Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Rochdale
Hardens guides have spent 33 years compiling reviews of the best Rochdale restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 102 restaurants in Rochdale and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Rochdale restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Rochdale Restaurants
1. Tattu
Chinese restaurant in Manchester
3 Hardman Sq, Gartside St - M3
A pink-lit tree inside the dining room helps seal the Insta-potential of this glam pan-Asian venue – a glossy scene in Spinningfields that has helped spawn what’s now a national chain. Feedback remains more limited than we’d like, but remains consistently positive about its modern Chinese cuisine (whose definition is stretched a bit to include dishes like Japanese Wagyu and tempura; and tuna tartare with caviar).
2. Bundobust
Indian restaurant in Manchester
61 Piccadilly - M1
After 10 years serving a combination of craft beer and Indian food, this northern-based group is “still the best veggie curry place” – the venues might be “quite basic”, but the “quick service” and “tasty” Gujarati food make them “great for a cheap bite to eat”.
3. Indique
Indian restaurant in Manchester
110-112 Burton Road - M20
Fans are consistent year on year in their adulation for this upmarket West Didsbury curry house; the name (‘Indian’-meets-‘unique’) translates to a “lovely selection of snack-y, less frequently found, starters that work well to share” but no fear – there’s also a section of the menu devoted to ‘conventional curry dishes’ with many “successful flavour blends”.
4. MUSU
Japanese restaurant in Manchester
India Buildings, 8 Brunswick St - M3
It’s all change at this “beautiful restaurant with incredible Japanese food” which has operated for two years now on a site that was formerly Randall & Aubin (RIP). As of autumn 2024, the original chef Michael Shaw has departed and it is about to undergo major expansion so we have left it un-rated. Under the new plans, it is to be divided into three separate experiences. Kaji (see also); a new space will house MUSU Miyabi, led by chef-patron Steven Smith – formerly of the well-known Freemasons at Wiswell – which given his renown promises to be a major launch in itself; and also MUSU Theatre of Omakase, under executive sushi chef Andre Aguiar.
5. San Carlo
Italian restaurant in Manchester
40 King Street West - M3
This decade-old fixture (with many a sibling in the city and beyond) is certainly “a bit flash” – lots of crisp tablecloths and well-dressed waiters – and accordingly popular with business types as well as those celebrating a special occasion – and those who are simply keen to star-spot. The “food is standard Italian but well presented”, while the old-school service is “very attentive” (albeit slightly “overwhelming” for some tastes).
6. Indian Affair
Indian restaurant in Ancoats
46 Blossom Street - M4
Indian Affair showcases North Indian cuisine cooked Dilli-style. It’s inspired by the city’s diverse flavours and home-style cooking.Whilst the dishes on our menu can be found across North India, the way of cooking is specifically from the Delhi region which...
7. Indian Affair
restaurant in Chorlton-cum-Hardy
362 Barlow Moor Road - M21
Indian Affair showcases North Indian cuisine cooked Dilli-style. It’s inspired by the city’s diverse flavours and home-style cooking.Whilst the dishes on our menu can be found across North India, the way of cooking is specifically from the Delhi region which...
8. TNQ Restaurant & Bar
British, Modern restaurant in Manchester
108 High St - M4
The “delicious bistro-style food” – “simple dishes always done reliably well” – is what brings guests back “time and again” to this neighbourhood spot in the Northern Quarter: “if only everyone were so lucky to have one around the corner from their home”. There’s a “good quality/price ratio, especially for their themed evenings” .
9. Eagle & Child
British, Modern restaurant in Ramsbottom
3 Whalley Road - BL0
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.
10. Osma
Scandinavian restaurant in Prestwich
132 Bury New Road - M25
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”.
11. Lily's Indian Vegetarian Cuisine
restaurant in Ashton-Under-Lyne
85 Oldham Rd - OL6
2022 Review: There’s a “fantastic range of vegetarian treats” at this “great value” Indian – part of the Sachdev family business that celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The café, near Manchester’s IKEA, moved into its own site opposite the family’s ASM cash-and-carry grocery a couple of years ago. (It’s named after founder PG Sachdev’s wife Lilawati, who hand-made treats to sell in the early days of the business.)
12. The Spärrows Continental Pasta & Spätzle
East & Cent. European restaurant in Manchester
16 Red Bank - M4
“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.
13. Glamorous
Chinese restaurant in Manchester
Wing Yip Bus’ Centre, Oldham Rd - M4
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.
14. Mana
British, Modern restaurant in Manchester
Sawmill Court - M4
“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.
15. Erst
British, Modern restaurant in Manchester
9 Murray Street - M4
“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”.
16. Canto
Portuguese restaurant in Manchester
Cutting Room Square, Blossom Street - M4
“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.
17. Mackie Mayor
International restaurant in Manchester
1 Eagle Street - M4
“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.
18. Rudy's
Pizza restaurant in Manchester
9 Cotton Street, Ancoats - M4
“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.
19. The Edinburgh Castle
British, Modern restaurant in Manchester
Blossom Street - M4
“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!”
20. This & That
Indian restaurant in Manchester
3 Soap St - M4
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”).
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