The best food and drink to enjoy at the Manchester Christmas Markets 2026

The Manchester Christmas Markets has developed a more diverse food and drink offering every single year since its inception.

Long gone are the days where all there was to eat was a bratwurst served off a swing grill, or a mound of garlic potatoes (though those do still exist, and still serve their purpose).

Now, the Manchester Christmas Markets are packed to the rafters with local traders and brilliant independent businesses serving food from all the way across the globe.

This year, there are more than 200 stalls spread across 10 locations, so we’ve whizzed round them all to find where the very best food and drink traders are lurking.

From viral hits like fried chicken waffle sandwiches and croissant pots, to new taste sensations like a cheese fondue served in an edible bowl, there’s plenty to fill you up.

Pie and mash from Great North Pie Co – King Street

Back for a second go at the Manchester Christmas Markets is Great North Pie Co., serving the absolute perfect winter warmer food on King Street.

You’ve often be able to pick up their award-winning pies here, but usually to take home and heat up yourself.

Now, they’re available piping hot, on a bed of mash with lashings of gravy. The Lancashire cheese and onion is world-class, and if you ask nicely they might have a suet pudding for you too.

Prices – £9 for pie, £4 for mash, £2 for gravy

Fondue in a bread bowl – Cathedral Gardens

What could be better than a bowl of melted cheese? A bowl of melted cheese where the bowl is made of sourdough bread, obviously…

Fondue is a newcomer to the Manchester Christmas Markets, serving up the Alpine food classic with a festive twist.

Your cheese fondue is served with dipping croutons and pickles, then topped with things like hot honey chicken, or pulled duck and cranberry sauce.

Prices – between £12.50 and £14.50 for a fondue bowl; £4.50 for a side of potatoes

Crème brûlée French toast from HK Toast – King Street

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We love a Christmas Markets snack with a side of fire, and HK Toast is back doing exactly that. 

They’re taking classic deep-fried Hong Kong-style French toast, then topping it with a load of different flavours like Cantonese egg tart, crunchy pistachio, and peaches and cream – plus their new theatrical torched crème brûlée offering. 

These guys were one of our favourite traders from last year and things are only getting hotter.

Prices – £9.50

Yorkshire pudding wraps from Porky Pig – Exchange Square

These guys have been part of the Manchester Christmas Markets for donkeys years now, and are still always going to pull in a queue.

Porky Pig serve up all your classic roast dinner bits – carvery meat, veggies, stuffing and gravy – inside a gigantic Yorkshire pudding wrap.

But they don’t stop there – you’ll also find carvery boxes, battered pigs in blankets, meat barms, and all sorts of other bits.

Prices – from £10.50 for a Yorkshire pudding wrap

Cheese skirt dumplings from Hot Dumplings – St Ann’s Square

The latest concept from our favourites at Oi Dumplings is Hot Dumplings, where you can get piping hot trays of gyoza and dumplings to go.

A real highlight is the chilli cheese skirt chicken gyoza, which are all stuck together with a crispy, cheesy bottom, and the warming chicken soup dumplings.

Don’t forget to add lashings of crispy chilli oil and dumpling vinegar for one of the best bites of food at the Manchester Christmas Markets.

Prices – £9, including three sauces and toppings

Deep fried mince pies from Yard & Coop – St Ann’s Square

Yard & Coop just love a deep-fried bit of nonsense, and this year, that’s a deep-fried mince pie.

Alongside their usual chicken and fries trays, the Northern Quarter fried chicken icons are now serving up a battered festive dessert, too.

Warning – the inside will be hotter than the surface of the sun, which is actually just what you want after freezing your butt off at the Christmas Markets.

Prices – £4

Tiramisu from Misu – Market Street

These were one of the really big food hitters from the Manchester Christmas Markets last year, so you’ll be pleased to see Misu have made a return.

This time, they’ll be selling their tiny tiramisu drawers from Market Street, with loads of different flavours to choose from.

Whether you’re a classic coffee gal or are fancying a seasonal special like gingerbread, salted caramel pretzel, or orange chocolate, there’ll be something to tickle your fancy here.

Prices – between £8 and £9

Croissants from Flat Baker – Albert Square

Flat Baker opens at the Manchester Christmas Markets and the people flock to it like a moth to a flame – and this year looks set to be no different.

Debs and the team have got a prime spot on Albert Square, and for the first time in history, they’ve built a mini bakery inside their market stall.

That means you can watch them rolling and folding their phenomenal festive treats, from their viral croissant pots to bakes like a gingerbread cinnamon roll, pecan danish, a smores croissant pudding slice, a chocolate orange Danish, and loads more.

Prices – Between £3 and £6.95

Fried chicken waffles from Waffle Kart – King Street

These guys surely need no introduction – Waffle Kart is one of those stalls that will send a queue halfway down King Street every single year.

Look out for the screaming rubber chicken stuck to the outside of their wooden shed, and you’ll find their incredible pickle-brined fried chicken dishes.

Expect chilli crisp sandwiches with waffles for bread, Szechaun chicken, and loaded waffles too.

Prices – between £11.95 and £14.95 for mains

Birria tacos from Fuego – Lincoln Square and Exchange Square

A favourite at the now-lost Piccadilly Street Food Market, Fuego are here for the coming weeks with two locations at the Manchester Christmas Markets.

Expect phenomenal birria tacos stuffed with slow-cooked meat, as well as their ultimate winter warmer, a pot of birria ramen.

They’re part of the new food-focused area on Lincoln Square as well as sandwiched in right next to the ever-busy Porky Pig.

Prices – £10-£13

Read more

• Manchester Christmas Markets 2026 – prices for beer, mulled wine, bratwurst, and more
• Everything you need to know about Manchester Christmas Markets 2026 – dates, locations, and more
• Gary Neville’s St Michael’s development reveals plans for FOUR new food and drink openings

Featured image: The Manc Group