6 restaurants taking market fresh fish to another level

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.

A quality fish restaurant this far inland has always been a difficult ask but The Easy Fish Co. Heaton Moor shows it can be done. It’s both fishmonger and restaurant and the no-nonsense, back-to-basics name is a little misleading in that there’s a lot more to this place than a choice of cod or haddock. 

The MUSU Collection is a group of innovative modern Japanese dining experiences, all under one roof. With three AA rosettes, this is the cutting edge of Manchester’s restaurant scene.

“Doing lots of little things right” is a definition of perfection. And Oystercatcher – a simple seafood restaurant in Chorlton – is just that.
The kitchen’s Inca grill is masterfully handled by co-owner Recep Canliisik, who churns out dishes such as char-grilled whole sea bream, and Tandoori-barbecued monkfish tail.

For Street Urchin, think less about raggedy kids hanging about Victorian mills (although it is on the edge of Ancoats) and more about seafood delicacies. Fish is plentiful on the menu at this English market diner, although meat gets a look-in too.

When a fish restaurant has the local fishmonger behind it, you can bet that those scallops were sitting in their shells until very recently. And when the chef has a stint at Whitstable’s award-winning The Sportsman under his apron strings, then you are in for a treat.

The Fisherman’s Table is in Marple so that fisherman must have a long commute. It’s over 40 miles to the seaside. Nevertheless, this is some of the freshest fish you’ll eat.