Manchester Restaurant Guide

2019 Review: An “always vibrant” spot, in Thomas Worthington’s iconic Gothic Revival Memorial Hall, run by the people behind Sam’s and Mr Thomas’s, aka the Victorian Chop Houses; the British pub grub hits the spot and there’s “very good service” to match.

This handy street-food operation has raided the cuisines of East Asia to provide a range of “informal dining at its best – authentic food with friendly and helpful service”. The Albert Square original now has three spinoffs in Manchester and one in London.

Wing-Shing Chu’s high-end Cantonese venture in modern city-centre premises has won an enthusiastic following since it opened in 2004, and attracts a steady crowd of footballers and other celebs.

2021 Review: Part of the Radisson occupying Manchester’s iconic Free Trade Hall, this fusion two-year-old occupies a glossily designed space on the ground floor with floor-to-ceiling windows; and is one of the ‘Kitchens’ run by London’s Edwardian group. Its unusual offer presents Japanese and Mexican small plates on separate menus, but – even if the prices are not bargain basement – all feedback is positive: “the food is so fresh, the tastes are clean and vibrant, I love it!”

“Adam Reid’s food is consistently top-notch – modern, but with lots of classic technique, and there’s often a witty note to the dishes” in this updated version of the classic, grand-hotel dining room where Mr Rolls first met Mr Royce many years ago. For several years now Mancunians have complained that it has been “unfairly overlooked” for the restoration of the Michelin star it lost in 1975. There’s also the bonus of a “brilliant sound track – not least for the way it is so at odds with the grandeur of the dining room!”

“The best tapas around” (“salt cod croquetas are little spheres of happiness!”) and “quality wines” (“there’s always a new one to try”) help fuel the “great buzz” at Simon Shaw’s multi-level townhouse: nowadays the city’s most commented-on destination in our annual diners survey. It’s a “charming” place, but one that’s also often recommended for a vibey business meeting.

Not for the faint-hearted – Manchester's first and only Bavarian-style beer hall (plus bakery), offering what they bill as “mountain frolics” aplenty, i.e. live music, fattening staples like currywurst and copious Pilsner. The hit formula spawned a Birmingham sibling in 2021.

“Another of Gary Usher’s triumphant bistros”, this city centre two-year-old offers “great modern British cooking at a fair price, with excellent service” – the signature of the chef’s growing Elite Bistro chain. It’s casual, too. Top Tip: “the candied beetroot and sheep’s ricotta tarte fine was superb”.

Multi-Michelin-starred Barcelona chef Paco Pérez was the marquee signing for Pep Guardiola, Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano, the trio behind Manchester City’s success, when they launched their upscale Catalan restaurant three years ago. The cool interiors – industrial chic for communal eating on the ground floor, minimalist glamour upstairs – are designed to throw a focus on the food, served as ‘tastets’ (small plates with more complexity than tapas). The verdict? definitely Premier League (in both quality and prices), if not yet a Champions League winner.

Chef Nico Simeone’s “amazing-value set-meal” concept, launched in Glasgow in 2017, has now opened in Fitzrovia and Canary Wharf, offering “a six-course tasting menu for only £37” – a “clever formula” with “well thought-out feasts that entice a bubbly audience”. “The menu changes every six weeks”, and is “themed around an experience” – ‘the circus’, ‘the Amalfi coast’ and ‘the chippie’ have all featured – with the cooking winning high praise for “variety, skill and quality”.

2018 Review: This slick city-centre joint, on the proverbial alley off Deansgate (and with a sibling on New York Street) remains a popular spot locally for steak, burgers and sharing cuts – plus cocktails and seafood.

2021 Review: “Top breakfast butties” are a good reason to head to this “ever busy” fixture, set in a Gothic-style building; others include filling ciabattas, the carvery and “particularly good value” platters.

“I'd go to Hawksmoor any time of day or night, any day of the year just for a Shaky Pete’s (gin, ginger, pale ale) and a bag of chips with anchovy hollandaise…but throw in some very fine meat (and fish, don't forget the fish), invariably perfectly cooked, and it’s really just as well it’s 50 miles away, or I’d be reduced to selling internal organs to pay for it all…” – one reviewer evocatively sums up the joys of this all-rounder Mancs outpost of this über-hip (but not inexpensive) steakhouse chain.