The 16 best restaurants in Manchester

With dark, panelled rooms and frosted windows, Hawksmoor Manchester is the first branch of the upscale steakhouse to make its mark outside of London. Yet like its southern brethren, it’s a place to blur day with night over ginger cocktails and the country’s finest meat.

There are few things more wonderful in life than a good neighbourhood bistro and Hispi is top of the pack in Manchester. Based in the leafy suburb of Didsbury in south Manchester, this is the kind of place you wish you had on your doorstep. Reliable, confident and classic cooking makes this relaxed spot many people’s go-to for special occasions or a fancy Sunday roast. Be warned: the custard tart is addictive.  

There are two types of sushi: the mass-produced standard kind that can be picked up at supermarkets and the kind that's lovingly prepared in front of your face by a chef who will only use produce he deems worthy of his touch. The latter can be found at Umezushi and the quality is so good, it's a firm favourite with the city's chefs when they're off duty. Their specialty is glazed freshwater eel (unagi), a must-order.

Manchester’s lack of a Michelin star is always a hot topic and the arrival of Simon Rogan at the French was intended to change all that. Sadly, that didn't happen and Rogan departed some time ago leaving The French in the very capable hands of head chef Adam Reid. Reid has since made the Grade-II listed dining room his own, shaking off any stuffy fine dining preconceptions and serving his own inspired take on modern British cuisine.  

Indian street food and craft beer: it doesn’t get much better than that. Bundobust started out in Leeds and chose Manchester for its second post – how lucky are we? Inside, it’s casual and hip with a smattering of retro Bollywood; long communal dining tables groan under the weight of dishes which fuse northern produce with street food of Gujurat. The menu is vegetarian, although even the most hard-headed meat eater probably wouldn’t notice.

Among the colour and noise of Chinatown lies a single Japanese restaurant, Yuzu. It’s refined and simple, both in terms of décor and food, and the lunch deal is a bonus if you’re looking to save pennies. It was once one of Manchester’s most excellent hidden gems, before a glowing review from food critic Jay Rayner let the cat out of the bag. Now, reservations are harder to come by, particularly at peak times, but they’re worth the wait.

With the flurry of new restaurants in Manchester, old favourites sometimes don’t get as much press as they should and 63 Degrees is one of those under-appreciated gems. Based in the hipster-packed Northern Quarter, you can find a little bit of Paris in the shape of a family-run restaurant. The Moreaus have left the glamour of their home city to bring a taste of the French capital to Manchester, and we forever thank them for it.

Not so much a restaurant as a market trader in the acclaimed food hall Mackie Mayor, Honest Crust still deserves a place on this list for knocking out the best pizza in the city. The Neapolitan-style base is light, chewy and dotted with charred bubbles like leopard’s spots – the signature of a good dough. Toppings are always of top-notch quality, like San Marzano tomatoes and locally made fennel sausage.

This & That has been serving the specialty rice’n’three (rice topped with three curries of your choice) to hungry Mancs since 1984  and it’s still going strong. The family-run restaurant was revamped a while back, a controversial move that made it fit in with the hipster cafés surrounding it, but their back-alley diner is still just as popular. Expect no-frills dining and hearty portions, look out for the special Sunday nihari.

There’s a well heeled path to Lily’s from the nearby IKEA, trodden by hungry shoppers who’ve finally escaped the Scandi maze. But even if you don’t need another Billy bookcase, this humble little Indian restaurant is worthy of its own trip thanks to its affordable price tag, accomplished flavour combinations and an epic menu made of over 100 dishes to work your way through.