The Hot 50: the most popular Manchester restaurants

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.

10 Tib Lane was one of the brave new openings of summer 2021; a time when securing staff and supplies, never mind diners, was an ongoing challenge for everyone. If you can launch a new restaurant in that environment, you must be doing something very right – so it’s no surprise that years later, it’s still going strong.

Winsome is a relatively new restaurant in Manchester but it already feels like an established part of the city’s dining scene. Perhaps that’s down to its timeless classic cooking or perhaps the pedigree of the team behind it. 

There is quite some experience behind owners Julian Pizer and Max Yorke at Another Hand, including time spent at Cottonopolis, The Edinburgh Castle and Hispi. In this intimate restaurant on Deansgate Mews, they put it to excellent use on an ever-changing, seasonal menu that takes advantage of some of the best suppliers in the region.

If you need a culinary lift to the spirits, the triple roasted meats at Happy Seasons in Chinatown will do the trick. This trio of char siu, crispy belly pork and roasted duck, served over egg fried rice, is one of the reasons you see queues out of the door at this Cantonese restaurant.

Food hall meets music festival is how we’d describe Freight Island to anyone confused about what they’ll find at this regenerated rail depot beyond Piccadilly Station. 

If you feel it’s time to spice up your life, look no further than this Northern Quarter indie, where the main offer is ‘kebabs worth sitting down for’. Yep, BAB by name, ‘babs by nature, but that’s not doing the menu full justice – there are also meze small plates to mix and match, skewers and shawarmas, and non-babs such as an epic surf & turf spread.

The Pen and Pencil is the Northern Quarter’s cool all-day hangout, modelled on the New York bar of the same name popular with the city’s journalists and ad men in the 1950s and 1960s. It has a reputation for great cocktails, quality food and an atmosphere that makes it stand out from nearby imitators.

Higher Ground, the permanent restaurant from the team behind Flawd, opened its doors in February 2023. Taking up residence in Bruntwood’s Faulkner House on Faulkner Street, it offers a chilled bistro experience with a focus on championing the finest North West produce.

Cantonese and contemporary, Little Yang Sing has a relaxed feel in otherwise bustling Chinatown. It’s popular for its dim sum, and offers much for the plant-based palate along with a proper wine list. .

Manchester’s highest restaurant, bar and terrace 20 Stories was the opening of 2018 and still maintains its status as one of the city’s most popular place to eat, drink, be snapped and be seen.

Described as a ‘debauched cocktail bar’ in the heart of the Northern Quarter, Behind Closed Doors aims to bring ‘sex, rugs & funk ‘n’ soul’ to the people of Manchester.

Skof is the first restaurant from chef Tom Barnes who, as head chef at Simon Rogan’s L’Enclume, helped it win its third Michelin star. In February 2025, he secured a Michelin star for Skof, with the judges praising its ‘clearly thought-through’ dishes and ‘delicate seasoning’.

On the Hush is a popular Northern Quarter cafe bar, winning awards for its bottomless brunch. Loyal customers and visitors to Manchester love its colourful style, imaginative cocktails and casual all-day food offering.

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. 

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

Culinary rock and roll from Simon Rogan’s protege, Adam Reid, and head chef Blaise Murphy, formerly of Mana. Enjoy fine-dining in Grade II Listed Victorian surrounds – with a side order of Mancunian attitude.

Located in the Northern Quarter, this friendly neighbourhood bistro and bar is the place to avanti if it’s a taste of traditional Sicily you fancy – from authentic street food snacks through to big plates of pasta to desserts and holiday memory gelato, eat in or take away.

The first thing you notice when you step into fine-dining restaurant Climat is the view. Situated on the roof of Blackfriars House, you’re just above the city skyline, close enough to see the details of the architecture, but high enough to feel like you’re in the clouds.

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. 

“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.

Cantaloupe is a simple yet brilliant Modern European bistro. The food is unfussy but with a team who have worked at Where The Light Gets In, Climat, The Creameries and The French, it’s no surprise that it’s also precise, achieving the almost unbelievable with humble and restrained ingredients.

Exhibition is one of Manchester’s cluster of exciting multi-kitchen concepts (read: food halls) that just seem to be multiplying. In the former home of the Natural History Museum, the location makes it perfect for visitors to Manchester Central, the Radisson Blu and the Midland Hotel.

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.

Bar Hütte Great Northern brings cosy comfort to winter nights out in Manchester. Escape the weather with seasonal hot cocktails, fresh pizza and snuggly seating in toasty karaoke huts. It’s open for Alpine après-ski-style fun from 12 November until 30 December – make the most of it while you can.

Twenty Twenty Two is a Northern Quarter hangout with a difference. It has the metro tiles, basement decor and late night action typical of other bars in the area, but it also has table tennis and other games.

Michelin-starred restaurant Mana is the brainchild of chef patron Simon Martin who mastered his trade at the renowned Noma in Copenhagen. At Mana, Martin has succeeded in carving his own path – one which confuses and delights people in equal measure.

The Sparrows serves up a variety of fresh, handmade continental pasta and Central and Eastern European dumplings in an unexpectedly airy space underneath a railway archway in Red Bank.

Lincoln Square’s traditional Cantonese restaurant Wing’s has been an institution in the city centre since 2004, when it first found fame through the patronage of Premier League footballers.

It takes more than famous names to keep a restaurant thriving though – and it’s testament to the consistency and quality of the upmarket British-Cantonese food that Wing’s is still going strong 20 years later.

Dishoom is a legend in its own lunchtime and that’s exactly how it likes things. It’s not enough to serve up top-notch Indian dishes in grand surroundings; there’s a story behind the menu too. But when the food is this good it doesn’t need to hide behind tall tales.

This 2023 addition to George Street has already secured a place as one of the most popular restaurants in Chinatown. Spread across two floors, Only Yu is lively even at lunchtime, thanks to friendly service and well-executed Chinese food.

Mei Dim by name, dim sum by nature. If it’s the Cantonese version of small plates you’re after, look no further than this basement Chinatown establishment, where bite-sized brunch or lunch dishes in the form of dumplings and buns are proclaimed the best in Manchester.

The Mews is one of a clutch of new places to set up shop on Deansgate Mews, or ‘deli alley’ as we’ve heard it called.

Manchester Chinese Restaurant has a name that states the obvious but other than that, doesn’t give much away. Perhaps it’s keeping its thousand year old egg dish and the extra helpings of jellyfish a secret for fear of upsetting the punters.

There’s no need. Manchester Chinese Restaurant has a menu to keep both the sensation-hunters and the play-it-safers perfectly happy. After all, China is a big country and the restaurant aims to reflect all of its culinary heritage.

Flight Club is a hit in London, Birmingham and Manchester, with its primary aim (sorry) to offer a contemporary take on playing a round of arrows in the pub – you can book your own semi-private area with a dartboard where two to six of you can step up to the oche.

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 you’ll sometimes see a bank of photographers outside to prove the point.

Setting a precedent for the likes of Mackie Mayor and Stockport Produce Hall, many have hailed the revamping of the Market House Indoor Food Hall as the touch paper that lit Altrincham’s whole foodie scene ablaze.

“The food speaks for itself,” says Cue Tran, owner of the Pho Cue Vietnamese kitchen, whose aim is to take the authentic street food dishes of his home country and give them a modern “Instagrammable” twist while retaining their flavour, freshness and family traditions.

With its ten pin bowling, pool tables, beer pong, and shuffleboard, Roxy Ball Room Manchester Arndale will keep you entertained for hours. 

Bruncho is a relaxed brunch spot on Deansgate focusing on Turkish specialities. The food is healthy and satisfying with a feeling of sunshine thanks to the Mediterranean diet. Of course, if various healthy iterations of poached eggs just don’t do it for you, then stamp on your fitbit and order pistachio baklava French toast instead.

Bar Etna is regularly voted as the best place to eat in Altrincham. Locals love its authentic Sicilian dishes and friendly, welcoming atmosphere but with food this good, they can’t expect to keep it to themselves.

Evelyn’s is a very clever restaurant. It’s from the chaps behind Mughli so expect a quality operation although it is very different to the standout star of Curry Mile.

It’s a light and leafy sort of place, both in the surroundings and on the plate. Evelyn’s offers a fresher, healthier take on dining out but it won’t leave you feeling like you’re at a well-being bootcamp.

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.

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.

Originally a Sichuan restaurant when it first opened at the turn of the century, Red Chilli on Manchester’s Portland Street has expanded its repertoire to offer Cantonese and Beijing-style dishes too.

It’s a good place for a celebration – Red Chilli is a bit plush and has some pedigree as well as a cracking wine list.

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.

The Salmon of Knowledge is an Irish bar in Manchester’s Northern Quarter providing drinker’s wisdom at the bottom of a glass of stout. It’s not just about Guinness, even though it’s as popular as black gold at the moment. If you love your stouts, there’s a range of Irish brewers represented on the bar, from the better known Murphy’s to the less-so (at least to English palates) Franciscan Well.

Albert’s Schloss is a Bavarian-inspired fun palace of extraordinary dimensions and clever design. Behind the glistening tiles of the former Manchester and Salford Wesleyan Mission building (est in 1910) you’ll discover a vast bar, real fires, perfectly preserved original plaster, and a wall stuffed generously with flowers by floral artists’ Frog. You’ll also find a stage, DJ booth and network of beer pipes and tanks serving unpasturised Pilsner Urquell to hordes of adoring punters.

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.