Five Favourite Restaurants/Bars/Cafes to Visit in Manchester/Greater Manchester!

 Manchester (NSM hometown) is such a truly wonderful place with so many fantastic places to shop, restaurants, record shops, cafes, street food vendors etc and I (Jake) am here to discuss and recommend my all time favourite places to go in Manchester/Greater Manchester if you haven't already!

(no photos used are mine) 

#1: Wax And Beans

Small independent café and record shop Wax and Beans is my all time favourite place to go in Bury, A market town in Greater Manchester just 20 minutes north of Manchester City Centre, The perfect place to sit down, Have a lovely warm cup of coffee and something to eat whilst catching up with some work but also to flick through a huge selection of low priced and great vinyl! 

Wax also offer an online service so vinyl is available to purchase from their website. I have purchased Brutalism (2017) Joy As An Act of Resistance (2018) and Ultra Mono (2020) all three albums by IDLES from Wax and Beans and if IDLES release a fourth album I will pre order it from Wax.

The staff are incredibly friendly too, During the first UK lockdown when we all had to stay at home in April 2020 Ben and team offered a delivery service to keep the business running where you place a vinyl order on the website and they deliver it to you if local to Bury/Manchester, I was really happy that they delivered a couple of records to me with Bury being a 40 minute drive to my house on the outskirts of Oldham. But I was really delighted that Ben made it over and cheered me up with some fab vinyl to rock out to whilst locked in at home and a complimentary Wax And Beans keyring! 

#2: Northern Soul Grilled Cheese

Now there is no other place on earth where I'd get 10/10 perfect grilled cheese from. Northern Soul is the place! There are three Northern Soul's located in Manchester. The one on Tib Street is my personal favourite Northern Soul to dine at as there's more space, indoors and feels more like a diner but literally just over the road is an outdoor Northern Soul shack on Church Street on the row of vendors near Affleck's and lastly one at Manchester Piccadilly Station but I've not tried that one yet. They also offer a takeaway service via Deliveroo.

Northern Soul serves up a variety of mouth watering grilled cheese toasties, mac 'n' cheese, beer and shakes from their menu I can't do anything but recommend my usual the Man V Food: Pig on a lead, consisting of Mac and cheese and pulled pork in the sandwich served with slaw and crisps and washed down with a can of Coke, If you're after some grilled cheese, This is certainly the place!!

#3: Crazy Pedro's Part-Time Pizza Parlour

I have been a regular Crazy Pedro's customer since the day it's first parlour opened on Bridge Street in 2015, There is also a smaller Crazy Pedro's on Short Street next to Affleck's in the Northern Quarter and most recent to open is the only Pedro's outside of Manchester; Parr Street, Liverpool. 

Crazy Pedro's sell huge but such great tasting pizzas! One regular pizza should be enough to serve at least three people, But they do a really popular lunchtime meal deals where you buy two slices and a soft drink for just £5. And they serve some very unique pizzas with wacky names that you wouldn't get anywhere else on earth! Chippy Tea (any northerner's dream), Chicken and Waffle and Hot Dog top the list for me! Pedro's also serve nachos and a wide range of alcoholic beverages such as Red Stripe, Cocktails and Hooch and also sell a range of merchandise including their own beer pong and T-shirts.

Pedro's interior is really cool too makes one feel like being in a rock n roll paradise! And both restaurants in Manchester include a pinball machine and staff are very welcoming!

#4: YES

Located on Charles Street is YES, A fantastic and iconic bar that serves up a wide range of food and drinks and also hosts concerts as a music venue. I've been a couple of times and not particularly enjoyed my visits due to the restrictions with COVID-19 and it being generally overcrowded but I can just see it being the perfect place to host post gig parties and I will come back to YES when we see a bit more normality. Can just see it being one of Manchester's best bars pre covid.

#5:The Deaf Institute

Despite being known as a very popular and iconic music venue in Manchester, The Deaf Institute is also a fantastic kitchen and bar! Located on the middle floor of the building, I credit Deaf Institute for serving the very best hamburgers in the whole world amongst other amazing street food, Deaf is the place to go! And I love the fact they serve Dr Pepper and Irn Bru unlike most other food outlets in Manchester!