Prawns, beef, salt and pepper tofu or chicken boxes are £7.50 served up generously with a side of chips.
Each option oozes with sticky goodness – try their Asian Tacos stuffed with beef, fresh salad, pickled slaw, toasted sesame, crispy shallots smacked between a soft toasted flatbread.
The local business is located inside the Arndale food market, as well as in the kitchens at Black Dog in the Northern Quarter.
The best Indian street food in Manchester – hands down.
Vegan, veggie and sure to warm you from the inside out – Bundobust is one of Manchester’s prize restaurants.
There’s an express lunch menu of two dishes for £8.50, including the classic Bundo Chaat, a street snack of broken samosa pastry and puffed rice, peas, onion, pomegranate, and tomato in tamarind chutney.
The tarka dhal is one of the most warming, filling and hearty pots of food you’ll find outside your nan’s kitchen.
Found on the edge of Piccadilly Gardens, the interiors are simple but cool – a perfect place to impress for less on a first date.
Manchester’s best curry house is tucked down a little side street in the Northern Quarter.
Delicious and very affordable, This n’ That will become everyone’s new favourite lunch place – if it isn’t already.
All the food is homemade and prepared using fresh whole spices with curry options changing daily.
Their menu works as follows – rice and three veg is £4.50, rice with one meat and two veg is £5 and rice with two meat and one veg is £6.
A fresh, homemade, bursting with flavour, steaming pot of curry almost spilling over – that could be your lunch every day.
Head to the Northern Quarter armed with a map – its location down an alley full of bins might throw you off, but once you find it, you’ll never forget it.
The Arndale food market will satisfy any craving you throw at it, no matter how niche.
In recent years the market has welcomed some of Manchester’s most exciting and talented chefs – so quality is a given.
Our list promises affordability to and the Arndale food market deserves a place on this list.
Stalls including Wholesome Junkies (the vegan equivalent of dirty burger), Viet Shack, Piazza (pasta with burrata on top), Market Point and many more are class lunch spots and won’t put you out of pocket.
Whether it’s mid-shop, mid-hangover or just mid-day the Arndale market is sure to sort you out.
Finger licking chicken wings for 20 to 50 pence – a Bunny bargain.
The First Street restaurant is home to the ultimate hot wing challenge, just ask your server and see if you can handle the heat.
For those who can’t, not to worry a glass of milk is helpfully placed on the menu.
The menu boasts some juicy burgers and bar snacks such as Jalapeno Poppers – we were intrigued to – they’re crispy coated, fried jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese.
Get down and dirty with these unbeatable prices but wash your hands before you return to the office.
Go Falafel
Deansgate, Piccadilly, Rusholme
Credit: Facebook (Go Falafel) We love the build-your-own aspect
The falafel lover’s failsafe when it comes to a decently priced wrap.
We love the build-your-own aspect to this popular lunch spot and who can’t appreciate a customised falafel wrap.
Or if falafel doesn’t float your boat, grab a vine leaf or some tabouleh and top it off with a fresh juice or smoothie.
Health is wealth and it comes cheap at Go Falafel.
Food & Drink
The brilliant Persian cafe in disguise as a greasy spoon that’s just had a star turn on TV
Daisy Jackson
A family-run, often-overlooked restaurant in Chorlton had a star turn on TV last night, when The Hotel Inspector paid a visit to the Chorlton Metro Cafe.
From the outside, this place looks very much like your run-of-the-mill greasy spoon, and it sort of is, with fry-ups and breakfast sandwiches up for grabs.
But beyond that, this is the spot to come for an authentic, hearty, home-cooked Persian food.
And it’s this strange dual identity that has caught the attention of Channel 5 this year, and given the business a full episode of The Hotel Inspector.
Alex Polizzi and her crew headed to Chorlton earlier this year to assist husband and wife Majid and Zahra in a rebrand to become The Persian Stop (the sign still hasn’t changed, but bear with them here).
During the episode, The Hotel Inspector tackled everything from a menu overhaul to a spruce-up of the restaurant’s frontage, and ran a cost evaluation, hoping to help Majid and Zahra to increase custom.
A full spread of the new Persian dishesMajid at Chorlton Metro Cafe with his new pancake dishFantastic pancakes at Chorlton Metro Cafe
And there were other familiar faces involved too – Channel 5 called on social media experts The Manc (oh wait, that’s us!) to help Majid understand the power of social media.
The couple moved to the UK from Iran more than 20 years ago, and Majid ran a successful construction business – until the financial crisis of 2008.
The pair then poured their life savings into the Metro Cafe, a greasy spoon just across the road from Chorlton tram stop.
Behind the scenes of The Hotel Inspector
They kept the full builder’s breakfasts and mugs of tea, but added a new string of Persian stews and fragrant rice dishes to the menu.
Now, with the help of The Hotel Inspector, the menu puts these ancient dishes front and centre.
Expect slices of syrupy baklava for only £2.80, and traditional stews like khoresh bademjan (slow-cooked aubergines with split peas and lamb) and khoresh fesenjan (saffron, ground walnut and pomegranate chicken).
This is a small business, run by a fantastic local couple, and one of those hidden gems that deserves to be a little less hidden.
The Michelin Guide adds THREE new Greater Manchester restaurants
Daisy Jackson
Three brilliant Greater Manchester restaurants have been added to the prestigious Michelin Guide this week.
All three new additions to the guide have been open for less than a year, and join an impressive roster of 15 other local restaurants.
Manchester also now boasts two Michelin stars after going decades with none, thanks to the opening of Skof last year.
While stars remain the most prestigious accolade in the hospitality industry, Michelin also dishes out Bib Gourmands, and Michelin Guide entries to recognise excellent restaurants at lower price points.
Greater Manchester now has 15 entries to its name, with a new trio added yesterday.
Up first is Winsome, a restaurant from former Chef of the Year award-winner Shaun Moffat.
Winsome has also made it into the Michelin Guide. Credit: The Manc GroupInside WInsome on Princess Street. Credit: The Manc GroupWinsome has also made it into the Michelin Guide. Credit: The Manc Group
The modern British bistro, which stands on a corner of the Whitworth Locke hotel building, features playful and classic dishes like asparagus with dippy eggs, gigantic pies with gravy served in cow-shaped jugs, and soft bread rolls with lashings of butter.
The Michelin Guide said: “Manchester’s industrial history feels like it’s had an overt influence on this buzzing brasserie with a large kitchen counter and a stripped-back look.
“The cooking has an admirably gutsy, straightforward quality to it, with hints of nostalgia. Think cold cuts, whole fish, hearty homemade pies and a mixed grill. It’s all executed with skill and the ingredients are of obvious quality, resulting in no shortage of flavour.
“The young and enthusiastic service team are a perfect fit for such a fun place.”
Winsome said: “Today is a good day! We’re absolutely chuffed to tell you that we’ve made it into the Michelin Guide!”
Across town, the next Manchester entry into the Michelin Guide is Pip, a new spot from acclaimed local chef Mary-Ellen McTague.
Pip by Mary-Ellen McTague has been added to the Michelin Guide
Pip, at the foot of the Treehouse Hotel, opened earlier this year and has already received glowing national reviews thanks to its seasonal, proudly local dishes.
There are pies, oysters, British charcuterie, sardines on toast, cheese and onion tarts, chops, hot pots, and plenty more, with suppliers including Littlewoods Butchers, Organic North, Courtyard Dairy and Kindling Farm.
Speaking on the recognition, Mary-Ellen McTague, chef partner at Pip, said: “We’re over the moon to be included in the Michelin Guide so soon after opening!
“It’s an incredible honour, made possible by the dedication of our amazing team and the support of our wonderful suppliers. Working with them to showcase the very best of the North West is a daily joy.”
And completing this month’s entries to the Michelin Guide is Cantaloupe, an achingly stylish new local restaurant for Stockport.
Inside, it’s all white brick walls, wooden furniture, and bold art, with a frequently-changing menu built around the best produce they can get their hands on.
The Michelin Guide wrote of Cantaloupe: “There’s a fresh, clean feel to both the décor and the cooking at this welcoming little wine bar and restaurant. The concise but appealing wine list will appeal to traditional oenophiles, with quality established growers to the fore.
“The menu has a Mediterranean leaning, so whilst it changes daily, it will likely include a pasta dish and possibly some whole fish. This is cooking that relies on simplicity and skill, with immense care poured into dishes like peri peri octopus and duck fat crisps, so that the natural flavours shine.”
Dolly Busby -
19th November 2021 
