The best restaurants in Manchester to visit during Twixmas

Located on a stretch of wonderful restaurants and bars in Chorlton, The Thirsty Korean serves scrumptious Korean food at a very reasonable price. This is a perfect place for a calm meal before New Year’s Eve. Jjapaguri is a dish we recommend highly, famous from the movie Parasite. It’s noodles with deliciously sliced beef chunks. Japchaebab, meanwhile, consists sweet potato noodles cooked with beef, vegetables, soy sauce, grounded garlic and sesame oil, and then there’s the very spicey ojingeh bokkeum (fried squid and noodles), both of which are amazing dishes too. If you fancy an authentic Korean meal, then you should definitely visit The Thirsty Korean!

Canto is a Mediterranean small plates restaurant that is perfect for a tapas meal once you are bored of winter food. In 2018, Canto was opened in Ancoats’ Cutting Room Square by famous chef and restauranteur, Simon Shaw and head chef Carlos Gomes. Their food showcases the Mediterranean influences that inspired this restaurant to be created. The dishes are designed to be shared and are made with fresh and high-quality ingredients, sourced both locally and in the rest of Europe. The main menu is separated by petiscos, meat, seafood, vegetables and of course, desserts. All consist of small dishes that are to be shared with a guide of five to six dishes per two people. From patatas bravas to octopus with new potatoes, from Italian meatballs to braised ox cheek, all the food is stunning and sumptuous.

The Street Urchin is a must visit restaurant located in between Ancoats and the Northern Quarter. It’s the perfect place for a date or for a get-together with a small group of friends. This is a British seafood restaurant oozing class. It’s vibrant and eclectic, and offers a unique fusion of delectable cuisine, lively atmosphere and captivating entertainment. Indulge in mouthwatering dishes crafted with locally sourced ingredients, showcasing the city’s culinary diversity. Expect the likes of mussels, crab, roast hake and roast monkfish. This is an amazing seafood restaurant that’s perfect for escaping the hustle and bustle of Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

If you’re looking for an award-winning eatery to meet up with family and friends, then Elnecot certainly provides that. Located in Ancoats, Elnecot has a different menu for evening, lunch, weekend brunch and Sunday roast so expect a lot of choice and quality. This British menu has the dishes in size order and is moderately priced. Some evening dishes include the Manchester egg, Welsh ragyu steak frites and Elnecot Staffordshire tacos, whilst for lunch and brunch expect pastries, full English (vegan and veggie too) and shakshuka. There are also roasts and a fantastic Christmas menu, so if you still fancy roast dinner after Christmas, Elnecot will serve you a scrumptious one.

Dean and Jerome, the founders of Pastan, care about what people eat and make sure the pasta dishes they serve are healthy, natural and plant-based. This is a wonderful place for a cosy Twixmas meal. The food shows deep respect for the planet and is full of gorgeous flavours and tastes. In 2020, Manchester gained a unique and caring restaurant. Starters range from loaded gnocchi, tasty Heura ’chicken’ nuggets and portafino, a mix of mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and olive oil. The Italian influence continues to be clear in the pasta dishes, such as the carbonara, while there’s also a healthy version of mac ‘n’ cheese, as well as a beautiful Catalonia dish made with cheese, tomato, apricot harissa and rosemary.

Newly renovated this year, the Manchester Museum is a proud establishment of the University of Manchester. It’s an incredible place to visit with the family and to entertain children. What’s more, the café is full of healthy food so you can enjoy a tasty lunch at the Manchester Museum. The café is brand new and is decorated in a modest and minimalist fashion to provide lots of space. This place is perfect for the Twixmas period.

Double Zero makes authentic pizzas in a flat, crispy way with large crusts. The dough is made on site daily using only four ingredients: flour, water, salt and yeast. The wood-fired pizza ovens have come all the way from Naples and allow this independent restaurant in Chorlton to make amazing and delicious Neapolitan pizzas. The list of pizzas and toppings are long and full of quality. The Napoli is one of our favourites as it comes with a gorgeous combination of anchovies, capers and Kalamata olives. Served with goat’s cheese, mozzarella, caramelised onions, figs, red pepper, balsamic glaze and Parma ham, La Caprina is another sublime pizza.

This restaurant is The Good Food Guide’s ‘Best Local Restaurant in the North West’ for 2023 and is in the Michelin Guide for a reason. That reason is the food is simply astonishingly well made! Located in Cheetham Hill, not far from the city centre, this place specialises in pasta and Spätzle, which is fresh noodle-like pasta made with flour, egg and water, and is famous in Switzerland, Germany, Italy and other nearby places. The name was chosen partly because of what sparrows means. For example, in Celtic tradition sparrows are keepers of ancestral knowledge. They symbolise joy, knowledge, hard work and community. You can have gnocchi or Spätzle with tomato sauce, chorizo, Bolognese and more sauces. Other options include a special ribbon pasta called pappardelle and dumplings that are worth tasting due to their delicious texture.

This amazing Spanish restaurant, found in the heart of Manchester’s city centre, showcases a wide range of impressive dishes. Renowned for being friendly and good with children, La Bandera takes its inspiration from the Canary Islands, thereby offering a unique style of Spanish cuisine. The wonderful Canarian head chef, Ruben del Villar uses the best local and Spanish ingredients to design the menu. Dishes include the black paella with squid, king prawns and squid ink, and the brilliant beef steak and chicken with piquillo peppers. La Bandera is a wonderful Spanish restaurant that deserves your time.

Bar San Juan is another fantastic independent restaurant in Chorlton that serves gorgeous tapas, making it a great option for a Twixmas. Established in 2010, the eatery is a traditional Spanish tapas bar, but with its own twists put on the dishes. The restaurant and bar makes you feel like you are on holiday due to the atmosphere, decorations, ambiance and the general Spanish charm the establishment has. We could spend a while talking about all the tapas options, from honey pork to Manchego cheese and Sobrasada chorizo from Majorca. Two of our favourites though are the gambas pil-pil, a delicious mix of hot chilli and garlic on tiger prawns, and the mejillones en tomate – mussels covered in tomato and sherry sauce with a bit of chilli on top.