Bollington Restaurant Guide

2022 Review: Patrick Hannity's decade-old spin-off from his Manchester original is less well known than its progenitor but is “usually excellent”, too; the food is “light, balanced and filled with flavour”, incorporating produce from his Peak District farm.

2021 Review: “I can’t vouch for its authenticity as a Sri Lankan experience… but it’s a delight to eat!” – so say fans of this family-run three-year-old café. By its nature, a good choice for pescatarians, veggies and vegans.

“A pub that can serve ultra-fresh, skillfully cooked seafood is a rare treat” – “this country inn in the hills above Macclesfield” has a “light and comfortable small dining room adjacent to the old bar”. It enjoys “strong support from the village”, which clubbed together 20 years ago to buy the freehold when the pub was threatened with closure.

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.

2022 Review: This Grade II-listed former coaching inn incorporates fourteenth-century Whitehough Hall, whose dining room with a minstrels’ gallery provides a medieval setting for the “excellent food” served here. Former banker Daniel Capper took over the running of his childhood home when a leaseholder failed.

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.

2022 Review: “Excellent Thai food full of flavour” (including wallet-friendly set lunches) are the order of the day at this Peak District outfit decorated with traditional carvings and sculptures, and hosting twice-monthly jazz and cocktail nights.

“Terrific French cooking” by Cheshire-born chef-patron Joseph Rawlins combines with immaculate presentation from his FOH partner, Parisienne Gaëlle Radigon, in a smart, “contemporary setting” (“love having a tablecloth: so many restaurants don’t”) at this converted farmhouse in a village famous for its timber-framed church and ancient ‘Marston oak’ (Britain’s largest tree). Top Tip – “the set meal is exceptional value”.

“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”.

“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.

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.