Six of Manchester’s cult-favourite restaurants have beat out stiff UK-wide competition to scoop prestigious awards.
It’s official… the results of the 2024 Deliveroo Restaurant Awards are in, and six of our city’s most-popular and best-loved eateries have been announced as claiming coveted prizes, after the food delivery service’s loyal customers voted with their hearts – and stomachs – for their favourite local establishments.
Deliveroo‘s annual Restaurant Awards honour the best independent food businesses across the UK and Ireland, with everything from local burger joints, to neighbourhood sushi restaurants, and all the dishes, cuisines, and flavours in-between celebrated.
Slap & Pickle, Double Zero Pizzeria, and Mughli are among the local restaurants in Manchester that fought off competitors across the North and Midlands to take a title.
Six cult Manchester restaurants have scooped prestigious Deliveroo awards / Credit: The Manc Group
Gourmet burger restaurant, Slap & Pickle, takes home the top regional gong as ‘Independent Restaurant of the Year North of England & Midlands 2024’ after fans casted their votes online to help decide the winners.
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Then, a further five restaurants were recognised in the region’s best cuisine awards – with winners including Burgerism for ‘Best Burger & American’, and Unagi Street Food & Sushi for ‘Best Japanese’.
A total of 60 honours were up for grabs in this year’s Awards.
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Over 66,000 votes were cast by hungry Deliveroo users over a two-week period to crown all the cuisine-led winners, from ‘Best Thai’ and ‘Best Burger’, to ‘Best Pizza’, ‘Best Chicken’, and beyond.
Each local eatery beat stiff competition to clinch their coveted titles / Credit: The Manc Group
James Tabor, who is owner of Slap & Pickle – which is based in Manchester city centre street food hall, Society – called his businesses’ win an “incredible start” to the year, and said he is “absolutely thrilled” to take the 2024 title.
He added: “We’ve been proudly serving our burgers to communities across the North since 2018, and we are grateful for our loyal customers and partners – like Deliveroo – who have helped us on our journey, so this win and recognition means the world.
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“As we continue to expand and seek new adventures across the UK, you never know where we’ll be popping up next.”
The Manchester winners in the Deliveroo Restaurant Awards 2024 are:
Independent Restaurant of the Year North of England & Midlands 2024: Slap & Pickle
Best Burger & American in North of England & Midlands: Burgerism
Slap & Pickle, Double Zero, and Mughli are among the Manchester winners / Credit: The Manc Group
As all the 2024 winners were announced today, Deliveroo’s founder and CEO, Will Shu, commented: “I say it every year, but the standard of finalists and winners for this year’s Restaurant Awards has been incredible, and i’ve had the pleasure of meeting a number of restaurant owners to hear about their stories, food, and the positive impact they’ve had on their local communities.
“We are proud to partner with such an brilliant array of dedicated restaurants to deliver food from around the world to doorsteps across the UK and Ireland.
Didsbury favourite Rustik has confirmed its will sadly be closing this month
Danny Jones
West Didsbury favourite Rustik has sadly announced it will be closing for food after a decade at the end of this month.
The beloved Burton cafe and bar has been a staple of the tight-knit foodie neighbourhood since 2015, but now the independent Irish eatery has confirmed that the business will be shutting down permanently in less than a fortnight.
Confirmed on Wednesday afternoon, 17 September, the casual Manc restaurant and hangout informed their loyal followers of the unfortunate news.
Unsurprisingly, their social media has been awash with condolences, collective sadness and support for the local institution.
Posting across all of their accounts, Rustik wrote: “After an unforgettable 10 years on Burton Road, the time has come to close our doors. It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come — never in a million years did we imagine Rustik would grow into what it became.
“From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to every single one of you who walked through our doors and supported us along the way. We poured everything we had — our time, our energy, our lives into making Rustik a space for everyone. And what a ride it’s been.
“From the chaotic, beautiful brunch shifts to late nights dancing on tables to ‘Wagon Wheel’, pushing through the challenges of COVID and helping our community with meals during hard times— we’ve done it all, together.
“To our amazing staff, past and present: thank you for your hard work, your dedication, and the love you brought every single day. You helped build something truly special, and we’ll never be able to thank you enough.
“To the incredible musicians who filled our space with life — keep doing what you do. The noise complaints? 100% worth the unforgettable nights.”
The team go on to detail that the official closing date is Tuesday, 30 September, reiterating that it is “business running as usual until then” and urging fans to “come down, grab your last Rustik fix, and raise a glass with us one final time.”
Signing off with an emotional farewell, they add: “Lastly, a message close to our hearts: please support your local cafes, bars, and independents. Hospitality is tough right now, and they need your support more than ever.
“Thank you for the most incredible decade of our lives. It’s over and out from us.”
It goes without saying that we’re gutted to see Rustik go and know how much it meant not only to the Burton Road community, but also to the Didsbury community, Chorlton and many other Greater Manchester natives.
A ‘saucy’ new Korean fried chicken restaurant is opening in the Gay Village
Daisy Jackson
A brand-new Korean fried chicken restaurant and cocktail bar is set to open on Canal Street this week.
CLUK is promising some big deals and amazing giveaways to celebrate its launch in Manchester, including free food and prize draws.
The newcomer in the heart of the city will specialise in Korean-style crispy fried chicken, but also warming ramen bowls, and salt & pepper classics.
Signature dishes will include Korean cheese-powder fried chicken, and Cheese Volcano Chicken.
CLUK will also serve dishes like kimchi cheese loaded fries, salt & pepper chicken, and huge sharing platters.
You can customise your Korean fried chicken order by size, choosing between wings and boneless and picking a flavour out of honey garlic, sweet and spicy, honey mustard, and honey and sour.
They promise it’ll all be ‘saucy, crunchy, and seriously addictive’.
That’s all washed down with ice-cold beers and creative cocktails, like martinis, spritzes and sours.
CLUK is now open in the Gay Village in ManchesterA spread of CLUK dishesInside CLUK ManchesterFried chicken with Korean cheese powderInside CLUK Manchester
The CLUK team are hoping to create a fun late-night dining option for this buzzing corner of the city centre.
To celebrate its launch on Thursday 18 September, CLUK have announced a whole heap of promotions.
This includes free chicken bao for the first 50 guests to visit during the first five days.
Over the two week launch period, visitors can spin the wheel whenever you spend £12 – spend £24 and spin twice.
And there are big prizes available – the top prize is a £100 gift card or £50 cash, with other prizes including free drinks, food and a £3 voucher as a consolation prize.
Plus, anyone who buys a gift card and tops it up with £100 will receive a free beer or cider.
When those two weeks are up, CLUK will run a £1,000 prize draw.
Emily Sergeant -
21st February 2024 
