Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Salford
Hardens guides have spent 33 years compiling reviews of the best Salford restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 92 restaurants in Salford and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Salford restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Salford Restaurants
1. 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.
2. 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”.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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”.
7. 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”.
8. The Black Friar
British, Modern restaurant in Manchester
13 King Street - M3
“This old Salford pub has risen from the dead” following its long-time closure after a fire; “the fine Victorian building now has a brilliantly designed dining area incorporating much glass, and opening onto a garden with tables”, but it’s also a proper boozer too. Chef Ben Chaplin’s food ranges from “excellent pub grub” to more ambitious fare and “service and ambience are both wonderful”.
9. Akbar’s
Indian restaurant in Manchester
73-83 Liverpool Rd - M3
2021 Review: This “crazily busy” branch of Shabir Hussain’s Bradford-based group “still delivers great curry and their specialism of over-sized naan”. It’s one of the few places that lists camel (‘on the bone’) on its menu.
10. 20 Stories
British, Modern restaurant in Manchester
No 1 Spinningfields, 1 Hardman Square - M3
“Spectacular views over the Manchester city skyline and beyond” can make this “slick” D&D London operation “a breathtaking venue (but don’t look down – the clue is in the name)”. Fans also hail its “well-prepared” modern brasserie dishes, but for such a landmark venue, reports remain surprisingly limited, so we’ve maintained last year’s conservative food rating.
11. The Ivy Asia
Pan-Asian restaurant in Manchester
The Pavilion, Byrom Street - M3
“It’s noisy and chaotic” at this glossy Asian-themed operation, upstairs from the Spinningfields Ivy – “but if you want to give your teens or twenty-somethings a good lunch/night out, you won’t go far wrong”. For all the glam styling of the interior – even the floor shimmers with semi-precious stones – some diners complain that the pan-Asian food can “taste a little processed”.
12. The Ivy Spinningfields
British, Modern restaurant in Manchester
The Pavilion, Byrom Street - M3
With the “lovely decor” replicated from the Theatreland icon for which they are branded, Richard Caring’s “always buzzy” spin-offs have found a gigantic audience nationally. But “these places live off the name for sure” and “it’s the ambience that keeps them going” – while fans say the food is “reliable”, more sceptical types dismiss it as “conveyor-belt cooking”; and say service is merely so-so. Some branches are better than others: best in London is ‘Chelsea Garden’, which has the same “distinctly average” standards as the others, but reliably offers an “uplifting” atmosphere and “great people watching” (and “on a sunny afternoon there is literally NO WHERE ELSE TO BE but its large garden. HEAVEN!!”). Also worth mentioning is the outlet by The Thames in SE1: “excellent views of Tower Bridge”, “even better if outside in summer and convenient for The Bridge Theatre”.
13. Dishoom
Indian restaurant in Manchester
32 Bridge Street - M3
“Impossible to fault and always totally reliable” – this charismatic Indian group has stormed Manchester as it stormed London before it. “The building is fabulous and beautifully fitted out and the waft of incense as you walk into the restaurant sets the scene for what’s to follow” – “extremely authentic cuisine that tastes as good as it looks, with staff who are very informative and helpful when choosing dishes you have not come across before”: “perfect chicken tikka, ruby murray and house black dhal are must-tries” not to mention “THE best okra fries”. Early morning here is an attraction too, but they are “busy! Get there early for the best breakfast naans ever!”
14. Evuna
Spanish restaurant in Manchester
277 - 279 Deansgate - M3
For 22 years, this pioneer of Hispanic food and wine in Manchester has provided “great tapas, with interesting choices”, while “showcasing the very best in world-class, award-winning Spanish wines from family-run bodegas”. It remains one of the most commented-on spots in town, and now has four branches (in Deansgate, the Northern Quarter, Knutsford and Altrincham). Some would say that “it doesn’t feel like it’s kept up with how Spanish food and flavours have evolved in the City” or note the food is “good but no better than that”. But “it’s big, it’s comfortable” and “even it has been overtaken as the top destination for tapas in Manchester, you can still spend many pleasant afternoons and evenings here”.
15. Australasia
Fusion restaurant in Manchester
1 The Avenue Spinningfields - M3
2022 Review: Grand Pacific's sibling enjoys an impressively posh setting (replete with glamorous cocktail bar) in a basement off Deansgate, making it perfectly “designed for a date”. The food – Aussie/pan-Asian sharing plates – “ranges from average to excellent”, with a shout-out for the “beautiful” bento-box dessert.
16. Hawksmoor
Steaks & grills restaurant in Manchester
184-186 Deansgate - M3
“A first-class experience we look forward to with each visit” – this Deansgate outpost of what’s nowadays an international chain provides a stylish destination, owing to its location in a late- Victorian courthouse, with plenty of interesting reclaimed décor (including glazed bricks from a Liverpool public lav). “Tender and delicious” meat is, of course, the calling card, but you’ll also find some “very tasty” non-carnivorous options too (an expanding range of fish; and “even as a vegetarian I love Hawksmoor”). But while all reports rate it well, it didn’t inspire any full-on rave reviews this year.
17. Rosa's Thai Cafe
Thai restaurant in Manchester
The Old Courthouse, 184 Deansgate - M3
2021 Review: The “lovely Thai food” at these reliable cafés is “impressively authentic given that they are a chain” – “excellent value” and “fast”, if occasionally let down by “iffy service”. Founded in 2008 by Saiphin and Alex Moore, who inherited the name of their first East End site, the group has 18 branches in London and expanded to Liverpool, Manchester, Reading (delivery only) and Leeds following the sale of a majority stake to US investors. The couple also have two spin-offs, Lao Café in Covent Garden and the new Chinese noodle bar Hoh Sek in St Katharine Docks.
18. Albert's Schloss
East & Cent. European restaurant in Manchester
27 Peter Street - M2
“Always busy and buzzing,” not least when it lays on dedicated Oktoberfest antics, this raucous Bavarian-style beer hall serves up “great food” of a heavy Alpine bent, from schnitzel, spätzle and fondue to other rib-coating fare. Manchester-based Mission Mars, which owns the joint, is clearly in an expansive mood: following siblings in Birmingham and (as of December 2022) Liverpool, another Schloss is due to take over the former Rainforest Café site on London’s Leicester Square, in Spring 2024.
19. Three Little Words
British, Modern restaurant in Manchester
Watson Street - M3
2022 Review: “An amazing bar and signature cocktails” are hailed in early reports on this two-year-old haunt in the characterful arches beneath Manchester Central station, from the people behind the successful Manchester Gin brand. Though its selection of small plates is not the main point, nor is it an afterthought.
20. James Martin
British, Modern restaurant in Manchester
2 Watson St - M3
TV chef James Martin’s over-18s-only, industrial-chic flagship shares a home in the historic Great Northern Warehouse with Manchester235 Casino; the location is “slightly odd”, to be fair, “but once you’re seated in the restaurant you forget about it” – and can focus on the “absolutely delicious food” (be it an “excellent tasting menu” or slap-up afternoon tea).
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