Manchester's restaurant scene is well populated at both ends of the price spectrum.
Budget options abound; you don't need much more than a fiver for a good feed in some places.
But sometimes, the occasion demands somewhere a little more extravagant - whether that's a Michelin-starred tasting menu or the best steak in the city.
From secret menus served in the staff room to BYOB nights, you don't have to fork out full price to experience them.
Here are the most affordable ways, and times, to dine at some of the restaurants at the upper end of the price range.
Mana
Holder of Manchester's only Michelin star, Mana is the city's most in-demand restaurant.
Prices reflect the labour-intensive processes and the quality of the ingredients that go into Simon Martin's accomplished tasting menu, which currently costs £140 for just shy of 20 courses.
But you can dine at Ancoats' most ambitious restaurant for less than half that price at lunch times, when a shorter tasting menu is served.
Available for sittings between noon and 1.30pm, Thursday to Saturday, it typically includes around 10 servings.
Dishes on the latest sample menu includes barbecued duck broth and lavender; aged eel, roasted yeast and blueberry; and 'beef tartare that tastes like beef', presumably named in honour of Marina O'Loughlin's verdict in her glowing review: "like beef squared, beef to the power of beef, incredibeef'".
Adam Reid at The French
With four AA rosettes, the Midland Hotel's flagship restaurant is comfortably in the top tier of Manchester's dining experiences - with prices to match.
Adam Reid's signature six-course tasting menu costs £99, and an additional £75 if you choose a wine pairing to go with it.
But there's also a shorter version available, offering four courses for £75.
The current menu includes "tater ‘ash" of aged Cumbrian sirloin with mushroom catsup; Cornish brill with leeks, oyster and lemon butter sauce; Goosnargh duck, faggot, celeriac and prune with liver gravy; and forced Yorkshire rhubarb with baked English custard.
It's available from Tuesday to Thursday at dinner and on Friday and Saturday at lunch.
Where the Light Gets In
Stockport's acclaimed Where the Light Gets In is a critics' favourite, with rave reviews rolling in from near and far.
The menu is a constantly evolving creation, based on the best of that day's harvest, catch and slaughter, with multiple courses served over a three-hour sitting.
The full experience costs £90, and to add a wine pairing it's another £60.
A lighter - both on the wallet and waistline - offering is available on a Wednesday at dinner and Saturday at lunch for £65, with a wine pairing for £40.
But the cheapest way to try the food is at The Staff Room, its wine bar hidden past the pot wash, in the actual staff room. It's open every Friday night, serving wine and small bites, and spinning a vinyl selection brought along by the guests.
It's Stockport's best-kept secret - if you don't mind an ambiance that includes ironing boards and ladders propped up against the walls.
Hawksmoor
From its impeccable steaks to its unrivalled service, Deansgate steakhouse Hawksmoor is consistently one of Manchester's best restaurants, with award after award to prove it.
Steaks are mostly £30 and up, unless you plump for rump at £21, and that's before you've added any sides. If you can afford that, you won't regret spending it, but there are cheaper ways to dine here.
There's a £15.50 rump and chips deal at lunchtimes, as well as a set menu offering two courses for £25 or three for £28 at lunch times and pre- and post-theatre.
To make it even cheaper, visit on a Monday when there's a little-known BYOB deal allowing you to bring your own wine with a corkage fee of a fiver.
