Northern Quarter

Food

The Northern Quarter is packed with restaurants and café’s for all tastes, with a focus on delicious food, quirky interiors and a chilled-out vibe. If you’re looking for somewhere to brunch, look no further than Home Sweet Home – a cosy milkshake bar and café that offer a tasty American-style menu and the most indulgent cakes in the whole city. Other cafes not to be missed are the lovely Fig & Sparrow, the ever-popular Takk and Ziferblatt where everything is free and you 6p per minute you spend there – Amazing! If you’re looking for a pizza, there’s no better place to check out than Dough Pizza Kitchen, where the pizzas are made fresh from scratch every day. Other popular options are The Blue Pig, rib joint Cane & Grain, Solita and Simple, as well as the British pub and restaurant The English Lounge which serves tasty English dishes made with locally sourced ingredients in a setting filled with squashy sofas, bookshelves and dark wood furnishing. And newbie Infamous Diner is definitely one to watch, with a convincing American 50’s diner feel and a great menu of burgers, hot dogs and milkshakes. 

With its numerous cocktail bars, pubs, and clubs, Manchester’s Northern Quarter is one of the best places to go for nightlife in the city. A firm favourite is Odd Bar, which offers a relaxed, homely atmosphere, great DJ’s and live music, a popular pub quiz making it the place to be most nights of the week. For something a little more upmarket, Apotheca serves up the constantly changing selection of unique cocktails, with ingredients like wasabi, bubble gum and even bacon making an appearance on its unique drinks menu! Other places to check out are The Whiskey Jar, NoHo, Bar 21 and Hula Bar, and if you’re looking to party the night away then head down to Mint Lounge where some of the coolest club nights in the city are held. 

Shopping

Food and nightlife aside, one of the main draws to the Northern Quarter is the abundance of vintage and independent shops that line the red brick streets of the area. You can’t visit the Northern Quarter without visiting Mancunian institution Affleck’s Palace; an eclectic emporium filled with everything from vintage clothes, fancy dress, unique jewellery and tattoo and piercing parlours. Vintage shops worth checking out are the retro Pop Boutique, vintage warehouse Junk, Oxfam Originals and Retro Rehab, and if you’re looking for rare vinyl and CD then look no further than Piccadilly Records. Magma Books is the perfect place to pick up niche style magazines, arty books and cool prints, and Oklahoma is a treasure trove of quirky gifts, homeware and jewellery.

Culture

The Northern Quarter is teeming with culture, with the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art being one highlight with its interesting collections and exhibitions always worth a visit. The Richard Goodall Gallery on Thomas St specialises in music-related illustration and memorabilia, and spaces like Twenty Twenty Two and Kraak hosting an array of exhibitions, club nights and creative events. And you can’t visit the Northern Quarter without noticing the artful graffiti and street art that adorn the walls of its streets, from a building high blue–tit, Heisenberg’s portrait and everything in between, this tradition really does the area’s creativity to life.