Fine Dining and Tasting Menus in Manchester

Ian Jones, Food and Drink Editor Last Updated 27 November 2025

Nothing says luxury more than a tasting menu. Thankfully, Manchester has a whole host of options for those with a burning desire for multiple courses of high-end and invariably complex and beautiful dishes.

We’ve spent a gout-inducing year or two tracking down the very best, and you can spend your time, and entire bank balance, checking them all out. If you baulk at spending hundreds of pounds on a single meal, then look away now. The rest of us, who realise life is made for living and debt disappears when you die, can start to plough through this master list of fancy-pants food destinations in the North.

Sampa

Sampa, Northern Quarter, Manchester, M4 - Visit now

Manchester’s most exciting chef is at it again. Born in Brazil and adopted by the UK, Caroline Martins is the very definition of independent. No shady hedge fund backers, no corporate overlords reining her in, just dazzling idea after dazzling idea.

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Heft

Heft, Heft Inn & Restaurant High Newton , Newton in Cartmel, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, LA11 6JH - Visit now

Head out of town and head to Heft – a Michelin star restaurant and homely 17th century inn in the Lake District, with food provided by esteemed chef Kevin Tickle.

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Mana

Mana, 42 Blossom St, Manchester, M4 6BF - Visit now

Mana is proof that Manchester has matured into a world-class city. When Warrington-born, former-Noma chef Simon Martin opened this fine-dining restaurant in 2018, he caught the start of a wave that saw the city’s food and drink scene transformed from something decent into something remarkable. Mana is the crest of that wave.

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Skof by Tom Barnes

Skof by Tom Barnes, 3 Federation Street, Manchester, M4 4BF - Visit now

Skof was awarded a Michelin star in early 2025, joining Mana in Manchester’s elite of world-class fine-dining restaurants. It’s the first restaurant from Cumbrian-born Tom Barnes and with impeccable timing, we visited during the final service before the big announcement.

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Where The Light Gets In

Where The Light Gets In, 7 Rostron Brow, Stockport, SK1 1JY - Visit now

It’s all change at Stockport’s Where The Light Gets In. Out with the extensive tasting menus, replaced by a new streamlined menu – five courses, designed to share between two or more. What’s that? “Fewer courses bad, more courses good!” we hear you cry. Not in this case.

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KAJI

KAJI, 64 Bridge Street, Manchester, M3 3BN - Visit now

KAJI is the pet project of respected chef Steven Smith, a towering figure in the Northern food scene. Best known for his 15 years heading up The Freemasons in Wiswell, he’s been lured away from Blackburn to showcase his skills on Bridge Street.

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Erst

Erst, 9 Murray St, Manchester, M4 5BN - Visit now

When it comes to small plates, these guys are operating on a different level. There’s Erst, then there’s everywhere else.

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Tsuchi at The Black Bull Inn

Tsuchi at The Black Bull Inn, 44 Main St, Sedbergh, Yorkshire Dales, LA10 5BL - Visit now

The Black Bull has levelled up since our last trip out to Sedbergh in late 2023. For starters, the fine dining side has its own entity, as well it should. Welcome to Tsuchi (‘soil’ in Japanese, wholesomely).

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Where to go in Manchester

Manchester

Bar or Pub

Christmas
at St John’s

A new alternative Manchester Christmas market from the well-seasoned team behind our street food faves Grub.

Chapel Street

Restaurant

Tangerine

Manchester’s latest must-visit multipurpose venue, offering top-level food, drinks and live shows.

City Centre

Bar or Pub

Posie

A new cocktail bar from the crack team behind 10 Tib Lane and Henry C.

Manchester

Restaurant

San Carlo Manchester King Street

Longstanding Italian restaurant in the snazzy bit of Manchester.

City Centre

Restaurant

Chotto Matte Manchester

Snazzy Manchester outpost of the globe-straddling Japanese-meets-Peruvian restaurant brand.

Manchester

Food hall

House Of Habesha

Wholesome Ethiopian and Eritrean food courtesy of this fast-growing street food vendor.

Manchester

Food hall

Kargo MKT

Mighty food hall in Salford Quays, with around twenty street food vendors, serving a huge range of cuisines.

Manchester

Café or Coffee Shop

ASAP Coffee

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.

Chinatown

Restaurant

Pho Cue

Family-run Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown. Prepare to queue for Pho Cue.

Manchester

Restaurant

Gladstone Barber & Bistro

Upmarket family-run restaurant with an impressive Middle Eastern menu, plus an on-site barber.

Manchester

Restaurant

Salt & Pepper

Chinese inspired British food in the centre of Manchester, backed up by plenty of well-deserved local hype.

Manchester

Café or Coffee Shop

Morning Glory

Morning Glory positions itself as a grab-and-go spot, with just 12 seats inside serving coffee, bagels and sweet treats.

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Manchester Visitor Guides

Food Halls & Street Food 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.

Tasting Menus in The North

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.

Bars & Pubs

Cocktail dens, natural wine bars and underground pubs, Manchester’s drinking scene has the lot.

Casual Dining in Manchester

Casual dining doesn't mean low effort. Manchester has a host of laid-back restaurants where you can drop in and kick back.

Cafés, Breakfast and Brunch in Manchester

Here are some of the best cafés and best coffee shops we’ve come across in Manchester – independents (almost) all.

Vegan and Vegetarian Food

Whether you’re a proud vegan or merely curious, let us guide you towards the best vegan food in Manchester for Veganuary.

Manchester Restaurant Deals

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.

Sunday Roasts in Manchester

Looking for the finest roast dinners in Manchester? Look no further. We've picked out the very best Sunday dinners in the city.

Japanese restaurants in Manchester

Fancy some Japanese food? We've uncovered the five best restaurants in Manchester.

Bookshops in Manchester

Manchester is a UNESCO City of Literature, so of course there are a few go-tos for books. Read our guide to discover the best places to pick them up.

Manchester District Guides

Didsbury, Manchester

Didsbury has the perfect split between big brands and independent businesses, welcoming all from far and wide.

Ancoats & New Islington

Ancoats, just off the Northern Quarter in Manchester, is one of the city’s most increasingly desirable neighbourhoods. Find out why.

Things to Do in Altrincham

Plan a day out down Altrincham way, and you’ll soon find that one day isn’t nearly enough. Getting there is easy on the tram, or how about cycling along the…

Salford, Greater Manchester

Cross over the River Irwell, and you’ll find yourself in another city entirely – Salford, which is enjoying something of a regeneration.

Chinatown, Manchester

Chinatown is a network of back streets dotted with Chinese restaurants – go to Ho’s Bakery for perfect honey buns, Hunan for spice and Middle Kingdom for a very affordable menu.

The Quays, Greater Manchester

The Quays is home to MediaCityUK (the largest media hub in Europe) and studios purpose-built for the BBC’s move up North in 2011.

Chorlton, Manchester

Chorlton is a left-leaning suburb a few miles south of Manchester’s city centre (and only 10-odd minutes away by tram). A sprawling hive of artisan coffee shops, boutique clothing stores,…