Tour of Manchester. Some recommendations of the best tours.

Taking a tour of Manchester is a must do for any new visitor to the city. Here in England we love our story telling and Manchester is full of some of the best. It’s also an ever changing city so even if this isn’t your first trip here, a tour is a perfect way to get underneath the skin.

A few reasons to book a tour of Manchester.

Like many of the UK’s cities, Manchester can be tricky to get around. We don’t rely on the grid systems that are commonly seen in more modern city centres. Some of our streets date back to Roman times. A tour of Manchester is a perfect way to get your bearings when you first arrive here. It will save you a lot of time and effort for the remainder of your stay.

Another reason to tour the city is that it is full of ever changing shops, bars, restaurants and other businesses. Meaning that if it’s your first visit to Manchester for a while, it has definitely changed. Our food tours of Manchester are a prime example of this. We are constantly keeping pace with new restaurants and eateries popping up, moving location or closing. Our food tour will show you places you may never have known existed. Or even places you knew before but have since moved.


But of course the main reason to take a city tour in Manchester is for the history and culture. Manchester has one of the most fascinating stories of any city. From our Roman beginnings, through the Industrial revolution to the modern metropolis we are today. We are a city that explodes with passion when it comes to music. Our sports teams are (sometimes) the envy of the world. We have changed politics on a global scale and invented more things than we can remember. Taking a tour of Manchester is always going to be full of amazing facts and stories.

Some of the best Manchester tours.

Well most visitors to Manchester flock to the footballing Mecca that is Old Trafford. You can enjoy a stadium tour that also takes in the museum and trophy room.
John Costerdine runs Manchester taxi tours. You can hire him and his taxi and do his rock and goal tour which takes in some iconic music and football sites.
If you really want to go deep into the music side check out https://manchestermusictours.com/. They were set up by the drummer of Inspiral carpets Craig Gill.
And of course our Food that feeds the city tour is a must for all you foodies whether visiting or locals. You can find our more details here.

If you’re planning a trip to Manchester and need some help, drop us an email at info@manchesterbites.com.

And on the sixth day god created Manchester mural.

Chinatown Manchester. Where to eat and some history.

Chinatown Manchester is the second biggest in the UK after London. It is right in the middle of the city, between Piccadilly gardens and St Peter’s square. A great place to eat and shop for exotic groceries, it’s a must visit when you’re in Manchester.

A little bit of Chinatown history

In the early part of the 20th century Manchester welcomed it’s first Chinese settlers. Many of whom worked in the laundry industry.This was the birth of Chinatown Manchester. After the second world war Manchester experienced a lot of immigration. People came from around the world taking advantage of the British Nationality Act. Britain needed more people for it’s post war workforce. One group of people who came were the Chinese. Most came to Manchester from Hong Kong, the Cantonese region of China. As a result a lot of us locals refer to Cantonese food as Chinese food. In fact Chinese food comes in many different regional forms.

Manchester’s Chinatown today

The most striking thing about Chinatown is Paifang archway on Faulkner street. This huge Chinese arch was built in China and shipped to Manchester in 1986 in 3 seperate parts. The arch is a gift to the Chinese community from Manchester City Council.
There are a lot of different restaurants to eat at around the area. You’ll notice that it’s not just Chinese restaurants. There’s Thai, Vietnamese and even Japanese here. One reason for this is the local Asian grocery stores. You can buy things here that you can’t find in normal grocery stores in the UK.

Where to eat in Chinatown

For many of us Mancunians we have our favourite go to places to eat in Chinatown Manchester. Old school restaurants like The Yang Sing on Princess street have been serving us for decades. Manchester’s palate has matured over the years. We now have many speciality Chinese restaurants such as Hunan on George street. Here the food is from the Hunan area of China, so spicier than Cantonese food. There’s also Red n Hot on Faulkner street for those looking for that Szechuan spice kick. Yuzu is a popular Japanese spot with a great sake bar.

Weird fact about Chinatown Manchester

On George street there is a small building called the Guardian Telephone Exchange. This was built in the late 50’s and sits at the entrance to a 4 mile network of underground tunnels. The tunnels were to house officials and workers in the event of a nuclear attack during the cold war. Similar tunnels were in place in London and Birmingham. Apparently, the tunnels were dug by Polish workers. The Poles couldn’t speak any English so there was less risk of anyone knowing they were there.

If you’d like to explore Manchester book on one of our food tours. Our food tours take you around the city centre on a 3 hour walking and eating adventure. We’ll tell you the story of Manchester’s communities and eat their food. Go to www.mancesterbites.com for more details.

The arch in Manchester's Chinatown

The Manchester Food and Drink Festival is back.

Good news. The Manchester food and drink festival is back. The festival will take place from 24th September to 5th October. With all that has happened this year there will obviously be some changes to what we are used to. Praise must go to the organising committee for not giving in. And for keeping Manchester at the forefront of the UK food scene.

About the Manchester food and drink festival

More good news is that the festival will remain a free event. You can come along and enjoy the fun and food any day. Also a special app is being created to enhance your eating experience.
The Manchester food and drink festival hub will be at cathedral gardens. There are new social distancing measure in place and the site will be made up of 2 sections. The feasting quarter and the festival market. If you’d like to book a table there is a small charge of £5 per guest. This way you will not have to queue for any of the delicious food on offer. You can enjoy table service and only ever need to get up to loosen your belt.

More music, more local brews


Beer lovers are catered for again this year with the MFDF beer bar. There’ll be a whole host of ales, lagers and stouts on offer from across the region. The festival’s music stage is concentrating on acoustic this year. Some of the area’s best bands and musicians will be entertaining the crowds as they eat and drink. Over 40 different traders will have stalls at the festival market. You are guaranteed to take some fresh regional produce home with you from the festival. Of course, this years market is the biggest one yet. And yes, there’ll be plenty of hand sanitizers and space for everyone to enjoy in safety and comfort.
Across the 12 days of the festival look out for special menus, cocktails and events at Manchester’s bars and restaurants. It’s been an incredibly tough year for the food and beverage industry in Manchester. This autumn we can all show some support and enjoy some of our regions best dishes together.

How you can enjoy the festival

For more information about the Manchester food and drink festival you can visit http://foodanddrinkfestival.com/
If you’d like to explore Manchester and it’s incredible food scene on one of our food tours head to www.manchesterbites.com

A crowd enjoying the food at the Manchester food festival

Manchester’s favourite buildings. The Midland Hotel.

One of the most well known buildings in Manchester city centre is the Midland Hotel. Opened in 1903 the hotel was built by the Midland railway company. In those days the major train station in Manchester was Central station. Central was right behind the Midland hotel. We now know it as Manchester Central Convention Complex. The hotel was built to house passengers of the service who had come to Manchester from all over the country. The building was designed by architect Charles Grubshaw. It is Edwardian Baroque in style and cost more than a million pounds to complete.


Famous stories of the Midland Hotel.



As well as being one of Manchester’s finest hotels the Midland is know for a few other reasons.
During world war two the area around the hotel was spared heavy bombing by the Luftwaffe. It is believed that Adolf Hitler was a big fan of the Midland. He allegedly wanted to use it as his base in the UK when he successfully invaded.
The hotel is also the place where Mr Charles Rolls first met Mr Henry Royce. The two later started up Rolls Royce which is still going strong today.


Another famous tale of the hotel involves their flagship restaurant The French. Known for decades as one of Manchester’s best restaurants, the doorman of The French once denied access to the Beatles for being inappropriately dressed. One of our tour guides believes that this was also because they were from Liverpool.

Can I visit without being a guest?


You can walk into the lobby area of the hotel to take a look. There are two great places to eat here. The French which we have already mentioned. This was Manchester’s first michelin starred restaurant. The award was given back in 1974. SInce then the restaurant closed down and re-opened in 2013. Adam Reid is now the chef patron there. He uses seasonal, local ingredients and has been drawing in the crowds every night.
For a more down to earth bite the Mount street Dining room and bar promises to serve local classics with a twist. Coming soon.


If you would like to explore Manchester in a unique way, book a food tour with us. Our small group tours take you off the beaten path as we visit some of our favourite food haunts. www.manchesterbites.com

The Midland Hotel in Manchester

A Manchester food institution. This and That cafe.

One of our favourite places to visit in Manchester’s Northern Quarter is the This and That cafe. This and That has been a Manchester institution since it opened in 1984. Not only does it serve some of the city’s best curry dishes. It also epitomises the entrepreneur spirit of Manchester. Telling the story of South Asian immigrants introducing their flavours to us Mancunians.

A hidden gem in the Northern Quarter


This and That is hidden. It lies up a dark and dingy backstreet that looks like it’s been derelict for decades. Ironically this street is called soap street. There’s a small sign outside the restaurant that tells you you’re in the right place but apart from that, nothing.
The restaurant opened in 1984 and became famous for serving rice and three. Basically a big helping of pilau rice and 3 different curries
At the time the area was mostly used by the cloth trade which was heavily run by Pakistani immigrants. It made sense to open a restaurant nearby to feed the hungry workers. It didn’t take long for word to get out and soon enough the locals were eager to try the new flavours.



A bit of this and some of that

Indian and Pakistani food wasn’t well known in the 80’s like it is today. Most English customers used to just point at the dishes and say “I’ll have a bit of this, and some of that.” Hence the restaurant is called the This and That cafe.
In 2016 the restaurant received a bit of a makeover. The seating was extended to cope with the lunchtime crowds. Owner Ismail Mallu still works behind the counter dishing out the home made curries everyday.
If you’d like to explore Manchester and find places like This and That, book a food tour with us today. www.manchesterbites.com

A plate of curry and rice from This and That cafe

Manchester food tours. The Eccles Cake.

On our Manchester food tours we love showing off home grown Manchester food creations. The Eccles cake is perfect for a snack or even as a desert. So here’s the story of one of our favourite Manchester foods.

What is an Eccles Cake?

An eccles cake is a small butter pastry cake filled with currants and some spices. Cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves are commonly used. It’s more of a pastry than a cake but we call it a cake. The Eccles cake will often be covered in sugar for that extra sweet taste. Traditionally in Eccles they would be eaten with a few slices of Lancashire cheese. They go well together you should try it.

The history of the Eccles cake

People have been scoffing down eccles cakes since the 1600’s. The cakes are named after the town Eccles which is about 2 miles west of Manchester city centre.

It is believed that they were made to celebrate St Mary’s day. The church of St Mary in Eccles used to hold large festivals in those times. They were called the Eccles Wakes and it was here that the Eccles cake was born.

The cakes became so popular that during the Puritan years (where basically fun was illegal) they were banned. Oliver Cromwell even brought in an act of parliament threatening imprisonment for anyone seen eating an Eccles cake.

The cake that need a health and safety warning

In more recent years the Eccles cake has come to fame for causing a rise in home kitchen fires. The Lancashire fire brigade had to warn the public not to microwave them. The sugar topping was exploding in the microwaves and causing kitchens to burn down.

One of the most famous producers of the cakes are Real Lancashire Eccles Cakes. They make the cakes here in Manchester and ship them all over the world. You can find their cakes in most supermarkets in Manchester.

Manchesterbites food tours are the best tours to explore Manchester and it’s food. If you’d like to book a tour go to www.manchesterbites.com/tours

Eccles Cakes