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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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.

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. .

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’.

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

Suki Suki Street Food & Bar is a Pan-Asian street food bar located on Deansgate under the arches of the Great Northern Warehouse.

Catalan restaurant Tast brings the fiercely independent spirit of north-eastern Spain to your table courtesy head chef Paco Pérez – holder of six Michelin stars – and his passionate team, who run eight acclaimed restaurants around the world.

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.

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.

Mackie Mayor is a cosmopolitan food hall located in an 1858 Grade II listed market building on the edge of Manchester’s Northern Quarter.

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.

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.

“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.

There’s a story behind the American and British flags that fly over the entrance to The Bells of Peover, a country dining pub in a village south of Knutsford.

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.

This neon-lit, old-school tiled chippy on Cross Street is owned by local couple Trisha and Marcus and has plenty of fans including a few celebrities. There are queues out of the door regularly for their traditional fare done very, very well.

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

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.

Seasonal and made from scratch – there’s a homeliness to the food at The Pasta Factory that belies its industrial-sounding name.

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.

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 seeds of Matthew Nutter’s fine dining adventure were sown when he set out to “make veg taste better than steak”. And the menu at The Allotment Vegan Eatery exceeds this ambition.

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.

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.

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.

Dear Sailor is a reclusive bar but once inside, it’s no shrinking violet. It’s the sort of place where you could come in for a pre-dinner cocktail and end up dancing on the tables.

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.