Where to find Manchester’s gourmet mushrooms

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.

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 Edinburgh Castle is a fortification for fortifying yourself, full of hearty British fare. This defence against hunger has two parts. No, not motte and bailey, but an upstairs restaurant and a downstairs pub. Upstairs, downstairs and all the connotations that go along with that.

The downstairs is a traditional old pub with a welcoming drinking zone and a separate eating area. Traditional pub or not, this is much more than just some Scampi Fries. In fact, this is some of the very best pub food in the city.

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.

Bread, buns and other bakes are the name of the food game at Where The Light Gets In spin-off Yellowhammer – but equally important is what else is being blasted to a high heat, and it’s not what you’d expect; if you fancy some ceramics with your sourdough, you’re in the right place.

Serving a unique Caribbean-Colombian combo, Cafe Sanjuan is the creation of Luis Felipe Sanjuan, who hails from Barranquilla, a bustling seaport on the Caribbean coast of Colombia – his mum Viviana helps in the kitchen to keep it real; his dad, also Luis Felipe, does deliveries.