Just last week, it became official; Prestwich is one of the best places to live in the whole of the UK. The smart Greater Manchester suburb, with its village feel and excellent transport links, landed itself a plumb spot on the Best Places To Live list, published annually by the Sunday Times, its first ever entry on the list.
But of course the residents of ‘P-Town’, as some have dubbed it, have known this for a while, and it’s brimming with great places to eat and drink. Here are just a few, before the inevitable search on RightMove commences.
Chips @ Number 8
Fish and chips are a very serious business. A very serious business indeed. Luckily, Prestwich has one of the best fish and chip shops in the land. Like, actually. It was named in the top 50 in the UK for 2022 by Fry Magazine, the chip shop bible, out of more than 10,000. Using either beef dripping or vegetable oil on request, owner Dan Edwards is something of a magician when it comes to frying. And as very much an added bonus, there’s a massive mural of the late, great Mark E. Smith on the side of the building. Expect queues. Worth it though.
8 Clifton Rd, Prestwich, M25 3HQ / Chips @ Number 8 on Instagram
Cuckoo
When the sun’s out, Cuckoo is very much the spot, with its enviably handsome outside space and disco ball and bunting situation. Come for that, but stay for excellent sourdough pizza and decent grown up cocktails. No flouncy silliness here, just a solid line up of Old Fashioneds, Spritzes, Negronis and Manhattans. The brunch is worth your time too.
395-397 Bury New Rd, Prestwich, M25 1AW / CuckooBar.co.uk
The Goods In
Bookend a walk in Heaton Park at The Goods In, from the same folks behind All The Shapes. Housed in a goods warehouse reclaimed from near dereliction, it’s an exceptionally cool spot, with a post-industrial chic type vibe going on, and some fantastic outside space too. As with All The Shapes, the food is brilliant - the flatbreads and ‘Hulk’s Hoagies’ are exceptional - as are the drinks (beers from Deya and rose cider anyone?). They also have all manner of vintage pop-up markets and DJs on too.
Stella House, unit 2a Infant St, Prestwich, M25 1SS / The Goods In on Instagram
The Crooked Man
Super local and not so local rotating beers at this fine bar off Bury New Road slap bang in the centre of the village, from Shindigger, Pomona Island, Black Jack and Marble, through to Vocation and Tiny Rebel, this lot know what they’re doing when it comes to craft. They also have DJs on of a weekend too.
7 Fairfax Road, Prestwich, M25 1AS / TheCrookedManBar.com
Osma
A little slice of Scandi-cool in North Manchester, Osma is the endeavour of Michelin-trained Danielle Heron, born around the corner in Whitefield, and Sofie Stoermann-Naess, originally from Norway. Heron learned her skills at the now three-star L’Enclume and at the similarly starred Maaemo in Oslo, and the finesse is all there in the menu, with a deftly balanced blend of European, Japanese and modern European influences, all taking place in a handsome room.
132 Bury New Rd, Prestwich, M25 0AA / OsmaKitchenBar.com
Remal
For the carnivore, there are few things to top hot, grilled meats and cold yoghurt, and Remal is tough to beat in that regard. Superb Lebanese cuisine on the high street, from scorched lamb chops to mixed grills of kofte and shish, accompanied by a bowlful of babaghanouj and labneh, with a cool fatoush salad. Heaven.
501 Bury New Rd, Prestwich, M25 1AD / RamalRestaurant.co.uk
Coopers
A bonafide local institution, family run Cooper’s Let’s Fress Deli on Bury Old Road (OK, it might be Whitefield, but who’s counting?) does the best bagels in town, and has the queues to prove it, notably for its sunday breakfast deal which has been running as long as the place itself. It will have you loaded up with half a dozen freshly baked bagels, cream cheese, lox, chopped herring, egg and onion - the works, basically. The deli selection is dizzyingly comprehensive too, with Jewish classics like chopped and fried, potato kugel and chopped liver.
70 Bury Old Rd, M45 6TL / Coopers on Instagram
Moonbeam Coffee House
New to the neighbourhood - and another at the Whitefield end of things, but we’ll allow it - is the Moonbeam Coffee House, but it’s already very much got its feet under the table. That’s thanks in the main to brilliant coffee from Square Mile roastery and a cracking line in brunch. Taking the kids with you? They do a great, healthy kids’ breakfast too with cereal, toast and fruit. Or just let them geg in on your chorizo hash or the spectacular turkish eggs - poached eggs with garlic yoghurt, harissa and spicy sausages.
82 Bury Old Rd, M45 6TQ / Moonbeam Coffee House on Instagram
All The Shapes
The kind of neighbourhood bar and restaurant that everyone would want at the end of their road, All The Shapes is a cracking spot. It serves brunch through the weekend, and while yes, you can get a full English, you can also get things like the Romagna; whipped lemon ricotta, scorched tomatoes, parma ham, rocket and hot honey on sourdough. That’s the extra mile. Throw in some Mexican influences of an evening, like tacos and quesadilas, as well as some fine drinks, and there’s not much more you could ask for.
8 Warwick St, Prestwich, M25 3HN / AllTheShapes.co.uk
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