Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Bowdon
Hardens guides have spent 34 years compiling reviews of the best Bowdon restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 110 restaurants in Bowdon and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Bowdon restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Bowdon Restaurants
1. TNQ Restaurant & Bar
British, Modern restaurant in Manchester
108 High St - M4
One of “the nearest things to a French brasserie in Manchester” in style – the name of this prominent corner spot is an acronym for its location, ‘The Northern Quarter’. There’s a well-stocked bar with beers, crafted cocktails and hot drinks to supplement the wine selection and the straightforward cooking – actually resolutely modern British rather than particularly Franglais – puts a modern spin on classic ideas. Top Tip – the lunch menu served till 6pm, with two courses for £21 per person.
2. Bundobust
Indian restaurant in Manchester
61 Piccadilly - M1
“These guys could turn me veggie!” – Mayur Patel & Marko Husak now have four Bundos and this was the second plank in their successful Gujarati group, which puts ‘beer and curry together at last’! “It can be a bit chaotic, but it’s heavenly food for veggies and vegans” and “never fails to deliver” a fun time too (“always enjoy coming here… it’s very fun and relaxed… you can mix and match and try a few things… also a really interesting selection of beers”).
3. MUSU
Japanese restaurant in Manchester
India Buildings, 8 Brunswick St - M3
It’s all change at this “beautiful restaurant with incredible Japanese food” which has operated for two years now on a site that was formerly Randall & Aubin (RIP). As of autumn 2024, the original chef Michael Shaw has departed and it is about to undergo major expansion so we have left it un-rated. Under the new plans, it is to be divided into three separate experiences. Kaji (see also); a new space will house MUSU Miyabi, led by chef-patron Steven Smith – formerly of the well-known Freemasons at Wiswell – which given his renown promises to be a major launch in itself; and also MUSU Theatre of Omakase, under executive sushi chef Andre Aguiar.
4. Tattu
Chinese restaurant in Manchester
3 Hardman Sq, Gartside St - M3
A pink-lit tree inside the dining room helps seal the Insta-potential of this glam pan-Asian venue – a glossy scene in Spinningfields that has helped spawn what’s now a national chain. Feedback remains more limited than we’d like, but remains consistently positive about its modern Chinese cuisine (whose definition is stretched a bit to include dishes like Japanese Wagyu and tempura; and tuna tartare with caviar).
5. San Carlo
Italian restaurant in Manchester
40 King Street West - M3
Well-known in the city-centre as a posh if pricey destination – complete with crisp white tablecloths and nattily dressed staff – this old-school Italian is part of the well-known national chain and (with over two decades service) is sometimes mistaken as the group’s founding branch (although that distinction actually goes to the one in Birmingham, which opened ten years earlier). Its traditional fare can include “wonderful fish”, but it can also seem too “overpriced”.
6. Chez Nous Bistro
British, Modern restaurant in Sale
179 Marsland Road - M33
2023 Review: Needing to eat in Manchester’s plush southern ’burbs? – this ‘suburban bistro with urban attitude’ (their words) doesn’t generate huge feedback in our survey, but such as there is rates it as excellent value.
7. Indian Affair
Indian restaurant in Manchester
362 Barlow Moor Road - M21
“Super-friendly and very professional service with plenty of good advice” helps win praise for Harshit & Natasha Chopra’s Delhi-inspired restaurant, also complimented for its “delicious, brilliantly presented food with rich, well-balanced flavours”. It’s two years old, and they must be doing something right, as in September 2024 they launched an Ancoats spin-off.
8. Indique
Indian restaurant in Manchester
110-112 Burton Road - M20
The swish inner suburb of West Didsbury has long had a pocket of well-known Manchester destinations and this contemporary curry house – where ‘Indian’ meets ‘unique’ (geddit?) – is one of them.
9. Indian Affair
Indian restaurant in Manchester
46 Blossom Street - M4
“Very good, fresh food” helps win high ratings for this bright, white-walled Ancoats Indian, which first opened its doors in September 2024 (it’s the spin-off of their older sibling in Chorlton). The breezy, attractive style is the work of Delhi-raised Harshit & Natasha Chopra whose menu puts a modern spin on North Indian dishes.
10. Borage
British, Modern restaurant in Bowdon
7 Vale View, Vicarage Lane - WA14
2024 Review: “An excellent local restaurant with talent in the kitchen (Miarisuz Dobies) and professional front of house” (his wife); regulars are “never disappointed” by the French- and Central European-inflected food (including five- or seven-course tasting menus), with “every detail wonderful and made in-house”.
11. Sigiriya
International restaurant in Hale
173 Ashley Road - WA15
Named in homage to a rocky outcrop that has long been a settlement for Buddhist monks, Don Buddhika’s black-fronted restaurant is “still going strong with its Sri Lankan speciality dishes” – small plates, curries, grills and more, with dedicated vegan and gluten-free menus. Besides this venture in the swanky Manchester ‘burbs, as of late 2023 they’ve also opened a second outpost a short drive away in the market town of Knutsford.
12. Altrincham Market
International restaurant in Altrincham
Greenwood Street - WA14
“Casual dining on long trestle tables in a successful food hall” – the MO at this revived Victorian indoor market, where there are “plenty of food outlets” to take your fancy, ranging from sourdough pizza heroes Honest Crust to new arrivals Soots Pasta. Add in “wines and beers from the surrounding independent stallholders” and this “fun venue” is a “go-to destination” when in town (and “child-friendly – they love it as much as mum and dad”).
13. Sud (was Sugo)
Italian restaurant in Altrincham
22 Shaw's Road - WA14
2024 Review: “Forget flying to southern Italy – go to Sud for wonderful pasta and other Italian dishes”, say fans of the “fresh, vibrant, authentic food” served at this “fun” Altrincham outfit with “slick and friendly service” – the original of a group now with outposts in Ancoats, Sale and Manchester city centre, and which changed its name from Sugo to avoid a clash with a Glasgow operation of that name. “Lots of eye-rolling, and funny noises came out of my mouth, and my wife and I literally didn’t speak for 15 minutes during the main course – I’ll never eat pasta with a knife and fork again!”.
14. La Boheme
French restaurant in Lymm
3 Mill Lane - WA13
This “French-style fine-dining experience” in Cheshire has just celebrated its 25th anniversary, serving “the kind of traditional Gallic fare you want to eat – frogs’ legs, coquilles St Jacques, onion soup, profiteroles”, all of it “meticulously presented”. Chef-patron Oliver Troalen trained in Paris and began his UK career at the French Embassy in London (ever the diplomat, he “didn’t bat an eyelid when a friend asked for her steak to be served ‘burnt’!”).
15. The Church Green
British, Modern restaurant in Lymm
Higher Lane - WA13
2023 Review: Ex-Manchester House chef, Aiden Byrne’s attractive pub is cutely situated opposite said St Mary’s Church in one of the scenic commuter towns on the Cheshire/Greater Manchester borders. Steaks, burgers, pies and the likes of lobster and chips typify its quality gastrofare; and they also serve pizza and snacks from their garden ‘shack’.
16. Bar San Juan
Spanish restaurant in Manchester
56 Beech Rd - M21
This “authentically Spanish” little corner bar on a backstreet in Chorlton “ranks among the best tapas places around Manchester – and there are plenty of them!”. A fixture since 2010, “it surpasses the hype, thankfully,” and “puts a smile on your face every time” with its “excellent traditional food and wine”.
17. Croma
Italian restaurant in Manchester
500 Wilbraham Rd - M21
2024 Review: “Pizza with an inventive streak” – plus all the standards “for those who are less adventurous” – is the offer at this surviving branch of an independent Manchester group founded in 2000. The flagship in the city centre and the Didsbury branch have closed down in recent times, to the dismay of their many fans, leaving just Chorlton and Prestwick standing.
18. The Lime Tree
British, Modern restaurant in Manchester
8 Lapwing Ln - M20
“As always, this stalwart remains the best meal you can enjoy in South Manchester”, according to admirers of Patrick Hannity’s classy West Didsbury brasserie, which celebrates its 40th anniversary next year – “they just get everything right without bragging about it”, delivering “delicious food without unnecessary complications”. The venue has a large and longstanding fan club, but also picks up new converts (“I’d never quite got the appeal before but on my last visit each course was excellent”). Top Menu Tip – “save some space for the sublime courgette fritters”.
19. Mowgli
Indian restaurant in Manchester
Unit 1, University Green, Oxford Road - M13
Nisha Katona’s Liverpool-based operation has two branches in London (Charlotte Street and Westfield Stratford) offering her “very tasty” Indian street food – “with the occasional hint of raw spice”. The Lancashire-born former barrister launched the business in 2014 and now has 28 outlets around the country, whose “enjoyable, authentic food” is “really great for a chain”.
20. Evuna
Spanish restaurant in Manchester
277 - 279 Deansgate - M3
“Excellent Paella”, “fantastic wine” and “helpful staff” help win praise for this “lovely” tapas bar. It’s the original of a group over twenty years old, with siblings in the Northern Quarter and more-distant Knutsford: “each branch is reliably buzzing and lively”.
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