Northern Quarter – Manchester

Manchester’s Northern Quarter is renowned for its independent bars and restaurants, cafes, music and clothes shops.

Shops

The Northern Quarter is the best place in Manchester to find independent shops and boutiques.

Afflecks provides affordable outlets for more than 50 independent designers, vintage stalls, and more. The best time to shop at the multi-level space is midweek, when it’s not crawling with teenagers.

Afflecks, Northern Quarter, Manchester
Afflecks

The area is home to an impressive number of independent record shops and stalls. Options include Eastern Bloc Records,  Piccadilly Records, Vinyl Revival, and Vinyl Exchange.

Vinyl Revival, Manchester
Vinyl Revival

Fans of vintage clothes shops will find plenty of options in the Northern Quarter. One of the oldest is Pop Boutique on Oldham Street. It opened in 1994 and offers two floors of retro clothing from the 60s, 70s and 80s. There’s also a homeware section packed with vintage furniture, kitchenware, and kitsch.

Magma on Oldham Street sells a fascinating range of books, periodicals and magazines not found in high street bookstores. There’s a strong emphasis on titles covering architecture, design, publishing, film, photography and fashion. The store also carries a good selection of T-shirts, stationery, postcards, posters, and quirky gifts.

Magma, bookshop on Oldham Street, Manchester
Magma

Travelling Man is a distinctive shop on Dale Street. It sells comics, games, graphic novels, figurines, and collectibles. The store also hosts book signings, cosplay meetings, and other events.

Travelling Man comic and games shiop in Manchester
Travelling Man

The Manchester Craft and Design Centre is home to some of the city’s best creative talent. Set in a Victorian market building it offers two floors of shops and studios selling unique jewellery, textiles, ceramics, and more.

Manchester Craft and Design Centre
Manchester Craft and Design Centre

Bars & Clubs

The Northern Quarter is home to an eclectic mix of independent bars, clubs and live music venues.

Matt & Phreds on Tib Street offers live music, predominantly jazz, from Monday to Saturday, plus poetry readings, literature events, and more. Entrance is free for most performances on week nights.

Matt and Phreds, Manchester
Matt and Phreds

The Band on the Wall is one of Manchester’s most famous live music venues. Occupying an old Victorian pub on Swan Street it has hosted gigs from legendary bands such as Joy Division, The Fall, Simply Red and The Buzzcocks. It reopened in 2009 following a multi-million pound redevelopment.

The Frog & Bucket is Manchester’s longest running comedy venue. Established acts play Thursday to Sunday. Beat The Frog on Mondays is an amateur night with free entry that has helped launch the careers of performers such as Peter Kay, Johnny Vegas, and Dave Gorman.

Restaurants

Visitors wishing to avoid the chain restaurants that dominate other areas of Manchester city centre will find plenty of options in the Northern Quarter.

TNQ Restaurant and Bar, Northern Quarter, Manchester
TNQ Restaurant and Bar

The list was last updated on Tuesday 17th of December 2019.

NameAddressCuisinePriceDetails
63 Degrees104 High Street
Manchester
French£££[Facebook]
[Trip Advisor]
Bella Italia11 - 13 Piccadilly
Manchester
Italian££[Facebook]
[Trip Advisor]
Dough Pizza Kitchen75 - 77 High Street
Manchester
Italian££[Facebook]
[Trip Advisor]
Evelyn's44 Tib Street
Manchester
International££[Facebook]
[Trip Advisor]
Evuna NQ79 Thomas Street
Manchester
Spanish££[Facebook]
[Trip Advisor]
Home Sweet Home49 - 51 Edge Street
Manchester
American££[Facebook]
[Trip Advisor]
Luck, Lust, Liquor and Burn100-102 High Street
Manchester
Mexican££[Facebook]
[Trip Advisor]
Northern Soul Grilled Cheese10 Church Street
Manchester
American£Cafe in the Northern Quarter of Manchester. Claims to be the UK’s first grilled cheese restaurant. Great atmosphere. Close to Afflecks and the Manchester Arndale.
[Facebook]
[Trip Advisor]
Penang92 - 94 Oldham Street
Manchester
Malaysian££Malaysian restaurant in the Northern Quarter. Close to Band on the Wall.
[Facebook]
[Trip Advisor]
Pieminister53 Church Street
Manchester
British£Restaurant in the Northern Quarter specialising in pies. Casual atmosphere. Just across the road from Afflecks.
[Facebook]
[Trip Advisor]
TNQ Restaurant and Bar108 High Street
Manchester
British, Bar££[Facebook]
[Trip Advisor]
Turtle Bay46 - 50 Oldham Street
Manchester
Caribbean££[Facebook]
[Trip Advisor]
V-Rev Vegan Diner20 - 26 Edge Street
Manchester
Vegan£[Facebook]
[Trip Advisor]
Yard & Coop23-37 Edge Street
Manchester
American, Chicken££[Facebook]
[Trip Advisor]

Hotels

Hotels and places to stay in and around the Northern Quater include:

  • The Gardens Hotel
  • The Cow Hollow Hotel
  • Holiday Inn Express Manchester City Centre - Arena
  • Selina NQ1 Manchester
  • Abel Heywood Boutique Hotel

Location

The Northern Quarter is an area of central Manchester. It is bounded to the west by Shudehill, to the north by Ancoats, and to the south and east by Piccadilly and the Rochdale Canal.

Junction of Oldham Street and Hilton Street, Manchester
Junction of Oldham Street and Hilton Street

Transport

The Northern Quarter lies midway between Piccadilly Train Station and Manchester Victoria Train Station. Both are within easy walking distance. Free bus services depart from outside the entrances of both stations and travel through the Northern Quarter.

Shudehill Interchange (Metrolink and bus station) lies just north of the Northern Quarter. Market Street and Piccadilly Gardens Metrolink stations are immediately west.

Map

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