The best restaurants in Manchester for 2025

What is it? A relaxed, high-end tasting menu restaurant from Michelin-seducing Cumbrian chef Tom Barnes. And yes, it just won its very first Michelin star, right on cue. 

Why we love it: Thanks to this 2024 opening, you no longer have to schlep to the Lake District to enjoy a four-hour tasting menu full of dishes like miso custard with hen of the woods, truffle and mushroom dashi or steamed West Coast cod with whey Cippolini onions, smoked eel and buttermilk. With his first solo project Skof, Great British Menu star Tom Barnes has carefully propagated the seeds of his Cumbrian success into a thoroughly Mancunian setting.

This is food you actually want to eat: no dehydrating and rehydrating cabbage until it looks like a Rubik’s cube – just good, seasonal ingredients, cooked with reverence and skill. Don’t get me wrong, some of the dishes look like miniature ornamental gardens. But it’s respect for good produce first and theatre second.  

Time Out tip: Skof’s popularity means getting a table is akin to bagging Glasto tickets. We recommend signing up to their newsletter to be notified when the next reservations are released. That said, don’t underestimate the power of the standby list. 

Address: 3 Federation Street, NOMA, Manchester M4 4BF

Opening hours: Wednesday-Saturday 12-1.30pm, 6.30-8pm. Closed Sunday-Tuesday

Expect to pay: Full tasting menu £120 or £165, four-course set lunch £50

What is it? A modern, airy dining room serving a meat-focused tasting menu.

Why we love it: Off the tourist track but well worth the pilgrimage, Where The Light Gets In has really earned its Michelin Green Star. The passionate team operates in the loft of a lovingly restored Victorian coffee warehouse in Stockport and many of the ingredients are sourced from their own nearby allotment. There’s no denying you’ll spend some serious money here, but is it worth it? Yes, it is.

Time Out tip: While you’re in the area, nip to Yellowhammer bakery and wine bar round the corner, the side project of WTLGI owner Sam Buckley. 

Address: 7 Rostron Brow, Stockport SK1 1JY

Opening hours: Wednesday-Thursday 6.30-11pm, Friday 12-2pm, 6.30-11pm, Saturday 12.30-2pm, 6.30-11pm, closed Sunday-Tuesday

Expect to pay: Tasting menu Wednesday-Thursday £125, Friday-Saturday £140

What is it? A stylish natural wine bar and restaurant. 

Why we love it: This meticulously curated space looks like it’s come off the cover of a magazine, and equal attention goes into creating big flavours on the menu. At the heart of Erst’s kitchen, an open-flame grill kicks out dishes that vary according to the season. Think ice-cold oysters, deliciously fatty and crisp pork belly and cured fish with seasonally changing accompaniments.. Don’t miss the signature flatbread with beef fat and urfa chilli. 

Time Out tip: Trust the staff to recommend a bottle of natural wine and settle in for the evening. 

Address: 9 Murray Street, Ancoats, Manchester M4 6HS

Opening hours: Tuesday-Saturday 1-3pm, 4.30-10pm. Closed Sunday-Monday

What is it? Avant-garde British fine dining. 

Why we love it: Slick and serious Mana – which in 2019 became the first restaurant in Manchester to receive a Michelin star since 1977 (that was The French at the Midland Hotel) – serves thoughtful dishes using under-celebrated British ingredients and produce. The open kitchen enjoys surprising guests with anything from aerated yeast to duck hung over burning grape vines. The innovative menu won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you’re looking for a unique and memorable experience, this is the place..

Time Out tip: This previously unaffordable-for-many restaurant has just launched a lunch menu for a more manageable £70.

Address: 9 Murray Street, Ancoats, Manchester M4 6HS

Opening hours: Tuesday-Saturday 1-3pm, 4.30-10pm. Closed Sunday-Monday

Expect to pay: Extracts menu £110, complete menu £175, lunch menu £70

What is it? A modern British restaurant with generous portions, white tablecloths and flickering candles

Why we love it: Winsome is the debut restaurant from well-loved chef Shaun Moffat who is most famous up North for transforming the menu at The Edinburgh Castle but also has London restaurants Berber & Q and Manteca on his CV. He’s teamed up with Tom Fastiggi (Schofield’s Bar) and Owain Williams (Madre) to create a restaurant that feels like a destiny fulfilled. Very much the feeder, Shaun cooks up huge sharing rabbit pies, meticulously grilled, sliced and fanned out chops, and whole fish presented artfully on nostalgic sauces like parsley liquor. Smaller plates and snacks showcase local produce and everything shimmers with an almost fetishisation of British food nostalgia, in the best possible sense. The wine list is cracking too.

Time Out tip: Unusually for these times, Winsome is open every day of the week, so avoid the crowds by treating yourself to an early dinner on Monday or Tuesday

Address: 74 Princess Street, Manchester M1 6JD

Opening hours: Thursday‑Sunday lunch 12‑3pm (Sunday closes at 8pm); dinner Monday‑Saturday 5‑11pm, Sunday 3‑11pm

Expect to pay: Upwards of £100 for a meal for two plus drinks 

What is it? Startlingly skillful modern cooking on a hidden street. 

Why we love it: The passion project of two chef friends Julian Pizer and Max Yorke, Another Hand has a cult following of dedicated foodies in the city. You’ve got to work to find it on Deansgate Mews. Head up some rainbow coloured steps that lead to an elevated street behind a row of estate agents on Deansgate. There’s a good chance you’ve walked past it many times. Expect the unexpected on your plate too. You might find olive oil or artichoke in a dessert or locally cultivated lion’s mane mushroom with chocolate sauce as a main. But there’s comfort food too like an ostentatious hasselback potato with black garlic and buttermilk. 

Time Out tip: Expect the unexpected, it’s all part of the fun.

Address: Unit F, 253 Deansgate, Manchester M3 4EN

Opening hours: Tuesday 5-11pm, Wednesday-Saturday 12-3pm, 5-11pm. Closed Sunday-Monday

Expect to pay: Smaller plates £5-£15, larger plates £20-£35

What is it? Intricate, ingenious dishes assembled from the simplest of parts.

Why we love it: Despite its name, there’s a distinctly English twang to Mancunian Adam Reid’s menu and you’ll experience textural and sensory saturation as you make your way through the captivating courses. Now that The Midland hotel which houses it has had a £14 million refurbishment, The French, which had a Michelin star back in the 1970s, is finally in a setting deserving of its reputation.

Time Out tip: If you’re going to splurge on The French, go the whole hog and get the fantastic matched wines too.

Address: 16 Peter Street, Manchester M60 2DS

Opening hours: Wednesday-Thursday 6-8.30pm, Friday-Saturday 5-8.30pm. Closed Sunday-Tuesday

Expect to pay: Signature tasting menu £145

What is it? A rooftop restaurant with panoramic views of the city, an award-winning wine list and a classic French-inspired three course menu. 

Why we love it: If you really want to see Manchester, the view from this eighth-floor dining room is a must – especially at lunchtime or early evening. But it’s not just your eyes that are in for a treat, Climat’s menu overseen by chef Luke Richardson will amuse your bouche too. From playful signature snacks like hash browns with lemony taramasalata, billowing gougeres and retro vol au vents to big meaty cuts like dry-aged sirloin with dulse hollandaise, there’s a lot to love here. Neglect the wine list at your peril; Tolstoy-esque in length, the in-house sommeliers can guide you to the right bottle with charm, smarts, and a refreshing lack of snobbery.

Time Out tip: Climat offers a Carte Blanche menu, a chef’s choice set menu that changes daily, for £41 a head at lunch and £55 a head at dinner.

Address: 8th Floor, Blackfriars House, St Marys Parsonage, Manchester M3 2JA

Opening hours: Tuesday‑Wednesday 5.30‑11 pm, Thursday‑Saturday 12‑11 pm; closed Sunday‑Monday

Expect to pay: Two courses £48 / three courses £60

What is it? A wine-led restaurant with a hyper-modern approach to classical cooking tucked away on a back street in Stockport.

Why we love it: Cantaloupe opened with minimal hype in 2024 but quickly established itself as a serious player (and not only in so-hot-right-now Stockport but across the city). Co-owned by chefs Mike Thomas (Where The Light Gets In/The Creameries/Canto) and Joshua Reed Cooper (The French, Mana, WTLGI), the short and ever-changing menu takes influence from the auberges, trattorias and vineyards of Europe with a huge focus on wine. Sharing (or not, it’s up to you) plates are inspired by ‘regional European’ fare: cime di rapa, milky stracciatella, chilli and bottarga; oldschool French charm in the form of rabbit with vin jaune and prunes; or whole John Dory with Tarocco orange. Oh, and fans of ‘hidden gems’ will love that it’s tucked away on a back street in a former vape shop.

Time Out tip: You don’t have to do the full shebang, you can pull up a tall stool in the window for a glass of wine and something from the snacks section - though it’s hard to resist ordering more. 

Address: 71-73 Great Underbank, Stockport SK1 1PE

Opening hours: Wednesday-Saturday 5.30-10pm, Friday-Saturday 12-2.15pm. Closed Sunday-Tuesday

Expect to pay: Starters and snacks £5-£12, mains £20-£35

What is it? Probably Manchester’s hippest restaurant. 

Why we love it: Dream team Joe Otway, Richard Cossins and Daniel Craig Martin have Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York, Noma and Where The Light Gets In on their CVs. Higher Ground has sustainability at the heart of its ever evolving menu. Whole animals from local farms are used across a variety of dishes so you might get pig head terrine and pork belly one month or slow cooked brisket and T bone steaks another. Organically grown fruit and veg from their own Cinderwood Market Garden (which also provides for many of Manchester’s best restaurants) plays a starring role. Wines are low intervention and tunes are smooth. On top of all that, the service makes you feel like a guest of honour.

Time Out tip: Sure, there is a lot of nutritious stuff on the menu here but don’t skip the decadent Pitchfork Cheddar tart, a menu staple since day one.

Address: Faulkner House, New York St, Manchester M1 4DY

Opening hours: Wednesday‑Thursday dinner 5‑11pm, Thursday lunch 12.30‑3.30pm, Friday‑Saturday lunch 12.30‑4pm, Friday‑Saturday dinner 5.30‑midnight. Closed Sunday‑Tuesday

Expect to pay: Set menu £40 lunch, £60 dinner or choose your own small plates £7.50-£35