Healthy Restaurants in Manchester

Ian Jones, Food and Drink Editor

Contrary to popular belief, eating out doesn’t always have to be a Henry VIII-style feast. Believe it or not, you can actually go out and eat without destroying your calorie intake for the week in one fell swoop.

This is where we come in. If you like to eat, but you also like to be able to fasten your trousers afterwards, then this is the guide for you. Ladies and gentlemen, these are the best healthy restaurants in Manchester, with a special focus on those January deals.

 

Our top picks

Bondi Bowls

Bondi Bowls, Bondi Bowls, Kampus 57 Chorlton St., Manchester, M1 3FY - Visit now

Bondi Bowls is the perfect spot to grab a healthy lunch without compromising on flavour, and now they’re offering Bondi Bowls Wellness Bundles for £12.95. That’s a bowl of your choice with protein and a drink for a pocket-friendly price. Available every day from 11.30 in-store, and even deliveries too.

Breakfast Shot
Bondi Bowls

Caravan Restaurant & Roastery

Caravan Restaurant & Roastery, St Johns, off Quay St, Manchester , M3 3BG - Visit now

If you’re looking for bright and breezy, freshly made produce then check out the wonderful Caravan, which opened in summer. There’s even a snazzy January offer going on, where many, many items are a mere £6, including healthy, filling breakfast and lunch dishes (Mon-Fri).

Food Sorcery Manchester Deansgate Square

Food Sorcery Manchester Deansgate Square, Deansgate Square, Manchester, M15 4UA - Visit now

Don’t just eat healthy, learn how to make healthy food too, at the city’s best cookery school.

San Carlo Fumo

San Carlo Fumo, 1 St Peter's Square, Oxford Road, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M1 5AN - Visit now

San Carlo is starting 2025 with a focus on healthy dining and wellness, offering a range of light yet indulgent dishes and vibrant mocktails perfect for Dry January.

Highlights include the Tonno e Lenticchie, a balanced dish of charcoal-grilled yellowfin tuna with tomato lentils, and Noci, Pere, e Prosciutto, combining buffalo mozzarella, Parma ham, pears, and walnuts for a mix of protein and natural sweetness.

To complement the menu, San Carlo’s mocktails deliver refreshing, alcohol-free options featuring zesty citrus and herbaceous flavors, perfect for a celebratory yet health-conscious start to the year. Available across all San Carlo locations.

Bundobust Manchester

Bundobust Manchester, 61 Piccadilly, Manchester, M1 2AG - Visit now

Fantastic and endlessly original Indian street food, all vegetarian (and often vegan), with plenty of healthy options.

Bundobust Manchester

Evelyn’s Cafe Bar

Evelyn’s Cafe Bar, G18 Tib Street, Manchester, M4 1NB - Visit now

Evelyn’s is all hearty, homecooked, healthy food which leans towards the wholesome and slightly unusual. Think hummus, freekah and octopus (though not all at once, that’d be madness).

Braised Octopus, Hummus, Grilled Lemon

Burgess Cafe Bar at IABF

Burgess Cafe Bar at IABF, International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Engine House, Chorlton Mill, 3 Cambridge Street, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M1 5BY - Visit now

Here, everything is locally sourced, including coffee from Didsbury’s well-regarded R Coffee and meat from Frosts Butchers in Chorlton. Lunch is largely made up of belly-filling soup and non-processed sandwiches, making it ideal for a healthy midday stop-off.

The Little Sri Lankan

The Little Sri Lankan, Miru Mills, Stockport (monthly), Manchester, M19 - Visit now

The Little Sri Lankan is an acclaimed pop-up caterer specialising in bright, freshly made and healthy Sri Lankan food. Check their website for news of their next event.

GRUB Manchester

GRUB Manchester, 50 Red Bank, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, M4 4HF - Visit now

You’ll certainly find some hearty and healthy street food dishes at GRUB in the aptly-named Green Quarter, or what we long-timers prefer to call ‘Cheetham Hill.’

Where to go in Manchester

Manchester
Restaurant
Butter Bird

Butter Bird is a newly opened casual but stylish restaurant in Ancoats, based around the very delicious concept of tea-brined chicken.

Asmara Bella
Manchester
Restaurant
Asmara Bella

Eritrean & Ethiopian Restaurant in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, serving up traditional food from the Horn of Africa.

Chorlton
Restaurant
Horse and Jockey Chorlton

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.

Tangerine
Chapel Street
Restaurant
Tangerine

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

Bar Posie
City Centre
Bar or Pub
Posie

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

Manchester
Food hall
Kargo MKT

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

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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.

Bars & Pubs in Manchester

Pint of mild, limited-run natural wine or cocktail drowning in dry ice? You'll find them all in Manchester. But maybe not together

New Openings in Manchester

Manchester’s food and drink scene is thriving. Here are the recently-opened venues who are worth your pounds, shillings and pence.

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.

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.

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