Anyone who has ever dined out in Greater Manchester knows that the area’s restaurant scene is one of its biggest selling points. There is so much variety when it comes to types of cuisine, price range and overall dining experience, it’s sometimes hard to know where to start.
But if you need more proof that our food scene is up there with the best of them, then look no further than the Good Food Guide, which lists an impressive 29 Manchester eateries.
The Good Food Guide is the UK’s longest-standing and best-selling restaurant guide, established in 1951 by journalist Raymond Postgate. Inspections are continuously carried out by the organisation’s inspectors, who assess each establishment anonymously. Subscribers to the Good Food Guide are also able to submit their own reviews to the online platform.
Of the 29 Manchester places listed in the latest edition, there are three listed as local gems – Pulp Coffee on Hanover Street, Indian restaurant Indique on Burton Road in Didsbury and the Northern Quarter’s TNQ. The rest of the entries are rated on uniqueness, deliciousness, warmth and strength of recommendations and given an overall rating of good, very good or exceptional.
Some of the highlights from the list include the Ramsbottom-based Basque restaurant Batatxuri, 10 Tib Lane, recently described by Guardian food critic Jay Rayner as “full of voluptuous pleasure,” natural wine bar Flawd, Stretford Canteen and Lupo, a cafe in Prestwich known for its fresh burrata imported weekly from Italy.
In addition to those, here are the 20 other restaurants that have made the Good Food Guide.
1. The Lime Tree
Rating: Good. The Good Food Guide says: “Neither bleeding-edge cool nor nostalgically retro, but it sure is popular: every year, readers tell us that they 'keep coming back'.”
2. Another Hand
Rating: Very good.The Good Food Guide says: “This café by day, restaurant by night is an operation of confident, understated sophistication. An open galley kitchen dominates the room, looking out over diners settled in cushioned burnt-orange banquettes or seated on spindle-back chairs at light wood tables – or even perched on high stools at the deep pass itself.”
3. Sud Pasta
Rating: Good. The Good Food Guide says: “Dishes sing as readily off the page as they do on the trademark Pugliese crockery. To start, there's burrata (perhaps with tomato and thyme jam, plus a drizzle of single-estate olive oil) or Swaledale lamb and pecorino meatballs with 'nonna's peas'.”
4. 20 Stories
Rating: Good. The Good Food Guide says: “With ‘the best restaurant view in the city by far’ and plenty to see among the patrons too, 20 Stories can be an eye-popping experience.”