Another year has ticked by and once again, Greater Manchester has proven itself as a global heavyweight when it comes to new bars and restaurants.
As the city expands ever-further, with new neighbourhoods springing up like daisies, there’s been a flurry of new openings across the city region.
From the small teams painstakingly hand-rolling pasta or laminating croissants to much larger ventures flinging out sunny brunch dishes or slabs of meat, there’s been something to excite just about every palate in 2024.
With so many new spots to check out, you’re bound to have missed a few – so we’ve pulled together our 10 favourites to add to your visit list in 2025.
Cacio e pepe pasta. Credit: The Manc GroupSoup and a steak sandwich. Credit: The Manc GroupThe Paris hot chocolate. Credit: The Manc Group
In smaller Greater Manchester towns, new openings don’t come along every day – which might be why Cafe Continental caused such a stir initially when it launched in Stalybridge.
But as the months have ticked on this neighbourhood restaurant has proved that it’s far from a flash in the pan.
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It looks like it’s been plucked from a pretty Parisian back street and has a menu that will stand the test of time, from a cacio e pepe pasta with an egg yolk on top to spicy twice-fried chicken buns and steak sandwiches.
That’s alongside excellent cocktails and one of the internet’s most viral sweet treats, a proper Paris hot chocolate, where you dollop thick cream into dainty cups of molten hot chocolate.
Blacklock’s cocktail trolley which roams their new Manchester restaurants. Credit: The Manc GroupBlacklock’s all-in platter outside their new Manchester restaurant. Credit: The Manc Group
Easily up there with the biggest openings in 2025 is Blacklock, which ventured out of its native London for the first time this year and landed in a basement unit on Peter Street.
Here, it’s all about the meat-heavy menu of reasonably-priced British classics, affordable cocktails, and its legendary white chocolate cheesecake scooped straight from the dish and dolloped onto your plate.
Blacklock is a modern take on a traditional chop house and proudly offers ‘hearty fare and rowdy comfort’.
A menu highlight is their all-in platter, where chops are piled high on charcoal-grilled flatbread which soaks up the meat juices. Delicious.
Pasta and pizzetta dishes at Onda in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Surely one of the greatest success stories in recent years, Onda has gone from a humble kitchen within Exhibition food hall, to a resident at New Cross in Ancoats, to its very own shiny restaurant at Circle Square in the blink of an eye.
From this massive new space, you can watch a team of chefs carefully making fresh pasta in the open kitchen, and glimpse their now-viral tiramisu drawer in action.
Even six months down the line, it’s damn-near impossible to book a table here, with people still waiting months to sample their delicious pastas, including fan favourites like nduja and vodka sauce, cacio e pepe bucatini, and a selection of thick-crusted pizzettas.
The tiramisu might have sent their popularity sky-high, but the quality and prices here prove that it deserves every bit of success coming its way. This place is not a novelty.
Rudy’s, Prestwich and Altrincham
Rudy’s in Altrincham. Credit: The Manc GroupRudy’s Prestwich. Credit: The Manc GroupRudy’s opened two new restaurants in Greater Manchester this year
Some might think that Rudy’s is getting a little big for its boots, now with 29 restaurants across the UK – properly impressive growth considering they were just a tiny pizzeria in Ancoats less than a decade ago.
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But these top-quality Neapolitan-style pizzas are the stuff of legend for good reason and are pulling in big crowds in every suburb they land in.
This year alone they’ve launched new restaurants in Altrincham and another in Prestwich, the latter of which has gone into a vacant bank building on the high street of the Greater Manchester suburb.
Will anything ever stop these guys in their tracks? Doubt it…
Medlock Canteen, Deansgate Square
Fresh baguettes stuffed with rotisserie chicken straight out of the oven. Credit: The Manc GroupInside Medlock Canteen. Credit: The Manc Group
Bottomless coffee, rotisserie chicken, epic sandwiches, schnitzels, and big brekkies, all served in a delightfully mid-century modern interior – we were excited for Medlock Canteen before the doors even opened.
Moving into the skyscraper neighbourhood of Deansgate Square, this place comes from the same team behind Madre (the Mexican restaurant at Kampus) and Belzan (one of Liverpool’s top restaurants).
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It’s had a few rave national reviews and pulls in a steady crowd, thanks in part to its proximity to Club de Padel. Going straight from court to cocktails is a pretty dreamy Manchester evening.
They’ll even let you order a portion of whatever the staff dinner is that night for a tenner.
Companio, Northern Quarter
Companio Bakery in the Northern QuarterMaritozzi from Companio BakeryCredit: The Manc Group
It’s always been one of Manchester’s best bakeries, but its original location on the very edges of Ancoats sort of kept it a bit too out of the way.
So when Companio announced a new spot in the heart of the Northern Quarter, bringing its loaves and pastries that little bit closer, the city centre rejoiced.
On the menu you’ll find sandwiches in freshly-baked bread, maritozzi bursting at the seams with cream, delicious coffee, seasonal bakes and loads more, in a gorgeous new cafe on an NQ back street.
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You can even pull up a seat right next to the bakery so you can sit and watch loaves being lovingly shaped and baked right in front of you – now that’s my kind of show.
Hive Stores, Altrincham
Hive Stores in Altrincham, Greater Manchester
It’s not every day that Greater Manchester gets a new business quite as beautiful as the bar at Hive Stores, which is filled with gorgeous antique furniture, a general store, and a cafe.
The business had previously operated as an antiques store from a ramshackle building out the back – but when this roadside space came up next door, they snapped it up and transformed it into a timeless, character-packed community cafe and bar.
You can pick up some eggs and have an espresso martini at the same time, tuck into a cheese board and a few glasses of wine, grab a Half Dozen Other pastry, or sit on the pavement with a spritz and people-watch.
It’s operated by Steven Sherratt and Gareth Wilkins and you’re guaranteed a warm welcome every time. A must-visit.
Dishes at Stow are seasonal and cooked over open fire. Credit: The Manc GroupStow in Manchester
This is the newest spot on the list, and if you’ve not already jumped on the bandwagon it’s one to add to your list for 2025.
What sets Stow apart from the rest is its innovative cooking style – no ovens, no conventional appliances, just fire and grill. Everything on the menu – even their bread and cake – is cooked over open fire.
They’ve totally transformed the space on Bridge Street too, which has at various points over the last few years been a futuristic coffee shop, a Thai BBQ restaurant, and a wine bar.
Stow is owned and operated by Matt Nellany and Jamie Pickles from Trof, who want to celebrate the ‘simplicity of great ingredients cooked over open fire with very little faff’.
Cheese and kimchi on toast at Caravan in Manchester
It would be quicker to list what Caravan doesn’t serve than what it does, but every single thing on their all-day menu is executed to the highest degree.
From brunches to sourdough pizzas, coffee to cocktails, grain bowls to brioche puddings, the menu harks from sunny New Zealand (as do its three co-founders).
Caravan is a wildly popular name down in London and finally landed here in Manchester in the summer, with a massive new 170-capacity restaurant and a full working roastery.
Menu highlights include jalapeño cornbread with chilli butter, Korean-style buttermilk fried chicken with kimchi pancakes, and, of course, fry-ups.
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RamenShop, Northern Quarter
Ramenshop in the Northern Quarter. Credit: The Manc Group
Alright this one technically isn’t a new opening, rather a rebrand – but something about that shiny new sign above the door made us fall back in love with RamenShop (formerly Tokyo Ramen) all over again.
The team who run the show here – Janven, Marc and Mark – have actually been given partial ownership of the restaurant, which is a lovely bit of positive hospitality news for a change, isn’t it?
Their concise menu sees 12-hour chicken broth bases piled high with perfect noodles, proteins and jammy eggs, including their best-selling ‘fire’ ramen, topped with crunchy koji-fried chicken, and the classic shoyu that’s topped with torched pork belly.
The best food and drink at the Manchester Christmas Markets 2025
Daisy Jackson
The Manchester Christmas Markets are back for 2025, filling the streets with food stalls, festive bars, and all manner of market stalls selling gifts.
There’s loads of new stuff to explore this year, including the markets’ return to Albert Square for the first time in years.
And our first port of call – as usual – has been to suss out this year’s food and drink offering, which includes loads of exciting new traders for the season.
We’ve rounded up 10 phenomenal new food and drink traders at this year’s Manchester Christmas Markets – but there are loads of returning favourites worth your time too.
Waffle Kart are back on King Street with their famous Chinese waffle sandwiches (don’t knock it til you’ve tried it, they are DIVINE), Flat Baker have returned to Piccadilly Gardens with their Brazilian-inspired pastries and desserts, and Oi Dumpling are back slinging out handmade dumplings aplenty too.
So without further ado, here are 10 food and drink traders you need to try at the Manchester Christmas Markets 2025.
Great North Pie Co.
Food trader Great North Pie Co. at the Manchester Christmas Markets. Credit: The Manc Group
Our piggy little food prayers have been answered – you can finally get your hands on proper British pies at the Manchester Christmas Markets.
Great North Pie Co. have been a staple at the markets for years, but it’s always been with pies you take home to heat for your tea.
For the first time this year they’ve got an actual pie and mash bar, serving their award-winning bakes on a bed of fluffy mashed potato, with lashings of steaming hot onion gravy.
Piccadilly Gardens
Hong Kong French Toast
Here’s a Manchester Christmas Market food trader we can all raise a toast to (… geddit?).
This new trader is Hong Kong French Toast, and you’ll find them serving adorable little trays of traditional French toast.
Thick, fluffy white bread is layered with fillings like peanut butter, Nutella, and pistachio cream, before being dipped in egg batter and deep-fried.
They’re then topped with things like condensed milk and miniature pats of butter for the ultimate indulgence that’s worth being on the naughty list for.
Rita’s Reign is one of the new food traders at the Manchester Christmas Markets. Credit: The Manc Group
Known for serving the city with hearty and gigantic Afro-Caribbean rice boxes, Rita’s Reign has expanded its reign even further – to the Manchester Christmas Markets food offering.
This beloved local street food favourite now has a festive-themed sister site right in front of the Town Hall, with festive fusion boxes of Jollof rice and homemade purple slaw.
Expect boneless Jerk chicken, curry goat, and vegan bowls, all served with that sunny Rita’s Reign service.
Loaded roast potatoes at Roastie HausAustrian goulash in a bread bowlCredit: The Manc Group
What could be more winter warmer comfort food than a stew (specifically, an Austrian goulash) served in a bowl made out of bread?
The team at Roastie Haus have got that, as well as loaded roast potatoes served with a big tub of gravy alongside.
You can have your spuds loaded with pigs in blankets, stuffing, onion gravy and lingonberry sauce, or with cauliflower and broccoli cheese plus golden breadcrumbs.
Piccadilly Gardens
Misu Tiramisu
Misu Tiramisu at the Manchester Christmas Markets. Credit: The Manc Group
It’s not often that you come across stop-you-in-your-tracks branding at the Manchester Christmas Markets, but these adorable miniature trays of tiramisu did just that.
Misu Tiramisu is selling nine different flavours of individual Italian puds, from familiar flavours like classic, pistachio, and lemon, to festive editions including gingerbread, black forest, and chocolate orange.
Remember that tiramisu drawer from Onda that went incredibly viral? Imagine a miniature one and this is that stall.
This one kind of does what is says on the tin, and is one of two different loaded hash brown food stalls at this year’s Manchester Christmas Markets.
Look out for this silver Airstream on Albert Square and you’ll find portions of crispy hash browns loaded with all manner of toppings.
There’s the truffle, with crispy onions, truffle mayo and cranberry sauce; a Katsu hash with chicken goujons and curry sauce; and a salt and pepper, to name a few.
Albert Square
Niwa Yakitori
Who’d have thought you’d see the day where you could get an iced matcha at the Manchester Christmas Markets?
And not just any matcha – matcha from one of the city’s finest Japanese green tea experts.
Niwa Yakitori (who have a cafe in the Northern Quarter that transforms into an intimate Japanese grill restaurant in the evenings) are here at the Manchester Christmas Markets.
As well as ceremonial-grade matcha and hojicha, they’re doing proper yakitori grill skewers too.
Piccadilly Gardens
Gorgeous Cheesecakes
This is Gorgeous Cheesecakes, and if you haven’t guessed it, they’re serving gorgeous cheesecakes.
This build-your-own pudding bar is brand-new at the Manchester Christmas Markets, but you might recognise them from Selfridges and various other spots around the North West.
Pop over to see Matilda at Piccadilly Gardens and you can pick your base, cheesecake filling and toppings, whether you fancy a pistachio-loaded tub or a pot dripping in Biscoff.
Piccadilly Gardens
Pasta Claus
Pasta, from a cheese wheel, in the middle of Piccadilly Gardens. Whatever next?!
Pasta Claus is an Italian food trader at the Manchester Christmas Markets slinging out carby, cheesy classics like carbonara, cacio e pepe, and a pesto burrata number.
There’s even thick-cut slices of Lasagne too, with layers of beef ragù, bèchamel sauce and lashings of parm.
Mini French toast
These mini French toasts are part of the new Albert Square Christmas markets in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Once you get over the jarring contrast of a pastel pink Eiffel tower standing in front of the Manchester Town Hall clock tower, you might notice that this stand has a sweet treat worth your attention.
This place is selling miniature boxes of French toast bites, topped with flavour combinations like pistachio and white chocolate, creme Anglaise, and Nutella and strawberry.
Imagine traditional Austrian Kaiserschmarrn (scrambled pancakes) but with a bit more hun.
Albert Square
10 of the best food traders at the Manchester Christmas Markets 2025
Great North Pie Co., Piccadilly Gardens
Hong Kong French Toast, King Street
Rita’s Reign, Albert Square
Roastie Haus, Piccadilly Gardens
Misu Tiramisu, Piccadilly Gardens
Loaded Hash Browns, Albert Square
Niwa Yakitori, Piccadilly Gardens
Gorgeous Cheesecakes, Piccadilly Gardens
Pasta Claus, Piccadilly Gardens
Mini French Toast, Albert Square
Featured image: The Manc Group
Eats
Cosy pubs near the Manchester Christmas Markets where you can avoid the madness
Daisy Jackson
The Manchester Christmas Markets are in full flow for another year, and they are BUSY – so we’ve picked out the top pubs providing refuge from it all.
Once again, thousands of people are pouring into the city centre every weekend and evening to browse the massive range of food, drink and gifts being sold from the village of wooden huts that have appeared in town.
And there’s no denying that the markets do bring plenty of festive cheer to town, with toy town mugs in every hand and people munching on sausages as they walk.
But when the hustle and bustle and the cold all gets a bit much – and if you’re anything like us, one or two drinks at the Christmas Markets is plenty – you’ll be looking for respite.
And by respite, we mean a pub.
So here are the best pubs that are very near the Manchester Christmas Markets without actually being in the thick of it.
North Westward Ho, Chapel Walks
Beers at North Westward Ho. Credit: The Manc GroupNorth Westward Ho’s traditional interior. This pub is near the Market Street and King Street Christmas Markets
This stunning pub has been created by Pomona Island, the much-loved local craft brewery, and it’s handily located within staggering distance of the Albert Square, Market Street, Piccadilly Gardens AND King Street Christmas markets hubs.
Pomona Island has taken on a chunk of the former Chaophraya restaurant, turning the grand arch-windowed red-brick building into a pub serving their own craft beers – from the easy-drinking Factotum, to the excellent Phaedra pale ale.
And boy is it cosy – North Westward Ho feels like a proper Manchester pub that has been styled with dark wooden details, ornate tiling, wall sconces, oil paintings, dark green ceramic brick times, and loads of cosy corners.
It’s opened in a former bin store at Victoria StationThe Victoria Tap is one of the cosiest pubs near the Cathedral Gardens Christmas Markets
The Victoria Tap is a beer bar that’s completely transformed a corner of the station that was previously home to a bin store, and it’s a perfect place to pause between the Cathedral Gardens Christmas Markets and your train home.
You won’t miss your train either – on the wall inside the pub is a departures board that advises how many pints you can fit in before your train leaves.
Northern breweries on the taps at Victoria Tap include Brew York, Blackjack and Runaway, plus a good selection of European beers from the likes of kostritzer, Bitburger and Schremser.
Inside there are traditional parquet floors underfoot and a dark green bar running almost the whole length of the micropub.
This bar is at complete odds with its location – the sight of its cosy, calm interior at great odds to the madness of Market Street it sits behind.
Like an oasis in the desert, Cafe Beermoth is one of those pubs that provides serious Christmas Markets salvation when you need it most.
The Belgian-style beer cafe champions drinks from across the UK as well as further afield into Europe and America, though it has a strong bond with Manchester’s own Runaway Brewery.
It’s one of those places you can visit solo or with a massive group and still be welcomed with the same open arms.
You wouldn’t think that the place to escape the madness of the Manchester Christmas Markets would be the Manchester Arndale, aka the biggest shopping mall in town and one that is RAMMED with shoppers in December.
But wedged into a corner of the Arndale Market is Micro Bar, a teeny tiny pub with a good selection of German and Belgian beers on keg plus hundreds of bottles and cans in the fridges.
If you’re quick and lucky, you can get a seat overlooking High Street and feel extra smug that you’re on the quiet side of the glass.
Formerly known as The Pilcrow, this shed-like pub on Sadler’s Yard is now in the very trustworthy hands of Cloudwater Brewery.
The space itself was built by local people through a series of workshops, with members of the public creating everything from the tabletops to the lampshades.
There is, of course, Cloudwater beers, but also plenty of others to choose from, a menu of natural wines, and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails.
The pub is also stumbling distance from Cathedral Gardens – you can practically skate here from the Christmas Markets ice rink.
Disappear from St Ann’s Square – where you can barely move for gluhwein and tinsel – and down into the cave-like wine bar that is Corbieres.
Something of a Manchester institution, this brilliant bar has a jukebox loaded with great music, and a decent range of wines and beers.
It also does free pizza with any drink purchased, Tuesday to Friday 4.30pm to 7.30pm.
AND, as they’re advertising themselves as an escape from the markets, they’re even happy for you to bring the food you buy at the markets into the bar.
Any of the Chop Houses are guaranteed to be maximum cosy, with their Victorian interiors still largely in tact and menus full of massive stodgy food.
There are two that are both right near the King Street batch of Christmas Markets – Sam’s is beneath the previously mentioned North Westward Ho, while Albert’s is within that iconic tall skinny building on Cross Street.
At this time of year they’re extra festive thanks to soft white fairy lights and candles.
52 Cross St, M2 7AR
The Rat & Pigeon, Back Piccadilly
The Rat & Pigeon is a lovely cosy pub near the Manchester Christmas Markets
It will come as a surprise to precisely no one that the so-called ‘Winter Gardens’ at Piccadilly Gardens are possibly the most hectic spot of all in town.
Which is why we’d highly recommend slipping away to The Rat & Pigeon, where the Crown & Kettle team have transformed the former Mother Macs pub into a three-storey pub.
Each floor provides you with a different vibe, whether your evening involves a pint and a dartboard or a cocktail and a giant disco ball.
If you really want to get away from the crowds trudging the streets of the Manchester Christmas Markets, you need to get underneath the streets.
Welcome to The Gas Lamp, a subterranean, tiled-wall haven where local craft brewery Pomona Island dominates the taps and fridges (alongside plenty of other great pints).
It’s also a paradise for whiskey drinkers and is just a quick dart beyond the King Street markets.
50a Bridge Street, M3 3BW
Mulligans of Manchester, Southgate
Mulligans. Credit: The Manc GroupMulligans. Credit: The Manc GroupMulligans is one of Manchester’s top pubs and a good escape from the Christmas Markets
Is Mulligans a quiet pub? Absolutely not. But if you can get yourself a seat in one of its cosy corners or snugs, with a steady stream of Guinness in front of you, it’s one of those places you won’t want to tear yourself away from in a hurry.
This legendary Irish boozer just off Deansgate makes for a perfect escape in winter, where there’s live music seven days a week and top-quality Irish stout on the taps.
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Last year they opened up a brand-new bar upstairs, but it’s still the cosy original pub downstairs that we try to cram into when the Manchester Christmas Markets are too much to bear.
Daisy Jackson -
19th December 2024 
