Manchester, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“Still, after all these years, our favourite restaurant in Manchester” – this “totally charming” Didsbury brasserie “never lets you down in any department”. It’s “a real institution in the city” and for a number of reporters “Manchester’s best restaurant”: “the food is consistently beautiful without being over-elaborate and the service could not be better, with a relaxed feel”.

2014 Review: “A hugely successful new(ish) entrant to the Manchester scene”; the food at this (supposedly) olde worlde pub, in a modern office development, may be “very simple”, but all reports agree it’s “first-rate”.

Opulence reigns at Mancs’ hottest new arrival – a Pan-Asian in the magnificent old King Street home of The Reform Gentlemen’s Club (latterly the Reform bar, and Room restaurant). Living Ventures boss Tim Bacon, who snapped it up in 2015, didn’t live to see the project come to fruition, nowadays a stunning colonial-style space (with Raffles Singapore tribute bar).

“Despite its unusual location, the decor is elegant, service professional, and the food excellent throughout” at the TV chef’s city-centre venture: “and once you are in, you would never know you are in a casino!”

“Classy like a Rolls Royce… and just as reassuringly expensive” – the “Hawksmoor formula has transferred solidly from London to Manchester” where it occupies “an impressive Victorian building” and has become “a well-established part of the Manchester scene”, inspiring more reports than anywhere else in the city this year. “The steaks are succulent and perfectly cooked”, “the chips are the best in the NW!”, “service is brilliant”, in fact it’s just “a-ma-zing” – OK, some would argue “overpriced”, but for most folks “oh, so worth it”.

2016 Review: Despite its “strange setting in a basement”, this well-established venue, by Piccadilly Station, wins lots of praise for its “sublime” food (“even the cheapie 3-course option was top-notch”) and “professional but friendly service”, which “combine to make a memorable occasion”. Its ratings are capped though by minority reports of an “off-night”.

“A lively longstanding feature of the Manchester scene”, by the canal, which “always has a buzz to it and, being ’off the beaten track’, you know it has to be good”; it’s particularly recommended as a “perfect lunch destination” for “excellent food keenly priced”.

“A good replacement for ‘Jem and I’ whose site it took over” – Gary Usher’s crowd-funded newcomer is “a welcome addition to Didsbury”, with “some really good plates like the ‘feather blade’ beef and a very good offer under £20 for ‘early birds’”.