Manchester, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

Patrick Hannity’s “top-notch” Didsbury brasserie has been “the model of consistency” for more than 30 years. “It retains the perfect combination of great food with fantastic wine and brilliant service in a vibrant atmosphere” and – though somewhat overshadowed nowadays by flashier openings elsewhere in the city – still has a fan club who consider it “Manchester’s best”: “a bit of a schlep so we only go on my birthday, but I wouldn’t go anywhere else”.

With a menu of “great-tasting British classics” (“corned beef hash is my absolute favourite”), this Manchester institution (est 1872) is a place of pilgrimage for those of the city’s trenchermen who like their traditional scoff with no fancy, poncey, modern nonsense. It was a regular haunt of the city’s great artist, LS Lowry; his life-size statue in bronze is by the bar.

“Now established as one of Manchester’s best restaurants”, the northern outpost of this epic modern steakhouse group has recreated much of the special aura it has established ‘darn sarf’ with its formula of “first class” British steaks, well-crafted cocktails, and “slick service”, all provided in an impressively converted Victorian space. “It’s not a cheap day out… but blimey it’s worth it!” according to (nearly all) reporters. Top Tip: “despite the meat focus, the seafood here is a hidden gem – it’s stellar, as is the wine list”.

“Based in Manchester235 [‘a Las Vegas-style casino’] this is an unlikely place for a restaurant like this” (“not ideal for fine dining”, or even “terrible”), but fans feel it’s “a real, somewhat forgotten, gem in the centre of Manchester” and say “once you’re in you forget where you are”. All reports agree, however, on the “fantastic value”: the food is “refined, very well cooked and very tasty” and “the cost of the wine flight is amazingly cheap, considering the quality”.

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.)

“Part of the slick Gary Usher machine”, his Didsbury operation “is the classic neighbourhood bistro” which on all accounts is “genuinely what every local restaurant should be”. “It serves lots of things you want to eat. There are no fireworks, but it’s all so very good”.

With a “pleasant outlook through the glass walls… even if you are in Moss Side”, the Whitworth’s “very friendly, well-run” café addendum makes a “wonderful setting for a tasty lunch or late breakfast”.

“The casual option at The Midland” provides “a beautiful setting in this magnificent, historic hotel” complete with a pretty, garden-style interior (with its own tree!) and is a more “solid” destination than The French, with “strong, straightforward cooking”. “You wouldn’t necessarily make a special journey, but if you were staying you wouldn’t be at all disappointed to find this downstairs”. Following the sale of the hotel in late 2018 to a Swedish-Israeli partnership change may be afoot.