Samsi

Ian Jones, Food and Drink Editor

Visit now

Samsi

36-38 Whitworth St, Manchester, M1 3NR
01612790022
  • Monday12:00pm - 10:30pm
  • Tuesday12:00pm - 10:30pm
  • Wednesday12:00pm - 10:30pm
  • Thursday12:00pm - 10:30pm
  • Friday12:00pm - 11:00pm
  • Saturday12:00pm - 11:00pm
  • Sunday12:00pm - 10:30pm

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Samsi
Ian Jones
Book now

At one point, back in Manchester’s less-polished era, Samsi was known as New Samsi. This was back in the nineties and noughties, when the city centre food landscape was relatively sparse, and an authentic Japanese restaurant was rather exotic.   

Then one day, it quietly dropped the ‘New’ qualifier and became part of the old guard. Eschewing the bells and whistles of the up-and-comers, it became a regular face on local deals mailing lists. If you didn’t use a Groupon code for a bargain meal at this trusty East Asian restaurant in the 2010s, were you even really here? 

Mundane metaphysics aside, Samsi has been around for over thirty years because it’s good. Simple as that. It’s not reinventing the wheel; it’s not transporting you on a journey of mind-scrambling wonder; it’s just serving up decent, lightly Westernised Japanese food. 

Interestingly, the prices haven’t gone up all that much either. Even now, you can enjoy a very filling set meal for £30 or less. And this isn’t some backstreet dive bar, this is a stylish two-tiered restaurant on Whitworth Street, in the heart of the city centre. 

Sushi fan on a budget? Grab a 12-piece uramaki selection for an impressive £9.99. Plus a soft drink. Be sensible, you’re not getting bluefin tuna and grade 1 caviar for that price, but it’s a good sight better than shopping centre sushi. 

The tempura vegetable is probably our top recommendation. The batter is light, thin and non-too-oily, while the colourful slices of veg are cooked just enough to retain their shape in the zesty dipping sauce. 

Part of the charm of Samsi is that it doesn’t get bogged down with viral trends or keeping up with the Takahashis. This quietly impressive restaurant has been doing its own thing since 1993, and doing it damn well. 

What's on near Samsi

Rock and Goal
Until
ActivityManchester
Rock and Goal Tour

Join Joe Feeley a Mancunian through and through, who guides you into Manchester’s two pillars of cultural excellence with his Rock and Goal tour.

From £9.99
St Peter's Square
TourManchester
The Peterloo Massacre Tour

Visit key locations associated with a moment that helped shape the future of the nation, tracing the footsteps of those who stood for change.

From £20.00
Cover of a book with a canal boat on it saying boater by Jo Bell
LiteratureManchester
Jo Bell at The Portico Library

Poet and now memoirist Jo Bell invites you to join her “for a friendly evening” at The Portico Library when she’ll be talking about her new “smart, funny” memoir Boater.

From £6.00

Where to go near Samsi

Manchester
Bar or Pub
Tribeca

Large bar/music venue on Sackville Street in Manchester city centre.

Canal Street
Café or Coffee Shop
Richmond Tea Rooms

An eccentrically decorated place that cunningly offers homemade breakfasts, lunches and high teas alongside some stronger stuff for cocktail hour.

Manchester
Bar or Pub
On Bar

This multifaceted venue is primarily an award winning gay bar in Manchester’s Canal Street area – but that is not all…

Manchester
Music venue
G-A-Y

Smack bang in the centre of Manchester’s Canal Street, colourful club on the corner, G-A-Y, is popular with a youngish crowd looking for pop tunes, cheap drinks and a lively atmosphere. And there’s a rooftop terrace for the smokers.

Manchester
Bar or Pub
Vanilla

This award winning bar is open six nights a week due to popular demand. Described as the ‘mecca of the north’ for the lesbian community, it is no wonder why.

Manchester
Music venue
Bar Pop

Nightclub identifying as an ‘IndieDiscoElectroHomoMadHiphopBritPopFunkyKindaShagtasticQueerThing’, Bar Pop on Manchester’s vibrant Canal Street is known for its friendly atmosphere.

Manchester
Restaurant
MAYA Manchester

MAYA is a stylish new restaurant and bar on the corner of Canal Street and Chorlton Street in central Manchester.

Winsome
Manchester
Restaurant
Winsome

Winsome delivers modern British food, cooked beautifully by chef-owner Shaun Moffat and his team.

Breakfast Shot
Manchester
Restaurant
Bondi Bowls

Bondi Bowls is the perfect spot to grab a healthy lunch without compromising on flavour.

Culture Guides

Author portrait
Literature Events in the North

From tongue-twisters to twisty page-turners, we have all kinds of spoken word surprises in the latest literature round-up.

Two women stand next to an orange car.
Cinema in the North

August brings a huge LGBTQ+ film festival, plus a reggae classic and a spotlight on Japanese animation.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Summer signals theatre festivals, world premieres and open-air spectacle - from MIF25 to comedy, outdoor circus and beyond, here’s what we’re looking forward to.

Blondshell by Hannah Bon.
Music in the North

From Lyra Pramuk’s sacred synths to the sugar rush of YAANG, our latest music picks bring ritual, rebellion and ridiculous levels of fun.

Exhibitions in the North

Monumental sculptures, charcoal confessions and a show of two paintings only - all this and more in this month's exhibition picks.