We’ve been searching out the best Italian food in Manchester. Italian cuisine has long been regarded as some of the best in the world, and unsurprisingly Manchester has a series of Italian restaurants that rival the nation’s best. Whether you’re looking for pizza, pasta or something fancier, you’ll find everything you need right here in this great city.
Salvi’s is one of a kind. It stands apart in the Corn Exchange, hidden underground, far removed from all the chain restaurants and smash-and-grab diners. This unassuming but loveable space is one of Manchester’s true hidden gems with wonderfully-cheery staff who know all too well how good their food is, and are damn proud of it. It’s not just the best Italian restaurant in Manchester, it’s hard to think of a better Italian eatery in the whole of the North.
Based in an up-and-coming area of Ancoats, Rudy’s Pizza has a host of rave reviews and it’s no surprise why. The pizzas on offer are top-class, and the restaurant boasts a charming laid-back feel.
San Carlo Cicchetti is a little Italian outfit tucked under the retail wing of Kendal’s, a diminutive department-store-diner owned by its bigger brother across the road – Manchester dining institution, San Carlo. It is small, perfectly formed and serves the kind of small plates you’ll find in Venetian bars. In other words, San Carlo Cicchetti does a mean line in Italian tapas.
The Salvi’s name makes a good showing in this guide, and for good reason. Offering a bold, cheery and bright cafe atmosphere ideal for dropping in whilst shopping or before a night out, Salvi’s Pizzera Napoletana is the new best place for pizza in Manchester city centre.
Chorlton’s magnificent Horse and Jockey has had an almighty do-over, transforming it into one of South Manchester’s top must-visit drinking and dining destinations.
A new alternative Manchester Christmas market from the well-seasoned team behind our street food faves Grub.
Manchester’s latest must-visit multipurpose venue, offering top-level food, drinks and live shows.
A new cocktail bar from the crack team behind 10 Tib Lane and Henry C.
Longstanding Italian restaurant in the snazzy bit of Manchester.
Snazzy Manchester outpost of the globe-straddling Japanese-meets-Peruvian restaurant brand.
Wholesome Ethiopian and Eritrean food courtesy of this fast-growing street food vendor.
Mighty food hall in Salford Quays, with around twenty street food vendors, serving a huge range of cuisines.
If you’re looking for quality coffee and a decadent brunch in a setting that nails the Northern Quarter brief, you’d struggle to do better than ASAP Coffee.
Upmarket family-run restaurant with an impressive Middle Eastern menu, plus an on-site barber.
Chinese inspired British food in the centre of Manchester, backed up by plenty of well-deserved local hype.
Manchester's restaurants are bending over backwards to create deals that take the sting out of eating out. Here are the best of the bunch for January.
The world's at your fingertips with free history, art, science and creative capers for all ages in Manchester.
Manchester has a varied range of food halls that all do a great job of making hungry people happy. Here are our top picks.
Pint of mild, limited-run natural wine or cocktail drowning in dry ice? You'll find them all in Manchester. But maybe not together
Hankering for luxury multi-course restaurants in Manchester? Look no further. Feast your eyes on the best tasting menus in the city.
Looking for the finest luxury multi-course restaurants in Manchester? Look no further. We've picked out the very best tasting menus in the city.
Casual dining doesn't mean low effort. Manchester has a host of laid-back restaurants where you can drop in and kick back.
Here are some of the best cafés and best coffee shops we’ve come across in Manchester – independents (almost) all.
Whether you’re a proud vegan or merely curious, let us guide you towards the best vegan food in Manchester for Veganuary.
Looking for the finest roast dinners in Manchester? Look no further. We've picked out the very best Sunday dinners in the city.
Presenting the best walking tours in Manchester for history buffs, culture enthusiasts, and those looking to scratch beneath the surface of the city.
Take me there
Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.
Step away from the usual. Tours and activities that spark curiosity, inspire creativity and offer something refreshingly different.
This season, exhibitions across the North West feel attuned to the world beneath the world – the forces and stories shaping how we see, feel and imagine.
Theatre across the North West splits between festive escape and sharp, urgent work exploring politics, power and resistance.
Manchester’s closing out the year – and looking to the new one – with a run of gigs from some of the country’s best underground exports.
There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.
Hear ye, hear ye. Take some eating-out tips from our wintertime guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.
