Ten of the best restaurants and bars to visit on a date in Manchester
From swanky sky-high bars, restaurants and terraces to chilled out daytime venues, we've picked out some of Manchester's best places to go to on a date
Dates are meant to be fun, romantic, staring into each other’s eyes and all the rest. But the stress of organising them is far from enjoyable.
Scrolling through Google, Instagram and TripAdvisor reviews from two years ago is exhausting and gets you nowhere, leaving you tearing your hair out before the date’s even begun.
Stress no more, though, because we’ve done the research for you to help you bring back the breeziness to your dating life.
Keep reading to discover our list of perfect venues to take a date in Manchester.
With the choice of sitting in either the restaurant or bar whilst enjoyin some of the best views of the city, 20 Stories is a date night must / Image: 20 Stories Manchester
20 Stories
Spinningfields
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Picture this: reclining on an oversized cushion, cocktail in hand, low lighting and an unbeatable 360-degree view of our stunning city of Manchester. Romantic right? Well, you can live the dream at 20 Stories.
Kitted out with a rooftop restaurant, cocktail bar and rooftop garden terrace towering above Manchester, 20 Stories is located in the heart of Spinningfields.
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Cocktails are a given and they even have their own Tanqueray menu, but if that doesn’t tickle your fancy then try their Afternoon Tea instead and add a new element of class to your dating life.
Note that the dress code is smart, they kindly ask you to ditch the football shirt and we would recommend making a booking, their views are in pretty high demand.
Image: Dukes 92
Duke’s 92
Castlefield
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Duke’s 92 canalside car overlooks the Rochdale canal and is perfect for a chilled but romantic evening out. Subtly flirt over classy starters like crispy chilli beef before getting down to the good stuff with mains like 10oz rib-eye steak and pan-fried seabass.
Relax on the wooden terrace and watch the sunset over Manchester’s iconic redbrick canals or, for those who prefer it by the fire, the interiors here are also stunning – and you can watch the bar staff whip up some impressive cocktails behind the huge bar.
Bookings are not necessary, there is a large number of tables for food and drink on a first-come, first-served basis every day.
Image: Bar San Juan
Bar San Juan
Chorlton-cum-Hardy
For those who want to get away from the city, Bar San Juan is a hidden gem in the suburbs of Manchester. Date the Spanish way with authentic tapas dishes, red wine, sangria and round wooden tables set against mismatched tiled walls.
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If you’re a croquette lover, chorizo kind of couple or just really into your padron peppers, it’s all delicious quality at really affordable prices.
Diners can eat alfresco on the edge of Chorlton’s colorful streets or tucked into the intimate booths inside. Not only do you feel you’ve gotten away from Manchester, but you might as well have hopped on a plane to Spain together.
Image: Australasis
Australasia
Spinningfields
If you’re going for super chic elegance, this is the place to go. A real dress-up spot perfect for date night, Australasia aims to capture the true essence of modern Australia with light and open decor.
A unique cocktail list includes sweet martinis flavoured with rose and lycee, green apple, or kiwi and honey martini, amongst staples like pornstars and gin and tonics.
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You and your date can go unnoticed in their intimate booths, enjoying cocktails and sushi in private. Come prepared to spend a bit more than usual, splitting the bill is probably a good idea here.
Image: Hatch
Hatch
Under the Mancunian way on Oxford Road
A bustling hub of different bars and street food traders, Hatch is a party amongst large shipping containers. A great place for a lighthearted casual date with lots of people around, your conversation can flow easily – but if there are awkward silences you can happily make three a crowd.
Find street food, communal tables, and lots of beer in this independent village hidden beneath the Manchester bypass in a tangle of fairy lights and greenery. Hatch is a sanctuary from the concrete streets outside.
Image: Tattu
Tattu
Spinningfields
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Get your cameras ready, because the whole interior at Tattu screams “Instagram me!” A huge, pink statement blossom tree sits in the middle of the upstairs restaurant, surrounded by oriental hints and sleek dark features.
Contemporary Chinese cuisine and cocktails labeled Geisha’s secret and crouching tiger are as sexy as they sound and great to set the mood. Previously named as one of the most romantic restaurants in the world, Tattu has long been a favourite date night spot for some of Manchester’s most famous couples.
Tattu’s attention to detail will make your date flawless and definitely a night to remember. Be warned, your bank account will probably remember it too.
Image: YES
YES
Charles Street, Manchester
Grab a slice and a cocktail in the downstairs bar, then head up to the roof garden for an absolute class setting for a date. Think exposed brick and hanging plants, a covered outdoor terrace and a cosy little nook inside too.
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An absolute steal on the cocktails deals, YES is also very generous with slices of pizza costing just £2.80.
At three stories high, YES has loads of events on offer in the afternoons and evenings. If you don’t want your date to end, then head down to The Pink Room on the middle floor to catch some live music – there’s always something good on here.
Image: Mackie Mayor
Mackie Mayor
Swan Street, Northern Quarter
Who says dates have to just be in the evening? If you’re someone that prefers a cool daytime meet-up, Mackie Mayor is the place to be.
Breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, vegan, veggie – they do it all. Dine under the amazing glass roof of the 1858 market turned cosmopolitan food hall. All open plan, simply place your order and then wait for them to bring the food (and drinks) to you.
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An easy location in the Northern Quarter means your date doesn’t have to end there, in fact, if it’s going well you can go on to enjoy an afternoon visiting all of Manchester’s sights.
Review | The Lion, The Witch and The Beaver* – sorry, Wardrobe
The Manc
What an enchanting evening at The Lowry as we were transported to Narnia to review the live stage adaptation of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in Media City as the production began its festive run in Greater Manchester.
As we entered the playing space, the atmosphere was set with a pianist on stage, slowly drowning out the noise of the outside world and settling the audience in for a night of magic.
Launching ‘Act One’ with a touching rendition of the British wartime classic, ‘We’ll Meet Again’ by Vera Lynne, we meet the large ensemble, multi-instrumentalist cast.
This talented ensemble pivots around multiple roles throughout the performance, creating a shape-shifting atmosphere with some impressive seamless transitions, allowing us to “open our minds” and be absorbed into the mythical world of Narnia alongside The Pevensies.
Sweetly played by Joanna Adaran, Jesse Dunbar, Kudzai Mangombe and Bunmi Osadolor, they excel in exploring sibling dynamics such as rivalry, trust, but most of all, loyalty and love.
The most mind-blowing element of this performance, however, was the production; it truly is the unsung hero of the entire show, so we’ll so the singing on their behalf.
Set and costume (designed by Tom Paris), lighting (done by Jack Knowles), puppetry design and direction (by Max Humphries and Toby Olie), sound design (credit to Tom Marshall) and hair, make-up and wig designer (Susanna Perez).
All this carefully curated talent helped create a world where we had no choice but to believe in magic.
For us as an audience, it made things so much easier to immerse and delight in the world of C.S. Lewis’ imagination, as it is so wonderfully presented in front of us.
This was elevated once again by levitation and disappearing acts – the scene was set on the boards and in the air.
Huge credit goes to Gwen Hales (aerial director) and Chris Fisher (magic and illusions); it felt as if anything was possible, and we needed no convincing that we were in the presence of pure enchantment.
However, arguably the most magnificent moment of the show was the reveal of Aslan himself. As this grand puppet prowled onto the stage, you could hear gasps echo throughout the theatre.
Manoeuvred by three puppeteers, this skilful spectacle was a credit to bringing the story to life in live theatre. The seamless, lifelike movements of breath and king-like presence were both majestic and a credit to the production.
Accompanied by Stanton Wright, we had no doubt that this was the true hero of Narnia.
If you want us to sum up our review of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at The Lowry, quite simply, this show is nothing short of a marvel.
Make sure to take home a cuddly lion toy, of course. (Credit: The Manc)
With constant playfulness and wit throughout – mainly brought to you from the broad Northern and oh-so lovable Mr Beaver (Ed Thorpe), and fellow believer in magic, ‘The Professor’ (Kraig Thornber).
It’s the lattermost that left us with a lasting thought, as he warmly reminds the audience that even when times feel dark, “the sun is always up there, we just have to look.”
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is running from The Lowry in Salford Quays all the way up until Sunday, 11 January 2026. Don’t miss the magic and grab your tickets HERE.
If you’re interested in finding out what else we’ve enjoyed at the theatre in Manchester recently, then look no further…
Featured Images — The Manc Group/Press shots (Brinkhoff/Moegenburg supplied via The Lowry)
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Hazlett at Manchester Academy 3 – some of the best ‘sad and depressing songs’ you could ever ask for
Danny Jones
On Thursday evening, we finally got to see Hazlett in a small, tightly-packed room here in Manchester and have maybe never heard so many people sing so expertly quietly so as not to even remotely dullen the stunning voice of this rising solo artist.
For anyone who isn’t aware of Hazlett, he’s an Australian singer-songwriter who has been gradually growing in popularity over the last couple of years, but his journey to where he is dates back much further than that.
Noticing a few familiar faces in the crowd from his last visit to the city for a performance at The Deaf Institute just over a year ago – one we sadly missed and have been kicking ourselves ever since – he acknowledged that many may already know his story, but it’s nevertheless worth sharing with the class.
After self-deprecating (how oh-so British) about gigging in pubs when he was younger, and being told to stick to covers rather than try any of his own material, he moved to Sweden in 2019 and fell in love with not only a much more seasonal European but winter, specifically. No wonder he looked at home here.
Here’s our review of Hazlett at Manchester Academy 3, 4/12/2025. (Credit: Audio North)
Kicking off with one of his best-known tracks, ‘Please Don’t Be’, it immediately struck us how full and mournful it all felt in the flesh – arguably even more so than the studio version we’ve been playing in our headphones since 2023.
The atmospheric but not over-produced engineering is an aspect we’ve always admired about Hazlett‘s discography, and we were so relieved it came across on the night, with the Brisbane-born ex-pat crediting his talented live band with helping bring that same sound to life on stage.
It’s a regular trapping, we’ve found, when it comes to acoustic-led music; that instinct, perhaps, for an artist and/or a producer to use seemingly as many of the tools at their disposal as possible just because they’re available to them.
Sadly, this easy pitfall often ends up taking away from what makes those tunes so beautiful to begin with – but not in this case.
The rising solo star seemed to have an expert command not only of his vocals, but the second mic that added those subtle and yet stirring layers, and built those moving, almost ethereal effects on top of the words themselves.
Honestly, we were literally in awe of him just whistling…
Admittedly, it’s hard to put a finger on what exactly made this such a special show, but we think it is THAT same appreciation and embrace of colder months and how it’s inspired his music.
Just bear with us for a minute, it’ll make sense soon.
He actually said it was one of the things he loves the most about people in this country, and this specific part of the world, as well as other parts of Europe, such as his now beloved Sweden, where he says he found his creative spark.
It’s that feeling of the weather and the mood it brings so intensely that he says it helped him write ‘Bones Shake’, which was fittingly chilling as he played it to the spellbound, would-be choir, and could hear the soft sibilance of people gently repeating those S-sounds back to him.
There’s a genuine sense of being able to chart the slight sorrow in the passing of time through the seasons, and while some may not be afforded that same feeling from the sun-soaked shores of his homeland, it’s a concept he’s really run with – especially on his most recent LP.
Simply titled, last night you said you missed me, it’s almost something he kind of tried to resist, confessing that he wrote and finished the album in the space of about a month, fearing that it couldn’t be good enough/ready purely because it came together so quickly.
Given that two specific tracks from this record made a lady standing with us well up and eventually shed several tears (you know who you are), we’d say he absolutely nailed it.
Our only minor gripe was not getting to hear ‘Tell Me What You Dream About’. (Credit: The Manc)
He did joke that his set is filled with nothing but “a bunch of sad and depressing songs” and had a laugh at the idea of people being “dragged along” without any real idea of who he is or the kind of stuff he makes, but having now witnessed him play live, we can assure you it’s much more than that.
Bloom Mountain was an emotional, magical debut that found us in a particular place and time in our lives that we’ll always appreciate, but hearing him knit it together with his newest material confirmed to us that his music has to be more than listened to – it has to be felt.
Like the changing of the seasons. Like the winter. Like the cold.
We unfortunately didn’t manage to make it in time to watch the support act, Hans Williams, but judging by the reaction from the audience who did get in there early enough, the authentic but inventive stylings of the Americana, folk and soul-infused indie-pop artist, he definitely won over plenty of new fans.
As Mitchell Hazlett Lewis, to use his full name, he’s had our hearts since the very start and will continue to do so for however long he keeps bringing his relatable lyricism, delicate but impressive guitar-picking and gentle charm to Manchester.
Please check out his tour dates and see him the next time he’s in town. You can guarantee you’ll find
Please enjoy the song from his latest album that he says his mum likes best.
Dolly Busby -
4th October 2021 
