The shortlist for the CityLife Awards 2020 has been revealed, and it's time to get voting for your favourite Manchester haunts.
The annual awards, which take place each January in Manchester, celebrate the best of Manchester's food, drink and cultural scene.
With ten categories to choose from - and five nominees in each - it's a chance to have your say on which establishments you think make Manchester truly great.
The public have been nominating their favourites for the last fortnight, with the shortlist finalised by a panel of industry experts, including the CityLife team.
An 11th category, not up for public vote, will recognise Manchester's Cultural Hero of the last year, an accolade previously held by Parklife boss Sacha Lord and restaurant guru Thom Hetherington.
The categories for the CityLife Awards 2020, and all the nominees, are below.
Vote for your favourites using the form at the bottom of this article. Voting is open until midnight on Monday January 20, 2020.
The winners will be revealed at the CityLife Awards ceremony at Band on the Wall on January 27.
Best restaurant
Recognising the very best of Manchester's dining scene, the best restaurant category rewards Manchester's many world-class establishments.
Newcomers Mana (holder of Manchester's first Michelin star in four decades), Kala (Gary Usher's first city centre opening and result of his biggest-ever Crowdfunding campaign) and Erst (from the team behind Trove) are all nominated this year.
They'll be up against two of the city's biggest names - enormous curry house Dishoom, and long-standing favourite Hawksmoor.
Best casual dining
Great food doesn't have to cost the earth here in Manchester, and the casual dining category celebrates those cooking great food for less.
Sugo Pasta Kitchen is the only repeat nominee from last year, still loved for its top-quality pasta in both Altrincham and Ancoats.
New nominees this year include The Sparrows (the tiny Alpine restaurant that's relocating to the Green Quarter) and Northern Quarter ramen joint Cocktail Beer Ramen and Bun.
Then there are two - very different - food halls vying for the prize, with Stretford Foodhall and the Arndale Food Market both nominated.
Best bar
Whether it's for a relaxed pint surrounded by your neighbours, a crafted cocktail with colleagues, or an after-work drink that spirals into dancing, Manchester's not short of great bars.
Last year's winners The Jane Eyre are back up for the award for a second year running, as is the achingly cool hang-out YES, and relentlessly popular Albert's Schloss.
New nominees this year are Speak In Code - a high-end speakeasy cocktail bar - and Wolf At The Door (formerly Wilderness), from the same team behind Crazy Pedro's and The Bay Horse Tavern.
Best pub or craft beer bar
Previously known simply as best pub, this category has expanded to acknowledge all the excellent beer-led bars in Greater Manchester.
2018's winner The Marble Arch will be contending again, alongside previous nominees The Pilcrow at Sadler's Yard, and The Smithfield Tavern on Swan Street.
Multi-award-winning real ale pub The Knott is nominated this year, as is Cheadle Hulme's bar and bottle shop Archive.
Best arts event or exhibition
Heaton Park has been filled with glowing lanterns this winter with the arrival of Lightopia, a family-friendly event that's nominated for arts event.
It's got stiff competition from Martin Parr's photography exhibition Return to Manchester, which ran at the Manchester Art Gallery until April this year.
Also nominated is the inclusive and taboo-breaking SICK Festival, MIF's ground-breaking Atmospheric Memory, and photographer Simon Buckley (the man behind that Lowry-esque iPhone picture of a rainy Deansgate)'s Not Quite Light Weekend.
Best theatre
From the fringe events to the worldwide box office smash-hits, there were five theatre shows that stood out in 2019.
They are Book of Mormon (which chose Manchester for its first UK shows outside of London), Tree at MIF (Idris Elba and Kwame Kwei-Armah's music and dance extravaganza), & Juliet (the Shakespeare classic retold with a pop soundtrack), Tao of Glass (another MIF production by composer Philip Glass), and Mame (Hope Mill Theatre's adaptation of Patrick Dennis's Auntie Mame).
Best comedy club
Several of Manchester's biggest comedy names will be fighting it out for the top spot this year, including the Comedy Store, the Frog & Bucket, and XS Malarkey.
Also nominated this year is the now-disbanded Group Therapy, a monthly gig at Gorilla; and Blizzard, which provides a platform for under-represented and marginalised acts.
Best club night
Long after the restaurants and bars have closed, Manchester still thrives well into the night, with an impressive roster of club nights.
Nominated for the 2020 awards is Homobloc Festival, the first day-long festival from those behind Homoelectric; Warehouse Project, following its first year at Mayfield Depot; and Zutekh, an electronic music giant that's now more than a decade old.
Completing the shortlist for club night is High Hoops, which blends house, disco and electro, and Girls on Film, a celebrated 80s and 90s club night at The Deaf Institute.
Best live venue
Of the five nominees in this year's live venue category, one is completely new (Depot, the 10,000-capacity space near Piccadilly that hosted Manchester Pride Live and Warehouse Project), and one was a popular pop-up (Festival Square, part of Manchester International Festival, had a curated line-up of live music events).
This year's awards will be hosted at Band on the Wall on Swan Street, which will be defending its crown with another nomination this year. Also in the running are former church building Albert Hall, and tiny Whitworth Street venue Gorilla.
Breakthrough act
Manchester's music scene has continued to thrive long after the Madchester era, and this category is a chance to celebrate all the homegrown talent emerging from the city.
Aitch has already made a name for himself through his collaborations with Ed Sheeran and Stormzy, while post-punk band LIINES have been endorsed by former breakthrough act winners Slow Readers Club.
Soul starlet Pip Millett released her debut EP Do Well earlier this year, while Phoebe Green will support Courteeners at the Manchester Arena this weekend, and indie rockers The Lathums are heading out on their own sold-out headline tour.
Vote for your CityLife Award winners using the form below
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