Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Cheadle
Hardens guides have spent 33 years compiling reviews of the best Cheadle restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 108 restaurants in Cheadle and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Cheadle restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Cheadle Restaurants
1. Tattu
Chinese restaurant in Manchester
3 Hardman Sq, Gartside St - M3
Aces of expensive, moodily dark wood paneling and other luxurious surfaces contribute to the Insta-friendly scene at this original outpost of what’s now become a national chain of glam pan-Asian destinations. Feedback was relatively limited this year, but raised no complaints regarding its mix of Chinese dishes with sushi and Thai favourites.
2. MUSU
Japanese restaurant in Manchester
India Buildings, 8 Brunswick St - M3
“A real feast for the senses and already very popular”; “a quite incredible fit-out for this newish opening” is just one of the attractions at this October 2022 debut, on the site that was previously Randall & Aubin (RIP), but which has been subject to a £3.5m refit. The name means ‘infinite possibilities’: here, that translates into seven-course or eleven-course Japanese omakase menus for up to £150 per person – “expensive to visit but quite fabulous ingredients prepared by Michael Shaw and his team” (he was previously at a traditional pub in Lydgate, near Oldham so this is quite the change, but his pedigree includes stints at Le Manoir, Ramsay’s Aubergine and Richard Neat). In a March 2023 review, The Guardian’s Grace Dent declared it “gigantically ambitious and pointedly bonkers”, resembling “nothing so much as the Starship Enterprise, albeit one with geishas on the walls” and with “outstanding… Japanese food served in the manner of Le Manoir… Every bowl is a minuscule portion of exquisite pleasure”.
3. San Carlo
Italian restaurant in Manchester
40 King Street West - M3
This “buzzy Italian in central Manchester” (opened in 2004) is one of the better-known locations both in the city and in the national chain of which it is part; and at lunch it “buzzes with business people” (evenings are overwhelmingly social). “Good traditional food is well cooked with delicious pasta and fish” and the old-school service is “friendly, efficient and well organised”.
4. Chez Nous Bistro
British, Modern restaurant in Sale
179 Marsland Road - M33
2023 Review: Needing to eat in Manchester’s plush southern ’burbs? – this ‘suburban bistro with urban attitude’ (their words) doesn’t generate huge feedback in our survey, but such as there is rates it as excellent value.
5. Bundobust
Indian restaurant in Manchester
61 Piccadilly - M1
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, this northern-based operation “still delivers very high-quality Indian street food with super craft beers at excellent value – keep it up!”. Now with two branches in Manchester, one each in Leeds and Liverpool and a new venture as far south as Birmingham, it’s “very good for a quick curry fix” – and nobody seems to notice that the Gujarati food is vegan.
6. KIRA by Sunitha
Pan-Asian restaurant in Bollington
88 Palmerston Street - SK10
At KIRA Bistro & Lounge Bar, we believe that dining is more than just a meal; it’s a culinary experience that engages all the senses. Imagine the tantalising aroma of our signature dishes wafting through the air, each masterpiece showcasing Sunitha&r...
7. TNQ Restaurant & Bar
British, Modern restaurant in Manchester
108 High St - M4
“An exemplar of city-centre neighbourhood bistros” – this “popular Northern Quarter restaurant” (that’s the NQ in the name) has “settled down into a pleasing rhythm of knowing exactly who they are and what they need to do (kind-of like your favourite comfy pair of high-quality shoes… in the best possible way!)”; and “consistently delivers excellent food that doesn’t cost the earth”.
8. Indique
Indian restaurant in Manchester
110-112 Burton Road - M20
“Simply the best Indian cuisine ever!” – fans don’t stint in their praise of this posh West Didsbury curry house that’s both ‘Indian’ and ‘Unique’… It lives up to its name with a menu incorporating a few dishes not seen elsewhere.
9. Where The Light Gets In
British, Modern restaurant in Stockport
7 Rostron Brow - SK1
“A very different but great experience” – Sam Buckley’s hipster hotspot has won fame at these atmospheric brick-walled premises in a former coffee warehouse with huge windows, which opened in 2016. It’s “a super space for a romantic dinner”, especially if your date is of a foodie disposition; the “gorgeous food” from a tasting menu at £110 per person puts a major emphasis on sustainability and local sourcing and there are “delicious wine pairings, introducing you to novel wines”, all served by “lovely staff”.
10. The Lime Tree
British, Modern restaurant in Manchester
8 Lapwing Ln - M20
“Fantastic food” has been a consistent refrain of guests at Patrick Hannity’s West Didsbury brasserie for more than 35 years – many of whom return again and again – “we only go on my birthday (due to distance) but it’s the meal I most look forward to each year”. The modern British cooking with European touches is always up-to-date on seasonality, and in 2008 Patrick became one of the first restaurateurs to invest in his own smallholding to provide ingredients for the kitchen. “The fixed-price menu (weekday lunch and early evening) is fairly short on options but reliably high on quality” – and at £16 per person for two courses or £20 for three represents tremendous value.
11. Bar San Juan
Spanish restaurant in Manchester
56 Beech Rd - M21
This tiny spot is “the real deal for Spanish food”, its “authentic and delicious tapas” turning a Chorlton backstreet into “Las Ramblas of Manchester”. So well-known after 13 years that it “fills its tables from opening time to closing time”, it “now takes bookings, with the outside barrel table reserved for walk-ins”.
12. Croma
Italian restaurant in Manchester
500 Wilbraham Rd - M21
“Pizza with an inventive streak” – plus all the standards “for those who are less adventurous” – is the offer at this surviving branch of an independent Manchester group founded in 2000. The flagship in the city centre and the Didsbury branch have closed down in recent times, to the dismay of their many fans, leaving just Chorlton and Prestwick standing.
13. The Whitworth Cafe
British, Modern restaurant in Manchester
The Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester, Oxford Rd - M15
2021 Review: “You would not realise you are in Moss Side” at the Whitworth’s “beautiful” and “family-friendly” glass-walled conservatory, overlooking Whitworth Park. Its location (above all) and victuals make it an “excellent place for lunch”, with the “three daily changing salads particularly recommended”.
14. The Fisherman's Table
Fish & seafood restaurant in Marple
103 Church Lane - SK6
2021 Review: A “new restaurant serving ultra-fresh fish from Fleetwood” (but also Shetland scallops, Irish sea trout and Cornish monkfish), set up by fishmonger Jamie Barrett, who owns the Marple Fish shop round the corner. A former car spares shop, it's now a hybrid country-pub and beach shack, style-wise.
15. Kambuja (was Angkor Soul)
Pan-Asian restaurant in Marple
12 Stockport Rd - SK6
2021 Review: “All the Cambodian food is tasty and authentic”, and for lunch they serve “flavoursome” soups, filled baguettes and noodle dishes at this “small and cramped” operation – which (with its spin-offs) is quite possibly the only restaurant of its type in northern England. In the basement they buy and sell second-hand vinyl – hence the name. Branches have now opened in Altrincham and, most recently, Stockport market.
16. Escape to Freight Island
International restaurant in Manchester
Baring Street - M1
2023 Review: This vast street-food and entertainment concept accommodating up 1,000 visitors in an old freight depot by Piccadilly station is simply “another world” – “a mind-blowing-sized venue and organisation” where “the food is not really the main attraction” – although there is plenty of sufficient quality to earn high ratings, from 15 different restaurants and bars in an “eclectic mix” that ranges from Voodoo Rays pizza, Brad Carter’s One Stop Döner Bar and asador grills from Baratxuri to tacos from Madre.
17. This Charming Naan
Indian restaurant in Manchester
78 Sackville Street - M1
2022 Review: A curry house like no other, with the all-vegan dishes named after Smiths' songs; superfan Max Paley founded it as a delivery service from a kitchen inside the Retro music venue (address listed; sit-in dining planned for post-lockdown). Dishes include Girlfriend In A Korma and How Saag Is Now?.
18. Refuge by Volta
International restaurant in Manchester
Oxford Street - M60
2022 Review: Justin Crawford & Luke Cowdrey (aka the ill-titled ‘Unabombers`‘, who also run Electrik and Volta) are behind this “rather glam space” in an old Victorian office block. Serving small plates – inspired by their “global DJing trips” – fans say it’s “a mighty fine place to dine”; others that it’s “just OK”.
19. Habesha
Ethiopian restaurant in Manchester
29-31 Sackville Street - M1
The “very basic setting” shouldn’t put you off a visit to this cheap ’n’ cheerful Ethiopian pitstop, above a kebab shop on Canal Street. As is typical for the cuisine, many dishes are served on an injera (a large circular bread) – “there are excellent veggie options on the short menu with reasonably priced beer”.
20. Sigiriya
International restaurant in Hale
173 Ashley Road - WA15
Don Buddhika’s accomplished operation in this fancy Manchester suburb delivers “delicious Sri Lankan food that’s perfectly cooked”, whether you opt for the small plates, curries or grills – many being notably healthy to boot; it’s named for the imposing Sri Lankan Buddhist settlement Sigiriya rock.
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