New on Confidential Guides: restaurants, bars, things to do, lifestyle and shopping
1 year agoLooking for things to do in Manchester, Liverpool and the North West of England? You’re in the right place – we’re adding interesting new places to Confidential Guides every week. We’ve over a thousand restaurants, bars, shops, hotels and visitor attractions for you to check out (so clear your diary for the next few years).
Thankfully, whittling them down to what you want is dead easy – use the filters to search by city, neighbourhood, category, keyword, price and so on. You’ll soon have a list of recommendations that tick your boxes.
Here’s just a handful of the new places (and old favourites) we’ve added to Confidential Guides over the summer. Which ones will you be heading to first?
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Alderley Edge
San Carlo Alderley Edge
The latest addition to the San Carlo family is the impressive £3 million Alderley Edge restaurant, boasting a sunlit dining terrace with a retractable roof and open flame fireplace.
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Book Now Deansgate
Suki Suki Street Food & Bar
Suki Suki Street Food & Bar is a Pan-Asian street food bar located on Deansgate under the arches of the Great Northern Warehouse.
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Book Now Clitheroe
Holmes Mill
Located in the heart of Clitheroe, Holmes Mill is a bountiful food, drink and entertainment venue as well as a lovely place to stay in Lancashire. Featuring its own beer hall, bar & grill, hotel, food hall, bowling alley, cinema and much more, this former textiles mill is the gift that keeps on giving.
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Piccadilly
Diecast
Diecast is a party venue and ‘creative neighbourhood’ five-minutes’ walk from Manchester Piccadilly station.
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Manchester City Centre
Salt & Pepper
During lunch hours there’s queues out the door with Mancs waiting to grab a dish from the ‘Main Ones’ menu. Choose your protein, how it’s cooked (sticky, or salt & pepper), and whether you want rice, chips or both to make up your box.
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Manchester City Centre
ManCoCo
ManCoCo sits in the railway arches on Hewitt Street between HOME Arts Centre and the Castlefield Gallery. It’s not the easiest place to find but it’s worth the initial effort – we think they serve one of the smoothest and most aromatic coffees around. And it’s reasonably priced considering the city centre postcode.
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Northern Quarter
The Cow Hollow Hotel
If you like to stay somewhere that reflects the character and history of the city you’re in, Cow Hollow Hotel could be for you.
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Gay Village
Madre Manchester
You’ll find Manchester’s Madre near KAMPUS on the Chorlton Street side of the complex. It’s the kind of place you’d visit with a groups of friends to enjoy good Mexican food, music and mezcal.
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Book Now Clitheroe
Assheton Arms
The Assheton Arms is a classic country pub – perfect for a stop off after a walk in the Ribble Valley. Given that its wine selection is so good, perhaps you should take advantage of the accommodation – many of the bedrooms have views of Pendle Hill – and turn lunch into a weekend getaway.
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Book Now Ancoats
The Jacksonheim Boutique
The Jacksonheim Boutique is the group name for a portfolio of luxury aparthotels and serviced apartments in some of the most popular locations in Manchester. If you’re looking for somewhere to stay with style, character, and all the comforts of a home-from-home, their range is your place to start.
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Sale
Openswim UK
If you want to go swimming at Sale Water Park, the safest way is with Openswim UK. They hold casual swimming sessions there four days a week in spring and summer, plus sessions throughout the winter. With regular water testing and lifeguards on standby, it’s a lot less risky than venturing in on your own.
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Castlefield
The Wharf
The Wharf has one of the largest outdoor areas in Manchester and is it’s in Castlefield, the canalside views aren’t bad either.
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Hathersage
Hathersage Swimming Pool
Catch the Hope Valley line train from Piccadilly to this picturesque Peak District village for a dip in Hathersage Swimming Pool, a heated lido built in the 1930s.
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Urmston
Restaurant Orme
Restaurant Örme is a small fine-dining restaurant situated on an inconspicuous street in Urmston. But don’t be fooled by its humble size and location – this is a restaurant that means business.
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Manchester City Centre
House of Vanity
House of Vanity specialises in big, bouncy blowdries and drop-dead gorgeous beauty makeovers. Situated on John Dalton Street, this salon is the place to go for enhancing your natural beauty, or even completely transforming your look.
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Oxton
OXA
Oxa is the casual sister restaurant to the ground-breaking Restaurant 8 in Liverpool but it is by no means the poor relation.
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Albert Dock
Burnt Milk Hotel
Burnt Milk Hotel is the new face of wine drinking. Relaxed, unpretentious and with a great selection of natural wines as well as stellar coffee.
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Liverpool City Centre
Nord
Nord is a real asset to Liverpool’s dining scene. Housed in a bit of an unlovely 1960s office block – the former HQ of Littlewoods – the building has had some serious TLC. Now the subtle décor has shades of Mad Men rather than The Fall And Rise of Reginald Perrin with pendant lights, earthy tones and a statement orange bar.
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Chinatown (Manchester)
Fat Pat’s
Said to be ‘changing the sarnie game one sando at a time’, Fat Pat’s is a popular lunchtime spot that Mancunians come far and wide for.
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Cheadle
Aamchi Mumbai
Idli and dosas are as ubiquitous as chicken korma nowadays but Cheadle’s Indian street food restaurant Aamchi Mumbai still stands out from the crowd.
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Cavern Quarter
Restaurant 8
Chef and co-owner Andrew Sheridan (who you might recognise from Great British Menu) has uprooted Restaurant 8 from Birmingham and returned to the city of his birth. It’s a tough blow for the Brummies; the restaurant had built up a mighty reputation in the city, being awarded three AA Rosettes. But it’s excellent news for Liverpool.
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Manchester City Centre
Riot Hearts
Riot Hearts isn’t your typical ‘run of the mill’ salon; it’s an alternative, LGBTQIA+ inclusive hair studio located in the heart of Manchester city centre on Portland Street.
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Northern Quarter
Idle Hands
Idle Hands have a super-tight following – who helped by setting up a crowd-funding campaign in their honour when the chips were down – and, as a result, there’s a strong community focus at this coffee shop and kitchen, which started life on Piccadilly Station Approach in early 2015.
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Book Now Chester
Opera Grill
Housed in a Grade II Listed building with a neo-classical facade, Chester’s Opera Grill is a grand, 400-seater restaurant from Individual Restaurants (the team behind Piccolino and the Restaurant Bar and Grill).
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Northern Quarter
Doll Parts
Having worked with huge brands like Beauty Bay and celebrity icons like Ru Paul’s Drag Race superstar Tayce, Doll Parts are experts in the nail art world.
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Liverpool City Centre
Harvey Nichols Beauty Bazaar
Harvey Nichols Beauty Bazaar offers the full beauty experience over three floors.
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Sale
Walkden Gardens
Walkden Gardens is a very grown up sort of park. Like a mini RHS Bridgewater ran in partnership with the council and a band of loyal and dedicated volunteers.
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Manchester City Centre
Fab Cafe Bar
Is it really a drunken night out in Manchester if you don’t (at least consider) heading to Fab Cafe? Or Fab Cafe Bar to use it’s never normally used full name.
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Cumbria
The Yan
The Lake District is almost as well-known for its fancy Michelin-star establishments as it is for its fells. The Yan is not quite like that. It’s a down-to-earth, hearty bistro. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth a visit, though. In fact, Grace Dent is a fan of its big flavours and so are we.
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Gay Village
Vanilla
If you’re looking for a lesbian bar and club in Manchester, chances are you’ll find yourself at Vanilla. It’s been a fixture of the Gay Village since 1998 and has won various ‘best lesbian bar’ awards over the years.
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Liverpool City Centre
Hummingbird
Art Deco-style cocktail bar Hummingbird is one of Liverpool’s hippest spots for a chilled night out.
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Gay Village
Home Chinese
Home Chinese sits on the edge of the Gay Village on Chorlton Street and prides itself on serving authentic Chinese cuisine including dim sum, Szechuan and Cantonese dishes.
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Diggle
Grandpa Greene’s Luxury Ice Cream
Perched by the canal in the picturesque village of Diggle, near Oldham, Grandpa Greene’s is best known for its award-winning homemade ice cream. It’s also a warm and inviting licensed cafe with glass fronted terraces and indoor dining.
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Altrincham
MOST Bakery
Selling beautiful artisanal breads, sandwiches, pastries and other sweet treats, family bakery MOST has become a popular spot since it opened on Cross Street in Altrincham 2022.
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Urmston
Ortica Italian Plant Based
Ortica brings the south of Italy to the south of Manchester, minus the meat and dairy. Their 100% vegan menu is served from breakfast through to evening, and includes bar snacks and aperitivo for those who want something light with drinks. House spritzes and negronis are served all day, as is Ortica’s selection of Italian wines.
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Manchester City Centre
INTRO Clothing
This Manchester-born independent has been selling designer menswear in the city since 1990. It’s seen a lot of trends come and go in that time, and has always been there at the forefront of them. If you’re looking for young, confident clothing from high-end labels, this is your go-to.