When it comes to a lunch break in Manchester we really are spoilt for choice – but there’s a reason so many of us make the pilgrimage to the Piccadilly Street Food Markets every week.
This little huddle of colourful huts on the edge of Piccadilly Gardens is home to some of the best cheap eats in town.
The area has had a major upgrade in recent years from the days when it was just a couple of rows of gazebos, and now you’ll find the same familiar faces whipping up tasty lunches for queues of Mancs, five days a week.
Whether you’re after a healthy falafel wrap, an enormous Star Wars-inspired smash burger, or a proper Indian grill, the Piccadilly Street Food Markets have got your back.
Here’s a quick guide to all the traders currently operating here.
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All the food at the Piccadilly Street Food Markets
Rita’s Reign
Rita’s Reign in ManchesterRita’s Reign in Manchester
There’s a reason Rita’s Reign attracts the biggest queues at the Piccadilly Street Food Markets – this is some properly good food.
You can get gigantic boxes stuffed with jollof rice, boneless jerk chicken, curry goat, vegan curry, plantain and more, with prices starting from £7. Unbelievable value for money.
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The Bearded Feeder
The Bearded Feeder’s Wookiee burger at Piccadilly Gardens
A staple of the Piccadilly Street Food Markets, this stall is somewhere you can still get a filling lunch for a fiver – and you’ll get some pretty solid Star Wars puns on the side.
The Bearded Feeder serves the best smash burgers in the city from just £5, plus loaded fries, filthy hot dogs, tacos, and pulled pork.
Falafel King MCR
On the menu here you’ll find wraps stuffed with fillings that are great value for money.
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Falafel wraps start from £5, but you can add in halloumi, aubergine, and fries, make it a meal deal, or order a falafel lunch box or salad instead.
Simply Delicious by Dine with Saira
Rice and three is a Manchester institution, but here lunch boxes include samosas, bhajis, seekh kebabs and loads more.
There’s a good choice of curries and grilled meats, plus samosas with the crispest pastry in Manchester.
Turkish Grill
‘Shawarma, doner, casserole!’ the team behind the counter at Turkish Grill holler out every lunchtime – a pretty effective marketing tactic, judging by the speed their meat dishes go flying out.
You can get a chicken shawarma wrap for £7, loaded with salad, meat, chips and homemade tzatziki.
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Famous Philadelphia Cheesesteaks
It’s all about the meat here at Philadelphia Cheese Steak, served on chips, rice, or in huge sub rolls.
There’s a Buffalo chicken cheese steak, or a classic Philly cheese steak, which are both well worth your attention.
Nashville Chicken
The portions are as big as the flavours at Nashville Chicken, which serves a proper USA twist on all things chicken.
Expect chicken poutine, buffalo wings, Nashville chicken (obviously) and even a chicken cheese dog.
Piccadilly Bakes
You can’t walk past Piccadilly Bakes without their incredible cookies and cakes catching your eye.
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Here you’ll find chunky cookies with gooey middles stuffed with pistachio creme, kinder Bueno and more, plus old-school chocolate cake and custard and loads more.
The Dutch Fishmen
Have you ever seen a potato being sliced into a spiral, jammed onto a stick, battered, and fried before? Well you have now!
The Dutch Fishmen are another familiar face around Manchester and also serve seafood dishes like cod bites, fried prawns and fish burgers.
Piccadilly Thai
Sometimes nothing will hit the spot quite like a hefty box of Thai food – and this place is a real craving-buster.
Their crispy chilli beef, bright orange sweet chilli chicken, Thai holy basil stir fry and many more dishes are available in mix-and-match boxes.
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BangGaBangGa
This place used to operate under a different name and went insanely viral for its Korean corn dogs, which have molten mozzarella inside that will stretch for miles (okay not quite).
As well as these delicious snacks, they have authentic dishes like Tteokbokki, Korean rice cakes, served in a punchy and spicy sauce.
Chen’s Happy House
A hangover cure, boxed – each lunch at Chen’s Happy House is piled high with salt and pepper flavoured items, fried things, chips, rice, and noodles, with plenty of options.
‘Classy, clever, confident’ – New Manchester restaurant receives glowing Guardian review
Daisy Jackson
Winsome, one of the newest restaurants on Manchester’s dining scene, has gone and received a seriously glowing review in The Guardian this weekend.
Legendary restaurant criticGrace Dent said that the British bistro ‘may well be my new favourite restaurant’, lauding chef patron Shaun Moffat’s ‘elegant but plentiful modern cooking’.
She said that there’s even a teeny touch of Toby Carvery in their Sunday offering, with meaty and saucy dishes and ‘cartoon-esque XL yorkshire puddings’.
Winsome opened back in March under the steer of three hospitality heavyweights – ex-Edinburgh Castle chef Shaun Moffat, former Schofields head bartender Tom Fastiggi, and Belzan founder Owain Williams.
It’s a beautiful, stripped-back space at the foot of the Whitworth Locke aparthotel and Moffat’s first venture as a chef patron.
Based on this Guardian review, he’s doing a pretty good job so far…
Grace Dent said of Winsome’s nostalgic yet modern menu (featuring dippy eggs and puddings that sound like school dinner puds): “This is Cool Britannia wearing a napkin bib with a side portion of rhubarb jelly and custard for pudding.”
Novelty crockery at Winsome. Credit: The Manc GroupChef patron Shaun Moffat at Winsome. Credit: The Manc GroupDippy egg and asparagus. Credit: The Manc GroupInside WInsome on Princess Street. Credit: The Manc Group
She also wrote that it’s ‘far from a novelty restaurant’ in spite of its animal-shaped crockery.
And Dent added that while there’s an element of fine dining, it’s unpretentious enough that you’re happy to smear it all over the tablecloths and, indeed, yourself.
‘Deeply nostalgic’, ‘forward-thinking fine dining without any of the faff’, is how she described her Winsome experience.
“This is confident, clever cooking that stays just the right side of earnest, or at least as earnest as a chef can be when he also serves up a dessert that is essentially a 1980s school sponge pudding with a scoop of milk ice-cream flecked with multicoloured sprinkles, or hundreds and thousands as they will for ever be known in my heart,” she wrote.
Grace Dent’s Guardian review concluded with: “Winsome may well be my new favourite restaurant, and it’s the new, big, generous beating heart of Manchester hospitality. It’s classy but come-all – bring your gran, bring your baby, no one need feel conspicuous.
“There’s something about the place that makes me want to use it as a canteen, not least out of sheer curiosity as to what Moffat will put on the menu next. Great cooking, and forward-thinking fine dining without any of the faff.
“Bring your appetite and don’t wear pale colours. Aaah, Manchester, you have so much to answer for. Winsome will seriously impact your waistline.”
Winsome said in a post on Instagram: “It doesn’t get much better than that! We’re over the moon, full of pride and could not be more grateful to the team who’ve worked so hard to help us deliver this dream.”
Hidden Manchester bar Mala to offer unique ‘movie night’ experiences inside private cabins
Thomas Melia
You can have your own private film experience inside little wooden cabins at a popular Northern Quarter bar this summer.
Manchester city centre secret garden spot Mala is hosting an event where you and your friends can enjoy a private movie night with food, themed drinks, and bucket loads of free popcorn.
Listed as the ‘Cabin Movie Night’, get ready to sit back, relax and watch a cult classic, all from the comfort of your own personal wooden hut.
The film you’ll be watching is very on-brand too, as it’s none other than none than ‘Labyrinth’.
This secret garden spot is hiding right in plain sight over on Dale Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, and as well as hosting events such as these, they’re also home to some top tier eateries too.
Currently El Jefe, Doodles, Wok Bros, Christakis, D&X Caribbean, and Gulf are all serving up some cross-continental delights for you to enjoy in this marvellous space.
Some mouth-watering scran from El Jefe.Wok Bros have some delicious noodle boxes. Credit: The Manc Group
The Cabin Movie Night’ is the perfect way to round up your friends and watch a classic with a cocktail in hand.
There’s a handful of group packages available too at an additional charge, ranging from £30 to £50, which includes themed cocktails for each guest in the booking, and the cost of the ticket.
Daisy Jackson -
28th June 2024 
