A dinner is twelve people at one table, early in the week, when a good kitchen is at
its quietest. We take a fixed menu, we tell you the numbers in advance, and we pay per
head on the night. No room hire, no minimum spend, no deposit. These are the things
that tend to make an evening like that work.
Cibus began as a pizza stall at Levenshulme Market and a pop-up above Fred's Ale House, then moved into the former M19 nightclub on Stockport Road in 2021. The dining room seats around 30, with wine shelves along one wall, pendant lighting and an outdoor area behind. Giorgio Fontana, from the Veneto, runs it with head chef Marco Bracchitta, who is Sicilian, and the menu follows both regions: cicchetti, sourdough pizza on long proved dough, fresh pasta and weekly meat specials. The Good Food Guide named it Best Local Restaurant in the North West in 2024. Closed Mondays.
Stretford Canteen is a family run French bistro at 118 Chester Road, opened as a pop-up in 2016 by Josephine Sandwith and Dean Taylor and now on a permanent site, with their daughter Eve working front of house and in the kitchen. Josephine grew up in her parents' Manchester French restaurant, the Beaujolais. The room is small and plainly furnished, with prints, a large mirror and pot plants, dressed with candles and tablecloths for evening service. The kitchen runs a changing prix fixe: ham hock terrine, confit duck leg, steak au poivre, tarte au citron. Dinner Wednesday to Sunday, brunch at weekends.
Petisco is a Portuguese small plates restaurant in Stanley Square, Sale, opened in January 2022 by four childhood friends, with Johnny Nolan as the chef. They built much of the place themselves, including the tables. It occupies a former Greenhalgh's bakery, fitted out with exposed brick, copper detailing, blue and white tiling and black and white Portuguese photography under filament bulbs. The kitchen serves petiscos to share: salt cod fritters with aioli, suckling pig rissoles with apple and honey gel, padron peppers, king prawns in green peri peri butter, and pastéis de nata. Open Wednesday to Sunday.
Zena is a family owned Levantine restaurant on Burton Road in West Didsbury, cooking across Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Jordan. The kitchen works over charcoal, and the menu runs from hot and cold mezze through kebabs and grills to fish, salads and pastries. It holds no alcohol licence and diners bring their own, something regular reviewers mention often. Google diners report spending around £20 to £30 a head. There is a covered, rainproof outdoor dining area alongside the main room, and the kitchen runs a steady takeaway and delivery trade.
