The best restaurants in Chorlton

Chorlton’s worst kept secret is undoubtedly this red and yellow fronted restaurant on Beech Road, and trust us – you’re going to want to make a booking, because this place is constantly in demand. On warm evenings, wooden tables and chairs spill out from the cosy, tiled bar onto Beech Road. The menu is brimming with simple, regional tapas dished with tonnes of flavour, like deep-fried squid, croquettes and fillet steak, as well as some show-stoppers like mussels in a sherry sauce, slow-cooked beef cheeks with crispy leeks (essential) and their signature soft chorizo toasts topped with cute quail’s eggs. If it’s not on your must-visit list, it’s time to change that.

This is one for if you’re extra-hungry. Serving American diner-style grub with everything turned up a notch, Brewski still has a laid-back lodge vibe – you could also enjoy a pint in this wood-clad cavern without any pressure to consume copious amounts of meat and carbs. If you are in search of the latter, they will provide. The menu ranges burgers to burritos, fondue to Sunday dinners, via a whole lot of steak. If you’re indecisive, there are vast sharing platters too.

The beating heart of Chorlton’s social scene, The Beagle is a midweek meeting spot, a weekend tear-up location and the perfect place for a Sunday meltdown. Gigantic New York-style 22″ pies come courtesy of Nell’s (as well as ice cream sandwiches), and there are more craft ales than you can shake a slice at. When the sun’s out, their terrace is the place to be, and there’s loads of fun, community-centric events like quizzes and football screenings.

Canadian food isn’t just about poutine, but it is a big part of it. Barlow Moor Road’s Cleaver Bar & Kitchen shows us how it’s done, masterfully. Alongside the obligatory Quebecois cheese, gravy and meat-drenched chips, there’s also burgers, tacos and steaks. Their breakfasts are also something to marvel at, from waffle stacks through to truffle-y eggs benedict.

Chorlton’s Double Zero has a fanatical following. Perennial favourites from its huge oven include La Grande Rossa (a Roman style pizza with Fior di Latte, tomato, chorizo, ‘nduja, pepper, salami and finocchiona), Friarielli (scamorza, Italian wild broccoli, sausage), Partenopea (burrata, tomato, heirloom tomatoes, parma ham and Parmesan shavings), and the iconic Mezzaluna — a delicious hybrid of half calzone, half pizza, with Fior di Latte, tomato, porchetta, mushroom and Italian cooked ham. No wonder they’ve opened a second Spring Gardens site in the city centre.

Open seven days a week until late, The Drop Cafe Bar is one of several spots that have made Chorlton’s Barlow Moor Road parade of bars, restaurants and shops such a buzz over the last decade or so. Informal when it comes to everything except the presentation of its incredible Caribbean food, customers can choose from the cosy wood-clad interior, or the equally cool covered terrace on the street. Menu-wise, their ‘hench box’ is the main attraction, a loaded combo of mains and sides. And if you want to switch up your usual Sunday pub grub, we highly recommend their reggae roast.

This spot specialises in top flight Indian street food, from delectable chaats to spicy, Szechuan momos, through to vegan specials, trad curries and sizzling platters made for sharing. There’s a Sunday buffet too, which is great value.

Indian Affair has been channelling the spirit and cuisine of Delhi since 2022, with husband and wife founders Harshit and Natasha making some of the best curries, chaats, biryanis, butter chickens and lamb chops in South Manchester – Barlow Moor Road in Chorlton to be precise. It’s worth a visit for the puffiest fresh naans and parathas, scorched chicken tikka, bharva aloo, and giant masala prawns, with zingy chutneys, as well as creamy daal makhani, and ‘Dilli style’ thalis, where you get a bit of everything. Plus their stylish dining room is the perfect place to enjoy an accompanying cocktail or two.

The Jane Eyre on Beech Road consistently serves up some of the city’s best drinks. The menu is concise and seasonal, with a stripped-back approach that is all about flavour (and not so much about over the top garnishes). If you’re into refined and grown up, with perhaps grab some delicious plates of various sizes too – think hispi cabbage, crispy potatoes with chimichurri and miso chicken skewers. Like almost everywhere on Beech Road, it’s a perfect people-watching spot too.

This Lebanese spot on Barlow Moor Road is a long-standing favourite among those who enjoy all things babaganoush, mouhamara, falafel and shish kebab. The sort of place you want to go if you’re having a big get together where you all order a few bits for the table, then pile your plate high. It’s not quantity over quality though – everything is a superior version of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean favourites. If the menu is overwhelming, you can’t possibly go wrong with scorched meats drenched in lemon juice, silky hummus and fluffy pitta breads of dreams. Be sure to book, this place is understandably popular.

An increasingly familiar sight across Manchester, real fans will know that the original Jerk Junction in Chorlton is the best. With its vast covered terrace out front, on a sunny day you could almost convince yourself you’re on a beachfront taverna (if you look past the stunning views of Manchester Road). Promising ‘big portions and big love’, the team serves up rice ‘n’ peas, jerk chicken, and curry goat, prepared daily in their on-site jerk house. Sundays are all about their jerk roast, which is best enjoyed washed down with a rum punch. If you don’t happen to be in Chorlton, you can find Jerk Junction’s other outposts at the Trafford Centre, Wilmslow, and MediaCity’s well appointed KargoMKT.

At Lucky Mama’s you can find an excellent range of Roman and Veneto-style squared pizzas with classic toppings like simple margarita, alongside more elaborate combinations such as Mama’s Favourite — with tuna, prawns and garlic. The twist? Founders Mamadou and Gaby bring their Senegalese-Spanish-Chilean heritage to their recipes, which means you can find some more left-field additions to the menu, like barbacoa pizza and ‘rasta pasta’. It’s not technically a pizza, but don’t miss out on the absolutely joyful pasta dishes served in a pizza base bowl. Fusion cooking at its most fun.

An evolution of the much loved Little Yeti on Barlow Moor Road in Chorlton, Momo Shop have perfected the art of the savoury, spicy Napalese parcel. With a small menu of vegan and veggie-friendly starters like onion bhajis and masala-sprinkled chips up front, they swiftly get down to business with the momo menu, where you can create near-endless combinations of fillings, cooking styles and dipping sauces, like a spicy tomato achar or chilli oil. We’d highly recommend trying your momos cooked sadeko style, dry fried with spices and vegetables. Think salt and pepper style from your favourite takeaway, but kicked up a notch. If that doesn’t take your fancy for whatever reason, there are plenty of noodle dishes, wraps and sizzling mains to enjoy. It all adds up to a properly enjoyable celebration of spicy carbs.

The Oystercatcher – on Chorlton’s Manchester Road – is all about ultra fresh, ultra sophisticated seafood with loads of foodie flair. Yes, the oysters are a given, but the restaurant extends its reach to a spectrum of fish and seafood dishes on the menu, all brought to life on their in-house chargrill. Their menu is a seasonal one, but you can expect to see the likes of chargrilled octopus with batata harra and harissa, tandoori BBQ monkfish, and black sea bream with salsa verde. You can even stick to comfort food with an elevated fish and chips meal. There’s simply nowhere quite like it in Manchester.

OK, not a restaurant per se (or at all, really, it’s a takeaway), but arguably one of the best curries you’ll find in South Manchester, so to have a guide to Chorlton-based cuisine without it seems inherently wrong. Their staff curry, served with lamb on or off the bone, the sweet-sour sambar, perfectly charred naans and exceptional bhajis are all go-to dishes, but as the name might suggest, it’s also one of the few places in the city where you can pick up a proper, authentic balti.

Chef and owner Eunji Noh closed the original Thirsty Korean on Manchester Road at the beginning of 2024. Now she’s back up and running on Wilbraham Road, in the old Vietnamese Pot Bellied site, with a bigger kitchen and a bigger menu. Her famous fried chicken is still a fixture, but she’s now keen to explore all corners of Korean cuisine too, promising a host of dishes you won’t see anywhere else. Highlights include her spiced mackerel, as well as the dubu duruchigi (spicy fried tofu) and the jjimdak, a braised bone-in chicken thigh with sweet potato noodles. The showstopper, though, is the chijeudongaseu, a hammered-out pork cutlet stuffed with cheese and deep fried. You won’t stop thinking about this place for weeks.

Duncan and Lisa are the Manchester-born Chinese couple behind Japanese concept Yane, bringing real, home-style Japanese cooking to the suburbs. The word Yane actually translates into ‘roof’ in Japanese, and their food is made to make you feel like you’ve been welcomed into their own home. They specialise in donburri, katsu and all sorts of pickled things aka ‘tsukemono’. If you’re after generous bowls of fresh meat, veggies and fish, be sure to check out this Barlow Moor Road spot.

This family-run Lebanese and Syrian restaurant have a few spots, and Chorlton’s is on Wilbraham Road. They serve vast plates of scorched meat and fish, as well as a plentiful selection of hot and cold mezze plates, dips and bread. A sure-fire winner for a big group gathering, made even more so by the BYOB policy. For tasty, sociable dining it’s a no-brainer.