Manchester Dining and Entertainment

Manchester
Hotels

Dining in Manchester

Due to the incredible influx of students, not all of whom are broke, as well as the arrival of the 'Monied Manc', there are lots of places to eat and lots of choice. Below are areas that are best known for their restaurants. While only a few restaurants are listed here, these are great places to start from.

Chinatown, near to the city centre is a very traditional dining area. Its not in itself a funky district, but people know that this is the place to come for real Chinese cuisine. There are bakeries and grocers' shops and fine restaurants like The New Emperor. Also, theres Yang Sing, which offers some of the tastiest Cantonese food this side of heaven. After you've eaten in Chinatown, you'll find yourself forsaking all take-aways.

The City Centre is a mish-mash of popular greasy spoon cafés, franchises and personally owned restaurants. Est, Est, Est has its second Italian restaurant in the city - great seafood. Nico Central, within the Midland Hotel, is a French restaurant that is hallowed in many quarters. Mash & Air is a great 'all rounder' bar, brewing its own beer and offering modern, cheaper Italo-American food. There is a top floor restaurant that has more sophisticated (and much more expensive) food. Café Pop is the trendy, popular café with good portions of great tasting vegetarian cooking.

Rusholme has lots of curry houses on its 'curry mile' with wonderful delights at low prices. Most people who like curries have a favourite establishment in Rusholme. There are too many different restaurants to list here, but a delicious vegetable korma can be had in Shere Khan, where people often queue outside for a table. The New Tabak serves Nepalese cuisine, or if you fancy a mix of Punjabi and Persian dishes then theres the Tandoori Kitchen.

Didsbury is full of restaurant and café bars of every description. Felix is rated for its fish dishes and mid-european cuisine. Good food and continental beers greet you at the leafy café bar that is known as The Nose. The Metropolitan is a pub near to The Nose and under the same ownership, serving real ales and quality food. Cachumba offers a short but creative menu from North Africa and different areas of Asia. Wok Wok is a restaurant
to try if you can't decide which type of Far Eastern cuisine appeals.

Entertainment in Manchester

Art - Manchester is soon to become a big contender in the Art World. Currently, the City Art Gallery is closed for expansion until 2001. A lot of the works of art have been moved to the Whitworth Art Gallery, which houses great modern pieces, as well as paintings by masters such as Constable and Turner. The Whitworth always hosts incredible and innovative exhibitions. Works have also been moved to the Cornerhouse, which is well known for its photographic exhibits in its 3 galleries.

Cinema - There are quite a few multiplexes in Manchester. Virgin has an 8-screen complex in Salford, the Showcase in Belle Vue is also extremely popular with a mammoth 14 screens, as is the Arena 7 with its 7 screens right in the centre of town. The Odeon is popular with students and families and is placed in a prime position, catching unwitting alumni on their way to/back from the library. If you want to see foreign films or independent
works then the Cornerhouse with its popular café and bar is a great place with bags of character. Ciné City in Withington has 3 screens showing foreign films, general releases and re-releases of general releases, in fact it offers "The Full Monty"(hee hee).

Dance - The Dancehouse Theatre, blessed by being the home of the Northern Ballet School, is where you can see regular dance performances and musicals. Contemporary dance performances take place at the Green Room.

MUSIC:

Classical/Opera - The Royal Northern College of Music is a place where aspiring Lesley Garretts and Jacqueline Du Pres come to hone their talents. Here you can hear musical scores, opera arias and jazz concerts. These are no amateur productions, members of the Royal Family have travelled up to attend concerts. Chethams School of Music is a school for children who are gifted musically and there are often free lunchtime concerts for members of the public to appreciate the genius that lies within the walls of this beautiful school. Bridgewater Hall (pictured above) is home to the Hallé Orchestra and the Manchester Camerata, it also welcomes the BBC Philharmonic on a regular basis.

Rock/Pop/Jazz - Manchester Academy is the venue to see well-known bands and if you don't know whose playing, there are enough ticket touts around on the night to inform you. Labatts Apollo is also a base for diverse artists, from famous British/American songsters to Asian superstars. 'Band on the Wall' has jazz and blues bands, local bands and 'Come up and do your own "thang"' nights. It is a converted (small) theatre, which retains some of its original interior, adding to the general frissance of the atmosphere. Boardwalk is 'grunge band' city, everybody who wants a chance at expressing their Oasis-type riffs will pass through here - in fact, it was here that Oasis played their first gig. Manchester Roadhouse works along the same lines as the Boardwalk and is just as popular. There are also lots of bars and clubs that have nights dedicated to live bands, including a plethora of Irish pubs that have live Irish music. Jabez Clegg, a popular student pub, and Temple of Convenience, are just two more places that have semi-famous and unknowns playing live.

Museums - The Museum of Science & Industry is a place that every child and adult should visit. The Pumphouse is all about Manchesters social classes, especially the working classes and how their lives have changed. The Gallery of Costume is for those who know their silks from their satins. Manchester Museum is famous for its Egyptian mummies and Egyptology galleries.

Nightclubs - "...And God created Man(chester)" or so the saying goes; clubbing tastes vary in Manchester and all of them are catered for. Rock World is for heavy metal fans and rockers (obviously) - thrash metal and hard rock fans throw themselves around in physical harmony. South, Paradise Factory & Phoenix are for the 'way funky' and seriously cool'. Prague V is in the gay village and caters for gays and straights. The Universities offer their own club nights too. The Ritz used to be a ballroom and is now a club that is popular, not least because it has a bouncy floor. The Brickhouse and 5th Avenue cater for indie, grunge and clubs. Fridays is a club that is still popular with students after more than 17 years, probably because entrance is so cheap, as is the beer!! This is not a comprehensive list of the clubs in Manchester - the beat definitely goes on.

Theatre - The Library Theatre, situated in the basement of the beautiful Central Library, stages works by modern playwrights (Neil Simon seems to be a consistent favourite). The wondrous Royal Exchange Theatre returned to its home after the city centre was bombed in 1996; here you can experience both modern and classical plays. The Opera House and the Palace Theatre are the places to go for musicals and ballets.

Recommended Tours

Shopping & Culture

Morning
Breakfast and then what? The Whitworth Art Gallery! At the moment, this is Manchesters main Gallery, as the Art Gallery on Mosley Street is undergoing a tremendous refit. The Whitworth, situated on Wilmslow Road is airy and conducive to browsing, their exhibitions are always innovative and thought provoking. There are often free classical concerts at specific times during the year, and one more point in their favour - admission is free.

Lunch
Feeling culturally satisfied? Now its time for a little something to eat. You could stay where you are and indulge in a spot of lunch served with the most scrummy, cloudy apple juice ever invented, or you could head into town. Café bars, Coffee Shops and the like are blossoming in Manchesters city centre, which is easy to reach by tram, bus and train. If you'd like a little refined serenity, then try the Royal Exchange Café and restaurant. Or maybe you'd like to try the Citrus Bar located in Mount Street. Popular with the trendy office workers, the walls of this bar are white plaster with lots of glass and wooden accessories, and yet, because its quite small, it retains a warm and friendly atmosphere. The Grinch bar is also popular and there are live jazz performances on certain evenings during the week. Personally, I have a thing for the Metz bar, although I've never eaten there (Strictly cappuccino at lunch, darling) the food (Hungarian, Serbo-Croatian) has a good reputation, I can personally recommend the hot chocolate and the atmosphere; the bar is right on the canal and you have to cross a little bridge to get to it. On summer days, its absolutely sublime.

Shopping
Now you're feeling totally refreshed and relaxed? Ah, darling its time to go shopping!! In Manchester city centre you will find that mid-range and lower price shops are within easy walking distance of each other. Kendals is 'The Harrods of the north' - a recent re-fit and desire to keep up with London fashion designers helps it to remain popular amongst the young, wealthy and beautiful, but even if you aren't in a position to splash the cash this department store is well worth a visit. At times during the year, they have fashion shows, which comes as a delightful surprise if you aren't expecting it. From time to time, a jazz duet or quartet is on the ground floor, which adds a touch of elegance to your shopping. Kendals is situated on Deansgate, which is jammed packed with designer boutiques such as Vivienne Westwood. If you prefer high-street names albeit more expensive ones, then Kings Street and St Anns Square are also places to see; here you'll find the likes of Jaegar, Monsoon, Austin Reed, Ted Baker and Donna Karan. Shops tend to close at 5.30pm most days, except Thursday, when they remain open until 8-9pm.

Theatres and Concerts
The great thing about the shops closing relatively early is that you have plenty of time to change into your newly purchased outfit and go out for a pre-theatre drink at the Palace Hotel. After that, you can head into town to take in a play, musical or whatever takes your fancy. Manchester has the Palace Theatre, the Library Theatre, the Opera House, and the Royal Exchange in the city centre, all offering incredibly different productions, leaving you spoilt for choice. Or maybe you'd like to hear some music? The Bridgewater Hall, built to house the Hallé Orchestra is a breathtaking building with a spacious and modern bar. Manchester is also the home of the Royal Northern College of Music and the Northern Ballet, who regularly hold performances and recitals.

Dining
If you want a meal after this (or perhaps you'd just like to go for a luxurious meal instead of going to the theatre) then why not try Mash & Air. Mash Bar on the first floor has great big visible vats in which they brew their beer. The second floor has a restaurant serving Californian/Italian dishes, and the fourth floor, which is definitely very chic and very costly, serves international cuisine. Maybe a trip into China Town is more your style, if so, try Yang Sing Restaurant on Princess Street, the food is glorious and the restaurant itself is not far from many of the theatres.
Drinks
Castlefield is a really soothing place for a walk on a late summer evening. There are two principal bars here: Dukes 92 and Barça. Dukes 92 in Castle Street has two floors and tables outside. On cold winters evenings theres a roaring fire and its a wonderful place to feel serene and chat with friends. Dukes can be lively, whereas Barça owned by Mick Hucknall of Simply Red, is frenetic. It is favoured by pre-clubbers, and the beautiful who just want to sit, see and be seen.

Family Day Out

Morning
Never let it be said that Manchester is just a city for students, there are absolutely tonnes of things you can do together as a family. Manchester is a fun and educative place for both adults and children alike! First, take a bus to Oxford Road, where you'll find Manchester Museum. There are guided tours for school children, and the museum is definitely 'children-friendly'. The museum is free, although donations are appreciated.

Next, take a bus into town and, once there, head along Market Street and turn left on Deansgate. At the top of Deansgate you'll find Liverpool Street and The Museum of Science & Industry. This is a great museum because it is so totally interactive. You can strap yourself into the flight simulator, play educational games and see what Manchester was like a century or so ago (Warning: this comes complete with 'authentic' smells, therefore, those of a sensitive disposition should wait for the children outside). There are always interesting exhibitions on show and you can always be confident that you will all learn something new, theres no room for boredom here!!

Lunch
Simply walk across Liverpool Street to get to Castlefield Arena. Once there, head for the arches near the Canal basin - straight ahead of you is Castle Street and Dukes 92. This is a great place for adults and children; you can relax in homely surroundings, read the paper and sup your pint, while the children enjoy the feeling of having lunch in a 'grown-ups' pub. Dukes provides both highchairs and baby changing facilities for your younger ones. During the summer you are close enough to the canal to be able to watch the barges go by. After lunch how about a cruise down the river? The whole family can learn about the industrial history of Manchester gliding along in comfort. Bridgewater Packet Boat Service offers trips to the general public on Sundays. If you are in Manchester on a week day, then take a tram from Castlefield to Heaton Park, which is a very large and beautiful expanse of land. Theres a mini train for the children to travel around part of the grounds, affording a view of a beautiful Hall, as well as a farm.

If you've got younger ones, I'm sure they'll be needing a bit of a nap right about now or maybe even their regular teletubbies fix. A quiet and relaxing walk beside the canal before dinner may suffice for the older ones, however. If they are extremely well-behaved and only a little hungry then take a tram to Victoria Station, head past the massive new Marks and Spencer that is currently under reconstruction and you'll find yourself in Cross Street where you'll find Royal Exchange Arcade and the Haagen Dazs Café. Treat them to a hot chocolate (bliss in a cup), a chocolate fudge brownie special, or even one of the scrummy ice cream concoctions. However, if your children are hyperactive in any way, then coming here is obviously just a pipe dream and should NEVER be attempted!

Dinner
Yang Sing Chinese Restaurant on Charlotte Street welcomes families and serves delicious food. If you're in Heaton Park, then take a tram to Piccadilly Gardens, walk along Mosley Street and you'll find Chinatown on your left. You might want to try a wonderful Indian meal from one of the many restaurants along the middle section of Wilmslow Road, Rusholme. Curries can be as mild as you like and some restaurants serve English dishes, so the children can have something a little more...erm...bland, while you savour the delights of chilli, yoghurt, cardamon and saffron. There are many buses that will take you from the city centre to Rusholme, making it very easy to reach. Est, Est, Est at 5 Ridgefield, (one of the side streets off the middle of Deansgate) is also a great Italian restaurant, the owners are warm and friendly.

"Home again, home again jiggity-jig". If little Chloe and Siegfried jnr are not best pleased by this fantastic choice of events that were laid before them, my advice is to trade them in for new children!

T McFarlane