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Dining options in Manchester and Liverpool vary from smart cafés offering Modern British, Continental, or global fare to world-class international restaurants for all budgets. Manchester has one of Britain's biggest Chinatowns, and locals also favor the 40-odd Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and Indian restaurants along Wilmslow Road in Rusholme, a mile south of the city center, known as Curry Mile.
One local dish that has survived is Bakewell pudding (never called "tart" in these areas, as its imitations are elsewhere in England). Served with custard or cream, the pudding—a pastry covered with jam and a thin layer of almond-flavor filling—is a real joy of visiting Bakewell.
This glamorous spot serves eclectic global food amidst the original features of a stunning Victorian Gothic building that's been given new life as the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel. Expect dishes such as halibut ceviche with red onion, lemon crème fraïche, almond, and sumac or lamb shawarma with roasted garlic, toum, zhug, slaw, green chili, onions, and lahuhua. The bar is a beauty, too (the restaurateurs are former DJs, so think hip).
Located in a 19th-century market building, this food court brings together several casual dining experiences under one stunningly restored roof. Choose from sourdough pizza, ramen and bao, rare cuts of beef, tortillas, tacos, margaritas, and more—all to enjoy at long shared tables. There’s a similar venue, Market House, in the market town of Altrincham 8 miles southwest of Manchester city center, and another sister venue, Picturedrome, in Macclesfield just outside Greater Manchester in Cheshire.
Tapping into Liverpool’s love affair with the sharing experience, this tiny bistro serves eclectic and inventive dishes with mainly Middle Eastern inspiration. The place—all bare bricks, upcycled furniture, and edgy artwork—takes its name from the Marais district of Paris, though it’s actually inspired more by the falafel joints of the French capital's less scenic Bastille district. There are two outposts at the Albert Dock and in the suburb of Allerton, plus a Maray in Manchester.
