Eats

The best local restaurants in Greater Manchester have been named by the Good Food Guide

Greater Manchester absolutely dominated the list for the North West.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 24th July 2024

The Good Food Guide has just released its list of the 100 best local restaurants in Britain – and there are PLENTY of entries for Greater Manchester.

From city centre gastropubs to Michelin-recommended hidden gems to proper local Italian restaurants, our city region has shone throughout the list.

And while the top spot in all of Britain went to Bavette in Leeds (a firm favourite of our friends over at The Hoot), there are plenty of restaurants to shout about closer to home too.

The overall winner in the entire North West was named as Cibus in Levenshulme, a laid-back spot that’s a huge part of Levy’s culinary levelling-up.

In fact, Greater Manchester has completely dominated the Best Local Restaurants list for the North West, taking seven out of the 13 spots.

Widely considered one of the city’s best restaurants, Higher Ground has shot onto the list, along with fellow Michelin-recommended spots The Sparrows and Another Hand.

Also featuring in The Good Food Guide’s prestigious list is The Pearl, a newcomer in Prestwich with its own wine window.

Bombay to Mumbai in Stockport made the guide too, as did the brilliant Lily’s Vegetarian in Ashton-under-Lyne, and Covino just down the road in Chester.

And completing the list for the North West is The Edinburgh Castle in Ancoats, a gastropub that’s been named one of the best in the country.

Back to the big win for Cibus though.

Cibus in Levenshulme is loved locally and beyond for its modern Italian menu, which features everything from salted doughnuts to cicchetti and pizza and pasta.

The Good Food Guide noted that Cibus’ cooking and the effort they put into their seasonal menu is so brilliant, ‘it would shame many-a fancier joint’.

They also wrote: “It has transformed the food scene in Levenshulme and is the type of place we all wished we had on our doorstep.”

The Pearl in Prestwich has made it onto the list of the Top 100 Local Restaurants in the Good Food Guide. Credit: The Manc Group
The Pearl in Prestwich has made it onto the list of the Top 100 Local Restaurants in the Good Food Guide. Credit: The Manc Group
The Edinburgh Castle also made the top 100 in the Good Food Guide. Credit: The Manc Group
The Edinburgh Castle also made the top 100 in the Good Food Guide. Credit: The Manc Group
Higher Ground is officially one of Britain's best local restaurants. Credit: The Manc Group
Higher Ground is officially one of Britain’s best local restaurants. Credit: The Manc Group

Owners Giorgio Fontana and Marco Bracchitta said of the award: “We are thrilled and humbled by the news that Cibus has been voted the Best Local Restaurant in the North West!

“It is a huge honour, and we are overwhelmed with joy. Thank you to all of our supporters.

“We feel loved and embraced by the community around us, and we reciprocate that with our love and passion in what we do here at Cibus.

“This recognition is a massive burst of morale for the Cibus team. We are like family, and we work hard together to provide a great experience for our guests. Our hard work has paid off.”

This year, more than 60,000 votes were cast in The Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Local Restaurants guide, leaving a panel of experts to anonymously eat in the front-running restaurants across the UK.

Elizabeth Carter and Chloë Hamilton, co-editors of The Good Food Guide, said: “You came out in force this year, casting an astonishing 60,000 nominations for your beloved bistros, brasseries, pubs and cafés.

“We, and our undercover inspectors, have been touring the country to ensure the list is made up of the best of their kind.

“Places that are home to extraordinary local creativity and talent, personal hospitality and genuine community spirit, and that are wonderfully affordable too.

“Eating out locally has never been so diverse, so enjoyable, so satisfying. Let’s make sure it stays that way.”

The best restaurants in the North West according to The Good Food Guide 2024

  • Cibus Levenshulme [regional winner]
  • Lily’s Vegetarian Indian Cuisine Ashton-under-Lyne
  • Bombay to Mumbai Stockport
  • Edinburgh Castle Manchester
  • Higher Ground Manchester
  • Another Hand Manchester
  • The Spärrows Manchester
  • The Rum Fox Grindleton
  • A Se Anar Blackpool
  • The Pearl Prestwich
  • The Yan Grasmere
  • Belzan Liverpool
  • Covino Chester

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Drinks prices for Manchester Oasis gigs announced – and you’ll be pleasantly surprised

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Drinks prices for Oasis at Heaton Park in Manchester

The prices of drinks at Heaton Park for the five huge Manchester Oasis shows have been released in advance.

With the Gallagher brothers reuniting on stage in their hometown for the first time this weekend (and then again next week), it’s a huge moment for our city.

Those lucky enough to snag tickets have already forked out a small fortune to witness this moment in history (still scarred from the dynamic pricing debacle).

And most of us were probably bracing to spend another small fortune on beers at the Oasis Manchester gigs.

But you might be pleasantly surprised at the drinks prices up at Heaton Park for Oasis Live ’25.

It’s now been confirmed that pints of lager and cider will be just £6.50.

Before you turn your nose up, remember that pints at our two arenas – the AO Arena and Co-op Live are now sitting around the £9 mark.

Prices for other drinks, like wine and spirits, we’ll have to wait until Friday to see.

Heaton Park will also be the home of the ‘largest beer garden’ and the longest bars in the city for the Oasis reunion.

With a major heatwave predicted for the first shows, fans are being encouraged to stay hydrated (on WATER, not beer, please).

Ticket-holders will be allowed to bring a sealed bottle of water up to 500ml in with you, but it must be collapsible plastic.

Solid plastic and metal containers will be rejected on safety grounds.

There’s a free water point on site where you can fill up your bottles again.

Oasis will perform at Heaton Park in Manchester on 11, 12, 16, 19 and 20 July.

You can see our full guide HERE.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

£1.8m revamp of Ancoats pub The Shamrock is FINALLY set to begin

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson The historic Ancoats pub The Shamrock will finally undergo a £1.8m revamp. Credit: Supplied

At long last, work to revamp The Shamrock pub in Ancoats is about to begin – and they’re calling on locals to rename the historic boozer.

The Shamrock, on Bengal Street, was taken over by Joseph Holt brewery in 2019 but has been firmly sealed shut ever since, with the pandemic halting its revamp.

But now the family-owned brewery is ready to get to work on the pub, with a £1.8m revamp kicking off very soon.

The Shamrock, which dates back to 1808, will be transformed from an Irish pub into a Joseph Holt’s venue.

Back in the turn of the 19th century, it was a popular watering hole for the Irish and Italian communities who moved to the industrial neighbourhood.

Obviously, Ancoats has gone through some pretty major changes in the years since, and is now one of the city’s trendiest and foodiest suburbs, filled with flats, bars, coffee shops and more.

It’s because of this that the Joseph Holt team felt like The Shamrock was due a new name for its new chapter, and are asking the public to help rename the pub, with a shortlist of five names drawn up.

The options on the table for when the pub reopens include The Victoria Arms (as a nod to the flats and accommodation across the road); The Fleet (the name of a former neighbouring pub); and The Linen Arms, reflecting the city’s cotton trade.

The historic Ancoats pub The Shamrock will finally undergo a £1.8m revamp. Credit: Supplied
The historic Ancoats pub The Shamrock will finally undergo a £1.8m revamp. Credit: Supplied

The other choices for the public to vote on are The Spinners Rest, after the mill workers who lived in historic Ancoats; and Queen Adelaide, after another former pub around the corner on the main Ancoats Road.

Richard Kershaw, CEO of Joseph Holt, said: “As a family business with deep roots in the area, our pubs are very much at the very heart of the communities where they are located.

“With the moving forward of long-awaited refurbishment of The Shamrock – and with it a new name – we wanted our customers to feel part of the journey.

“So we brainstormed names for the pub that would respect the past and the local area while also looking to the future. Now we’re letting the people who matter most to us, our customers, decide which one to use.”

You can place your vote on the new name for The Shamrock pub HERE. One participant who picks the winning name will receive free drinks vouchers.

Read more

Featured image: Supplied

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