Here at Confidentials, we love a bit of posh nosh, obvs. We get really excited about both tasting and telling people about the very best food that the North West has to offer. Unfortunately for your bank balance, that level of quality usually comes with a matching price tag. It can be an expensive do, this fine-dining lark. But not always. Sometimes we come across outrageously good grub at a very reasonable price indeed, and that’s when we get really excited.
This is our guide to eating really well for less than twenty quid. Many of these restaurants offer more expensive options but they all have either a set menu or decent a la carte menu options that come to less than £20 per person for a decent scran. This usually means a starter and a main course or main course and dessert depending on which side of that particular food fight you’re on. These lot all feature chefs that we consider to be right at the top of their game, no less than the best for our Top 100. The food is all bloody good but casting an eye over the bill at the end of your meal won’t drain the blood from your cheeks.
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Manchester City CentreBundobust Manchester
More detailsBundobust is a huge beer hall serving craft ales in the heart of Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens. It also happened to win Restaurant of the Year at the 2017 Manchester Food and Drink Festival awards, thanks to its stellar menu of Indian small plates.
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AncoatsRudy’s Pizza Manchester Ancoats
More detailsListed amongst the world’s best pizzerias in international pizza guide, Where To Eat Pizza, Rudy’s Pizza has grown from a pop-up project into a full blown word-of-mouth phenomenon.
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Ashton-under-LyneLily’s Indian Vegetarian Cuisine
More detailsLily’s Indian Vegetarian Cuisine is an unassuming restaurant in Ashton-under-Lyne that happens to serve some of the best South Indian food in the UK.
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DidsburyHispi
More detailsHispi 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.
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ChorltonAmma’s Canteen
More detailsPassionate Keralan-Indian-Brit fusion. A great place to eat can make the back end of nowhere worth visiting – and (largely) Keralan restaurant Amma’s Canteen, on the outskirts of Chorlton, feels like a destination.
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AltrinchamTre Ciccio Altrincham
More detailsTranslating as ‘three chubby friends’ (a self-effacing reference to owner Francesco Scafuri and a pair of his portly pals from back in Campania), Tre Ciccio Altrincham doesn’t look much from the outside, or even the inside, at first.
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Book Now Mossley HillSpire
More detailsSpire, a grown-up bistro near Liverpool’s Penny Lane, is the brainchild of chef-patron and award-winning regional ‘Food Hero’ Matt Locke.
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Book Now CheadleIndian Tiffin Room Cheadle
More detailsIndian Tiffin Room Cheadle was one of the first local places to step away from the typical menu of the average flock wallpapered curry house and focus instead on Indian street food.
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Chinatown (Manchester)Yuzu
More detailsYuzu is a neighbourhood-style Japanese restaurant offering refreshingly uncomplicated dishes served in Zen-like surroundings. You won’t find a conveyor belt of sushi here, but something altogether more traditional, such as spanking fresh sashimi.
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BradfordPrashad
More detailsPrashad is a Gordon Ramsay-rated thrill for anyone craving Gujarati vegetarian food. Since starring on Ramsay’s Best Restaurant show, the team have made the most of the exposure. Expansion, relocation and even a Sunday Times top 40 rated cookbook followed.
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AltrinchamRigatoni’s Altrincham
More detailsRigatoni’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.
