Manchester Eating out

As you would expect from any large city, Manchester has a wonderful and varied selection of good restaurants. As the city is so spread-out, some of the real gems are quite difficult to locate but hopefully this brief guide should help you find real culinary magic.

If you're looking for something memorable, make a beeline for Albert Square and the surrounding streets. Here you'll find some praiseworthy restaurants tucked away. Piccolino (0161 835 9860), on Clarence Street is left of the Town Hall and offers a good range of superb Italian food in nice surroundings. The Pollo Rosmarino comes highly recommended and you won't be disappointed. You can enjoy live music and a cosmopolitan atmosphere with your food on Sunday afternoons.

Just over the road from Piccolino is Croma (0161 237 9799) where you can get very good pizza in nice settings. Tampopo (0161 819 1966), is a popular rice and noodle bar serving delicious food from Vietnam, Thailand and China. The syllabub dessert is worth the visit alone!! On the corner is Livebait (0161 817 4110) which serves the city's best and most extravagant seafood.

Le Mont has won a few awards, (0161 605 8282) for it's delicious French food. An impressive venue, set on floor five and six of Urbis, a modern, striking building next to the Printworks, this is a dignified eatery so attire suitably. Inside the Printworks, Waxy O Connors serves good, honest Irish recipes and is well worth a try if only to see the very gothic and ornately carved décor. Close by (just outside the Printworks) is Wagamama (0161 839 5916) which serves a fantastic array of far eastern cuisine and is a true dining experience. Wagamama has possibly one of the biggest menus in Manchester and almost has too much choice, if there is such a thing.

Next to the Triangle shopping centre and across the road from the new Arndale development, Zinc Bar and Grill (0161 827 4200) is an atmospheric café bar with great food and live music every Sunday afternoon. It can get pretty busy so be prepared to hang around at the bar until a table becomes free.

Café Istanbul (0161 833 9942) is a small, independent Turkish restaurant with a good reputation for great food. It was recently refurbished and only a short walk from Kendals Deansgate department store so you won't have trouble finding it. Persia (0161 8394889) is finely decorated serving good food and with a fitting Arabian atmosphere. The live entertainment (check times) makes for a great evening. The Goucho Grill (0161 833 4333) can be found just off Deansgate and is another impressive venue with a huge open kitchen. It has a 'big' feel to it and oozes atmosphere when busy. Definitely the best steak in town.