Manchester’s Chinatown — A Proper History
Manchester’s Chinatown is centred on Faulkner Street, just south of Piccadilly Gardens. The ornamental arch on Faulkner Street — the paifang — was erected in 1987 and it’s the largest in Europe. The Chinese community in Manchester dates back to the early 20th century, with sailors from Hong Kong and Shanghai settling around the docks. By the 1970s, Faulkner Street and the surrounding blocks had become a proper Chinatown with restaurants, supermarkets, herbalists, and bakeries packed into a few tight streets.
Today it’s still the beating heart of Manchester’s Chinese community, though the restaurant scene has spread well beyond those few blocks. You’ll find serious Chinese cooking in Ancoats, the Northern Quarter, and out in the suburbs. But Chinatown is where you start.
1. Yang Sing — Princess Street
The institution. Yang Sing has been on Princess Street since 1977 and it’s been the benchmark for Cantonese cooking in Manchester for nearly 50 years. The Yeung family built something genuinely special here — a restaurant that serves dim sum and Cantonese banquet food at a level that rivals anything in London or Birmingham’s Chinese Quarter. The dim sum is the main event: char siu bao, har gow, siu mai, cheung fun — all made in-house, all excellent. Go for the dim sum lunch on a weekend and expect to queue. The a la carte menu is vast and the banquet menus for groups are outstanding value. Expect £25–£45 per head for dim sum, more for evening banquets. This is the one restaurant on this list that every Manchester food lover has been to and keeps going back to.
2. Happy Seasons — Faulkner Street
Right on Faulkner Street underneath the arch, Happy Seasons is the late-night Chinatown spot. It’s open until the early hours and it’s where you end up at 2am after a night out when you need proper food instead of a kebab. The roast duck is excellent, the salt and pepper dishes are reliable, and the congee is perfect hangover prevention. The decor is functional at best — strip lighting, laminated menus, no pretence — and that’s exactly the point. It’s cheap, it’s fast, and it’s open when everything else is shut. A Manchester rite of passage. Under £15 per head easily.
3. Ho’s Bakery — Faulkner Street
Not a restaurant but absolutely essential. Ho’s Bakery on Faulkner Street has been doing char siu buns, egg tarts, pineapple buns, and assorted Chinese pastries for decades. The egg tarts are some of the best you’ll find in England — flaky pastry, silky custard, about £1.20 each. The coconut buns are addictive. Pop in, grab a bag of pastries for a couple of quid, and eat them on the bench outside. It’s a Chinatown ritual. Open daily, usually sells out of the good stuff by mid-afternoon.
4. Red Chilli — Portland Street
If Yang Sing is the Cantonese king, Red Chilli is Manchester’s Sichuan heavyweight. On Portland Street just off Chinatown, Red Chilli does fiery, numbing Sichuan cooking that’s genuinely authentic. The mapo tofu is the real deal — tongue-numbing Sichuan peppercorns, fermented bean paste, none of that toned-down-for-British-palates nonsense. The dan dan noodles are excellent, the twice-cooked pork is a classic, and the Chongqing chicken (buried in a mountain of dried chillies) is not for the faint-hearted. Around £20–£35 per head. The lunch deals are a bargain.
5. Tai Pan — Brunswick Street, Chinatown
Another Chinatown veteran that’s been doing solid Cantonese cooking for years. Tai Pan is particularly good for dim sum — the trolley service on weekends gives it that proper Hong Kong yum cha feel that’s increasingly rare even in Chinatown. The turnip cake is excellent, the chicken feet are for the adventurous, and the steamed prawn dumplings are consistently good. It’s a big room that fills up quickly on Sunday mornings with Chinese families, which is always the best endorsement. Around £20–£30 per head for dim sum.
6. Yuzu — Faulkner Street
Technically Japanese, not Chinese, but it’s on Faulkner Street in Chinatown and it’s too good to leave off. Yuzu is a tiny, no-frills Japanese restaurant that does some of the most authentic Japanese food in Manchester. The ramen is excellent, the katsu curry is properly made (not the gloopy Wagamama version), and the gyoza are handmade. It’s cramped, there’s usually a wait, and the menu is short — all signs of somewhere that knows what it’s doing. Around £12–£20 per head. Cash preferred for smaller orders.
7. Tattu — Gartside Street, Spinningfields
The polar opposite of Happy Seasons in every way. Tattu on Gartside Street in Spinningfields is Manchester’s glamorous modern Chinese restaurant — cherry blossom trees, cocktail bar, Instagram-ready interiors, and a menu that fuses Chinese cooking with contemporary fine dining presentation. The food is good — the Wagyu beef tataki, the black cod, the dim sum platters are all well executed — but you’re paying for the atmosphere as much as the cooking. It’s a date night spot, a celebration spot, somewhere to be seen. Around £50–£80 per head. Book ahead for weekends.
8. Wong Wong — George Street
A relative newcomer that’s built a loyal following quickly. Wong Wong on George Street does modern Chinese cooking with a focus on BBQ and wok dishes. The Cantonese roast meats are very good — the char siu is sticky and caramelised, the crispy pork belly has properly crackling skin. The salt and chilli squid is one of the better versions in town. It’s more modern and polished than the old-school Chinatown joints but without the Tattu price tag. Around £25–£40 per head.
9. Little Aladdin — George Street
Don’t let the name confuse you — Little Aladdin is a Chinese-Malaysian restaurant that’s been quietly feeding Manchester for years. The Malaysian dishes are the standouts: the laksa is rich and fragrant, the nasi goreng is loaded with flavour, and the roti canai is proper. It’s small, unassuming, and the kind of place you only know about if someone tells you. Which is what we’re doing now. Around £12–£20 per head.
10. Sweet Mandarin — Copperas Street, Northern Quarter
The Tse sisters’ Sweet Mandarin just off Oldham Street in the Northern Quarter has a great backstory — three generations of Chinese cooking, a cookbook, TV appearances. The food is Cantonese-British fusion done with genuine family recipes. The clay pot dishes are the highlight — rich, comforting, the kind of food that’s clearly been perfected over decades of family cooking. The salt and pepper ribs are properly addictive. Around £20–£35 per head. Good for groups.
11. Siam Smiles — George Street
Another non-Chinese entry in the Chinatown orbit but it earns its spot. Siam Smiles is a tiny Thai cafe inside a Chinese supermarket on George Street and it does some of the best Thai food in Manchester for absolutely bargain prices. The pad kra pao, the green curry, the som tum — all bang-on authentic. Eaten at communal tables between shelves of imported groceries. Lunch for under £8. A Manchester legend.
12. Pacific — Princess Street
Pacific has been doing Cantonese and Pan-Asian cooking on Princess Street for years and it’s a reliable spot for a big group meal. The dim sum is solid (not quite Yang Sing level but very good), the seafood dishes are well done, and the banquet menus offer good value for large parties. The room is big and can handle celebrations without feeling cramped. Around £25–£40 per head.
13. Glamorous — Wing Yip Centre, Oldham Road
Out at the Wing Yip Chinese supermarket on Oldham Road in Miles Platting, Glamorous is a dim sum restaurant that the Chinese community rates very highly. It’s not in the city centre, it’s not pretty, and tourists never find it — which is exactly why the food is so good. The dim sum is made fresh, the roast duck is excellent, and you’ll be eating alongside Chinese families who drive across Greater Manchester to come here. Around £15–£25 per head. Worth the trip if you want the real deal.
Chinatown After Dark
Manchester’s Chinatown comes alive after midnight. When the bars and clubs kick out, the late-night restaurants fill up with a brilliant mix of students, clubbers, taxi drivers, and night workers. Happy Seasons is the go-to but several spots on Faulkner Street and George Street keep late hours. It’s one of the best things about Manchester — at 3am you can get a proper plate of roast duck and rice instead of a sad kebab. The vibe is chaotic, the food is honest, and everyone’s in the same boat. Essential Manchester.
Dim Sum Guide
If you’re new to dim sum, here’s what to order:
- Har gow — steamed prawn dumplings in translucent rice flour wrappers. The benchmark dish.
- Siu mai — open-topped pork and prawn dumplings. Should be bouncy, not mushy.
- Char siu bao — fluffy steamed buns filled with barbecued pork. Sweet, savoury, perfect.
- Cheung fun — rice noodle rolls filled with prawns, beef, or char siu. Silky and light.
- Lo bak go — turnip cake, pan-fried until crispy. Savoury and addictive.
- Chicken feet — braised in black bean sauce. Looks alarming, tastes incredible. Trust us.
