Manchester's restaurant scene has never been more vibrant, with an exciting mix of solid, down-to-earth, seasonal cooking, nods to the city's proudly diverse population, and fiercely innovative chefs. From bakeries to street food and small plates, restaurants in Manchester are really starting to make a name for themselves. And with a clutch of some of the UK's best hotels, buzzy bars and top spots for vegan bites, it's no wonder the Manchester restaurants are drawing in the crowds.
To top it off, the streets are brimming with centuries-old architecture, contemporary art, and plenty of other incredible things to do for every traveller. Those looking for accommodation that reflects the historical charm of Manchester, combined with modern luxury, should visit website of one of the city's top-rated hotels. Here, the excellence of Manchester's hospitality can be experienced firsthand.
Discover Manchester's Only Michelin-Star Restaurant
Excitingly, Manchester boasts its very own Michelin-star restaurant called Mana, helmed by the talented Simon Martin. With its exceptional 13-course tasting menu (or the eight-course reduced menu), Mana has made history by bringing Manchester its first Michelin star in over four decades.
If you're looking to celebrate a special occasion or planning a weekend getaway to Manchester, it's crucial to secure your reservation well in advance. Bookings for this sought-after dining experience open at midday on the first day of every month, allowing you to plan and reserve your table up to four months ahead.
For a truly unforgettable culinary adventure, don't miss the opportunity to indulge in the exquisite dishes curated by Mana. It's a testament to Manchester's growing gastronomic scene and a testament to the city's ability to offer world-class dining experiences.
These are our picks of the best restaurants in Manchester
1. The Renowned Pollen Bakery
Notably Famous for: Innovative pastries
Must-try dish:the cruffin
The dining landscape of Manchester is thriving with quality options, both in full-service restaurants and more laid-back food outlets. Among these, the Pollen Bakery stands out, having gained itself a solid reputation and loyal clientele over its formative years. Nestled under a railway arch, people became accustomed to waiting in line for as long as an hour to indulge in their exceptional viennoiserie, particularly their standout 'cruffin' - a genius blend of croissant and muffin, generously filled with either crème patissière or curd. The constant demand for their delectable baked wonders led to the opening of their second establishment, which operates as a cafe and bakery in the bustling Kampus district.
Location: Pollen Bakery, Cotton Field Wharf, 8 New Union Street, Manchester M4 6FQ
Online Presence:pollenbakery.com
2. Siop Shop
Best for: breakfast bites
Dish to order: a fresh doughnut
If you're still not full, head to Siop Shop, the Northern Quarter café slinging out cult custard doughnuts from Blawd bakery and an oozing breakfast muffin that may one day have songs written about it.
Address: Siop Shop, 53 Tib Street, Manchester M4 1LS
Website:siopshop.co
3. Nell’s New York Pizza & Bar
Best for: pizza with a conscience
Dish to order:eat yourgreens
Manchester isn’t short of excellent pizza options. But Nell’s, which was launched in 2020 by husband and wife team Jonny and Charlotte Heyes from Northern Quarter favourite Common, is one to try. Head to its newest venue in the waterside Kampus neighbourhood, and order a showstopping 22-inch, thin and crispy New York-style pie (slices and 14-inch pizzas are available too). “Eat your greens” has a roast garlic cream base topped with seasonalleafy greens, smoked Lancashire cheese,roquito peppers, evoo,chilli and parmesan, while carnivores may prefer the spicy and sweet combination of “do you ‘roni honey?” which is topped with nduja and pepperoni and finished with chilli honey and parmesan. You can feel good about your slice too, as Nell’s aims to be more gentle on the environment by minimising waste, using less meat and power, and buying from responsible British suppliers.
Address: Nell’s New York Pizza & Bar, 20 Minshull Street, Kampus, Manchester M1 3EF
Website:nellspizza.co.uk
4. Higher Ground
Best for:local ingredients
Dish to order:pea fritters with pitchfork cheddar
Joseph Otway, Richard Cossins and Daniel Craig Martin – the teambehind Ancoats’ popular neighbourhood wine bar and bottle shop,Flawd – opened their first permanent restaurant, Higher Ground, in February 2023 after stints doing pop-ups around the city. Sticking to their winning combination of seasonal dishes made from local ingredients, with natural wine, the 50-cover British bistro is tucked away on New York Street between Piccadilly Gardens and Chinatown. While tasting and a la carte menus change daily, dishes are reliably exceptional, thoughtfully combining interesting ingredients and bold flavours. Appetisers such as pea fritters covered with Pitchfork cheddar melt in the mouth and are incredibly moreish, while larger dishes can range from braised carrots and pink flamingo peas with rich Marfona potatoes wallowing in smoked butter, to acorn-reared pig with grain and mushroom porridge. Despite serving some of the best food in the city, the overall feel is laid back as you relax watching chefs in the open kitchen.
Address: Higher Ground, Faulkner House, New York Street, Manchester M1 4DY
Website: highergroundmcr.co.uk
5.Mana
Best for: special occasion dining
Once Manchester’s Little Italy, hip Ancoats is now a go-to spot for food and drink. Natural wine bar and small plates restaurantErst and the southern ItalianSud Pastaare both worth a visit but the poster child for this area is Michelin-starred Mana, by Simon Martin, which was awarded Manchester’s first star for 42 years in 2019. You’ll need to book well in advance to secure a table in this 24-seat minimalist space – bookings open at midday on the 1st of every month forfour months in advance. You’ll be welcomed with a hot broth and a bouquet of now (think juniper, pine and rosemary). Then, sit back and watch chefs in the open kitchen preparing your13+ course tasting menu using British produce, heavily featuring seafood dishes. Plates are attractive and playful.
Address: Mana, 42 Blossom Street, Manchester M4 6BF
Website:manarestaurant.co.uk
6. Bundobust
Best for:scorching street food
Dish to order:bundo chaat
Gujarati street food is the preserve of Bundobust, located in a basement off Piccadilly Gardens. It could not look more modest, but this may just be the best restaurant in Manchester. It’s not often you encounter a menu without a single duff element, but this pleasingly utilitarian canteen with its beautiful Victorian atrium, founded by two lads from Bradford, achieves just that. Rarer still, not a single dish costs more than £7.25. Devour every scrap of bhel puri, chaat and impossibly crispokra fries from paper tubs, and wash it down with hefty IPAs fromtheir own brewery as well as world-class localones such as Cloudwater and Track. It's well-executed andsustainable. Every city should have one. Manchester now has a shiny second site too, Bundobust Brewery on Oxford Street, where you can eat next to stainless steel brewing tanks under another glass atrium.
Address: Bundobust, 61 Piccadilly, Manchester M1 2AG
Website:bundobust.com
7. Another Hand
Best for: a memorable date night
Dish to order: hay-roasted hasselback potato
Another Hand is tucked away on the Great Northern Warehouse’s ‘hidden street’, Deansgate Mews. To reach it, you’ll need to climb a rainbow-painted staircase from the main road of Deansgate. Once you’ve found the neighbourhood-style restaurant, you’ll be welcomed into its small, cosy space by a convivial team who are passionate about the food and drink they are serving. And what a treat the small plates here are with local ingredients and punchy flavours. Its hay-roasted hasselback potatoes with black garlic, buttermilk and burnt butter is a dish of dreams, being deliciously crispy after four hours of cooking. As each plate is presented, you’ll hear about the source of the ingredients, such as lion’s mane mushrooms grown in nearby Altrincham and chocolate from award-winning neighbours, Dormouse. Book in advance.
Address: Another Hand, Unit F 253 Deansgate, Mews Level, Deansgate, Manchester M3 4EN
Website:anotherhandmcr.com
8. Climat
Best for: rooftop views
Dish to order:hash browns and taramasalata
When you arrive outside Climat, you may question whether it’s open and if you’ve found the right building. Stick with it and take the lift to the eighth floor, though, as the welcome when you step into the restaurant, and the view over Manchester’s rooftops, are worth the effort. By the team behind Chester’s highly acclaimed Covino, Climat is a wine-led restaurant and, as you gaze out over the domes of nearby Barton Arcade, you can choose between a small selection of wines by the glass or carafe, or request the more extensive menu of more than 250 bottles. The daily changing food menu is split into snacks and larger plates and is described as “just food you want to eat”. Start with its signature dill-infused hash browns topped with taramasalata then work your way through interesting larger dishes such as cuttlefish, chorizo and chickpea stew with pickled fennel and jalapeno, or halibut spine, bordelaise and spaghetti squash.
Address: Climat, Blackfriars House, Manchester M3 2JA
Website:restaurantclimat.co.uk
9. Tast
Best for:a homage to Catalunya
Dish to order:arròs de calamar (rice with squid)
Tast, on well-heeled King Street, has been devised by Catalonian chef Paco Pérez, from Girona's Michelin-star Restaurant Miramar, with backing from Manchester City royalty Pep Guardiola and Ferran Soriano, who, on arriving in the city, felt bereft at the absence of their home cuisine. They are bereft no longer. Basics including charcuterie and croquettes are beyond reproach, and the octopus withpotatoes and octopus mayois stunningly good. A dish of rice with red prawns, baked on a shallow oven dish so that the edges go crisp and chewy (think baked risotto), is drizzled with the juices from the prawn heads; it tastes of dark, roasted shells.If you’re after a more casual drink with smaller dishes, called “tastets”, visit its bar and terrace which promises “the bustle ofBarcelona in Manchester.”
Address:Tast, 20-22 King Street, Manchester M2 6AG
Website:tastcatala.com
10. Destination: 10 Tib Lane, Manchester
Perfect For: An unforgettable evening with your buddies
Culinary Recommendation: Confit Spiced Carrots
Manchester gastronomy lovers are likely acquainted with the names Ben Gretton, Sophie Robson, and Joe White, as they have been instrumental figures behind several renowned Manchester establishments. Their latest creation in 2021, 10 Tib Lane, has quickly established itself as a must-visit place for nightlife and dining enthusiasts. This relaxed and friendly bar-cum-restaurant encourages hours of unhurried conversation and merriment, accompanied by a tantalising array of imaginative cocktails, bountiful small plates and an unpretentious selection of natural wines. Deviating from any extravagant embellishments, the spot flaunts a simple but effective ethos, mirrored in their minimalist interiors of weathered plaster walls, exposed brick features, and draped greenery. Their menu selection does not belie their promise of simplicity as it transforms with the changing seasons. Take, for instance, a summer special of confit spiced carrots served with aubergine and garlic puree, and rose harissa that promises to tantalize the palate while providing a visual feast. For devout meat lovers, Spring brings a sumptuous dish of lamb sweetbreads paired with guanciale, potatoes, and a creamy sauce of chicken and white wine.
Location: 10 Tib Lane, Manchester M2 4JB
Website:10tiblane.com
11. Seoul Kimchi
Best for: Korean comfort
Dish to order:bulgogi squid and pork
This unmitigated gem in a thoroughly unassuming spot near the Manchester Royal Infirmary offers life-affirming Korean barbecue and hotpots, served bubbling in cauldron-like bowls. If you can find a space, cram in with the visiting students and order the unctuous galbi ribs or the bulgogi pork belly, lovingly braised, deeply aromatic and coupled with squid. The sweet and spicy fried chicken is superb, as are the jeon, chewy fried pancakes scattered generously with seafood. The set menus for two people represent frankly ridiculous value for money.
Address: Seoul Kimchi, 275 Upper Brook Street, Manchester M13 0HR
Website:facebook.com
12. The Spärrows
Best for:cosy comfort food
Dish to order:spätzle
Blink and you may miss the black door that leads to The Spärrows restaurant in Manchester’s Green Quarter. Around a five-minute walk from Victoria train station, under some railway arches, it’s worth persevering to find its winning combination of comforting continental food, paired with pilsner on tap, sake or wine. Be sure to order its house speciality, spätzle, a type of small noodle. Handmade daily, it comes smothered in a sauce of your choice. Complement it with sauerkraut topped with pumpkin seeds, or a green salad with a good dose of Alpine salt. Reliably busy, even mid-week, it’s worth booking ahead.
Address: The Spärrows, 16 Red Bank, Green Quarter, Manchester M4 4HF
Website:thesparrows.me
13.Manchester food halls: Mackie Mayor, Freight Island,New Century
Best for: being spoilt for choice
Manchester has an excellent and expanding selection of food halls. Mackie Mayor is a Grade-II listed market house on the cusp of Ancoats, with a wealth of options from Honest Crust’s sourdough pizza to an outstanding flat iron steak and fries from Tender Cow. Enormous Freight Island, in a former freight depot near Piccadilly station, has outdoor and indoor seating, entertainment, and food that ranges froma “lasagnaria” serving slabs of pasta goodness, toVenezuelan cuisine. AndNew Century is a music venue with a legendary disco ceiling and sprung dance floor with a food hall below where kitchens include Wild by Ply pizzas, Gujarati street food by Spice Yard and Mexican small plates by Agreste.
Address: Mackie Mayor, 1 Eagle Street, Manchester M4 5JY; Freight Island, 11 Baring Street, Manchester M1 2PZ;New Century, 34 Hanover Street, Manchester M4 4AH
Website:visitmanchester.com;escapetofreightisland.com; newcenturymcr.com
14. Refuge
Best for: a laid-back treat
Dish to order:Gochujang-glazed pork belly
With soaring ceilings and glazed tiled pillars in its impressive Victorian Grade-II listed setting, Refuge, inside the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel, is perhaps one of the best-looking spots to eat in the city centre. But, somehow, it manages to feel cool and informal too. The menu is made up of sharing platesand there’s a feasting menu designed to share with friends. TheGochujang-glazed pork bellyis a knockout, whilevegetarians will devour theharissa-charred cauliflower. Allow enough time before or after a meal to have a cocktail in its twinkling winter garden space too.
Address: Refuge, Oxford Street, Manchester M60 7HA
Website:refugemcr.co.uk
15. Hispi
Highlight: Bold bistro cuisine
Signature Dish:Braised Featherblade
The successful establishment of Hispi is credited to the unwavering support of enthusiastic food lovers who admired chef Gary Usher's impressive culinary artistry at places like Sticky Walnut in Chester and Burnt Truffle on the Wirral. Their devoted crowdfunding campaign made it possible, and it’s truly a blessing. Hispi is a neighborhood bistro that goes beyond the ordinary, exhibiting a finely crafted and affordably priced set menu alongside a versatile seasonal à la carte. The pre-main course features interesting tidbits like duck ham and pickles. The team, led by Usher, have a knack for bringing out the best in underrated cuts like featherblade. Every dish served is a visual delight as well. For those exploring the city center, paying a visit to Usher's Bistro Kala would be a rewarding experience.
Location: Hispi, 1C School Lane, Manchester M20 6RD
Website:hispi.net
16. The Black Friar
Recommended for: A superior take on traditional pub food
Must-try dish: The Black Friar's daily specialty pie
If you are in Manchester, don't miss out on exploring the remarkable range of historic pubs dotted around the city centre. The Grade II-listed Briton’s Protection boasts an astounding collection of over 300 whiskies. Castle Hotel in the vibrant Northern Quarter offers live music alongside an impressive jukebox, while the Edinburgh Castle at Ancoats is renowned for its first-rate pub fare. Straddling the border into Salford, The Black Friar, with its stunning rustic red-brick facade, stands out against the surrounding modern high-rise structures. Providing a warm, inviting ambiance, this spot is perfect for enjoying flawlessly executed traditional favourites like burgers and pies. They also offer intriguingly inventive dishes such as the spinach and seitan cannelloni or the braised octopus paired with a black-eyed bean, chorizo, feijoada, and pimento mix. When celebrating special occasions, be sure to reserve a seat in their verdant glass room, where you can watch the culinary maestros in action in the open kitchen.
Location: The Black Friar, 41-43 Blackfriars Road, Salford M3 7DB
Website: theblackfriarsalford.co.uk