The best Ribble Valley restaurants
The best restaurants in Manchester 2024
A rare thing: top 10 steak restaurants in Manchester
The Hot 50 Restaurants in Manchester
The best private dining rooms in Manchester and Liverpool
11 National Restaurant Award winners within day-trip distance of Manchester and Liverpool
The 10 coolest cocktail bars in Liverpool
Everything, everywhere: A guide to food halls in Manchester
Michelin Star restaurants within 2 hours of Manchester
New on Guides: Manchester’s best-known restaurant group
Updated for 2023: Veggie-friendly restaurants in Manchester
The best Italian restaurants in Manchester
Top 100 Restaurants In The North
The best of the best
Our Top 100 in the North guide is a ranked list of the very best restaurants in the North of England. The finest produce cooked to absolute perfection with top-notch service and ambiance to boot. Our independent team of food writers and industry leaders rank the top 30 and agree on all of the unranked 31-100 entries. If it’s in here, you want to be in there.
The following restaurants are unranked and randomly ordered.
Bacaro
Liverpool City CentreLike the backstreet Venetian tapas places which inspired this central Liverpool bar and restaurant, there is something about Salt House...
Bistrot Verite
SouthportBistrot Verite is a Brittany-influenced bistro with a penchant for fish. Brassy flavours meet seaside standards at this Gallic enclave...
Lunya
Liverpool City CentreWorld-class Catalan deli and restaurant Lunya is a wonderful place to hang out, with tapas and full-bodied meals on offer....
Lily’s Indian Vegetarian Cuisine
Ashton-under-LyneLily's Indian Vegetarian Cuisine is an unassuming restaurant in Ashton-under-Lyne that happens to serve some of the best South Indian...
Eagle & Child
RamsbottomThe Eagle & Child is famous for offering excellent Sunday lunches and award-winning pub grub in the hills above Manchester.
Porta Altrincham
AltrinchamSpanish small plates and a menu that really delivers. Porta Altrincham might be another tapas place - but this one...
The London Carriage Works
Georgian QuarterBorn in the early 2000s, The London Carriage Works is Liverpool's original Modern British restaurant. Driven by a passion for...
Chef’s Table
ChesterThis independent, 30-cover restaurant in Chester is the brainchild of local chef Liam McKay. Sourcing is a priority at Chef's...
San Carlo Manchester
DeansgateSan Carlo is Manchester's most famous and, some say, best Italian restaurant. Run by the Distefano family, it's said to...
Albert’s Schloss
Manchester City CentreAlbert's Schloss is a Bavarian-inspired fun palace of extraordinary dimensions and clever design. Behind the glistening tiles of the former...
Hispi
DidsburyHispi is, quite simply, a great bistro. Fifth in a growing chain of restaurants conceived by Gary Usher, the concept...
The Refuge
Manchester City CentreWinning small plate fusion in an iconic and glamorous setting. Housed in Manchester's iconic The Refuge Assurance Company dating back...
Asha’s
Manchester City CentreModern Indian restaurants come with their own USPs such as street food, home cooking and regionally-specific cuisine. Asha’s, near the...
Tharavadu
LeedsTharavadu, an unassuming Keralan restaurant, has charmed everyone from celebrities (Andrew Lincoln, Sanju Samson) to the inspectors of the Michelin,...
Fischers Baslow Hall
DerbyshireFischers Baslow Hall delivers fine Michelin-starred dining with local foraged aspects in homely, romantic surrounds. Using the fruits of the...
The Roebuck Inn
MobberleyMulti-award-winning pub in the Cheshire countryside. Winner of countless ‘best pub’ awards, and established in 1708, the latest incarnation of...
Prashad
BradfordPrashad is a Gordon Ramsay-rated thrill for anyone craving Gujarati vegetarian food. Since starring on Ramsay's Best Restaurant show, the...
The River Restaurant
SalfordThe River Restaurant at The Lowry Hotel is Manchester's classic fine dining restaurant. Huge names that have run the kitchen...
Indian Tiffin Room Cheadle
CheadleIndian Tiffin Room Cheadle was one of the first local places to step away from the typical menu of the...
Sticky Walnut
ChesterLocated in Hoole, just outside Chester, this contemporary bistro falls under the Elite Bistros empire of chef-turned-restaurateur, Gary Usher. Having...
The Samling
CumbriaThe Samling is a delightful lodge and fine-dining restaurant oozing exclusivity. A favourite of Hollywood celebs (like Tom Cruise), it’s...
Crafthouse
LeedsThe slick Crafthouse restaurant serves up seasonal British fare from a roof-top perch. It's a D&D group restaurant, and like...
Oystercatcher
Chorlton“Doing lots of little things right” is a definition of perfection. And Oystercatcher - a simple seafood restaurant in Chorlton...
Belzan
Mossley HillFollowing punchy reviews in the local and national press, it has been hard to secure a table at Liverpool’s Belzan.
The Angel at Hetton
SkiptonOne of the stars of TV’s The Trip with Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan - and awarded a Michelin star...
Vice & Virtue
LeedsAt Vice & Virtue, cocktails are a savvy delight, the tasting menus are a sprightly revelation - and it would...
Maray Bold St
RopewalksServing irresistible Middle Eastern fusion small plates, Maray is a slow-burning smash hit. Inspired by (and named after) the Middle-Eastern...
The Pen Factory
Georgian QuarterThe Pen Factory specialises in bistro food with a mix of main dishes and small plates for sharing. Everything is...
Cicchetti
DeansgateAs the first San Carlo Cicchetti, the Manchester restaurant had a lot to prove on opening in 2011. Over a...
Masons
SpinningfieldsNestled in the Grade II Listed former Freemasons Hall, Masons Restaurant and Bar serves retro fine-dining fare in princely surrounds.
James Martin
Manchester City CentreA fine-dining restaurant inside a casino with a celeb chef name above the door? Alarm bells. Yes, James Martin has...
20 Stories
SpinningfieldsManchester’s highest restaurant, bar and terrace 20 Stories was the opening of 2018 and still maintains its status as one...
Tattu Manchester
SpinningfieldsLocated in the heart of the Spinningfields business district, Tattu Manchester is an Instagrammer’s dream. Think penumbral lighting, body art-inspired...
Bird At Birtle
BirtleThe big, first-floor window at the rear of Andrew Nutter's Bird At Birtle frames the moors – and this gastropub...
Mughli
RusholmeMughli is the contemporary, social media embracing, second generation Curry Mile restaurant that paved the way for the likes of...
Volta
DidsburyVolta is owned by Luke ‘Unabomber’ Cowdrey and Justin Crawford - the DJ-restauranteur duo behind Chorlton’s Electrik bar, the Electrik...
Rudy’s Pizza Manchester Ancoats
AncoatsListed amongst the world’s best pizzerias in international pizza guide, Where To Eat Pizza, Rudy’s Pizza has grown from a...
Australasia
SpinningfieldsCool Pacific Rim fusion fare for the fashion set. Australasia combines a sense of theatre with professionalism and culinary wizardry,...
Spire
Mossley HillSpire, a grown-up bistro near Liverpool’s Penny Lane, is the brainchild of chef-patron and award-winning regional ‘Food Hero’ Matt Locke.
Alderley Edge Hotel
Alderley EdgeThis new incarnation of the restaurant at the Alderley Edge Hotel delivers good Modern British food in a light, airy...
Rigatoni’s Altrincham
AltrinchamRigatoni's is a bustling 25-seater Southern Italian pasta kitchen at the top of Shaws Road in Altrincham. Their rotating blackboard...
The Allotment Vegan Eatery
Manchester City CentreThe seeds of Matthew Nutter's fine dining adventure were sown when he set out to "make veg taste better than...
The Swine That Dines
LeedsAdventurous cooking at one of Leeds' most respected restaurants. The Swine That Dines is driven by a passion for extremely...
Tre Ciccio Altrincham
AltrinchamTranslating as ‘three chubby friends’ (a self-effacing reference to owner Francesco Scafuri and a pair of his portly pals from...
Old Stamp House
CumbriaHead to Ambleside's Old Stamp House for regional cooking in a heritage space by one of Cumbria's most promising chefs.
Yuzu
Chinatown (Manchester)Yuzu is a neighbourhood-style Japanese restaurant offering refreshingly uncomplicated dishes served in Zen-like surroundings. You won’t find a conveyor belt...
Yu Copster Green
Copster GreenYu Copster Green (formerly known as Yu and You) is an established, upscale Chinese restaurant serving British favourites and house...
The White Hart at Lydgate
LydgateThe White Hart at Lydgate is a rustic dining pub with an excellent reputation and wine list. Located 700 feet...
Ox Club
LeedsThe Ox Club offers sumptuous, grill-based cooked from the Belgrave gang.