Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Greater Manchester
Hardens guides have spent 33 years compiling reviews of the best Greater Manchester restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 88 restaurants in Greater Manchester and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Greater Manchester restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Greater Manchester Restaurants
1. MUSU
Japanese restaurant in Manchester
India Buildings, 8 Brunswick St - M3
“A real feast for the senses and already very popular”; “a quite incredible fit-out for this newish opening” is just one of the attractions at this October 2022 debut, on the site that was previously Randall & Aubin (RIP), but which has been subject to a £3.5m refit. The name means ‘infinite possibilities’: here, that translates into seven-course or eleven-course Japanese omakase menus for up to £150 per person – “expensive to visit but quite fabulous ingredients prepared by Michael Shaw and his team” (he was previously at a traditional pub in Lydgate, near Oldham so this is quite the change, but his pedigree includes stints at Le Manoir, Ramsay’s Aubergine and Richard Neat). In a March 2023 review, The Guardian’s Grace Dent declared it “gigantically ambitious and pointedly bonkers”, resembling “nothing so much as the Starship Enterprise, albeit one with geishas on the walls” and with “outstanding… Japanese food served in the manner of Le Manoir… Every bowl is a minuscule portion of exquisite pleasure”.
2. TNQ Restaurant & Bar
British, Modern restaurant in Manchester
108 High St - M4
“An exemplar of city-centre neighbourhood bistros” – this “popular Northern Quarter restaurant” (that’s the NQ in the name) has “settled down into a pleasing rhythm of knowing exactly who they are and what they need to do (kind-of like your favourite comfy pair of high-quality shoes… in the best possible way!)”; and “consistently delivers excellent food that doesn’t cost the earth”.
3. Chez Nous Bistro
British, Modern restaurant in Sale
179 Marsland Road - M33
2023 Review: Needing to eat in Manchester’s plush southern ’burbs? – this ‘suburban bistro with urban attitude’ (their words) doesn’t generate huge feedback in our survey, but such as there is rates it as excellent value.
4. San Carlo
Italian restaurant in Manchester
40 King Street West - M3
This “buzzy Italian in central Manchester” (opened in 2004) is one of the better-known locations both in the city and in the national chain of which it is part; and at lunch it “buzzes with business people” (evenings are overwhelmingly social). “Good traditional food is well cooked with delicious pasta and fish” and the old-school service is “friendly, efficient and well organised”.
5. Bundobust
Indian restaurant in Manchester
61 Piccadilly - M1
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, this northern-based operation “still delivers very high-quality Indian street food with super craft beers at excellent value – keep it up!”. Now with two branches in Manchester, one each in Leeds and Liverpool and a new venture as far south as Birmingham, it’s “very good for a quick curry fix” – and nobody seems to notice that the Gujarati food is vegan.
6. Indique
Indian restaurant in Manchester
110-112 Burton Road - M20
“Simply the best Indian cuisine ever!” – fans don’t stint in their praise of this posh West Didsbury curry house that’s both ‘Indian’ and ‘Unique’… It lives up to its name with a menu incorporating a few dishes not seen elsewhere.
7. Tattu
Chinese restaurant in Manchester
3 Hardman Sq, Gartside St - M3
Aces of expensive, moodily dark wood paneling and other luxurious surfaces contribute to the Insta-friendly scene at this original outpost of what’s now become a national chain of glam pan-Asian destinations. Feedback was relatively limited this year, but raised no complaints regarding its mix of Chinese dishes with sushi and Thai favourites.
8. WOOD Restaurant
British, Modern restaurant in Manchester
Jack Rosenthal Street - M15
2023 Review: “The food is quite stunning and the wines… wow!” – Simon Wood’s “impressive” three-year-old is a “special” venue for all who comment on it, some of whom had their best meal of the year here. “The tasting menu is exceptional” and “most times you go it changes, which is fantastic”. “You can also go upstairs afterwards to Homage where they do matching cheese and wine, which again has an extensive menu”.
9. Osma
Scandinavian restaurant in Prestwich
132 Bury New Road - M25
2022 Review: Chef Danielle Heron, who has worked at L'Enclume and Maaemo in Oslo, opened her first solo venture in the midst of the pandemic in autumn 2020, serving Scandinavian-style open sandwiches and salads, with evening meals served four nights a week. The name comes from Osla and Manchester, the home cities of Danielle and co-owner Sofie Stoermann-Naess. No feedback as yet, but it sounds promising, and was shortlisted as a potential newcomer of the year in the Manchester Food & Drink Festival Awards.
10. The Spärrows Continental Pasta & Spätzle
East & Cent. European restaurant in Green Quarter
16 Red Bank - M4
2023 Review: This “unusual and unique find” – “hidden away in a railway arch near Manchester’s Victoria Station” – offers “a wide selection of pasta and dumplings from south Germany, Switzerland, Alsace, Austria and the German-speaking parts of northern Italy”, washed down with an interesting variety of beers, wines and Japanese alcoholic drinks. Even the occasional critic who finds it “not entirely to my liking” concedes that “the very interesting menu has good and unusual food”. The same team is scheduled to open a sake bar and shop called Suzume.
11. The Black Friar
British, Modern restaurant in Manchester
13 King Street - M3
“This old Salford pub has risen from the dead” following its long-time closure after a fire; “the fine Victorian building now has a brilliantly designed dining area incorporating much glass, and opening onto a garden with tables”, but it’s also a proper boozer too. Chef Ben Chaplin’s food ranges from “excellent pub grub” to more ambitious fare and “service and ambience are both wonderful”.
12. Mackie Mayor
International restaurant in Manchester
1 Eagle Street - M4
A “lovely conversion” of the old Smithfield market, by the Altrincham Market team, has given rise to this “fabulous food hall”; it’s a “noisy, busy and fun” sort of place (“outside feels like the Meatpacking District of old”) but “if you can nab a table, watch the world go by and enjoy the great selection of food and drinks”. The latter includes nine outfits, with one reporter singling out New Wave Ramen as having “really hit their stride” (“worth going to MM for this alone”).
13. Glamorous
Chinese restaurant in Manchester
Wing Yip Bus’ Centre, Oldham Rd - M4
2022 Review: “Busy”, huge and gaudy Cantonese that sits over the Wing Yip Oriental supermarket, where you can choose from over 300 dishes on the menu. It’s one of the few places left in town (in the country?) where dim sum still comes on trolleys.
14. This & That
Indian restaurant in Manchester
3 Soap St - M4
“Still the best-value food in Manchester city centre – perfect for a good cheap daytime filler” (not least their famous ‘rice and three curries deal’, inching up in price but only at a snail’s pace); “apart from a minor refit a few years back”, this Northern Quarter curry house “has been doing the same thing since forever – and when it remains this good, why change?”
15. Solita
Burgers, etc restaurant in Manchester
37 Turner St - M4
2021 Review: “Good-quality, well-cooked and inventive burgers – and some genius specials” (remember the ‘Spam Allardyce’?) draw a steady stream of salivating carnivores to this Northern Quarter joint, “although the trademark barrage of social media seems to have calmed down last year, as has the constant invention/reinvention of new burgers”. “The steaks are also some of the best around, and they make a decent bearnaise”, as well as four different meat-free burgers. Outposts in Prestwich and Preston have closed down, but there’s still one in Didsbury.
16. San Carlo Cicchetti
Italian restaurant in Manchester
42 King Street West - M3
“Don’t be put off by the tourist location or the gold frontage” if you visit the flagship branch of this successful Italian chain near Piccadilly Circus (which is due to double in size over 2023). For a national group, it and its siblings deliver a surprisingly high-quality formula that mixes “a great range of Venetian-style small plates” with “friendly and efficient” service and “bright and vibrant interiors” which create a “wonderful and buzzing atmosphere”. Top Tip – “super for pre-theatre eating”.
17. Sam’s Chop House
British, Modern restaurant in Manchester
Back Pool Fold off Cross Street - M2
A true “gem” – this “recently reopened Manchester institution” dates back to 1868, when it was founded by Sam Studd (whose brother Tom had opened nearby Tom’s Chop House a year before), and later became L.S. Lowry’s favourite watering hole. It serves a menu of “traditional British staples that are actually quite hard to find done well, as they are here”. Top Menu Tip – “the corned beef hash is a must-try-before-you-die dish”.
18. Mana
British, Modern restaurant in Manchester
Sawmill Court - M4
“Simply the best” – Simon Martin’s Ancoats superstar continues to maintain the “outstanding all-round” form that secured its place in the history books in 2019 when it carried back to Manchester the city’s first Michelin star since 1977. “Sublime dishes are cooked with invention and precision” by the squadron of chefs put on display by the open kitchen (you can walk between workstations as the chefs are plating up). They deliver a £195 per person tasting menu, although you can fight the cost-of-living crisis with a cut-down version at £95 per person. Combinations are clever and each dish is intricately crafted. The contemporary space it occupies – at the foot of a modern block – is also full of drama, with a very high ceiling and huge windows.
19. Canto
Portuguese restaurant in Manchester
Cutting Room Square, Blossom Street - M4
This “really good tapas” spot in Ancoats is “hugely popular”, so “booking is a must” – “the only drawback is that tables are reserved for 1.5-hour slots, so it’s difficult to make a night of it no matter how much you spend on wine!”. Billed as a Portuguese follow-up to Simon Shaw’s El Gato Negro when it opened five years ago under head chef Carlos Gomes, the venue now describes its food puzzlingly as ‘Mediterranean tapas’ – which would exclude the many Portuguese dishes on the menu…
20. Rudy's
Pizza restaurant in Manchester
9 Cotton Street, Ancoats - M4
“The high-quality, authentic pizzas” are “just the best” – “especially the plain old Neapolitan” – at the “really buzzing” Ancoats original of what has become a fast-growing chain. Founded by Jim Morgan & Kati Wilson nine years ago, it is now has 18 branches around the country as part of the Mission Mars/Albert’s Schloss operation – but is “still very good” by all accounts, and if it “does get a bit noisy in there, that only adds to the atmosphere”.
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