40 recommended Sunday roasts in Manchester and Greater Manchester

The Black Friar stood empty and unloved for almost 20 years before reopening in summer 2021 after a substantial renovation project. Now a modern British restaurant and a traditional pub, it has two distinct settings with menus to match.

Once a stall at Levy Market, then a pop-up pizzeria above Fred’s Ale House, Cibus took baby steps to get to where it is today; a fully-fledged and much-praised Italian restaurant and bar on Levenshulme high street, and the winner of The Good Food Guide’s award for Best Local Restaurant North West 2024.

Founder’s Hall is a smartly-refurbished pub with an enviable position on Albert Square. It serves up comforting pub food and a vast range of beers.

Rain Bar is a pub from JW Lees in an old umbrella factory. It’s a beautiful building and looks even better now after its recent refurb. The jewel in the crown though, or the spoke in its brolly, is a large outdoor area to the rear overlooking the Bridgewater Canal.

The Bay Horse Tavern, to give it its full moniker, describes itself as a modern take on a Victorian Pub. With its dark hues and warm woods, puttering candles and kitschy knick-knacks as well as its range of gins, craft beers and ‘other libations’, it may well straddle the eras.

Handsome subterranean restaurant Blacklock Manchester is the first northern opening from this London-based restaurant group. 

The ‘Burbs is exactly the sort of informal neighbourhood spot you want round the corner from your house.

Dakota Grill Manchester is the work of former Malmaison owner, Ken McCollough and it is as dark-hued and handsome as the successful boutique hotel chain. It’s an inviting place with flickering candlelight, very retro-sexy – sure to be the setting for many a first date.

The focus at Dakota is on steaks which are very good – all grass-fed, 28 day-aged, hand-cut Aberdeenshire beef cooked over hot coals.

The Eagle & Child is famous for offering excellent Sunday lunches and award-winning pub grub in the hills above Manchester.

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.

Found in the former E & A Auto Services garage depot on Swan Street, Firehouse is the sister restaurant to Ramona’s Detroit-style pizzeria. It’s part restaurant, part bar and part performance venue where tables are available to book for dinner and “after dark drinking”. The space is open and airy with a real laid-back feel. White shutters, bleached brick and glitter balls hanging from the high ceiling complete the chilled out party ambience.

Fold Bistro and Bottle Shop is a new addition to the foodie scene in Marple Bridge, and has already gained a reputation as a must-visit spot in the town.

For many people, Argentinian restaurant Gaucho Manchester is the destination in the city for very good steak paired with very good wine. Housed in a converted Methodist church on Deansgate, with an open kitchen, and the original church organ still in-situ, it’s also known as one of Manchester’s best-looking spaces for dining.

The first Hawksmoor steakhouse outside of London is a confident affair. Well sourced steak and attention to detail have created a place like no other.

Hispi is, quite simply, a great bistro. Fifth in a growing chain of restaurants conceived by Gary Usher, the concept started with Sticky Walnut in Chester (see also Top 100), a neighbourhood operation which made its name off the back of great, simple food, quaffable wine served in beakers, and excellent quality produce. Expect chunky British dishes – such as chicken liver pate and braised featherblade – made with fresh ingredients and great results.

The Jane Eyre Chorlton is a neighbourhood restaurant and cocktail bar on Beech Road, Chorlton’s most charming street. This offshoot of the Ancoats original has fitted in nicely to its location which has been home to some of Chorlton’s best restaurants over the years – and a few short-lived mistakes. The Jane Eyre is definitely in the former camp.

George Orwell may have named his ideal (and imaginary) pub The Moon Under Water but Wetherspoons on Deansgate was not what he had in mind. It’s The Marble Arch which has all the qualities that mark it out as the perfect boozer.

The Martlet Kitchen is a very welcome addition to Rochdale’s food scene. The restaurant in the refurbished town hall serves robust British food in an impressively grand setting.

Nestled in the Grade II Listed former Freemasons Hall, Masons Restaurant and Bar serves retro fine-dining fare in princely surrounds.

Thomas Studd and his wife Sarah established their Chop House in booming Cottonopolis in 1867, and it’s still going strong, serving up top-end pub grub in the famous tiled back room restaurant along with flagons and snifters in the bar and on the sunny St Ann’s Square terrace.

Humbly describing itself as a “community gastropub”, The Pack Horse is raking in the glowing reviews, including by food critics making a special trip up from That London – it’s even been named one of the Top 50 Gastropubs 2022 and it’s Michelin Guide listed.

You’ll find Pip on the ground floor of Treehouse Hotel Manchester, decked out in the same tastefully playful theme as the rest of the building. Furniture is mismatched and the restaurant is laid out in a spacious manner whilst still giving off a cosy, homely vibe. 

Dakota Grill Manchester is the work of former Malmaison owner, Ken McCollough and it is as dark-hued and handsome as the successful boutique hotel chain. It’s an inviting place with flickering candlelight, very retro-sexy – sure to be the setting for many a first date.

The focus at Dakota is on steaks which are very good – all grass-fed, 28 day-aged, hand-cut Aberdeenshire beef cooked over hot coals.

The Red Lion’s location in Whitworth, Rochdale is semi rather than fully rural but in terms of character and style, you can’t get much more ‘country pub’ than this. It’s got the cobblestone square outside, the roaring fire inside, the sleepy dogs by the bar, the sturdy British cooking. It has the history too, dating from the 17th century.

Winning small plate fusion in an iconic and glamorous setting. Housed in Manchester’s iconic The Refuge Assurance Company dating back to 1858, this DJ-run restaurant and bar is large and sassy.

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.

The River Restaurant at The Lowry Hotel is Manchester’s classic fine dining restaurant. Huge names that have run the kitchen include Marco Pierre White, while diners have included Jose Mourinho and Kylie.

Housed in an old railway station building saved in 2018 and restored with Heritage Fund support, Station South is a “destination cycle café and bar”, complete with bike workshop and urban garden, that sits overlooking the Fallowfield Loop cycle path, once the Fallowfield Line.

The Swettenham Arms is in an idyllic location, right next to the Lovell Quinta Aboretum. The pub even has its own lavender field, wafting soothing floral notes over outdoor drinkers. The Swettenham Arms itself is pretty idyllic too, dating from the 1500s. With all that history, it’s no surprise that it claims to be haunted.

Tender is an elegant restaurant in Manchester’s Stock Exchange Hotel. The food lives up to the grandeur. Headed by Chef Niall Keating, it wouldn’t be a surprise if his cooking here earned him some more of those Michelin stars. He’s on his way to becoming a culinary constellation.

This unassuming, independent restaurant overlooking the historic Smithfield Fish Market is a stalwart of the Northern Quarter’s dining scene. Co-owner and chef Anthony Fielden has been cooking up a storm at TNQ since 2004, winning various awards and accolades along the way. 

Longstanding Thomas Street bar Trof has got ‘top Manchester night out’ written all over its labyrinthine three storeys. But it’s just as well known for its morning-after comfort feeds as its cocktails. The Sunday Roast has a reputation for greatness, and the weekend brunch menu is popular. Go for the full English breakfast or the confit duck hash with sriracha and honey glaze.

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.