Greater Manchester Restaurant Guide

“A see-and-be-seen venue” – this “vibrant and longstanding Italian” is one of the most successful in the national chain and one of the city-centre’s key “glitzy” haunts. But whereas fans praise “great food, it at footballer prices”, mere mortals can feel ignored: “staff are disinterested unless your face fits (i.e. you’re a footballer or some other celeb!”).

This “excellent, reasonably priced neighbourhood spot in the Northern Quarter always delivers” with its “surprisingly affordable and beautifully presented high-end food” – “everyone should have a reliable, high-quality local like this in their area!”

“A great see-and-be-seen atmosphere” – Adam and Drew Jones’s expanding, Chinese, national chain is characterised by “superb surroundings” and as a result its Manchester branch (the chain’s first, which opened in 2015) is “understandably one of the most popular venues in town”. But there’s a general feeling that “it’s nice looking but could do better” – “surroundings set an excellent first impression but I expected more of the food” (“on our visit, we couldn’t spot anyone Chinese in the kitchen, and it showed”); “and it’s pricey too”. “Overall there are better Chinese restaurants in Manchester… they’re not as striking though”.

An “exquisite menu” of “subtle and refined” Indian dishes goes down well at this “buzzy” modern outfit in West Didsbury. But perhaps they should “ditch the smoke-filled cloche: good theatre, but not sure what it did for flavour!”

MasterChef winner Simon Wood’s debut venture occupies a “loud and buzzy” modern unit, complete with open kitchen; it opened in September 2017, not far from Home Manchester. Fans “love Simon's food – especially the blind tasting menu” (all 10 courses of it), but a fair number of those drawn by his name and early hype felt that “everything was OK, but we were expecting a lot more… especially for the high prices!”

“What a feast… you won’t even notice it’s vegetarian!” – “great street food and a cracking selection of craft beers” have won fame for this “atmospheric, slightly studenty haunt”: “essentially a beer hall, but one in a chic post-industrial setting”, and with Indian bites to soak up the brews. Mostly it copes well with its phenomenal popularity, but misfires (“looked better than it tasted”) were a bit more common last year.

2019 Review: “Always a great experience both in the restaurant and the brasserie” – this much-expanded 18th-century hilltop inn, set in a hamlet near Saddleworth, has wonderful views over the Pennines and provides consistently highly-rated cooking. Owner Charles Brierley found it semi-derelict 25 years ago, and has transformed it into a real crowd-pleaser.