The best: Michelin Guide-featured restaurants in Manchester

A stylish all-day café that seamlessly shifts into a relaxed wine bar and restaurant, Greengate favourite Kallos is one of the city’s latest additions to the Michelin Guide, championing generous, comforting Mediterranean flavours with a distinctly Greek spirit.

The evening meze menu, featuring lamb shoulder flatbreads, chickpea stew and premium tinned fish, embodies its soulful, unpretentious ethos, while its industrial yet inviting aesthetic reworks the classic neighbourhood hangout as a modern hub of elevated dining.

With its open-fire cooking, intimate counter seating and cocktail-led front bar, fellow guide newcomer Stow encapsulates the pioneering eclecticism of Manchester’s pioneering food and drink landscape.

Guests can enjoy prime cuts, including richly flavoured ex-dairy beef, alongside imaginative vegetable dishes and quietly show-stopping desserts like the wood smoked cream tart, all crafted from meticulously sourced produce.

Situated in the penthouse of an unassuming office building, actual hidden gem Climat pairs sweeping city views with refined contemporary cooking and an imperious wine selection.

Their elegantly concise fixed-price menu showcases high-quality ingredients, with standout dishes including halibut with sorrel velouté and stuffed pig’s trotter à la pierre koffman.

A thrumming brasserie inspired by Manchester’s industrial heritage, Winsome delivers forthright, nostalgic British cooking with an irresistible blend of playful swagger and surgical detail.

Cold cuts, whole fish, pies and mixed grills feature heavily across a menu built on carefully selected ingredients and and bold, hearty flavours, all served in a single buoyant, stripped-back room with a large kitchen counter at its centre.

A tranquil, verdant oasis at the base of the recently opened Treehouse Hotel, Pip is a masterclass in sustainable dining helmed by renowned chef and low-waste, local produce flagbearer Mary-Ellen McTague.

The menu blends regional pride with refined execution, from a deeply satisfying Lancashire hot pot to sophisticated seasonal dishes rooted firmly in North West sourcing, all served amidst rustic flourishes, repurposed materials and vintage adornments.

At the vanguard of Stockport’s explosive ascent to gastronomic stardom, the wildly popular Underbank hotspot Cantaloupe serves Mediterranean-leaning fare with masterful simplicity alongside a wine list packed with established growers.

While the menu changes daily, diners can expect vibrant pasta, whole fish and and assortment of compelling dishes like peri peri octopus and duck fat crisps.

An innovative sharing-plates restaurant with a deserved cult following, industrial-chic dining den Erst specialises in bright, punchy flavours, natural wines and exceptional value.

Described in the Michelin Guide as ‘truly a restaurant for our times’, the Ancoats phenomenon marries style and substance with energy and enthusiasm, serving charred flatbreads, cuttlefish risotto and more from an open kitchen.

Tucked beneath the Red Bank railway arches, The Sparrows offers one of Manchester’s best dining experiences with tasteful design and peerless interpretations of continental carbs in a heady, intimate setting.

The menu brings breathtaking new dimensions to dumplings, pastas and meats from across Europe, from pierogi and gnocchi to pelmeni and their fabled spätzle, alongside a strong line-up of low-intervention wines and a beguiling sake selection.

Arguably the restaurant that kickstarted Manchester’s ongoing culinary revolution, the city’s first Michelin-starred triumph  showcases chef-owner Simon Martin’s creative British cooking through a tasting menu rooted in seafood, seasonal produce and ingenious Asian techniques.

Dishes such as hogget with white miso sabayon, lobster cappelletti and oxidised pear exemplify mana’s complex yet devoutly pure approach, as the Ancoats icon continues to evolve by scything through the boundaries of native cuisine.

Set atop a former Victorian coffee warehouse, Stockport’s internationally acclaimed and, indeed, fabulously light-filled Michelin Green Star winner offers a seasonal sharing menu that brings the best out of British produce, foraging and a low-waste philosophy.

Pickles, ferments and low-intervention wines feature heavily as part of a relaxed and convivial counter-dining experience that combines culinary theatre with communal warmth.

Sitting amongst the rolling climes of rural Saddleworth, The White Hart at Lydgate breathes new life into the quintessential English countryside pub with a combination of rustic relaxation and ambitious modern cooking.

The menu spans cosy Tap Room plates, polished brasserie fare and memorable Sunday Roasts, all infused with British heart and subtle global influences.

Housed in a sumptuous Belle Époque dining room at the centre of Manchester’s iconic Edwardian Baroque hotel, this landmark restaurant presents Adam Reid’s modern British tasting menu inspired by his northern roots.

Playful, richly flavoured dishes arrive with minimal descriptions – although the chefs are on hand with helpful guidance – and flamboyant tableside finishes that add a delightful sense of ceremony to an unforgettable occasion.

Awarded the city’s second Michelin star in early 2025, Skof is the pioneering personal vision of decorated L’Enclume alumnus Tom Barnes, whose team conjures a show-stopping modern fine dining experience in a former textile warehouse, appointed with obligatory girders and exposed brickwork in another tasteful homage to Manchester’s past.

The cooking unites international influences with local ingredients, producing dishes that are precise yet aflame with imagination. Desserts range from amakase sorbet to Manchester honey ice cream, and the meal concludes with ‘Barney’s Tiramisu’, a touching mignardise inspired by Barnes’ late father.

One of the UK’s rare pandemic-era pop-up success stories, Higher Ground has grown from a temporary passion project into a beloved produce-driven bistro and wine bar serving an array of exquisite sharing plates.

Much of the menu is supplied by the team’s own Cheshire market garden, resulting in fresh, supremely flavoursome cooking at refreshingly accessible prices. Highlights include cuttlefish ink cured pork, Isle of Mull cheddar tart and dexter beef shin and kidney pudding with parsnip and blackberry.

A Bib Gourmand-winning tapas institution spread over three lively floors, El Gato Negro has served King Street punters with great-value Spanish classics with consistent flair for a decade.

From Josper-grilled meats to flawless crema catalana, ‘Gato’ remains one of the city’s most dependable and cheerful crowd-pleasers with faithful, homely flavours and regular dish deals.

A small, welcoming spot in the leafy Trafford suburbs, ÖRME utilises high-grade British produce to spin a selection of Nordic wonders across two thoughtfully curated tasting menus.

Available in five or seven courses, the offerings involve powerful, vivid flavours and attractive, modern presentation. Wine flights are a highlight, particularly the British-themed option, evoking an extra layer of local storytelling.

Nestled down Deansgate Mews, the widely acclaimed vegetarian-led small plates haunt uses ethically sourced local produce in their punchy yet composed ‘flavour-driven’ sharing menus.

Low-intervention wine flights, craft beers and exceptional sourdough from Holy Grain round off a perfect meal in one of the city centre’s most enjoyable and effortlessly sociable casual dining spots.