Whaley Bridge Restaurant Guide

This “brilliant inn on the fringe of the Peak District” was praised this year for its “well above average and varied fresh fare”, from a menu that skips happily from Chinese-style bao buns to Thai fish dishes and Indian-spiced cauliflower. “Dan, the owner, ensures a great atmosphere – as does a surprisingly large crowd of regulars” (plus their furry friends, this being a venue that is “very dog-friendly, which we really appreciated for our puppy’s first meal out!”). Directly next door is the owners’ more casual sister pub, The Paper Mill Inn, for pizzas, pies and regular pop-ups.

“The landlord is the chef and he knows how to cook fish, which he sources from the best suppliers”, say regulars at this unusual and “delightful” Peak District village pub which is “supported by the community” – having bought the freehold 20 years ago when the venue faced closure. “Good ales” completes the picture.

2022 Review: Patrick Hannity's decade-old spin-off from his Manchester original is less well known than its progenitor but is “usually excellent”, too; the food is “light, balanced and filled with flavour”, incorporating produce from his Peak District farm.

2021 Review: A “new restaurant serving ultra-fresh fish from Fleetwood” (but also Shetland scallops, Irish sea trout and Cornish monkfish), set up by fishmonger Jamie Barrett, who owns the Marple Fish shop round the corner. A former car spares shop, it's now a hybrid country-pub and beach shack, style-wise.

2021 Review: “All the Cambodian food is tasty and authentic”, and for lunch they serve “flavoursome” soups, filled baguettes and noodle dishes at this “small and cramped” operation – which (with its spin-offs) is quite possibly the only restaurant of its type in northern England. In the basement they buy and sell second-hand vinyl – hence the name. Branches have now opened in Altrincham and, most recently, Stockport market.

2022 Review: “Excellent Thai food full of flavour” (including wallet-friendly set lunches) are the order of the day at this Peak District outfit decorated with traditional carvings and sculptures, and hosting twice-monthly jazz and cocktail nights.

2021 Review: “I can’t vouch for its authenticity as a Sri Lankan experience… but it’s a delight to eat!” – so say fans of this family-run three-year-old café. By its nature, a good choice for pescatarians, veggies and vegans.

2023 Review: Fooderati insider Thom Hetherington was amongst those sending out an SOS on behalf of this well-regarded neighbourhood restaurant in his hometown, which was gutted by fire in September 2022. By the end of the month it had crowdfunded the money to re-open and restore its mix of funky small plates (typically you would order 7-8 in a meal), plus gins, cocktails and a thoughtful small selection of wines.

“Scandi, seasonal, local foraging vibes; small plates, fermentation and natural wines… all may be ten-a-penny in London, not so much in Stockport”, which has helped win massive ongoing acclaim for Sam Buckley’s hipster outpost, whose launch eight years ago has helped put the seal on the area’s emerging reputation as a haven of cool North Western vibes. It helps that it occupies a “nice space too” – an airy, brick-walled former coffee warehouse with large windows and high ceilings – in which is presented a no-choice menu for £110 per person (for which you are advised to allow two-three hours). All who report rate it do so extremely highly – its ratings would be even higher were it not for the fact that the volume of feedback we receive in our annual diners’ poll is always much lower than its phenomenal reputation might suggest. From November 2024 to March 2025, Sam and his crew will be aiming to take Manchester by storm with a pop-up ‘Where The Light Gets In: A Play in the City’. Till December 21 2024 this will be at the Altogether Otherwise community centre in Hanover Street – from January 7 2025 at The Bungalow at Kampus, a former security cabin on stilts in Aytoun Street. Whether this is part of a plan to shift longer-term to Manchester city-centre remains to be seen.

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.)

“Long Live the Lime Tree!” – where “the best food, impeccable service and great wine is why we go time and time again”. A chic brasserie in posh West Didsbury, it was launched in 1987 by chef-owner Patrick Hannity, who has always been ahead of the game with seasonal modern British cooking using locally sourced ingredients (he invested in a 20-acre smallholding in Macclesfield Forest 17 years ago to be self-sufficient in eggs and rare-breed beef, lamb and pork). “It’s been my favourite restaurant for years even though it’s quite a schlep to get there, and it rarely disappoints in any department”.

This “very French” spot attracts a good volume of feedback suggesting it’s “worth seeking out” in rural Cheshire for the “inspired cooking” of locally born chef-patron Joseph Rawlins, who trained under Gordon Ramsay and has worked in Paris. He took over this well-established venue five years ago with his French partner, Gaëlle Radigon, who leads a “professional and engaging” front-of-house team.