The Best Places for Sushi in Manchester

This super-smart izakaya bar and restaurant at the foot of the Deansgate Square towers doesn’t just look fabulous. It’s also got some of the best Japanese cuisine in the city, notably a superb line in sushi. And not just the usual salmon and yellowtail either. Nigiri comes topped with foie gras or cuttlefish, and you can order surf clam and scallop sashimi too, as well as various grades of bluefin. Hot dishes are also exceptional, so it’s a win win.

While One Sushi does a bustling pop-in, pop-out takeaway trade on Oxford Street, it’s so much more than that. At the back, there’s a stand-up counter where their chef Eddie (who worked in a two Michelin star restaurant in Hong Kong for 15 years) will serve you ‘omakase’ style, meaning he’ll make you up the best and freshest gear from the menu on any given day, right in front of you. This place is a real gem, and while many more bougie spots play at sushi, One Sushi is doing it proper.

While Sexy Fish has gone all out on the aesthetics – from Damien Hirst sculptures to Frank Gehry-designed lighting – don’t think that it’s scrimped on the menu. You can order some of the freshest yellowtail tuna, scallops and salmon from the sashimi menu, as well as wagyu gunkan and aburi rolls with pork belly. Or you can go completely wild and go for the ‘premium’ omakase menu (it will cost you) where the delights of the sea are served up in a giant silver shell complete with dry ice for drama.

Yuzu, in the centre of Chinatown, specialises in ‘Japanese tapas’, small plates of abject deliciousness that have garnered them a loyal following (don’t just turn up, you’ll need to book) and reviews from national critics. While they’re not a specialist sushi spot, their sashimi platter is one o f the very best in town, with salmon, tuna, scallops and sweet prawns.

Masters of their craft, Unagi have rapidly become a go-to for excellent Japanese cuisine in the city, deftly straddling quality and affordability. There are also plenty of locations – they’re in the city’s green quarter, Wilmslow, West Didsbury, Salford Quays and their flagship restaurant in Altrincham. This geographical spread doesn’t spread them thin though. The sashimi and nigiri are well crafted and super-fresh, and if you want great noodles, ramen and rice bowls, you’ve got that too.

Spinningfields favourite Australasia has a superb sushi selection on offer. Descend from the glass atrium on The Avenue and discover its yellowfin, Loch Duart salmon, sea bass and scallops sashimi, or go omasake-style and let the kitchen bring out the freshest catch of the day, along with a range of great California and dragon rolls.

Small, but perfectly formed (with just 26 seats) Kyotya in Withington Village has been serving up excellent Japanese cuisine for as long as anyone can remember. They have a huge range nigiri, maki, temaki and sashimi, and as far as great value goes, you simply won’t get better than this anywhere in the city.

Anyone would count themselves lucky to have this neighbourhood sushi spot on their doorstep. Prestwich’s very own Codi’s Kitchen does a great line in super-fresh sashimi, along with maki and hand rolls, all at very, very reasonable prices. There are poki bowls and tataki too.

Another very fine neighbourhood spot, OKitchen has been serving excellent Korean and Japanese dishes since 2017. If you can tear yourself away from the bulgogis and bibimbaps, head for their extensive platters of nigiri and hosomaki, as well as California rolls and top drawer sashimi. Oh, and they do great cocktails too.

After a somewhat nomadic journey so far, with former outposts in Chorlton and Ancoats, Sushi Marvel has now landed its first proper city centre spot on Bridge Street. Everything is carved and prepped on site, and it’s all taken very seriously indeed, from the A5 wagyu to the otoro, the coveted belly of the bluefin tuna. There’s every shape of roll imaginable, and the sashimi is so fresh it’s almost still bobbing along in the briny. There shouldn’t be any further reason not to go, but just in case you’re still wavering, they do a brilliant value lunch menu too.