Last Updated: 16 February 2026
The spending money was gifted by Hotels.com, but all views are my own.
Now we have cleared that up, hello there! Happy New Year and all that! Hope you have had a great time over the holidays. I have recently been into the city of Manchester with Georgina to go on the hunt for some hidden gems and new places that might be of interest if you’re ever planning a visit to this city. I and Georgina thought long and hard on some of the places we can potentially visit and in the end, we found two great places to feature in our adventure. We had such a great time that I’m already looking at serviced apartments Manchester for our next visit.
We parked at Spinningfields and we were pretty amazed by Spinningfields in all honesty, this is a wonderful part of central Manchester, full of bars, chain restaurants and fashion outlets all set within walking distance from each other. I noticed some other places within Spinningfields that I would like to revisit and try in the future which are Iberica, Thaikhun, and Tattu, but we will have to save those for later.
The first place during our visit was for cocktails at The Ivy (The Pavilion, Byrom St, Manchester M3 3HG). This is my second visit to The Ivy and I have only been to their original restaurant at 1-5 West St, London WC2H 9NQ. As you would expect The Ivy provides a warm and unique experience, and their cocktails were simply out of this world. We didn’t stay for any food but here you can expect 3 floors of amazing cuisine. The ground floor you will find their Brasserie, open all day, seven days a week, serving you modern British classics no matter the time, or occasion. Expect to find truffled orzo pasta, lobster linguine and slow-cooked lamb shoulder, sounds good huh!
Moving up to the second floor, you’re at Ivy Asia. A late-night glamorous bar and restaurant serving Asian-inspired cocktails alongside small sharing dishes. The bar holds a wide of range of spirts including a Japanese whisky collection and the A La Carte menu sure does look delicious. To the 3rd and final floor, The Ivy Roof Garden. With a retractable glass roof, the Roof Garden is open all year round and allows you to enjoy the summer sun, winter cold or autumn rain no matter the time. You can enjoy food and cocktails amongst an abundance of florals, foliage and colourful fabrics.
Our last place, this time for food was at Crazy Pedros (55-57 Bridge Street, Manchester City Centre, M3 3BQ). The brainchild of Lyndon Higginson of The Liars Club, Junkyard Golf Club, Crazy Pedro is a pizza parlour like no other. Don’t expect luxury décor but expect to be greeted by retro pizza adverts and band posts for wallpaper. I have seen this place on my Instagram feed for their Christmas pizza and when seeing this in person, I daren’t try it. However, I opted for The Mac Daddy one half and the other Pedro’s Pepperoni. I thought it was banging, loved it! I love quirky places like Pedro’s, it gives the city something extra and doesn’t follow social norms and sometimes these are where you find the real gems of food.
Let me know your favourite hot spots in Manchester and where you like to eat in the comments.
