Stockport ★ 4.7
Famous for: Where The Light Gets In and Cantaloupe
Stockport, fifteen minutes south of Manchester by train. Sam Buckley's Where The Light Gets In holds a Michelin Green Star; Cantaloupe is Bib Gourmand.
Food destinations within easy reach of Manchester. worth the train, the rental car or the early start.
Worth the trip
Bury ★ 4.5
Famous for: Bury Black Pudding from the market
Bury, seven miles north of Manchester by Metrolink. Famous for the Bury Market black pudding stand, run by the Bury Black Pudding Company since 1865, alive.
Eccles ★ 4.0
Famous for: Original Eccles cakes
Eccles in Salford, four miles west of Manchester. James Birch sold the first commercial Eccles cake here in 1793 at Vicarage Road; pastry survived to today.
Altrincham ★ 4.5
Famous for: Altrincham Market food hall
Altrincham, thirty-five minutes south-west of Manchester by tram. Altrincham Market Hall was the model for Mackie Mayor; eighteen traders, communal seating.
Glossop ★ 4.4
Famous for: Almanac Bib Gourmand
Glossop, forty minutes east of Manchester by train into the Peak District foothills. Almanac on High Street West holds Michelin's 2026 Bib Gourmand award.
Knutsford ★ 4.2
Famous for: Cheshire affluent pubs and restaurants
Knutsford, thirty-five minutes south of Manchester in Cheshire's affluent belt. Tatton Park nearby; King's Coffee House and Lord Eldon serve lunch crowds.
Chester ★ 4.4
Famous for: Sticky Walnut and Covino
Chester, an hour south-west of Manchester by direct train. Gary Usher's Sticky Walnut is the city's bistro flagship; Covino runs the wine room next door.
Prestwich ★ 4.3
Famous for: Cuckoo wine bar and Bury New Road
Prestwich, three miles north of Manchester. The Bury New Road strip has reinvented itself around Cuckoo natural-wine bar and a row of small independent kitchens.
Hayfield ★ 4.4
Famous for: The Pack Horse gastropub
Hayfield in the Peak District, forty-five minutes from Manchester. Luke Payne runs The Pack Horse on Market Street, gastropub feeding hillwalkers and locals.