Restaurants in Manchester
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Yang Sing
A serious contender for best Chinese restaurant in Britain, Yang Sing attracts diners from all over with its exceptional Cantonese cuisine. From a dim-sum lunch to a full evening banquet the food is superb, and the waiters will patiently explain the intricacies of each item to punters who can barely pronounce the dishes' names. Bookings suggested for evening meals.
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El Rincón del Rafa
Descend the steps into this basement restaurant and find yourself in a little corner of Spain, complete with mouthwatering tapas, posters depicting bullfighting and the kind of buzz more in keeping with Madrid than Manchester. It's always packed so book ahead.
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River Bar & Restaurant
Head chef Oliver Thomas won the ‘Taste of Manchester’ award in 2010 for his outstanding British cuisine, which emphasises the use of local produce and traditional cooking methods. The result is terrific: how about grilled native lobster with garlic butter and chips, or Welsh Salt Marsh lamb with sweet potato, apricots and sugar-snap peas? Floor-to-ceiling glass panels flood the room with light during the day, and make for romantic evening dining, with the twinkle of the city lights.
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Rosso
A Grade II–listed building with two restored domes, an ornate plaster ceiling, stained glass and polished-marble columns is the setting for this new restaurant owned by Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand (hence the name, Italian for ‘red’). Whatever possibilities for hubristic disaster (famous footballer owns fancy restaurant?) are averted by the excellent menu, which features well-made Italian classics, and the all-round top-notch atmosphere, which is classy but unfussy.
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Mark Addy
A contender for best pub grub in town, the Mark Addy owes its culinary success to Robert Owen Brown, whose loving interpretations of standard British classics – pork hop with honey-roasted bramley, pan-friend Dab with cockles and spring onion et al (all locally sourced) – has them queuing at the door for a taste. It recently opened a riverside deck, so you can eat by the river where, during the 19th century, local publican Mark Addy rescued 50 people from drowning.
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Ning Malaysian
Head chef Norman Musa has become one of the Northern Quarter’s biggest draws, thanks to his exquisite presentations of Malaysian dishes such as ikan goreng masam manis (pan-fried sea bass fillets with sweet and sour chilli gravy) and sambal udang (prawns with onions and vegetables, coated with spicy chilli gravy) and a handful of Thai selections, all served in a beautiful room that has the informal feeling of a canteen.
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Al Bilal
It's a given that you cannot leave Manchester without tucking into a curry along Wilmslow Rd, which is as famous as Bradford or Birmingham for its Indian cuisine. There are so many great restaurants to pick from – and some pretty awful ones, too – but Al Bilal's tandoori sizzler will treat you and your tummy right. Like everywhere else along here the service is chaotic and hurried, but what else would you expect?
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Modern
Top fare on top of the world, or an excellent meal atop Manchester’s most distinctive landmark, Urbis (soon to be home to the National Football Museum), is one of the city’s most enjoyable dining experiences. The food – mostly modern British cuisine – will not disappoint, but being able to sit at a table close to the floor-to-ceiling windows makes this place worthwhile; book a table in advance.
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Lime Tree
The ambience is refined without being stuffy; the service is relaxed but spot on; and the food is divine – this is as good a restaurant as you'll find anywhere in the northwest. The fillet steak in peppercorn sauce (£21.50) is to die for; the second time we visited we opted for the pan-fried Goosnargh duck with a cranberry and ginger compote (£15.95). We'll be back. And back again.
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Cachumba Cafe
Cachumba does for food what the ‘global beats’ section in a record shop does for music: it brings together flavours from all over the world (Southeast Asia, India and a selection from Africa) and serves them up in small, tapas-style portions. Friendly, relaxed, informal and exactly the kind of cafe we like to linger in. Recommended.
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The Ox
Manchester's only gastropub has elevated boozer-dining to a whole new level and earned plenty of kudos in the process. The Brit nouvelle cuisine - how about an oven-roasted T-bone steak with tempura onion rings, beefsteak tomatoes and Portobello mushrooms - is complemented by an almost exclusively Australian wine list.
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Love Saves the Day
The Northern Quarter's most popular cafe is a New York–style deli, small supermarket and sit-down eatery in one large, airy room. Everybody comes here – from crusties to corporate types – to sit around over a spot of (locally sourced) lunch and discuss the day's goings-on. A wonderful spot. The house salad is £5.50.
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Tampopo
Fast and furiously efficient, you're in and out of this Asian fusion canteen-style restaurant before you can learn the difference between the various gorengs (noodles or rice). The food is uniformly excellent and well worth the 30-second wait. There are vegan, vego and allergy-sensitive meals available.
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Café And
A trendy café, hip record store, contemporary art gallery and retro furniture shop all in one, this is your one stop for everything you might possibly need in the Northern Quarter. The toasties and wraps are delicious, but it's the excellent organic soups that kept us coming back for more.
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Eighth Day
New and most definitely improved after a major cleanup, this environment-friendly hang out is a favourite with students and sells everything to make you feel good about your place in the world, from Fairtrade teas to homeopathic remedies. The vegetarian- and vegan-friendly menu is substantial.
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Shere Khan
Of the almost impossible selection of curry houses along the Curry Mile, we recommend this place above all others for its plush setting, unfailingly good cuisine, polite, friendly service and for the fact that their sauces can be found stocked in supermarkets all over the country.
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Trof
Great music, top staff and a fab selection of sandwiches, roasts and other dishes (the huge breakfast is a proper hangover cure), as well as a broad selection of beers and tunes (Tuesday night is acoustic night), have made this new opening a firm favourite with students.
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Ithaca
A new Asian experience spread over four floors, you'll find well-made Japanese (including excellent sushi) on the first two floors, and a Bangkok-style cocktail lounge on the 3rd floor, with an eye-catching solid, black-glass oval bar. The top floor is a members' club.
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Frankie's Fish Bar
This is best described as a posh chipper – you can get a take-out (£4.80), but the best way to appreciate the quality in store is to pick from the more extensive eat-in menu, which features a lovely lemon sole and gorgeous homemade fish cakes.
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Zouk
Huge, fancy and totally contemporary, this is the best of a new breed of Indian restaurants, dishing out revamped versions of classic dishes to an enthusiastic clientele that are as mindful of their health as they are of a bloody good curry.
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Earth Cafe
Below the Manchester Buddhist Centre, this gourmet vegetarian cafe's motto is 'right food, right place, right time', which is reflected in its overriding commitment to ensuring that it serves as much local seasonable produce as possible. The result is wonderful: here you'll eat well in the knowledge that you're eating right. The chef's special – a main dish, side and two salad portions – is generally excellent and always filling.
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Market Restaurant
Excellent British cuisine is on the menu at this Northern Quarter restaurant - and it changes every month or so to take account of the season's best. While the decor isn't too pretty, the beer list is a cracker.
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Fat Loaf
This increasingly popular restaurant is in a Grade II–listed building on Didsbury Green. Dishes are sourced locally (slow braised English lamb shank, roast Gressingham duck) and are done to perfection.
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Le Petit Blanc
Top chef Raymond Blanc brings his winning formula of French cuisine with world influences (Asian primarily, but lots of English touches) to Manchester with some style and plenty of success.
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Harvey Nichols Restaurant
The 2nd-floor restaurant is excellent and even has a wine list of more than 400 different wines.
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