Manchester's best restaurants
The places worth booking ahead for.
Manchester's restaurant scene is finally getting the recognition it deserves. We've got Mana in Ancoats, the city's first Michelin star, still going strong. Skof opened in 2024 and within months became the second restaurant in the city to earn a star. Higher Ground has built a fanatical following on New York Street. Where The Light Gets In in Stockport has been quietly producing some of the most interesting food in the country for years. And that's just the fine dining end. The mid-range and casual scene is arguably better, with neighbourhood spots like El Gato Negro, Erst, Bundobust, Mackie Mayor, Bar San Juan, and dozens of newer arrivals turning what used to be a city of chains into one of the best places in the UK to eat.
Bar San Juan
5Tiny, no-bookings Spanish tapas bar on Beech Road that has been one of South Manchester's best-kept secrets for years. Genuinely brilliant food, no fuss.
20 Stories
4Manchester's highest restaurant, on the 19th floor of No.1 Spinningfields. The view is the headline, the food is better than it needs to be, and the rooftop bar is one of the best in the city.
Dishoom
4.5Yes, it's a chain. Yes, it's worth the wait. Dishoom's Manchester branch lives up to the hype, especially for breakfast and brunch.
Where The Light Gets In
5The best restaurant in Greater Manchester that isn't in Manchester. Sam Buckley's hyper-seasonal tasting menus in a converted Stockport coffee warehouse. Genuinely world-class.
Manchester House
4Modern British cooking from one of the city's most-respected kitchens, in a tower-top setting with city views. Worth the splurge for special occasions.
Sakku Samba
4Spinningfields' Japanese-Brazilian fusion spot is more fun than it has any right to be. Loud, theatrical, and the cocktails are excellent.
Rosso
4Rio Ferdinand's Italian restaurant in a stunning Grade II listed banking hall. The setting alone is worth the visit, and the food has improved significantly over the years.
Hawksmoor
4.5The best steakhouse in Manchester. Not cheap, but the kind of meal that justifies itself if you book the right time.
Mackie Mayor
4.5Manchester's best food hall, set in a beautifully restored Victorian market building. The kind of place where everyone in your group can get exactly what they want.
Bundobust
5The best cheap eats in central Manchester and the city's best argument for vegetarian food. Indian street food paired with craft beer that actually goes with the food.
El Gato Negro
4.5The best tapas restaurant in Manchester. Three floors, a roof terrace, and seasonal Spanish food as good as anything in Barcelona.
Erst
5Ancoats' best small plates restaurant and one of the best natural wine lists in the city. Effortlessly cool without trying.
Higher Ground
5The most-loved mid-range restaurant in central Manchester, recently praised by Rick Stein as one of his favourites in the UK. Modern British cooking with much of the produce grown by the team themselves.
Skof
5Tom Barnes' relaxed-but-precise tasting menu spot earned a Michelin star within months of opening and Restaurant of the Year at the 2026 Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards. Manchester's second star, and proof the food scene is still levelling up.
Mana
5Manchester's first Michelin star and the restaurant that put the city's fine dining scene on the map. Still the best meal you'll have in Manchester.