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Guide

The coolest places to eat in Manchester

2 years ago

Looking for bare bricks, parquet wood flooring, dangly filament light bulbs, Scandi chairs, clipboard menus, natural wine, staff in trainers, chefs in flatcaps… you get the point.

Here we’ve collected together some of the most interesting and hip places to eat in Manchester, from laid-back suburban bistros to a Northern Quarter ramen bar.

  • Bundobust Manchester is best known for its vegetarian small plates and craft beers
    Book Now Manchester City Centre

    Bundobust Manchester

    Restaurant - Indian subcontinent

    Bundobust 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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  • Book Now Manchester City Centre

    Climat

    Restaurant - Modern British

    On the rooftop of Blackfriars House, Climat is a simply exceptional dining experience owned and operated by the team behind Covino in Chester, who have established a reputation as a wine-led restaurant with a focus on changing menus and a passion for wine.

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  • Dishes at Ducie Street Warehouse
    Northern Quarter

    Ducie Street Warehouse

    Restaurant - Modern British

    Ducie Street Warehouse is all sorts of things, but one of those things is a restaurant. It’s an all-day affair with everything from classic brunches to late-night cocktails. On the menu you’ll find a good selection of small sharing dishes and large plates – it’s a sociable kind of place. And of course, you’ll also find Ducie Street Warehouse’s signature focaccia flatbreads.

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  • El Gato Negro, the much-praised Spanish restaurant on King Street, Manchester
    Manchester City Centre

    El Gato Negro Manchester

    Restaurant - Spanish

    El Gato Negro is an upmarket Manc-Spanish fusion restaurant that really, really works. Originally from Yorkshire, chef Simon Shaw has created an indulgent, three-storey church to his passion for the best in Spanish food and wine.

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  • Figs take centre stage in this dish from Erst restaurant in Ancoats.
    Book Now Ancoats

    Erst

    Restaurant - British

    “Yet more small plates in Ancoats?” we hear you cry. Well yes, but trust us, Erst is worth your attention. This is a place for serious foodies so don’t come looking for mac n cheese balls. Plenty of other places can satisfy that filthy craving for you.

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  • A cocktail at Grand Pacific, one of the best cocktail bars in Manchester
    Book Now Manchester City Centre

    Grand Pacific

    Restaurant - Pan Asian

    Grand Pacific is the work of Living Ventures and it easily outshines its sibling venues in terms of pure glamour. Not in a big chandeliers, glass and chrome Spinningfields way, but with a decadent blend of colonial Raffles-style grandeur and some of the best of the city’s Victorian architecture.

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  • Cocktail at Hawksmoor Manchester
    Spinningfields

    Hawksmoor

    Restaurant - British

    The best steakhouse in the North. Opening on Deansgate in 2015, 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.

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  • Inside Hispi bistro in Didsbury - one of Confidential Guides' recommended Manchester restaurants.
    Book Now Didsbury

    Hispi

    Restaurant - European

    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.

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  • A table laden with dishes from Mughli - one of the first Indian restaurants in Manchester to embrace street food.
    Rusholme

    Mughli

    Restaurant - Indian subcontinent

    Mughli is the contemporary, social media embracing, second generation Curry Mile restaurant that paved the way for the likes of Indian Tiffin Room, Amma’s Canteen and Dishoom.

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  • Cocktail served at MUSU
    Book Now Spinningfields

    MUSU

    Restaurant - Japanese

    The Japanese word MUSU translates as ‘infinite possibilities’ and while Chef Patron Michael Shaw’s quartet of menus may not be infinite they are certainly unique for Manchester at least. With a combination of Japanese and more locally-sourced ingredients, the guest is invited to choose the way they prefer to dine at MUSU.

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  • Cocktail served at Namii Kitchen and Cocktails
    Book Now Chinatown (Manchester)

    Namii Kitchen & Cocktails

    Restaurant - Vietnamese

    It’s got neon, it’s got pastels, it’s got faux foliage, it’s got innovative cocktails and it’s got Pan Asian cuisine with a definite lean Vietnam-wards. It calls itself “authentically modern”, but faithful to the Vietnamese way of life, it recommends ordering food for the table, tapas style.

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  • A dish served with a glass of wine at Oystercatcher - a seafood restaurant in Chorlton, Manchester.
    Book Now Chorlton

    Oystercatcher

    Restaurant - European

    “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.

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  • Outside dining at Porta Altrincham - a tapas restaurant recommended by Confidential Guides
    Book Now Altrincham

    Porta Altrincham

    Restaurant - European

    Spanish small plates and a menu that really delivers. Porta Altrincham might be another tapas place – but this one is a smash hit serving excellent food and fine wines.

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  • A seafood dish at Rosso
    Book Now Manchester City Centre

    Rosso

    Restaurant - Italian

    If it’s a stylish lunch date destination you’re after or some suitably chic eats for dinner à deux, Rosso might be the one, resplendent in clean white suffused with natural light and with plenty of Italian-inspired vegetarian, pescatarian and meat-lover options on the menu.

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  • Book Now Manchester City Centre

    The Refuge

    Restaurant - European

    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.

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  • The exterior of San Carlo Manchester with its distinctive orange awning.
    Book Now Manchester City Centre

    San Carlo Manchester

    Restaurant - Italian

    San Carlo is Manchester’s most famous and, some say, best Italian restaurant. Run by the Distefano family, it’s said to have one of the largest turnovers in the UK. It’s also the place to be papped and there’s usually a bank of photographers outside to prove the point.

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  • Sud Pasta Sign
    Book Now Ancoats

    Sud Pasta Ancoats

    Restaurant - Italian

    SUD Pasta is a must-visit restaurant in Manchester. Since opening their first pasta kitchen in 2015, they’ve taken the city and suburbs by storm.

    With restaurants in Altrincham, Ancoats and now Sale, they’re a firm favourite amongst locals and visitors alike.

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  • Tokyo Ramen, manchester
    Book Now Northern Quarter

    Tokyo Ramen

    Restaurant - Japanese

    Spartan and stripped back is the only description for Tokyo Ramen – and that’s both the menu and the restaurant itself. With barely enough space to swing a noodle, the place only accommodates 20 walk-ins. It’s not a sociable place, more a utilitarian slurping station.

    As it is all about the food, is it any good? In a word, yes. The selection of drinks is limited, even the word ‘selection’ seems like too generous a term and the menu is brief and to the point. It’s the ramen which are the one-pot wonders with Tokyo Ramen billing itself as ‘Manchester’s #1 ramen shop’. It’s all in the broth – in this case 10 hour chicken bone broth, or mushroom dashi in the vegan option – which lifts the food to Mt. Fuji-like heights.

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  • A colourful small plate served at Volta in Didsbury: a Confidential Guides' recommended restaurant
    Book Now Didsbury

    Volta

    Restaurant - European

    Volta is owned by Luke ‘Unabomber’ Cowdrey and Justin Crawford – the DJ-restauranteur duo behind Chorlton’s Electrik bar, the Electrik Chair club night, and Refuge by Volta in Manchester city centre’s Kimpton Clocktower Hotel. 

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  • Pumpkin pie at Where The Light Gets In
    Book Now Stockport

    Where the Light Gets In

    Restaurant - Modern British

    The UK’s most exciting ‘no menu’ restaurant. With no menu and esoteric wines, Where the Light Gets In doesn’t adhere to the typical fine-dining formula. But it’s been a success for Stockport, thanks to chef-patron Sam Buckley’s belief in doing things his own way.

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