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[title]Didsbury has long been a desirable place for Manchester’s young professionals and young families to settle. Easily reached from Manchester’s urban centre, it sits a commuter-friendly, 30-minute tram ride away from St Peter’s Square. Didsbury Village really does feel like a little village, with its own greengrocer, bakeries, fishmonger, cheese shop and overall green leafiness.
Didsbury is locally known as one of the more shi-shi of South Manchester’s suburbs. Whilst nearby Fallowfield and Withington cater to a grungier student crowd, Didsbury services a mixed bag of young professionals, families, retirees and, of course, their fashionable dogs- almost exclusively dachshunds. Yes, there’s still an Aldi and a Greggs, but there’s also no shortage of brunchy cafes, artisanal produce shops and the likes. Whilst there are certainly spots that offer more bang for your buck (like nearby Stockport) Didsbury is well placed, frankly adorable and, most importantly, home to some really great pubs. So let’s have it: here are our top picks for things to do in Didsbury.
Best places to eat in Didsbury
Coffee and cake
If you’re after cafes, Didsbury has them in droves. Our favourite is La Chouquette, a Parisian-style patisserie at the bottom of the highstreet. With a constantly rotating selection of desserts and pastries, at a reasonable-ish price, it’s easy to see why this place is so popular with locals. If you’re prepared to brave the queue, their pistachio, white chocolate and raspberry cookies are definitely worth waiting for.
If you’re up for something a little more substantial, there are plenty of decent lunch options too. Nip up the road to Afti for their doorstop style focaccia sandwiches or stop in at A Front For Something, a delightfully whacky 80s themed cafe serving up familiar cafe fare at budget-friendly prices. Lets not forget The Turkish Sweet Centre, the perfect spot for a slice of baklava and street-side espresso.
Looking for something with a little more whimsy? Head to The Art of Tea. Somewhere between a tearoom, a book shop and a wine bar, The Art of Tea is the kind of place you wouldn't feel out of place in at 9am or 9pm, or any time in between. It resembles something from a Beatrix Potter book- the kind of place Jemima Puddleduck might frequent if she’d retired to the North-West. Browse their range of second-hand classic novels or indulge in one of their seasonal salads, all surrounded by cosy wood panels and mismatched furniture.
Spots for dinner
Nearby Burton Road in West Didsbury has famously overshadowed Didsbury highstreet when it comes to experimental cuisine, but the village still delivers a generous helping of good restaurants. Our favourite neighbourhood spot is Casa Italia, a family run restaurant offering the authentic Italian experience. Tasty bowls of pasta and well-priced charcuterie are served up by an intergenerational cast of family members. Service is a little chaotic, but this sort of adds to the charm. The spinach and ricotta cannelloni is legendary, and with mains in the region of £9-13 you can’t really go wrong. Round the night off with a generous helping of tiramisu.
If you want to escape Didsbury’s seemingly endless milieu of Italian spots, venture further in, down Barlow Moor Road, and you will find OKitchen. This seemingly unassuming restaurant is open Tuesday-Sunday, serving up Japanese and Korean favourites like sushi, bibimbap and Korean bbq. There's a tonne of vegan and veggie options and a cracking cocktail list to match. We love their inventive takes on the classics like their passionfruit negroni or their plum old fashioned, which are all two for £12 Sunday-Thursday.
Also deserving of a mention is Hispi, a fine dining bistro with a rotating selection of seasonal dishes. Their a la carte menu may be a little on the steeper side but, go for lunch, and you can bag three courses for just £20. In the mood for something a little more casual, pop in to Rudy’s for a trusty thin-crust pizza served up by one of their intimidatingly cool waiters.
Best spots for a tipple
No Didsbury guide would be complete without a mention of the Didsbury Dozen. This well-loved, Mancuanian tradition is a day-long pilgrimage of 12 Didsbury institutions, starting at The Didsbury and ending at The Railway in West Didsbury. Oh, and did we mention, the whole thing’s done in fancy dress? The task is ambitious and favoured, unsurprisingly, by students, birthday parties and really, really unhinged work dos. It's one of Manchester’s most famous pub crawls and accounts partly for Didsbury’s disproportionately large number of pubs. The majority fall into a slightly homogenous stereotype of old-man-style boozers. Cutting through this mediocre throng are a few firm favourites.
One stand out is The Station, a ‘loosely’ themed Irish pub decorated with Gaelic paraphernalia. This place has come to some critical acclaim for its well-poured Guinness, rated in the city’s top five by I love MCR. With a deliciously creamy and substantial head, we argue it's certainly the best in Didsbury, if not the whole of Manchester.
A welcome outlier on the highstreet, Juicebox, is one of Didsbury’s only wine bars. But it's a good one at that. This small bottleshop-style venue offers reasonably priced wine by the glass and, of course, their signature negronis which are a cool £5, all day every day! No complaints there. With a heated courtyard and spacious, house-plant-packed upstairs, Juicebox injects a welcome burst of sophistication into Didsbury’s no-frills pub scene.
Fancy a big beer garden? Your best bets are The Fletcher Moss or The Didsbury, both equally reliable with a good outdoor area and a dependably party-ish atmosphere- especially on weekends.
Where to wile away an afternoon
Manchester has long held the reputation as one of the UK’s greyer cities. Known for its industrial urban centre and increasingly ugly selection of high-rise apartment blocks, Manchester isn't exactly known for its abundant green space. But you don’t have to venture far outside of the city centre to unlock a plethora of impressive parks. One of the absolute best of those is Fletcher Moss, Didsbury’s well-loved botanical garden. This absolute gem is the perfect place to sunbathe on a rare sunny day and a firm favourite for dog walkers and families. It even has tennis courts and a cafe. The piste de resistance is the rockery, a leafy grotto showcasing Fletcher Moss’ more exotic plant-life. The perfect spot for squirrel watching.
If you fancy a longer walk, Didsbury is conveniently intersected by the river Mersey which runs from Manchester to Liverpool. The winding river path, known as the Trans Pennine Trail, makes the perfect Sunday afternoon stroll or running route. Watch out for flying golf balls from the nearby Didsbury golf club!
For lovers of second hand shopping, the Didsbury charity shops are in a league of their own. Owing to a lucrative catchment area and some fashion savvy volunteers, these charity shops resemble something closer to boutiques than your average tat shops. Poke your head in and you'll find that designer pieces outnumber bobbly jumpers. Of course, the quality of their wares is reflected in the price, but hey, it’s all for charity!
Aside from charity shops Didsbury has some awesome independent shops. Be sure to check out E J Morten Booksellers, a really cool spot for second-hand book shopping, Flourish for flowers and Didsbury's hottest cheesemonger, Cheese Hamlet. Try the rockstar cheese and thank us later.