Hazel Grove Restaurant Guide

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.

“Scandi, seasonal, local foraging vibes; small plates, fermentation and natural wines… all may be ten-a-penny in London, not so much in Stockport”, which has helped win massive ongoing acclaim for Sam Buckley’s hipster outpost, whose launch eight years ago has helped put the seal on the area’s emerging reputation as a haven of cool North Western vibes. It helps that it occupies a “nice space too” – an airy, brick-walled former coffee warehouse with large windows and high ceilings – in which is presented a no-choice menu for £110 per person (for which you are advised to allow two-three hours). All who report rate it do so extremely highly – its ratings would be even higher were it not for the fact that the volume of feedback we receive in our annual diners’ poll is always much lower than its phenomenal reputation might suggest. From November 2024 to March 2025, Sam and his crew will be aiming to take Manchester by storm with a pop-up ‘Where The Light Gets In: A Play in the City’. Till December 21 2024 this will be at the Altogether Otherwise community centre in Hanover Street – from January 7 2025 at The Bungalow at Kampus, a former security cabin on stilts in Aytoun Street. Whether this is part of a plan to shift longer-term to Manchester city-centre remains to be seen.

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: 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.

“Long Live the Lime Tree!” – where “the best food, impeccable service and great wine is why we go time and time again”. A chic brasserie in posh West Didsbury, it was launched in 1987 by chef-owner Patrick Hannity, who has always been ahead of the game with seasonal modern British cooking using locally sourced ingredients (he invested in a 20-acre smallholding in Macclesfield Forest 17 years ago to be self-sufficient in eggs and rare-breed beef, lamb and pork). “It’s been my favourite restaurant for years even though it’s quite a schlep to get there, and it rarely disappoints in any department”.

“The landlord is the chef and he knows how to cook fish, which he sources from the best suppliers”, say regulars at this unusual and “delightful” Peak District village pub which is “supported by the community” – having bought the freehold 20 years ago when the venue faced closure. “Good ales” completes the picture.

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”.

2022 Review: There’s a “fantastic range of vegetarian treats” at this “great value” Indian – part of the Sachdev family business that celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The café, near Manchester’s IKEA, moved into its own site opposite the family’s ASM cash-and-carry grocery a couple of years ago. (It’s named after founder PG Sachdev’s wife Lilawati, who hand-made treats to sell in the early days of the business.)

“You really do feel like you’re in Spain” at this “lovely little tapas bar”, a fixture on a Chorlton back street since 2010. “The first time I visited, I wasn’t convinced, the second time I totally was! Can’t wait to go back”.

“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.