New on Confidential Guides: Dear Sailor, Love From, Pretty Vacant and more

The BBC’s 6 Music Festival is a celebration of up-and-coming talent, emerging acts and the cool elder statespeople of alternative music across all genres. It started off in Manchester back in 2014 and pops up annually in the coolest gig venues across the UK. But, Manchester being synonymous with music and all that, we are its default home. 6 Music has chosen Greater Manchester more than any other city. We’re flattered. Really.

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.

Arkle is the feather in Chester’s foodie cap. The three AA Rosette restaurant, located in the grand Chester Grosvenor Hotel, is the hautest of haute cuisine in the city. It offers five and seven-course tasting menus as well as wine flights from some of the finest cellars in the country – as well as an appearance in the Michelin Guide, Arkle also has the AA Notable Wine Award.

Alfredo’s Social is a buzzy bar and restaurant in the parade of independents on Little Underbank in Stockport town centre. It’s a charming location and Alfredo’s Social is the most charming of them all, housed in the historic Grade II listed Winter’s building.

Black Raven Flowers is about as different from Greater Manchester’s other florists as it’s possible to be. While most may be inspired by wildflower meadows or rose gardens, Edgar Allan Poe seems to be the blueprint here.

Liverpool’s Brewery Bus Tours are a lively ride around the city’s coolest, off-the-beaten path breweries, with up to 12 craft beers along the way.

Buxton has long been a spa town but for many years it went without a high-quality spa. Then in 2020, the elegant 18th century Crescent building reopened as a five-star luxury hotel – with a restored Victorian spa pool fed by thermal water from the town’s ancient 27°C spring.

Dear Sailor is a reclusive bar but once inside, it’s no shrinking violet. It’s the sort of place where you could come in for a pre-dinner cocktail and end up dancing on the tables.

The Epicurean Chorlton is a friendly little beer shop. It may be smaller than its sister site in West Didsbury but the fridges are rammed with colourful cans in every hue from independent craft producers all over the UK and further afield.

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.

If bodybuilding, powerlifting or Olympic weightlifting are your thing, there’s a new gym in the Northern Quarter that you’ll want to check out. Federation Gym opened in October 2023 after its owners spotted a gap in the city centre for a luxury, pro-fitness training facility that combines competition-standard equipment with workshops, meal prep, and a posing room.

Guilty by Association is a late-night basement bar on Stevenson Square with fun cocktails, DJs and dancing.

The Halyard is a modern 132-room hotel in the buzzing, dynamic Ropewalks area of the city. Part of the Vignette Collection, it is well located for business and leisure travellers alike.

Indian Tiffin Room, the successful North West independent, has brought its authentic street food flavours to Liverpool.

Knoops Manchester is a chocoholic’s dream. Rather than just ordering a hot chocolate, choose the percentage, the origin and the milk for your perfect blend.

Located inside the Cotton Exchange building alongside One Fine Day, Little Leaf is a bright and airy yet cosy and snug cafe on Old Hall Street.

Karl Considine, host and founder of ‘What Next’ podcast, opened alcohol-free bar Love From as a two-week pop-up in October 2023. It’s returning in 2024 for Dry January and beyond with a three-month run in the elevated Bungalow building at Kampus, where it’ll offer a zero-booze mix of sober curious events, drinks and socialising.

Malmaison Deansgate Bar & Grill is a confident operation with prime grass-fed British beef and popular classics. The menu veers towards traditional rather than adventurous but great wines and well-aged, matured steaks mean that doesn’t matter. When you’re serving juicy marbled rib eye that everyone loves, what is there to complain about?

McQueen Independent on Chorlton’s buzzing Beech Road is a fantastic clothes shop for cool brands you don’t find on the high street. It’s predominantly geared towards women but there is a menswear section too as well as socks, shoes and some covetable bags.

Born in Edinburgh and now in Glasgow and Manchester, Maki & Ramen is a high-quality, quick-eats-style place that easily holds its own amongst the plethora of Japanese restaurants that have opened in the city centre recently.

Motel One St Peter’s Square offers a huge comfy lounge area with a quirky design: a riot of tartan and Chesterfields. The bedrooms are more toned down but they are a very good size considering the price.

Next Door is one of Cheshire’s most delightful restaurants. Housed in Frodsham’s timber-framed old butcher’s shop, it’s full of charm and is well-known locally for its superb cooking. It has a place in the Michelin Guide and has been awarded three AA Rosettes.

Nordic Muse is the opposite of fast-fashion or Amazon. This beautifully-curated Tib Street store is full of Scandi inspiration and artisan finds, prioritising craftsmanship, simplicity and timeless design.

Out of the Blue manages to making selling fish cool. It’s a lovely shop with sea-inspired abstract paintings, changing window art, boatloads of shimmering, clear-eyed fresh fish and some of the friendliest staff you’ll find.

The beauty of this place is that you never quite know what you’ll find, from ancient artefacts to military uniforms to Victorian photography. 

Pendergast’s Steakhouse offers a less butch take on the traditional macho steakhouse. There are standout cuts of beef but you’ll also find small plates, seafood and lighter mains as well as carefully-thought out dishes for vegetarians and vegans.

Platt Fields Market Garden is a muddy bit of the good life in urban Manchester. It’s a fantastic community growing project, ran by Manchester Urban Diggers (MUD). You can taste the fruit (and veg) of their labours in the café and you can also buy fresh produce from their stall.

Don’t be fooled by the unassuming exterior – the interior is even more unassuming. However, the food is unbelievable. Enormous flavours, friendly service and some of the tastiest Middle Eastern fast food you can find in South Manchester. Quite an accolade.

Piccolino Grande Wilmslow is an elegant and glamorous restaurant with an airy open-plan design, a Tuscan terrace and luxurious furnishings. Service is excellent and a meal here always feels special.

Pretty Vacant Collective is a fluorescent punk vision of gender free, LGBTQ+ hairdressing for all.

Rigatoni’s is a neighbourhood pasta place serving homemade rigatoni with a variety of sauces. Their trio of venues (in Ancoats, Altrincham and Exhibition in the city centre) are known for taking humble pasta dishes to another level of flavour. Expect beautiful combinations of fresh ingredients and budget-friendly prices.

Boutique stay The Ropewalks Hotel is perfectly located if you’re in Liverpool to explore its art, music, history and shopping. Situated in the hip, historical Ropewalks neighbourhood, just half a mile from Liverpool Lime Street, it’s a well-run, welcoming place to stay with personality and luxurious touches.

Rough Hand Made is a gorgeous artisan bakery on Albert Dock. Eat in or take away but get there early because their pastries are beautiful – and as this seems to be a view shared by half of Liverpool, they can get snaffled up pretty quickly.

Savages Mussels Bar opened in November 2023 on the cobbled Church Street a short walk from Macclesfield station. Prior to this it had stints as a pop-up and spent some time in the Picturedrome food hall, with chef and owner Jamie Savage even appearing on Gordon Ramsay’s Future Food Stars.

Six by Nico Deansgate is the second Manchester opening for the hit fine-dining concept from Scottish-Italian chef and owner Nico Simeone.

Smoak Coffee is a small coffee and bagel shop on Barlow Moor Road. The caffeine options are very good – roasted fresh every week – with a regularly changing single origin coffee and excellent filter coffee too.

Swim Liverpool at Princes Dock is the Liverpudlian base of We Swim Run, the team behind various races, courses and events in the North West for, you guessed it, swimmers and runners.

The Temple of Convenience is part of Manchester’s drinking culture. It has a reputation much bigger than the bar itself which is tiny – be prepared to get up close and personal with the other patrons because that’s just how it is.

Unicorn is a well-loved organic co-operative selling vegan produce. There’s an emphasis on Fairtrade and it does everything it can to source local fruit and vegetables through partnerships with local growers as well as co-operatives on the continent which share its ethos.

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.