Best places to eat in Manchester

Looking for somewhere to eat in Manchester? Our latest city guide is here to help! Tony Naylor is ‘the knowledge’ on the Manchester food scene and writes for magazines and newspapers including The Guardian. Here are his recommendations for the best places to eat...

El Gato Negro
Best for: Special occasions, casual dining

Chef-owner Simon Shaw previously ran El Gato Negro in a village on the Pennine Moors. Now in this glam, three-storey Manchester complex, Simon’s food has a setting in which it can truly shine. Try the Josper-grilled onglet steak with its sweet and sharp, slow-cooked dressing of potatoes, onion and piquillo peppers; the exceptional salad of chilli 'n' garlic-dressed cauliflower & chickpeas, or that winning Mancunian-Madrileño hybrid: morcilla Scotch eggs. From the elaborate G&Ts and striking contemporary art, to the warmth of its staff and, of course, its food, El Gato Negro brims with colourful Iberian pizzazz. Dishes from £4.

Manchester House
Best for: Special occasions

In this strikingly designed, post-industrial space, Aiden Byrne cooks arguably the city’s most ambitious food. Once the youngest UK chef to hold a Michelin star, Aiden’s 14-course tasting menu is a bravura display, taking in such dishes as braised lamb heart, pearl barley, miso broth & pickled kohlrabi, or veal tartare, preserved turnips, watercress & truffle. Ten course taster menu, £75.

Hawksmoor
Best for: Special occasions, casual dining

Located in a historic Victorian courthouse, the building is a perfect fit for the group’s butch, clubby aesthetic, while the relaxed service has won over a city that abhors pretentiousness. Whether dropping big money on grass-fed British rib-eye, triple-cooked chips and that insanely good short rib macaroni, or simply grabbing a quick kimchi burger in the bar, this place is easy to love. Mains from £13. 

The French
Best for: Special occasions

The grande dame of Manchester hotels, The Midland was given a new lease of life in 2013, when Simon Rogan took over its iconic restaurant. Edgy, elegant dishes such as ox tartare dressed with coal oil, toasted pumpkin seeds, kohlrabi & sunflower shoots now wow diners in a radically restyled dining room that, fittingly, slickly reconciles sleek modernism and big-ticket opulence. Menus from £45.

Volta
Best for: Casual dining

Unabombers, two former maverick DJs, are today fastidious, singular bar owners. Their second venus, Volta, on West Didsbury's buzzy Burton Road, has a stylishly understated design, a laid-back feel and, thanks to chef Alex Shaw, serves sharp food. Small plates, such as Lebanese lamb chops with yogurt & chilli, or deep-fried Monte Enebro goat's cheese with beetroot & honey, are worth venturing out of the city centre for. Dishes from £4. 

Rudy’s Pizza
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats, kid friendly

Rudy’s cleaves to time-honoured Neapolitan values: 24-hour-proved doughs; imported clay oven; light, puffy charred bases. Although it’s on the edge of the city centre, in Ancoats, you can expect queues at peak times. With its sweet, sea-salt-scattered San Marzano sauce, the buffalo mozzarella pizza is a go-to, but specials such as potato & rosemary with Tuscan sausage keep things interesting. Rudy’s serves fantastic local Cloudwater and Runaway craft beers too. Pizzas from £4.95.

Almost Famous 
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats

Love or loathe its loud and lairy, 'in-yer-face attitood', there is no denying that Almost Famous is Manchester’s foremost exponent of Frazzle-dusted fries, hot ‘pho-king’ wings and other gut-busting ‘dude food’. Its sloppy, delicious ‘triple nom’ burger with cheese, pulled pork, coleslaw and various sauces, is, on many levels, a guilty pleasure. Burgers from £8.00. 

Lunya
Best for: Casual dining

It started life in Liverpool, but Peter Kinsella’s Spanish bar, deli and tapas venue has been embraced at this end of the M62, too. Try the Catalan noodle seafood fideuá, the sensational secreto (a cooked cut of acorn-fed Iberico pork) or the shredded lamb shoulder with pomegranate molasses. Tapas from £4.95.

Mughli 
Best for: Casual dining

Rusholme’s ‘curry mile’ is not the draw it once was, but Mughli – hip, sassy décor, on-point food – is bucking that trend. Fans swoon over its street-food snacks, charcoal grilled meats (particularly the lamb chops) and fastidiously spiced takes on butter chicken or dhal makhni, which is slow-cooked overnight. Mains from £7.50.

The Kitchens
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats, kid friendly 

Street food has been a bit stop-start in Manchester, but this experiment in Spinningfields, showcasing top mobilers in a cluster of indoor units, is a tasty innovation. There is a neat urban garden for al-fresco dining on sunny days and, in Chaat Cart’s dosa and dhals, Nasi Lemak’s zingy Malaysian dishes and Dim Sum Su’s sticky pork belly bao buns, food that will gladden the heart whatever the weather. Meals from around £5.

Yuzu 
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats

With its utilitarian decor and its perfunctory website, this Japanese restaurant is modest almost to a fault – for its food is definitely worth shouting about. Regulars swear by peerlessly crisp, fried karaage chicken with ponzu dipping sauce, the plump gyoza and donburi sashimi bowls, in which jewel-like raw seafood decorates a mound of sushi rice. Mains from £7.50.

Siam Smiles
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats

This café, in a Thai supermarket in Chinatown, serves authentic street food in which the four elements of Thai cuisine – spiciness, sourness, saltiness, sweetness – are handled with real skill. Flavours sing in the kow moo dang (roast BBQ pork), a stellar tom yam soup and the dried shrimp-seasoned green papaya salad, som tam. Dishes from £6.

Gorilla
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats

Variously a gin bar, gig venue, club space and kitchen, there is a lot going on at this Whitworth Street railway arch. It’s a great spot for a (potentially late) breakfast – its eggs Benedict is a lifesaver. In the evening, mains such as its half chargrilled chicken with aïoli, or its slow-roasted pork belly ciabatta offer affordable, reliably tasty fuel for the night ahead. Mains from £7.50.

VNam 
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats

Most tourists would ignore rundown Oldham Road, but foodies should root out VNam, a colourful little Vietnamese café-restaurant where the beef pho or the bun thit nuong BBQ pork noodles boast multiple dimensions of arresting, fresh flavours. BYO alcohol. Mains from £7.49. 

Pancho’s Burritos
Best for: Cheap eats

Britain loves a burrito, but Pancho’s owner Enrique Martinez goes beyond this Tex-Mex invention. The menu includes topped enchiladas, tostadas and flautas which, in their use of, say, cactus as an ingredient or the vividness of Pancho’s habanero salsa, owe a large debt to his mother’s tried ‘n’ trusted Mexican family recipes. Dishes from £5.60.

North Tea Power 
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats

Competition is increasingly fierce, with the equally geeky Grindsmiths and Idle Hands running it close, but NTP still edges it as Manchester’s best coffee spot. Flat white, pour-over, cold-brew? NTP has got you covered.

Common
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats, kid friendly

Manchester’s Northern Quarter isn’t short of hip bars that serve casual food and classy craft beers. Yet, Common remains a significant cut above. Its salt beef hash and the Korean fried chicken with kimchi and hot gochuchang sauce hit the mark, while its Reuben (emmental, salt beef, sauerkraut) is one of Manchester best burgers. Mains from £6.

Market House 
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats, kid friendly

The reinvention of Altrincham’s market hall has put this suburb on the foodie map. Don’t miss the exceptional sourdough wood-fired pizzas at Honest Crust, Tender Cow’s creative salads and steaks, Sam Joseph’s next level ice cream or the A1 craft beers at the Jack in the Box bar. Meals from £6.50.

Sam’s Chop House 
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats, kid friendly

Bizarrely, there are precious few traditional pubs in Manchester that serve gutsy northern grub. Opened in 1872, Sam’s is a treasured exception. The homemade corned beef hash with bacon, poached egg and brown sauce is a classic. Elsewhere, the menu runs the Lancastrian gamut from steak ‘n’ kidney pudding to a fish and mushy pea barm. Mains from £12.95. 

Fat Loaf 
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats, kid friendly

This neighbourhood favourite in suburban Sale is definitely worth a detour – particularly if you have the kids in tow. It is very family-friendly (check the kids’ drawings pinned-up on the kitchen pass) and it serves, from braised pigs’ cheeks with chilli and ginger shallots to a Lancashire cheese ‘n’ onion pie, consistently well-executed dishes. Mains from £12.50.

Teacup Kitchen
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats, kid friendly

This bright ‘n’ breezy Northern Quarter canteen (co-owned by DJ/ tea enthusiast, Mr Scruff) serves much more than eggs Florentine and it’s a hugely popular weekend brunch spot for young families. Having negotiated the Bugaboos, you can enjoy sourdough toast topped with smoky beans or duck egg, avocado and exotic mushrooms. Breakfast dishes from £4.50.

Sugo Pasta
Best for: Casual dining, cheap eats, kid friendly

The ascent of Altrincham’s Market House is beginning to attract likeminded restaurants to the immediate area, not least this cerebral southern Italian joint. The menu and wine list are short, but rustic dishes such as orrechiette pasta with bitter wild broccoli, garlic, chilli, anchovies and pecorino, are long on interesting flavours. Mains from £12.

Shoryu Ramen

Shoryu have just launched its first non-London restaurant in Manchester, where owner Tak Tokumine intends to turn the north onto his lip-smacking, rib-sticking tonkotsu pork noodle broths. Mains from £10.

Bundobust 

Also around Piccadilly Gardens, indulge in craft beer and Gujarati street food at Bundobust.

Hanging Ditch

This excellent wine shop has a bar, so you can try before you buy. 

Where to shop….

Levenshulme Market 

The location is grungy but the vibe and street-food regulars are top-notch at this weekly Saturday market. 
 

Do you agree with Tony's best Manchester eats? Leave a comment below...

All recommendations have been reviewed and approved as of the 10 January 2018 and will be checked and updated annually. If you think there is any incorrect or out of date information in this guide please e-mail us at goodfoodwebsite@bbc.com.