The best places in Manchester for pub grub
04 Sep 2024
04 Sep 2024
Where to go for paella in Manchester
Spanish cuisine is well-known for its beautiful food, ranging from patatas bravos and churros to the most famous, paella! This saffron flavoured rice dish is mixed in with vegetables, meat and seafood and comes from the rice-growing regions of Spain on the Mediterranean coast. People outside of Spain, like Mancunians, think of paella as Spain’s national dish. However, in Spain it not seen as a national dish but as a regional symbol of Valencia. Paella in Valencia, as you will know if you have been, is a wonderful food experience to try. But as Manchester is home to dozens of different cuisines and cooking traditions, you can be sure to find Valencian and other types of paella across this multicultural city. Therefore, to help you out, we have created a guide of some of our favourite places to eat paella in Manchester.
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This amazing Spanish restaurant, found in the heart of Manchester’s city centre, showcases a wide range of amazing Spanish dishes. Renowned for being friendly and good with children, La Bandera takes its inspiration from the Canary Islands, therefore offering a unique style of Spanish cuisine. Influenced by the beautiful landscape of the Canary Islands, shown by its lovely red and yellow spacious interior and by its wonderful head chef, Canarian Ruben del Villar, La Bandera uses the best local and Spanish ingredients in its cuisine. The paella here is just gorgeous and big enough to serve two people, so be sure to take a friend. Our favourite paella dishes are the Mar y Montana and the Negra de Calamares y Gambas. The first combines the land and sea together, mixing meat with shellfish, such as mussels. The other is a wonderful combination of king prawns, squid and squid ink in some fantastically created black paella. A great vegetarian option is the Arroz de Setas, that consists of wild mushroom rice with orange zest.
Campo Blanco is to be found not in Manchester city centre, but in a lovely suburb north of the city called Whitefield, which is in between Prestwich and Bury. This local and family orientated restaurant serves amazing vegetarian, seafood and meat paella dishes. These dishes are made from scratch everyday with local ingredients, so do not be in any doubt that it serves incredibly fresh and tasty food. What’s more, it allows dogs to be at the restaurant too, allowing for possibly all the family to join! The paella is suitable for two to four people. We will firstly mention the meat paella, which is an incredible mix of Spanish chorizo, pulled beef and chicken. You cannot go wrong here. There are vegan and seafood paella dishes to choose from too. Meanwhile, if you want to try all of it, you can ask for the paella which contains all three dishes mentioned. If you want to eat at a family restaurant, which is not in the busy city centre of Manchester, then this beautiful Spanish restaurant may just be the right place for you.
Since 2013, Evuna has had a brilliant establishment up in the Northern Quarter. Serving Alhambra beer and Spanish cuisine, the only ones we think to do so in the Northern Quarter, Evuna is a place of vibrant Spanish culture and beautiful food. It’s inspired by Andalucian cooking and has three other sister branches in Deansgate, Knutsford and Altrincham. Like most paella restaurants, it has three main options: seafood, vegetarian and meat. The vegetarian dish consists of peas, artichokes and a chunky aubergine, while the meat paella comes with traditional – and amazing – Spanish chorizo and chicken. Wonderful and friendly, with unbelievably good paella, Evuna is a must visit!
El Rincon can be located in the Deansgate area and offers tremendous Basque traditional dishes. This establishment looks and feels traditionally Spanish. For example, the building has been decorated with lots of love to convince people the building is a part of Spain. A great thing about this place is that it shows live football (if you’re into that) and is a fantastic place to watch Spanish games with all the atmosphere! The paellas are done per person and are not pricey at all, at just under £10. You can get either the meat, seafood or mixed paella. We would go for the mix and try it all! If you want to have lovely paella in an establishment with tons of character, El Rincon de Rafa is a perfect option.
