7 Best Restaurants in Liverpool, Manchester, Liverpool, and the Peak District

This stylish restaurant, charcuterie, and Campari bar—a lively take on the workingmen's canteens of backstreet Venice, known as bacaros—offers highly creative small plates. Options include croquettes, fried mixed fish, and pizzette (mini-pizzas).

Those who like good food at great prices head to Bakchich, a Lebanese and Moroccan street-food joint featuring a large communal table with smaller tables dotted around it for convivial or more intimate dining. On offer are delicious hot and cold meze, meshawi charcoal grills (chicken, lamb, and seafood), wraps, salads, and a small but tasty kids' menu. The nonalcoholic drink list includes fresh lemonade and smoothies.

An 18th-century warehouse on the edge of the Liverpool One shopping district houses this impressive Catalan fusion restaurant and deli, where you can feast on classic and creative tapas dishes. An extensive breakfast menu makes this a great place to start your day, while the children's menu tempts those with junior foodies. There's a second venue, Lunyalita, overlooking the Albert Dock, with a sun terrace.

Indian street food and home-cooking are the draws at this fun and colorful spot that has lights upcycled from old birdcages and a bar created from former railway sleepers. Many of the vibrant dishes, such as the hugely popular yogurt chat bombs (crispy, filled bread puffs), are served in tiffin boxes (traditional Indian lunch containers) to charming effect. There are also great vegan, gluten-free, and kids’ menus. There's a second Liverpool branch at Water Street and branches in Manchester and around the country; founder Nisha Katona has now been awarded an MBE both for her services to the food industry and to charity (her Mowgli Trust donates more than £300,000 to local and world causes every year).

Tapping into Liverpool’s love affair with the sharing experience, this tiny bistro serves eclectic and inventive dishes with mainly Middle Eastern inspiration. The place—all bare bricks, upcycled furniture, and edgy artwork—takes its name from the Marais district of Paris, though it’s actually inspired more by the falafel joints of the French capital's less scenic Bastille district. There are two outposts at the Albert Dock and in the suburb of Allerton, plus a Maray in Manchester.

For some, the waterfront and city views through the floor-to-ceiling windows of this 34th-floor restaurant might outdo the fine dining itself, but there's no denying the ambition and love that's gone into the Modern European set menus. You can also just come here to soak up that vista over afternoon tea or a cocktail. 

The queues can attest to the quality of the Neapolitan pizza at this laid-back pizzeria at the top of Bold Street. Although part of a national chain (that began in neighboring Manchester), the restaurant has a vibrant, indie feel to it that appeals for just about any occasion. The light, fluffy bases come adorned with a variety of traditional toppings refined with quality ingredients.