Norden Restaurant Guide

2022 Review: “Great food and also a sense that they are putting back into the community” inspires support for this pub-with-rooms on the village green. Run as a youth-focused social enterprise, supporting young people to access training and paid work experience, it has won a string of awards over its almost ten years in operation. In summer, its ‘Incredible Edible Beer Garden’ comes into its own: almost an acre in size and with lots of interest as well as outside seating.

Dark greige and blond wood abound at this ‘Scandinavian Neighbourhood Bar & Restaurant’ in the boonies of North Manchester, which is celebrating its fifth year in 2025. It’s run by chef Danielle Heron and business partner Sofie Götberg, and even those who say “it’s not in a very prepossessing location and has a fairly plain interior” feel “the food is worth a visit”. That’s the least enthusiastic report! Feedback from locals suggests it does exactly what it sets out to: “with a changing weekly menu, the food at Osma is fantastic. Danielle and her team work really hard to bring creative dishes in taster-style portions to my local area. Front of house service is professional and welcoming, with staff knowledgeable on the food and wine they serve”.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover: hidden away in a railway arch on a dingy street” you’ll find an “unexpectedly beautiful space” serving “incredible food at a great price”. The speciality is spätzle, ‘comforting noodle-like pasta of Schwabian origin’, served in recipes inspired by central European grannies.

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.

“It’s basically a food hall” where you dine in “noisy” surrounds at communal seating, but this converted Victorian venue (the name is a clever inversion of Mayor Mackie, who opened it in 1858 as a fresh produce market) is a “really great place” nonetheless (and hugely well regarded locally). The offering has extended since it launched in 2017, and “you could come here many times and not eat the same thing” – working your way patiently from Pico’s tacos to Honest Crust’s sourdough pizzas, via New Wave Ramen and a craft beer from Blackjack Brewery.

“Exceptional from start to finish” – the praise just keeps piling up year after year for Simon Martin’s Ancoats “fault-free” legend, which went down in the annals in 2019 when it won Manchester’s first Michelin star in over four decades. The local competition just gets hotter, but the “stunningly creative and beautifully executed” cuisine here still makes it the most highly rated venue in the city in our annual diners’ poll. It’s a dazzling room too, with an open- plan kitchen integrated into the dining area within a striking double-height space.

“This gem in the excellent urban revival of Ancoats” is “a very special place” with a “vibrant atmosphere” and “highly skilled and professional” cooking from acclaimed self-taught chef Richard Withington – a plumber before switching careers at the age of 27. He produces an “ever-changing menu with a choice of around 15 dishes, all designed for sharing” – and “always excellent: I’ve never been disappointed”. “Attentive, charming staff” providing “unpretentious service”, a “modern, light dining room” and “excellent” natural wine complete the picture. Top Menu Tip – “grilled flatbread and wild garlic butter with the flowers on top is as delightful to behold as to eat”.

“This place has it all” – “good vibe”, “friendly, efficient staff” and “excellent food”, say fans of this Ancoats follow-up to Simon Shaw’s El Gato Negro tapas bar, with Portuguese influences from head chef Carlos Gomes.

“Once a sad sight – an abandoned Victorian pub at a busy crossroads in Salford” – this 19th-century boozer was resurrected in 2021 after lying derelict for over 15 years and now combines a “well-run restaurant in a sympathetic extension at the back” (the Glass Room), plus a proper boozer where you can dine on chef Ben Chaplin’s more casual pub grub. The “convivial, busy” venture’s charms also include a garden and outdoor tavern for the summer months.

“You can’t go wrong with these superb, authentic Neapolitan pizzas from the original branch of Rudy’s”, the Ancoats pizzeria which this September celebrates the 10th anniversary of its opening by Jim Morgan & Kate Wilson, who had saved up for five years before finally taking the plunge (and naming it after their dog). Within two years they had sold a slice of the business to Mission Mars, which provided the investment to develop Rudy’s into a national chain with 28 branches and counting.

Even four decades on, this “bucket-list canteen” in the Northern Quarter is “still super value”, turning out “unimpeachable home-style curries” that “would grace anywhere” – and where, though “prices creep up, you can still get three curries and rice for about six quid for veggies”. “If you are ever in the area you need to try it” – just “get there early to avoid the social media types” (perhaps drawn by the fact it’s good “for occasional celeb spotting as actors and musicians often pop in”).

“After years of being abandoned”, this iconic 1811 Ancoats establishment “is alive and kicking and playing in the premier league of traditional pubs – three cheers for the imaginative owners who have not only restored the fabric but also the atmosphere of this old city boozer, with a classic bar on the ground floor and a dining room upstairs”. They have done a “charming and stylish” job, combining “superb, unusual pub food with proper ales and an exceptional wine selection”; “dessert is served on old family china plates – a lovely touch”. Top Menu Tip – “you must try the cheese doughnuts!”