Altrincham Restaurant Guide

“A real asset to Altrincham”, near the market, serving “authentic pasta dishes” with a Puglian slant (plus wines by the carafe) “in a canteen environment”. (In 2018 they launched a spin-off, in Ancoats, that’s double the size and while “both branches are great, the original just has the edge”.) “Some of the dishes, especially the strozzapreti, are just to die for”.

2019 Review: After the arrival of Salford Quays player David Vanderhook two years back, the former Altrincham Conservative Working Men’s Club is now a brasserie/microbrewery, having had a “fantastic” industrial-chic makeover. The “eclectic” Japanese/grilled meat menu can seem a little “overrated”, and even fans agree it’s secondary to the “highly enjoyable”, “loud and glamorous” atmosphere.

Run by Nick Johnson and wife, this reinvented Victorian hall embodies “the very best type of market regeneration”, and is now “ringed with excellent, varied food and drink outlets” (not least pizza gods Honest Crust). It has “caused a big restaurant revival in surrounding streets” since launch – the only problem being that the “buzzy” spot is “sometimes too crowded for its own good”.

The “clean, tasty flavours” of the cooking at this five-year-old Sri Lankan make it the “best restaurant of its kind for miles around”. For Colombo-born owner Don Buddhika it is a very personal project, celebrating his origins after a career spent in the Middle East and Manchester.

“Dishes – never bad, with some gems – Central European (or French) – emerge from the kitchen of this husband-and-wife team” comprising Mariusz Dobies, former exec chef at Michael Caines Manchester, and his wife Veronika, an “excellent host”. It’s a good tip for a slap-up dinner en route to or from Manchester Airport, though they also do Sunday lunch.

Don’t be deceived – “the unprepossessing exterior conceals a lovely French restaurant, with delicious food and good service”. Olivier Troalen’s classic Gallic operation has earned its spurs over 21 years, and “knows how to make a meal out into an occasion”. And, as a French chef on Manchester’s Cheshire fringe, his menu even features a ‘filet Cantona’. Top Tip: “portions are large, but you should always keep room for a dessert”.

“Gorgeous tapas dishes, wine and decor” – it’s “worth the struggle to get a table in this popular little place”, tucked away in a “quaint location in the hip suburb of Chorlton” and a hit for more than a decade.

“The Lime Tree doesn’t change but is still refreshingly energetic”. “A gem” in Didsbury for 35 years, Patrick Hannity’s “really enjoyable” modern brasserie “retains its consistency in all departments year after year”. Key attractions: “great food that’s unfussy but so tasty, from a compact menu with every dish a winner”, plus a “reasonably priced but excellent wine list”. Also, “a nice welcome laid-back ambience, with staff and management on top of their game”.

This “delicious vegetarian restaurant from Simon Rimmer” – self-taught TV chef and author – has become a Didsbury institution over three decades, moving with the times as plant-based cooking has developed. Omnivores are quite happy to eat here, finding it “perfect for lunch with vegetarian friends – there’s something for everyone’s taste”.

2018 Review: “I have been a customer for 30 years, and it’s as good now as ever!” – this veteran West Didsbury Indian continues to turn out “fantastic” fare that fans feel is far better than on the curry mile.

2021 Review: “When all you want is an old-school burger”, these US-based arrivals of recent years really “hit the spot” – you can “build your own”, with “tons of accessories”; plus “seriously addictive fries”, “thick milkshakes”, and “more soda flavours than is reasonable”. “The eat-in experience is as depressing as McDonald’s”, though, in fact perhaps more so – “some branches have a strangely gloomy ambience” – but fans feel that “if you don’t mind 1980s-rock, a trip can still be surprisingly fun”.

2019 Review: “The location is beautiful” – a gorgeous Art Nouveau building dating from 1907 – but this well-known landmark is too often said to be “overpriced and living on very faded past glories”. Nowadays marketed as a ‘Wedding Venue, Restaurant and Boutique B&B’, its food events seem to offer very limited dining possibilities nowadays, so for the time being we’ve left it unrated.

2021 Review: “You would not realise you are in Moss Side” at the Whitworth’s “beautiful” and “family-friendly” glass-walled conservatory, overlooking Whitworth Park. Its location (above all) and victuals make it an “excellent place for lunch”, with the “three daily changing salads particularly recommended”.

2019 Review: The eponymous Albert’s old tool shed (he’s the uncle of the owner) is now a stylish, contemporary haunt with a popular canalside terrace – hence why it’s “best in summer” – plus reasonably priced, mostly English grub. (Part of a three-strong local empire, which recently announced plans to add a Standish branch.)

2021 Review: This “crazily busy” branch of Shabir Hussain’s Bradford-based group “still delivers great curry and their specialism of over-sized naan”. It’s one of the few places that lists camel (‘on the bone’) on its menu.

2018 Review: “Incredibly succulent meats carved onto your plate are complemented by an amazing array of salads” at this outpost of the Brazilian ‘rodizio’ (’eat-as-much-as-you-want-buffet’) chain; “normally the expectation would be vast quantities of indifferent food; but not here.” Also with branches in Liverpool and Leeds.

“Miles better than most other tapas places” (if “difficult to find”) – this Deansgate venture has pioneered modern Spanish cuisine and wine in Manchester for more than 20 years. It’s still at the forefront of the region’s dining scene, having spawned branches in the Northern Quarter, Knutsford and Altrincham.