Manchester is one of the best cities in the country for eating well without spending much. The curry mile, Chinatown, the Arndale food court, NQ street food spots — there’s a £6 meal round every corner if you know where to look. These are the places where you eat properly for under a tenner, no compromises.
This & That
Soap Street, Northern Quarter. The Manchester institution. You queue up, point at the curries behind the counter, and say “rice and three” — that’s rice and three curries for about £6.50. The lamb curry is always good, the daal is always good, and whatever the third one is will be fine too. Cash only, no menu, no seats until someone leaves. It’s been here since 1984 and nothing’s changed except the price going up a quid every five years. Essential Manchester eating.
Yadgar
Wilmslow Road, Rusholme. Right in the thick of the curry mile and a cut above most of it. The karahi dishes are the thing — lamb karahi, chicken karahi, both absolutely packed with flavour and about £8 with a naan. BYO alcohol, no corkage, which saves you a fortune. The seekh kebab starter is excellent and about £4. Don’t bother with the rice, get extra naan instead. It’s always busy on weekends so go early or queue.
Koreana
King Street, Chinatown end. Korean food in a basement that hasn’t been redecorated since the nineties. The lunch menu is the secret — bibimbap or bulgogi with rice, soup, and banchan sides for about £9. The bibimbap is the best value hot lunch in the city centre, full stop. Dinner is pricier but lunch is a steal. The kimchi jjigae on a cold Tuesday in January is genuinely medicinal.
Bundobust
Oxford Road. Indian street food and craft beer in a canteen-style setup. The vada pav is £5 and one of the best things you’ll eat in Manchester at any price — spiced potato fritter in a bun with green chutney that’ll make your eyes water. The okra fries are legendary for good reason. You can eat very well here for £8-9 if you stick to two small plates. The beer’s not cheap but the food absolutely is.
Arndale Food Market
Inside the Arndale Centre, downstairs. The whole food court is a goldmine but the standouts are the Sri Lankan stall (rice and curry for about £7, massive portions), the Vietnamese pho place (a proper bowl for £8), and the Caribbean spot doing jerk chicken with rice and peas for £7.50. It’s loud, chaotic, and you’ll struggle to find a seat at lunchtime, but the quality across the board is genuinely impressive for a shopping centre food court.
Kabana
Wilmslow Road, Rusholme. The late-night curry mile legend. Open until 3am most nights and absolutely rammed after midnight with people making the smartest decision of their evening. The mixed grill is about £9 and it’s enormous — seekh kebab, chicken tikka, lamb chop, naan, salad. The nihari is the real insider order though: slow-cooked lamb shank curry that’s been on the stove all day. About £8 with bread.
Al-Faisal
Wilmslow Road, Rusholme. Another curry mile heavyweight and the one the taxi drivers go to, which tells you everything. The tandoori chicken is absurdly cheap — a full portion with naan and salad for about £7. The lamb chops are excellent and about £2 each. No frills, no fancy plating, just proper Punjabi food at prices that place’t kept up with inflation. Cash is king here.
Luck Lust Liquor & Burn
High Street, Northern Quarter. Burritos and tacos in a room that looks like a Tijuana dive bar. The burritos are about £8-9, absolutely stuffed, and genuinely good — the slow-cooked beef is the best filling, the fried chicken is a close second. The hot sauce selection is no joke and they’ll let you try before you commit. Skip the sides, you won’t need them. A burrito and a cheap beer is about £12 total which is pushing our limit but the burrito alone is under a tenner and it’s a full meal.
Ho’s Bakery
Faulkner Street, Chinatown. The char siu bao (barbecue pork buns) are £1.50 each and three of them is a meal. The egg tarts are 80p and perfect. This is the cheapest good lunch in Manchester city centre — £5 gets you stuffed. Everything’s baked fresh and the turnover is fast so it’s always warm. Grab a box of assorted buns and sit on the benches in Chinatown. No seats inside, it’s purely takeaway.
Mackie Mayor
Eagle Street, Northern Quarter. The old Smithfield fish market turned food hall. It’s not all cheap but if you pick right you can eat well under a tenner. Tender Cow do a proper cheeseburger for about £8. The pizza slices from Honest Crust are £4 and properly good. Bao House do steamed buns for about £4 each — two of those and you’re happy. The building itself is spectacular and worth the visit alone.
Saj House
Wilmslow Road, Rusholme. Palestinian flatbreads filled with whatever you fancy — lamb, chicken, halloumi, falafel — for about £5-7. The lamb saj with pickled turnip and garlic sauce is the order. It’s the size of your forearm and about £6.50. Tiny place, mostly takeaway, but the food punches well above its weight. One of the best value lunches on the curry mile and most people walk straight past it.
Pancho’s Burritos
Arndale Market. A burrito for £6.50 that’s bigger than your head. The pulled pork is the best filling and the green salsa is properly spicy. It’s been in the Arndale for years and the queue at lunchtime tells you everything. Don’t get chips, you genuinely will not finish. A burrito and a can of pop for about £8 is one of the best lunch deals in the city centre.
Red Chilli
Portland Street, Chinatown. Sichuan food that’s actually spicy. The lunch menu is about £8-9 for a main with rice and it’s the real deal — mapo tofu that numbs your lips, dan dan noodles with proper chilli oil, kung pao chicken that’s not the sweet gloopy version. The dinner menu is pricier but lunch is an absolute bargain for this quality of Sichuan cooking. The hand-pulled noodle dishes are worth every penny.
Delhi 2 Go
Cross Street, city centre. Indian street food counter that does a thali for about £7 — two curries, rice, daal, naan, poppadom, pickle. It’s fast, it’s cheap, and it’s properly good. The chana masala is reliable, the lamb keema is the premium pick. Lunchtime takeaway box is the move if you work in town. Nothing fancy but everything’s freshly made and the portions are generous.
Viet Shack
Arndale Food Market. A bowl of pho for about £8 that’s proper — clear broth with actual depth, decent noodles, fresh herbs on the side. The banh mi is about £6 and absolutely loaded. It’s not going to rival the Vietnamese places in Hackney but for Manchester city centre it’s very good and very cheap. The summer rolls are fresh and about £4 for two. A banh mi and a summer roll for a tenner is a solid lunch.
