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Eats

The restaurants and bars on the shortlist for Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards 2024

Voting is now open.

Daisy Jackson - 6th November 2024

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The full shortlist for the Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards has been revealed, honouring the city-region’s best restaurants, bars, pubs, cafes and more.

The long-standing awards celebrate the vibrant hospitality industry across the North West, from producer to takeaway to prestigious restaurant.

Across 17 categories, 136 food and drink businesses of varying sizes will be celebrated, with nominees in categories across venue, chef, talent, event, newcomer and more.

The shortlist for the 2024 Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards has been compiled by an expert judging panel, and the awards themselves are now open for public vote.

There will also be a series of mystery shopping visits by judges, who will anonymously score venues nominated in the awards, to be combined with the public vote.

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The MFDF Awards will be held in January next year, with the winners revealed in a ceremony at the beautiful New Century.

Voting is open until midnight on 10 January, with the winners revealed at the Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards 2024 dinner on Monday 27 January.

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So without futher ado, here are all the amazing venues in Manchester vying for your vote.

Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards 2024 shortlist

Affordable Eats Venue of the Year

Nell's Pizza at Kampus — Nell’s Pizza at Kampus

Cafe San Juan in Stockport — Nell’s Pizza at Kampus

Café San Juan, Stockport
Nell’s Pizza, Kampus
Wow Banh Mi, Ancoats
Hong Thai, Ancoats
Salt & Pepper, city centre
Nila’s Burmese Kitchen, Stretford
Mia’s Arepas, Freight Island
Sips & Dips, Levenshulme

Last year’s winner – Ornella’s Kitchen, Denton

Takeaway of the Year

Fat Pat's. — Fat Pat’s.

Food at Chips & No 8. Credit: The Manc Group — Fat Pat’s.

Chips @ No. 8, Prestwich
Ad Maoira, Ancoats and Salford
Maida Grill House, Salford
Lucky Mama’s, Chorlton
Codi’s Kitchen, Prestwich
Fat Pat’s, city centre
Mrs A’s Kitchen, Eccles
One Sushi, Oxford Road

Last year’s winner – Burgerism

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Coffee Shop of the Year

Grind & Tamp, Ramsbottom
Fort Coffee, Deansgate
Allpress Espresso, NOMA
California Coffee & Wine, Altrincham
Another Heart to Feed, Northern Quarter
Bold Street Coffee, Cross Street
ManCoCo, Hewitt Street
Oscillate Coffee, Urmston

Last year’s winner – Grapefruit Coffee, Sale

Food and Drink Retailer of the Year

Oseyo Manchester has aisles packed with Korean food and drink. Credit: The Manc Group — Oseyo Manchester

Inside Ancoats Deli. Credit: The Manc Group — Oseyo Manchester

Wandering Palate, Eccles
Petit Paris Deli, King Street
Out of the Blue, Chorlton
Chorlton Cheesemongers, Chorlton
Littlewoods Butchers, Heaton Chapel
Ancoats Deli, Ancoats
Lily’s Deli, Chorlton
Oseyo, Manchester Arndale

Last year’s winner – Cork of the North

Food Trader of the Year

House of Habesha, Salford
The Little Sri Lankan, pop-up
Cardinal Rule, Northern Quarter
Ad Maoira, Ancoats and Salford
Jaan By Another Hand, Peter Street
Baity, Salford
House of Bun, Radcliffe
Honest Crust, Mackie Mayor

Last year’s winner – Fat Pat’s

Foodie Neighbourhood of the Year

Monton
Prestwich
Salford
Urmston
Levenshulme
Altrincham
Denton
Sale

Last year’s winner – Stockport

Independent Drink Producer of the Year

Cloudwater Brew Co
Pomona Island Brew Co
Sureshot Brewing
The Salford Rum Company
Steep Soda Co
Pod Pea Vodka
Hip Pop
Balance Brewing & Blending

Last year’s winner – Track Brewing Co

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Independent Food Producer of the Year

Companio Bakery
H.M.Pasties
La Chouquette
Great North Pie Co
The Flat Baker
Long Boi’s Bakehouse
Yellowhammer
Half Dozen Other

Last year’s winner – Pollen Bakery

Neighbourhood Venue of the Year

Cibus Pizza, Levenshulme
Ornella’s Kitchen, Denton
Fold Bistro & Bottle Shop, Marple Bridge
The Pearl, Prestwich
Restaurant Örme, Urmston
Tawny Stores, Marple
Vero Moderno, Salford
Bar San Juan, Chorlton

Last year’s winner – Stretford Canteen

Plant Based Offering of the Year

Maray, Albert Square
Lily’s Indian Vegetarian Cuisine, Ashton-under-Lyne
Wholesome Junkies, Northern Quarter
Allotment Vegan Eatery, Cathedral
Walled Gardens, Whalley Range
Little Aladdin, Northern Quarter
Herbivorous, Withington
Sanskruti, Mauldeth Road

Last year’s winner – Bundobust

Pop up or Project of the Year

Bungalow at Kampus
Tartuffe, Side Street, ABC Buildings
Midori Didsbury at Wine & Wallop
The Landing, Stockport
Love From, Kampus
Root to Flower
Sampa
Manchester Wine Tour

Last year’s winner – Platt Fields Market Garden

Pub or Beer Bar of the Year

Mulligans

Mulligans

Heaton Hops, Heaton Chapel
Port Street Beer House, Northern Quarter
North Westward Ho, Chapel Walks
Mulligans of Manchester, Deansgate
The City Arms, central
The Britons Protection, Great Bridgewater Street
The Old Abbey Taphouse, Hulme
Café Beermoth, Brown Street

Last year’s winner – The Marble Arch

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Great Service Award

Flawd Wine, Ancoats
The Pearl, Prestwich
Higher Ground, New York Street
Skof, NOMA
10 Tib Lane, central
Schofield’s Bar, Quay Street
Adam Reid At The French, The Midland
Ornella’s Kitchen, Denton

Last year’s winner – Hawksmoor

Bar of the Year

Stray

Stray

Red Light, Kampus
Flawd Wine, Ancoats
Speak in Code, Jackson’s Row
Project Halcyon, St John’s
Hawksmoor, Deansgate
10 Tib Lane
Stray, Mackie Mayor
Sterling Bar, Norfolk Street

Last year’s winner – Schofield’s Bar

Newcomer of the Year

The Pearl, Prestwich
Skof, NOMA
Medlock Canteen, Deansgate Square
Onda Pasta Bar, Oxford Road
Tawny Stores, Marple
Caravan, St John’s
Hakkapo, First Street
Flat Iron, Deansgate

Last year’s winner – Higher Ground

Chef of the Year

Iain Thomas (The Pearl)
Joe Otway (Higher Ground)
Tom Barnes (Skof)
Sam Grainger (Medlock Canteen)
Patrick Withington (Erst)
Danielle Heron (OSMA)
Sam Buckley (Where the Light Gets In)
Julian Pizer (Another Hand)

Last year’s winner – Shaun Moffat (Edinburgh Castle)

Restaurant of the Year

Higher Ground in Manchester has been awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand — Higher Ground in Manchester

Higher Ground in Manchester

Skof, NOMA
Higher Ground, New York Street
Another Hand, Deansgate Mews
Where the Light Gets In, Stockport
The Pearl, Prestwich
Restaurant Örme, Urmston
mana, Ancoats
Adam Reid At The French

Last year’s winner – Erst, Ancoats

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Tawny Stores – Inside the stunning canalside restaurant that’s Stockport’s loveliest addition

Daisy Jackson Tawny Stores in Marple Bridge. Credit: The Manc Group

Tawny Stores in Marple Bridge. Credit: The Manc Group

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There’s a tiny little opening on the outskirts of Stockport that’s so charming, with such delicious food, that we’re going to have to insist you all rearrange your plans to visit immediately.

This is Tawny Stores, a restaurant, cafe and deli where you can do everything from having a romantic candlelit dinner to scoffing a morning pastry to grabbing a loaf of bread to take home.

With a pretty canalside location, and windows that look out over the water, it’s already proving a fantastic addition to Greater Manchester.

Tawny Stores is in Marple Bridge, a picturesque village at the foot of the Peak District hills (which feels a million miles from Stockport, but the name on the wheelie bins doesn’t lie).

It may be a total pain in the arse to get to, especially with every-other train being cancelled, but getting stuck out here is far from being the end of the world.

From their tiny kitchen they cook an ever-changing menu that’s technical, but simple.

By the time you read this the menu will probably have changed again, but here we go anyway.

Rabbit pie at Tawny Stores in Marple Bridge. Credit: The Manc Group

A cheese toastie at Tawny Stores. — Rabbit pie at Tawny Stores in Marple Bridge. Credit: The Manc Group

We had a wild rabbit, cider and tarragon pie, with a crust that could win awards and a generous dollop of silky smooth mash.

There was a simple cheese and onion toastie, elevated by some top-quality bread and homemade chutney on the side.

A warming pile of lentils was then topped with roasted squash and a zingy and herby green sauce to zap it (and you) back to life.

And then there’s homemade focaccia, which you can order with olive oil or have it as a sandwich, where fillings are currently festive and include squash and stuffing, crispy sprouts and aioli, and pork Milanese and cranberry.

Inside Tawny Stores, Marple Bridge, Stockport. Credit: The Manc Group

Tawny Stores in Marple Bridge. Credit: The Manc Group — Inside Tawny Stores, Marple Bridge, Stockport. Credit: The Manc Group

Before you head out, take a moment to browse the shelves full of produce (and the display unit filled with homemade cakes).

You can grab a hot drink to walk down the canal and burn off some of that fuel, or do it in reverse and come in here to warm your cockles after a brisk winter stroll.

Either way, it’s one to visit – and soon.

You can follow them on Instagram HERE for their latest menus.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

10 of the best new bars and restaurants to open in Greater Manchester in 2024

Daisy Jackson Blacklock is one of the biggest and best openings in Manchester of 2024. Credit: The Manc Group

Blacklock is one of the biggest and best openings in Manchester of 2024. Credit: The Manc Group

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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.

And don’t forget to follow The Manc Eats on Instagram for the best food and drink all-year round.

Cafe Continental, Stalybridge

Cacio e pepe pasta. Credit: The Manc Group

Soup and a steak sandwich. Credit: The Manc Group — Cacio e pepe pasta. 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.

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.

You can read more about it here.

Blacklock, Peter Street

Blacklock's cocktail trolley which roams their Manchester restaurant. Credit: The Manc Group — Blacklock’s cocktail trolley which roams their new Manchester restaurants. Credit: The Manc Group

Blacklock's all-in platter outside their new Manchester restaurant. Credit: The Manc Group — Blacklock’s cocktail trolley which roams their new Manchester restaurants. 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.

You can see more here.

Onda, Circle Square

Pasta and pizzetta dishes at Onda in Manchester — Pasta and pizzetta dishes at Onda in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group

Pasta and pizzetta dishes at Onda in Manchester — 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 Altrincham. Credit: The Manc Group — Rudy’s in Altrincham. Credit: The Manc Group

Rudy's Prestwich. Credit: The Manc Group — Rudy’s in Altrincham. Credit: The Manc Group

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.

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 — Fresh baguettes stuffed with rotisserie chicken straight out of the oven. Credit: The Manc Group

Fresh baguettes stuffed with rotisserie chicken straight out of the oven. 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 Quarter

Maritozzi from Companio Bakery — Companio Bakery in the Northern Quarter

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

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.

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Check out our full feature here.

Stow, Bridge Street

Dishes at Stow are seasonal and cooked over open fire. Credit: The Manc Group

Stow in Manchester — Dishes at Stow are seasonal and cooked over open fire. Credit: The Manc Group

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’.

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Read more here.

Caravan, St John’s

Cheese and kimchi on toast at Caravan in Manchester

Caravan is ready to open in St John's, Manchester — 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

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.

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Featured image: The Manc Group