Cheapest Places to Eat in Manchester for Students

Are you going to Manchester for university or are you already a student there and want to try cheap but tasty food? Send My Bag has put together a collection of food finds for you in Manchester. These eateries all serve up different cuisines from different cultures, but the one thing they have in common is their value for money. The fusion of food choices listed here fits well with Manchester as a multi-cultural city. It ranked 4^th in the top student cities in the UK and was rated 4.6 for eating out by The Student Hut, so it’s only fitting that we share a blog on what the city has to offer.

Ethiopian: Habesha Restaurant & Bar

The only Ethiopian restaurant in Manchester, where the most that you’ll have to pay for a fully loaded dish of tasty Ethiopian food is £7.50. They also serve speciality Ethiopian beer for only £2.50. It is situated under 20 minutes’ walking distance from the University of Manchester.

Japanese: Umezushi

A chilled-out sushi bar that creates fresh sushi, unagi, and sashimi daily that is made to order. The restaurant is situated in an isolated archway, but this hasn’t stopped people from flocking to it due to the many first-class ratings it has earned. The restaurant has an open kitchen where you can see the Japanese dishes being freshly prepared from scratch. They have a lunch menu priced at around £4-10. It is a longer distance away from the University of Manchester and the Metropolitan University, at just under 30 minutes.

Indian: Bundobust

A critically acclaimed restaurant that has enjoyed success not by offering anything extremely fancy or extravagant, but by providing an Indian twist on the simple concept of beer and food. They bring a mixture of Indian street food and craft beer to the Northern Quarter in Manchester. For light bites they have a ‘munch’ range on their menu, with everything on it ranging from £4.50-£6.50. They have a lunch deal which includes 2 dishes for £7.50, and all their craft beer is under £5.

Italian: Noi Quattro

A traditional Italian pizzeria owned and run by a group of Italian friends, giving it its name, Noi Quattro, which means ‘the four of us.’ The owners bring the Italian culture of their friendship group to the Northern Quarter in Manchester, through the traditional pizza they cook and the atmosphere they provide. The pizzas are cooked in a wood oven, which maintains the taste of an authentic Italian pizza. On offer is a lunch deal that includes a pizza, salad, and drink for £10. They also provide Italian street food and delicacies, such as cuoppo, which is a cone of paper filled with a mixture of delicacies, traditionally made for walking through the streets of Italy.

Vietnamese: Vnam

 Manchester’s first Vietnamese restaurant that brings all the best flavours from the heart of Vietnam through the simple and fresh national dishes on offer. It has been as a must-visit restaurant in Manchester for a long time and is most well-known for its Vietnamese Pho noodles and Pho Bo (noodle soup). These are the restaurant’s most celebrated Vietnamese dishes and are priced at around £10.

Mexican: Pancho’s Burritos

This Mexican kitchen/counter system, which has been given a 4-star rating by Time Out, is all about staple Mexican food. These include burritos, burrito bowls, and tortilla chips, but with a choice of toppings and sauces. Small burritos are priced at £5.60, larger ones are £6.10, and burrito bowls are £6.50.

American-Style: Archie’s

An American-style chain with locations in Manchester, Liverpool, and Birmingham that is based on the 1988 movie classic ‘License to Drive’, in which Archie’s was an 80s-style drive-in restaurant. Archie’s diner serves big burgers, shakes, and waffles and can be found around the corner from Manchester Metropolitan University, and only a 5-minute walk from the University of Manchester, which makes it a popular choice for students. It is all the more popular because of the affordable prices, as you can get burgers ranging between £2-£4, special ‘star’ burgers for £7, wraps for £4, and they also do a 10% student discount.

If you like our selection of cheap food finds in Manchester, we have also written a blog on the best places to go for a night out in Manchester, with happy hours and other cracking deals to chose from.

If Manchester is where you’ll be going to university, and you need to send your luggage ahead, Send My Bag can provide affordable door to door delivery.