We’re all about our food here in Manchester, so when it was announced that chef, rapper and all-round good guy Big Zuu had spoken to Conde Nast Traveller about his favourite restaurants in the city, we got pretty excited. Perhaps that high level of expectation is what made the list pretty disappointing for locals, as the response has been… mixed.
Big Zuu chose these restaurants as his favourites in Manchester:
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San Carlo
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The Drop Bar Café
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Jimmy’s Killer Prawns
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Dishoom
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Chai Latte café
Over on the Conde Nast Traveller Instagram post, Manc foodies were all too happy to point out restaurants that had been, in their opinion, glaring omissions, with one commenter saying: “Really? What about Sparrows, 10Tib lane, Erst, El Gato, Another Hand, I could think of loads more!”
Another disappointed comment said: “When you have chain restaurants in a guide to the BEST a city can offer… I think we know its a bulls**t guide! Thank you, next”, with another saying simply “Is this a joke?”
OK, so Big Zuu has clearly upset Mancs with this list, but the restaurants he chose as the best in Manchester are undisputedly good. Big Zuu did actually explain his choices in the article and we believe it’s only fair to let him have his say.
On San Carlo, Big Zuu said: “San Carlo is an Italian restaurant where I always start with dinner before a night out with friends. It’s very famous for how big and extravagant it is, but it’s not very expensive.” Zuu also said he tends to order the half-and-half pizza, garlic with cheese and tomato, in case you were wondering.
Redeeming himself slightly, Big Zuu’s pick of The Drop Bar Café shows a little bit of local knowledge and appreciation. He said: “Most places people go to in Manchester are in the city centre, but this is out near Old Trafford […] It’s a Caribbean bar-slash-café and I love it, especially on Sundays. I love their portions, which are absolutely massive. It’s worth every penny.”
When it comes to Jimmy’s Killer Prawns, Big Zuu admits he’s never actually been to the restaurant on Liverpool Road. Instead, he opts for takeaway, which we can’t blame him for.
About Dishoom, Big Zuu said: “I know these are all over the place, but I have to give it a shout out to the one in Mani. They’ve got their own flavour. I know the one in Soho, London, is the best-known and it’s got crazy wait times, but I’ve got a real soft spot for the Manchester one.” We must say, not sure how we feel about “Mani” being used repeatedly, but we’ve got bigger fish to fry.
Finally, Big Zuu said of Chai Latte café: “Now, it may not be the best in the universe – but after a good night out […] this is what you need.” Now, we’re not sure if that’s a compliment or not, but clearly Zuu couldn’t live without it, much like students citywide, so it must be doing something right!
What do you think of Big Zuu’s favourite restaurants in Manchester? We’re tempted to side with the locals on this one, with many of our favourites being missed, but everyone has their favourites, and we’re lucky to be in a place where we can argue about all the wonderful restaurants we have in Manchester!