It’s rare to find such an enormous, influential concert venue slap bang in the middle of a major city, but Manchester’s AO Arena is just that.
Indeed, you could hop off the train at Manchester Victoria, the city’s second biggest transport hub after Manchester Piccadilly, and be plonked in your seat for Peter Kay’s show, pint in hand, within minutes of alighting. Better late than never? No chance of that here…
Since its grand opening in 1995, this iconic venue has played host to a wide range of events, from electrifying concerts by global superstars to thrilling sporting spectacles and captivating theatrical performances. With a seating capacity of over 21,000, the AO is one of the largest indoor arenas in Europe, drawing millions of visitors each year.
Those visitors are hungry and in need of something more exciting than the chains doing their identikit thing in the nearby Corn Exchange. We know you’re more discerning than that, so without further ado, here are the best restaurants near the AO Arena, Manchester.
Skof
A one minute walk from the AO Arena, Skof is the first restaurant from acclaimed chef Tom Barnes (who has a spell leading the kitchen at world renowned L’Enclume on his CV, as well as a dish at the Great British Menu 2020 banquet). It has quickly become one of Manchester’s, if not the UK’s, most talked about new restaurants since its opening in June 2024.
A contemporary venue specialising in the type of super precise, hyper seasonal British fine dining that earns stars, Skof manages to keep things refreshingly casual and unpretentious, helped by refined but relaxed service that falls on just the right side of the formal/familiar fence.
Without the starched white tablecloths and outdated dress codes, Skof allows the focus to fall on the food. Owned and operated by Barnes, and supported by culinary heavyweight Simon Rogan, highlights from a recent lunch (£50 for four courses, plus snacks and petit fours) included a pretty-as-a-picture main of confit Sladesdown duck, artfully cut into three chunks and served alongside the sweetest, deepest beetroot we’ve ever tasted. It’s all showered with edible petals and served with an aerated but surprisingly meaty duck sauce. Alongside, a Parker House roll that’s so cute it looks like a particularly chubby baby’s arm, emphasises the homelier side of the restaurant.
There’s also a longer (see: significantly more expensive) evening tasting menu, priced at £120 for a dozen or so courses, as well as an even longer tasting menu which is a real undertaking. A couple of extra courses – a lobster number and a round of cheese – are thrown in and the cost rises to £165. Sure, these tasting menus represent something of a commitment if you’ve got to rush off to the AO Arena to catch the start of your show, so a late lunch and a wander might be a better bet. Do be aware that Skof is only open for lunch on Thursdays, Friday and Saturdays.
Whichever time you turn up (don’t just turn up; booking in advance is pretty much essential) and whichever way you play it menu wise, do yourself a favour and order the signature Guppy’s Mezcal to start. Skof’s take on a Negroni, it’s powerful, punchy and god damn delicious.
Already recognised in the Michelin Guide, a star will surely follow when the next red book comes out early next year. It would be Manchester’s second.
Website: skofmanchester.co.uk
Address: 3 Federation St, Manchester M4 4BF
63 Degrees
Not to be confused with the Brighton restaurant just a digit superior, 63 Degrees (a ten minute walk from the AO Arena) is a quintessential French restaurant infused with the confident culinary techniques and laid back, brasserie-style hospitality of Paris at its best.
Sure, there are starched white tablecloths and a leather-backed banquette, but there’s also exposed wood floors and an always open door that spits you out right into the heart of the Northern Quarter, with all the rambunctious, kinetic energy that entails.
The name itself is a homage to chef Eric Moreau’s unique cooking method, perfected over years, where poultry is cooked at 63 degrees to achieve unparalleled tenderness and flavour. It would be pretty wild, then, not to order the ‘Chicken 63 degrees with truffle sauce’; a decadent, luxurious affair that’s silky, heady and as good a plate of food as we’ve had in Manchester. Yours for £24 from the a la carte menu.
Not knowing when to stop, Moreau’s luxury burgers are the stuff of legend, with three to choose from; a lobster and confit tomato burger, a wagyu steak number, and a wholly decadent, completely delicious pigeon and foie gras burger. Sure, you’ll pay in the mid-thirties for the privilege, and feel decidedly uncomfortable all through the concert, but it’s well worth it for the kind of French indulgence rarely seen these days, on these shores.
We still can’t stop. The seasonally changing risotto (currently a prawn and tomato number) is even richer than it needs to be, and all the more delicious for it. And finally, to finish, chef Moreau’s legendary sphère au chocolat et à la pêche – that’s chocolate orb with peach to you and me – is something of a mainstay on the menu and a must order.
With the chef’s wife Florence working the floor with a genial touch, the whole 63 Degrees experience is like having a bath in Isigny Sainte-Mere butter – unpasteurised of course. Wine prices are equally heart-attack inducing, with no bottle clocking in at under £42. Still, there are several capable drops by the glass for under a tenner, if you are watching your spending.
Fortunately, there’s a defibrillator just round the corner on Cable Street.
Website: 63degrees.co.uk
Address: 104 High St, Manchester M4 1HQ
Northern Soul Grilled Cheese
With arteries still not sufficiently clogged, we’re sticking around in the Northern Quarter for something a little faster and a lot more casual, for when your show at the AO is approaching but you still need a damn good feed.
Ten minutes on foot from the arena, Northern Soul Grilled Cheese takes comfort food to the next level with its iconic grilled cheese sandwiches. Known for its boisterous atmosphere and fully loaded toasties, this joint has a deserved cult following.
The restaurant embodies the spirit of Manc innovation with its unique takes on the humble grilled cheese. Imagine stacked, gorgeous toasties and the obligatory skewered pickle, with local craft beer and Northern Soul deep cuts soundtracking your experience, and you’ve pretty much dreamt up Northern Soul Grilled Cheese. It’s so good, in fact, that we’ve named the Mac Attack here as one of the best sandwiches in Manchester.
This one is open from 11am to 6pm, perfect for a quick bite before the show.
Website: northernsoulmcr.com
Address: Unit G20, 21, 44 Tib St, Manchester M4 1LA
The Edinburgh Castle
Reviewed fondly by Observer restaurant critic Jay Rayner a year ago, Manchester’s Edinburgh Castle offers a classy gastropub experience that surely ranks as the finest of its kind in the Ancoats area of the city. An area which, the property experts at heatongroup.co.uk tell us, is still the hottest ticket in town.
Anyway, since 2022, the food here has been overseen by talented chef Shaun Moffat. Known for his precise cooking and for knowing just what people actually, you know, want to eat, the Edinburgh Castle takes pub grub to dizzy, delicious new heights, evidenced in the hearty chicken, bacon and girolle pie for two (£45) and in the beef fat grilled oysters (£4).
That sensibility is perhaps most keenly realised in Moffat’s iconic way with snacks. Though the famous chip butty hasn’t been on the menu for a while, the Lancashire cheese doughnuts with Henderson’s relish tick all the same boxes in that kind of elevated, refined, but still obscenely tasty way.
There’s also a keenly priced, expertly cooked Sunday roast here, with two courses for £33 and three for £39. When you consider the quality of the cooking, that’s something of a steal.
Testament to the great cooking and warm welcome of the place, the Edinburgh Castle was earlier this year named as the 24th best gastropub in the country at the Top 50 Gastropubs awards.
With the pub a 15 minute walk from the venue and open everyday from midday (3pm to Mondays and Tuesdays) until late, the Edinburgh Castle makes perfect sense for a fantastic meal within walking distance of the AO Arena.
Website: ec-ancoats.com
Address: 17 Blossom St, Ancoats, Manchester M4 5EP
The Pasta Factory
Opened in 2015 by a group of friends from Turin, The Pasta Factory’s concept is surprisingly straightforward and eminently satisfying; to serve nonna-worthy bowls of the good stuff, quickly and efficiently, at a price point that won’t have the residents of Manchester baulking.
They’ve largely delivered on that promise, and since you’re likely looking for a quick restaurant meal before attending a show at the AO Arena (it’s a five minute walk from the venue), the Pasta Factory could just be the perfect place for you.
Located in the handsome, proud Old Bank building next to Shudehill Interchange, this humble restaurant specialises in handmade pasta (not a factory at all, then) that’s prepared freshly on the premises daily, as well as a short selection of antipasti and a couple of desserts.
A recent visit brought with it a textbook carbonara, the guanciale properly rendered and crispy, and the bores blathering on about whether or not it should have cream thankfully out of earshot. A round of squid ink bucatini, cured tuna and black garlic was gorgeous at first, but quickly became pretty a little too rich and moody, with the umami dialled up several notches louder than we could take (too-mami? Is that a phrase?). The mafalde with beef ragu brought things back around in some style.
It’s all forgiven once the freshly fried cannoli hits the table, still warm and with a centre that’s running ever so gently. Neck a quick espresso, settle up, and head to your gig with a spring in your step and a wallet that’s not been troubled too heavily by the experience.
Keep an eye out for the daily specials on the chalkboard overlooking the dining room, as this is where some of the best cooking at the Pasta Factory is found.
Website: pastafactory.co.uk
Address: 77 Shudehill, Manchester M4 4AN
Climat
Just 10 minutes on foot from the AO Arena, Climat, owned by restaurateur Christopher Laidler, offers a minimalist yet refined dining environment where the panoramic views of Manchester City Centre and the River Irwell risk stealing the show if it weren’t for the equally eye-catching food that’s just been placed elegantly in front of you.
Nominally a wine bar that happens to serve great food, head chef Luke Richardson describes the menu here as “Parisian ex-pat”, with the chef taking inspiration from his time cooking in the French capital and his upbringing here in the North to great effect. So, that’s pig’s head croquette with green garlic mayo, charred half bonito head with kumquat hot sauce (a lot of head being given here, matron), and Dalesbred hogget Barnsley chop with grelots, celeriac puree, and a caper and brown butter sauce. It’s hearty and generous, with big, bold flavours but plenty of flair, too. It’s perfect.
Anyway, back to the wine; at Climat, as the name implies, there’s a stacked cellar of over 400 different wines, with the Burgundy region a focal point. In a recent interview, Laidler said that he envisioned a space that allows visitors to focus on both the breathtaking views and the exceptional food and wine, and after a recent meal here, we can safely say it’s mission accomplished.
In fact, when the late summer sun’s streaming into the dining room here, there’s a plate of hash browns and taramasalata on the way, and you’re two glasses down on a bottle of Bernard Defaix’s 2020 Chablis, there are few better places to be in the world.
Things are lifted up even higher by some gold-standard desserts to end the meal (and our roundup) on. The poached Carmen pear, swimming in a liquour of port, vanilla and perry vinegar, is exceptional. Hmmm, we think we might stay here a little while longer…
If you do the same, be careful not to forget you’ve got a gig to attend!
Website: restaurantclimat.co.uk
Address: 8th Floor, Blackfriars House St Marys, Climat, Parsonage, Manchester M3 2JA
For a very different kind of theatre, check out our guide on where to eat near Old Trafford next.