Louis
Spinningfields | £50 MIN SPEND PER PERSON | Italian-American + live music
Just off Hardman Square in Spinningfields, Louis is Manchester’s Rat Pack fever dream — low-lit, plush booths and a room that feels like you’ve wandered into a private members’ club without quite knowing how. The live music is centre-stage (soul, jazz, swing) and the no-photos policy is real: they sticker your phone camera so you’re forced to be present, a nicety in the year we’re all going analogue. Dinner comes with a DJ, a sparkler set, and slippers so you can dance on the seats without breaking an ankle. It’s spenny, but worth it.
Verdict: If you want a dinner booking that feels like a whole event (and sets the tone for the rest of the night), Louis is the one.
Atmosphere ★★★★★
Value for money ★★★☆☆
Girls’ night friendly ★★★★☆
Good to know: They run timed sittings (you’re typically on a 2-hour slot) and late cancellations/no-shows can be charged.
3 Hardman Square, Spinningfields, Manchester M3 3EB
Exhibition
Exhibition is the food hall of my dreams. A huge high-ceilinged room in St George’s House, big central bar, open kitchens around the edges, and crucially, a DJ booth in the centre — so the music isn’t just background noise; it’s part of the room’s personality. Just a few minutes from Albert Hall, it’s not a typical food hall; it’s a cool-girl food hall. You get the choice of multiple kitchens and the buzzy energy of a food hall, but with the benefit of full table service. Portions can lean small and pacing can wobble when it gets busy, but you’re booking this for the atmosphere, not the Michelin menu.
Verdict: Go when you want dinner with a soundtrack and you’re happy paying for the room as much as the plates.
Atmosphere ★★★★★
Value for money ★★★☆☆
Girls’ night friendly ★★★★☆ (the room can handle you; just order family-style and lean in)
Good to know: If you’re over 8, they push you through their large-party enquiry (so don’t leave it to the day-before group chat spiral).
St George’s House, 56 Peter Street, Manchester M2 3NQ
Chotto Matte
St Michael’s | £90 PER PERSON | Nikkei + rooftop + DJs
On the 10th floor at St Michael’s, just off Deansgate, Chotto Matte is height, hype and DJs built in. Skyline views, beautiful interiors, and a crowd that also found it on TikTok. Food is Nikkei sharing plates — yellowtail sashimi, ceviche, robata grills — and you’ll find yourself on the group sharing menu if you’re 9 or more. Don’t let that deter you — as far as set menus go, it’s a good one. At £90 per person, it’s not cheap, but it’s an experience.
Verdict: This is the “we’re starting with cocktails, sharing everything, and pretending we’ll be home by 11” booking. Spoiler: you won’t.
Atmosphere ★★★★★
Value for money ★★☆☆☆ (it’s spenny, but you’re paying for height + hype + DJ)
Girls’ night friendly ★★★★★
Good to know: DJs are Fri/Sat 7–11pm — book those slots if you want the full effect. Groups of 9+ are on pre-order sharing menus.
36 Jackson’s Row (No.1), Manchester M2 5WD
Tartuffe at Side Street
Spinningfields | ££–£££ PER PERSON | bistro-ish comfort food + cocktails (day-to-night)
Side Street can do no wrong and that’s a hill I’m willing to die on. The ultimate cool-girl hangout: warm lighting, comfy seating, a creative crowd, and music that feels curated. Food comes via Tartuffe, the kitchen residency inside Side Street, and it’s comfort + indulgence done very well: rotisserie chicken, flat iron steak, mac & cheese, mini chicken kievs, plus their chaotic-queen signature caviar hash browns. Crucially, the bar runs until 3am at the weekend, so girl dinner naturally rolls into drinks without the “where next?” admin.
Verdict: The full night plan — start with sexy chicken and sides, stay until 3am.
Atmosphere ★★★★☆
Value for money ★★★★☆
Girls’ night friendly ★★★★★
Good to know: Tartuffe (food) runs Tue–Sat 12–9pm, Sun 12–6pm — if you want late late, do dinner then move to the bar side.
ABC Buildings, Corner of Quay Street & Lower Byrom Street, Manchester M3 4AE
Tangerine
New Bailey Street (Salford Central) | ££ PER PERSON | canteen-style kitchens + martinis + DJs
Under the railway arches by Salford Central, Tangerine is Manchester’s best-kept secret. Two huge arches lit in warm orange, split into a canteen side and a martini and music hall side. DJs, live bands, and seven-ish kitchens to choose from mean your night could go in many different directions. Seating is built for groups, and staff are used to seeing a veil or two. With that being said, it’s a new opening, so expect some teething pains — but if you love martinis as much as I do, it’s a no-brainer.
Verdict: The easiest girls booking when you want options, noise, and a DJ without paying through the roof.
Atmosphere ★★★★★
Value for money ★★★★☆
Girls’ night friendly ★★★★★
Good to know: It’s literally under Salford Central — expect peak-time buzz and occasional new venue quirks.
Arch 60–61, 13–17 New Bailey Street, Salford, Greater Manchester M3 5FS
Circolo Popolare
St Michael’s | ££–£££ PER PERSON | Italian (Big Mamma chaos)
Circolo is maximalist Italian theatre in restaurant form: fairy lights, patterned walls, bottles everywhere, and a constant background buzz of people living their best lives. A room where a table of 12 doesn’t feel too much because everyone is already being too much. Expect a steady stream of birthdays, hen groups, and girls’ night out energy. Pillowy pizzas, homemade pasta, burrata, and giant lemon pie that photographs better than it tastes (sorry, not sorry).
Verdict: The loud, joyful, “we’re all sharing everything” Italian that turns dinner into a full event. Go hungry. Leave hoarse.
Atmosphere ★★★★★
Value for money ★★★★☆ (if you lean into pizzas/pasta + sharing)
Girls’ night friendly ★★★★★
Good to know: Booking is a sport. Standard reservations are up to 7 people, but big groups (up to 24) open 37 days ahead (and regular tables open a month ahead at 9am). They’re strict on cancellations/no-shows (£20pp for late cancels/no-shows).
No 1, St Michael’s, 36 Jackson’s Row, Manchester M2 5WD
Habibi
Spinningfields | £££ PER PERSON | Middle Eastern + shisha + DJs
Habibi is Dubai-by-way-of-Spinningfields: plush seats, moody lighting, glossy interiors, and a vibey restaurant that’s very much made for celebrations. The main character isn’t subtlety — it’s entertainment. DJ sets, live singers and the general sense that dinner might turn into maybe just one more… Food is a mix of traditional Middle Eastern and modern plates — flavourful, vibrant, and beautifully presented mezze, grills and seafood bits. Loud, glossy and unapologetically so.
Verdict: If the brief is “glam dinner, music, and we’re not going home straight after mains.”
Atmosphere ★★★★★
Value for money ★★★☆☆ (can feel spenny if you’re expecting massive portions)
Girls’ night friendly ★★★★☆ (as long as your table likes it loud)
1 Hardman Boulevard, Spinningfields, Manchester M3 3AQ
Sexy Fish
Spinningfields | ££££ PER PERSON | glam sushi + love islanders
Why no Sexy Fish? Honestly, I’m just not a fan. But so many are. On Spinningfields Square, Sexy Fish is a grown-up little mermaid with an 89% chance you’ll see an ex-Love Islander or three. The Saturday dinner party menu is Japanese-inspired crowd-pleasers (sushi, sashimi, robata grills), and the service knows it’s hosting occasions. The bill is more spicy than sexy, and this might make me sound old, but one thing I noticed was that it’s loud. Loud loud. If you’re trying to catch up, this isn’t where to do it. But if that sounds like you, then it’s a win.
Verdict: This is for the girls who want glam, bass, and sushi — and are fine with shouting “WHAT?” across the table between cocktails.
Atmosphere ★★★★★
Value for money ★★★☆☆
Girls’ night friendly ★★★★☆ (if your group likes it loud)
Good to know: If anyone in the group hates noise, book early (the later it gets, the more “late-night bar” it feels).
2 Spinningfields Square (No.1 The Avenue), Manchester M3 3AP
Fenix
Spinningfields | £40 PER PERSON | modern Greek + full theatre (DJs, dancers, OPA moments)
At Goods Yard just off Deansgate, Fenix doesn’t do understated. It’s fun, busy, and unapologetically over the top — Greek-temple excess with moody lighting and a room designed to perfection. While the restaurant itself is beautiful, what you’re looking for is the Moonlight Dining Club. On certain Saturdays, the place transforms to a plate-smashing, napkin-swinging, dinner experience that’s not really about the dinner. For just £40 per person, you get a sharing mezze board, wine, and three plates to smash. OPA!
Verdict: If the brief is dinner with theatre — the kind where someone ends up yelling OPA unironically — this is your headline booking.
Atmosphere ★★★★★
Value for money ★★★☆☆ (you’re paying for the spectacle as much as the sea bass)
Girls’ night friendly ★★★★★ (the room expects noise — bring it)
Good to know: Groups of 8+ require a £20pp deposit and cancellations have set windows — don’t leave it to the group chat to behave.
The Goods Yard Building, Goods Yard Street, Manchester M3 3BG
The Firehouse
Ancoats | ££–£££ PER PERSON | slow-fire small plates + cocktails + after-dark shows
On Swan Street in Ancoats, Firehouse takes a former MOT garage and turns it into a restaurant-bar-performance hybrid that somehow just works. Exposed brick, candlelit tables, long bar, DJs building as the night goes on in a big room that’s never flat. Food is fire-led and sharing-friendly (wood-fired chicken, mezze-style plates, snacks that justify another cocktail), and once their After Dark programming kicks in — DJs, cabaret, live musicians — dinner stops feeling like dinner and starts feeling like you’ve wandered into the place to be.
Verdict: The we’ll just do dinner lie — you’re still there at 11, ordering one more round like it’s compulsory.
Atmosphere ★★★★★
Value for money ★★★★☆
Girls’ night friendly ★★★★★
Good to know: You can book up to 14 via the normal booking form; 15+ goes via email. Kitchen closes 9pm, but they stay open late for drinks/party nights.
