Three Manchester restaurants have been named the country’s best

Three restaurants in Manchester have been named among ‘the best of the best’ in the country at a prestigious awards ceremony.

TripAdvisor has unveiled the Traveller’s Choice Awards Best of the Best Restaurants list, which recognises the reviewers’ favourite dining spots of reviewers for 2024 across a variety of categories, including best casual dining spot and best place for a quick bite.

The awards have identified the best places around the world for each category, as well as individual lists for each country. For the first time, this year’s awards also include new categories for the best pet-friendly restaurant and the most sustainable.

Makars Gourmet Mash Bar in Edinburgh was first in the Casual Dining UK category, but Annie’s, in Manchester, made the top ten. Located on Old Bank Street in the city centre, the gastropub and bar, which took eighth place, is co-owned by Jennie McAlpine, who has played Fiz Brown in Coronation Street since 2001, and her partner Chris Farr.

The venue, which is ranked sixth on Tripadvisor for restaurants in Manchester, first opened in 2012 and serves a range of dishes, including steaks, burgers, pies, salads, and fish. In what could be nod to the ITV soap, Annies also serves a traditional hot pot featuring lamb and crispy potatoes.

Annies has previously also been named winner of the People’s Choice award for best tea room at the Manchester Tourism Awards for its range of Afternoon Teas, which can be served with hot drinks, prosecco or champagne, and even offered in gluten-free and vegan options.

The Quick Bites category, which recognises take-aways and pick-up-and-go restaurants, was fronted by Frankies At The Beach and Rye Rugby Club in Camber, East Sussex. In fourth place on the list was Manchester’s Sausage Shack, which is based on John Dalton Street.

As the name suggests, the city centre restaurant specialises in sausage-based dishes, like hot dogs, sandwiches and loaded fries, but also serves a range of burgers, salads and sides too.

First opened at the end of 2022, the concept, which was created by renowned Michelin-star chef Peter Gordon, was to bring a ‘definitive sausage dining experience’ to the city by using high-quality Halal beef and chicken sausages.

“When you come into the city centre, you won’t find places that serve halal sausages so our concept is totally halal and we don’t serve any alcohol,” Operations Director Mohammad Waseem told the M.E.N last year.

“Plus whenever you speak to people about sausages, most people will think of hotdogs but as you can see, our menu builds on this and is a lot more varied, with dishes that can be prepared to include sausages.”

Meanwhile, vegan pizzeria Purezza was named in the top ten of the Vegan Vegetarian category. The restaurant, on High Street in the Northern Quarter, came in seventh place in the list.

Its range of sourdough pizzas are made using organic wholegrain flour, with varieties like the BBQ Bourbon and the National Pizza of the Year award-winning Parmigiana Party Pizza available to order. There are also cheeseless pizzas available to order, as well as gluten-free and coeliac-friendly bases.

Following a recent visit to the restaurant, one reviewer said of Purezza: “Exceptional quality Neapolitan style pizzas. We stumbled across this pizzeria by chance and thought we’d give it a go. We were not disappointed and thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Service was nice, the layout and decor of the restaurant is lovely.”