them, so why are they so hard to come by in the city centre? In fact, I reckon I could count them all on one hand. So you could imagine my delight when I found out the team behind The Crown & Kettle and The Rat & Pigeon (two bloody good pubs, if you ask me) were opening a third site slap bang in the middle of the Northern Quarter.

Liverpool’s Baltic Fleet is one of the city’s quirkiest pubs. It has pints of personality. This wedge-shaped building for wetting your whistle first opened in 1853 and was originally two adjoining premises. However, its unusual looks are only part of its charm. Baltic Fleet is a real old naval drinking den with stories of smuggling, press gangs and secret tunnels.

BeWILDerwood Cheshire is an adventure park for families. However, its woodland setting and the scale of the play equipment makes it so much more than a mere playground. It’s based around a series of books by Tom Blofeld but you don’t need to be familiar with the stories to have a good time. The best days at BeWILDerwood are ones filled with action. There are mazes to dash round – including one high up in the treetops, zip wires, climbing, den-building and huge slides

Cafe Istanbul opened in 1980, making it the city’s longest-serving Turkish restaurant. It’s open until 11pm on Friday and Saturday nights making it the place for a high-class late-night kebab. It’s not just chicken shish, the menu is full of specialities that mean this is a proper restaurant experience not just a sit-down takeaway. 

When it comes to days out with kids in the North West, Chester Zoo is the big one. Literally. There are over 30,000 animals – and more than 520 different species – spread across 130 acres. It’s one of the most highly-rated zoos in the country and its huge size means there is plenty of space for the creatures who call it home – you don’t get that slightly icky feeling of looking at sad animals in small enclosures.

Add this to your list of places to meet near Piccadilly Station – then make sure you’ve got Google Maps on to help you find it. Tucked away beside the tram tracks in the 150-year-old Neptune Mill, it’s not quite hidden enough to be a hidden gem, but you’re unlikely to stumble across it by accident.

Farm of Terror takes you on a shuttlebus from Morrisons car park in Bacup to an award-winning fright night. The USP of this particular scare attraction is you can decide just how terrified you want to be. Enter with a glo-stick and the nightmarish actors will prey on you but respect your personal space. Enter without, and it’s a no-holds-barred experience – you have been warned.

Fort is one of only a small batch of multi-roaster coffee shops in Manchester. If you want your espresso to be an unchanging beacon of sanity in stressful times, the variety may not be for you. But my long black always more than does the job and the chance to try a rotating range of beans is part of the appeal. That and the banana bread.

House of Social is both student accommodation and an open-to-all food hall, but it’s a world away from your average university cafeteria, with current vendors including Mughli, Burger & Beyond, Choi Wan, OK Taqueria, Dough Religion.

Kabana opened in the Northern Quarter in 1982, long before the cool young things moved in. Perhaps they were lured there by the heady scent of charcoal-grilled lamb chops sizzling over the hot coals. The rice ‘n’ three is a big draw too.

Layla’s Cafe is a canalside coffee shop in Castlefield. It has a welcoming community feel and an appealing menu of brunch and lunch dishes with a Middle Eastern flavour. Coffees are serious, not just the typical long blacks and flat whites. Come for collagen lattes, espresso tonics, black sesame cold foams and Mont Blanc cold brews with vanilla and orange zest.

Lennox comes from the team behind Six by Nico, and has taken over its Spring Gardens location. Less gimmicky than its predecessor, Lennox offers popular flavours and recognisable dishes. The focus is on refinement and letting the plate breathe rather than forcing it into an intergalactic-themed feast or a Sherlock Holmes-inspired culinary adventure.

With a miniature railway, decent-sized playground, and hopefully soon, a reborn cafe, Manor Park in Glossop has enough going on to make it worthy of a family day out even if you don’t live in the town.

Maricarmen is a lively tapas bar that brings a bit of Spain to the streets of Ancoats. Live music, olives, flamenco and tortilla are just some of the things that bring that Iberian buzz. Like being on holiday at home. It’s not just the usual tapas suspects; Maricarmen’s menu is more interesting than that. Think slow-braised oxtail stew with Pedro Ximenez sauce and quality secreto iberico.

Depop hit Marbu Vintage was an appointment-only studio on Oxford Road until winter 2025 when owner Martha Burns opened this three-storey boutique on Porter Street, NQ. Since then it’s been namechecked in Vogue and i-D magazine and has become a go-to shop for girls looking for unique nineties and Y2K finds.

Stories associated with this iconic hotel on St Peter’s Square include hosting the first meeting of Mr Rolls and Mr Royce, and the unconfirmed but much repeated tale that Hitler wanted it as his Manchester HQ so gave orders that it shouldn’t be damaged in bombing raids.

Take the train from Manchester Piccadilly to New Mills Central then follow the footpath leading off Station Road. You’ll soon find yourself on an aerial walkway suspended halfway up a sheer cliff face, with the churning waters of the River Goyt far below. This is the Millennium Walkway; a 160m footpath that clings to the side of a previously inaccessible natural gorge.

The Morris is an unassuming name for what is one of the Northern Quarter’s best cocktail bars. It doesn’t have a throbbing late night energy but it is a place of many attractions. Downstairs is outdoor seating and a pubby bar area. A place for a pint of Guinness and a bag of crisps. Upstairs is a cocktail lounge in retro orange with stylish serves in nice glassware. Above that is a perfectly-formed private hire space.

After winning over the caffeine lovers of first Heaton Moor and then Altrincham, Mouro opened its third coffee shop on Tib Street in the Northern Quarter in spring 2026. They roast their own house blend and you can buy bags to take home from the shop or online.

You can approach a visit to the Museum of Illusions Manchester in two ways. One – as an educational exploration of the physics, maths and artistic principles behind the optical illusions. Or two – as a chance to get a load of daft selfies of your friends/family in various states of wonder and amusement.

This subterranean bar in the Gay Village has been a beacon for theatre-lovers and touring productions since it opened in 2012. It’s themed around all things stage and screen, with posters for musicals on the walls and a soundtrack of show tunes on the speakers.

Permit Room is a relaxed all-day dining spot with everything from coffee to cocktails. It’s by Dishoom so you can expect punchy Indian flavours and popular small plates.

What a journey it’s been so far for Basque-inspired restaurant Pilgrim. After beginning life as a pop-up in Dalston, London, Pilgrim won the BBC’s Million Pound Menu in 2019 and secured a permanent spot in Liverpool’s Duke Street Market. Michelin awarded it a Bib Gourmand soon after it opened, and locals loved it just as much as the food critics. Then founder Jamie Duffield was diagnosed with brain cancer, and the restaurant closed.

Formerly known as Hotel Gotham, now rebranded as The Rex, this five-star boutique hotel on King Street has always had an aura of glamour and intrigue to it.

Rajdoot is Manchester city centre’s oldest Indian restaurant. It opened in 1966 and is still serving North Indian dishes, Nepalese specialities and tandoori favourites. It’s a colourful and welcoming restaurant but its underground location on Albert Square mean most of us just walk past without realising the delights of chicken choyla and lamb chilli bhuna that lie within.

This red-lit pool hall and margarita bar is the sidekick to Madre restaurant next door. Salon Madre goes hard on the Mexican vibe with its tequila focused drinks, taco menu and screens showing Lucha Libre wrestling and football. 

All eyes turn to the Shepley’s Facebook page when Easter approaches, as its small legion of fans eagerly awaits the post announcing that they’ve reopened after their annual winter break. Run by husband-and-wife team Jude and Jane, the Old Glossop cafe is open from about Easter to about December each year. Its seasonal opening is part of its appeal but it’s far from the only reason it’s loved by locals and visitors.

Shrimp & Co is riding the wave of messy seafood boil and platter places where gloves are de rigeur and messy chins are all part of the experience. This small Northern chain, with its platters and seafood boils, has established itself as something you must try. It’s especially tailored to group dining.

Sister Moon is the new opening at the top of the Treehouse Hotel on Deansgate. This South East Asian restaurant offers some of the best views in the city and a stonkingly good lobster roll. The sky-high sights and the cocktails are enough to make Sister Moon a great addition to Manchester’s food scene. When you add dishes like smoky BBQ octopus with rich massaman flavours, it’s a definite top pick.

Splash Park Huddersfield is another one of the municipal leisure centres done good. This fully-indoor water park has two daredevil slides for older kids with water features and a chance to splash about for younger visitors.

Let’s think of two really on-trend, cool countries and combine them into one hit restaurant concept. That isn’t how Sticks’n’Sushi actually came about, but its Japanese food-meets-Danish design theme does feel very much like it should be a Taschen coffee table book, if it’s not already.

Suzume is a sake bar and restaurant from the team behind The Sparrows. It’s a good-looking but understated place with clean lines and excellent service.

Tavern Co Social is the new city centre opening from the popular Smithdown Road operator. It brings cheap eats, live sport and massive breakfasts to Water Street making it a popular destination for matchday meet-ups or next-day recovery sessions.

TYGA continues Asha’s legacy of gussied-up Indian dining. Yes, there’s plenty of bling but it’s the food that merits your attention.

Along with Turkey, Italy and Australia, Vietnam is one of those countries where coffee isn’t just a drink, it’s part of the national identity. Vibean, which opened on Lincoln Square in November 2025, brings Vietnamese coffee culture to Manchester, and it’s going down a storm.