Went to the Northern Quarter Markets for a mooch around this afternoon and really enjoyed it. The…read moremarket is monthly and is run by the people behind the excellent Levenshulme market. The Northen Quarter market is on Stevenson Square and is quite small but all the stalls are selling good quality stuff and it's well worth a visit especially if you're a foodie or into vintage. There was an excellent handmade chocolate stall, a stall selling gourmet marshmallows, a place selling macaroons as well as cheese, vintage clothing, handmade jewellery and furniture stalls. The Soup Kitchen were also there with a Jamaican BBQ and there was a street food place selling wraps and sandwiches. A great way to spend a lazy Sunday.

The Northern Quarter market is great for a bit of browsing on a lazy Sunday. In the past I've…read morebought handmade single origin chocolate, crazy over-the-top cakes, and amazing pop-up gift cards.

Held twice a month in Manchester city centre, Real Food Market sees the North West's farmers…read moredismount their tractors to give Manchester's pasty-faced masses a taste of real nutrition as Mother Nature intended. (I've uploaded over 30 photos, so do have a look!) There are about thirty market stalls in all - hot takeway foods for you to eat on a bench in Piccadilly Gardens, plus apple tarts, fudge, cupcakes, cheeses, preserves and crafts to take home. (As a vegetarian, I didn't pay too much attention to additional non-vegetarian food, but there are stalls in this category which can boast having been featured several times on local television.) I paid £2.50 for a container of Carrot & Coriander Soup the size of a small bucket, mopped up with a Caribbean style vegetarian patty, £1.50. The soup was great, the patty OK. From the Caribbean stall I would be more likely to skip the patty next time and try the Caribbean vegetable curry on rice & beans. Or try something else from the soup stall. Plus, check out Trove Foods, which sells homemade jams and marmalades in recycled jars. http://www.trovefoods.co.uk/home I took home jars of Seville Marmalade and Carrot & Almond Jam - delicious stuff, and a lovely young couple run this business together. Here's a summary of the rest of the stalls and again, do check out my photos as that will give you a good idea: * Hot foods: fresh soups (Carrot & Coriander, Smoked Sausage & Butterbean, Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato, Leek & Potato), BBQ chicken, burgers and big piles of juicy fried onions. Caribbean patties (including vegetarian) plus curried goat, jerk chicken or vegetarian curry with rice & beans. Samosas, spicy chickpea wraps, seekh kebabs. * Sweet foods: patisserie (apple or apricot tarts), homemade sweets and fudges, home baking, cupcakes by Cupcake Palace, retro macaroons. * For your kitchen pantry: Trove Foods homemade marmalade, jams, and spicy sauces and pickles; Mrs. Kirkham's artisan cheeses. * Crafts: bags, African crafts and jewellery, enamelled tableware. I am still quite a Manchester Markets newbie, but I would say the Real Food Market is neck-and-neck with the Arndale Market Food Court and definitely worth timing a visit to town on the second or fourth weekend in the month to catch it. It's all good retro, low carbon, tasty fun - Real Food Market FTW!

I love food, and I love local produce even more, so I was really pleased to hear about this…read morebi-monthly market held in Piccadilly Gardens. People are looking more and more to their local producer, knowing they're getting eco-friendly quality straight from the source, and I'm all for it. You can pretty much get anything here, great fresh breads, conserves, meats, dairy, speciality cheeses, pies, pickles, ales, puddings. It's an epicurian's paradise and always puts a smile on my face. It runs Friday and Saturday on the 2nd and 4th weekend of the month between 10-6pm.

The great thing about the Manchester Street Markets is a) they take place in my neighbourhood…read more(they're all South Manchester suburb-based), and b) you can always get something a little different at each of them. After checking out Northenden's offering I was delighted to see the familiar faces of The Butterfly Cupcakery and I recognised the awesome Mint & Garlic who I'd met previously at one of the Farmers Markets at Piccadilly Gardens. So what else to do at such a gorgeous market but shop? There were tasty-smelling fresh soups, a butcher and a fishmonger, preserves and cheeses as well as cakes, and as well as this you can get some bags, gifts and suchlike. Bex and I treated ourselves to a choccy brownie and a slab of carrot cake respectively from Butterfly, then I did a wee bit of shopping from Mint & Garlic next door. My swag included three large, delightfully turquoise duck eggs (I've never had duck eggs before and am looking forward to making them into a quiche this week!), a punnet of strawberries that smelled incredible and tasted even better, a sweet potato whereby I was advised that you should always go for the long, thin ones as they harbour the most sweetness, and a vine of plum tomatoes whose rich depth of flavour made for brilliant roasting. There's a really lovely vibe to Copson Street so early on a Saturday morning, and a great eclectic mix of student types, young professionals and locals. I'm definitely going to be coming back here for some more grocery shopping, I was muchly impressed.

In the pecking order of Manchester street markets, I would rank Withington's market on the second…read moreSaturday of each month below Chorlton, Castlefield Artisan and the twice-monthly Real Food Market in Piccadilly. However, all the stall are proper artisan, local flavour stuff, which puts this little capsule market ahead of some of the grosser and commercialised elements of the Christmas Markets, for example. It's OK, but there aren't really enough stalls at this one to make it worth a special trip. So more of a market for the Withington locals, unless you have become hooked on the goods from one of the stalls and need your weekly fix. And there are definitely worse things addicted to than Dough-It-Yourself artisan pizza bases, Traditionally Cheesy artisan cheeses (with vegetarian cheeses clearly marked), Trove Foods baked goods and jams and a few others. Plus at least one Withington community organisation stall, which I think I would find pleasantly mumsy if I was a student living in the area! :-) But if you only make one visit in the month to the south Manchester street market circuit, then Chorlton on the third Saturday is your best bet. Disclaimer: Be aware that street markets and street food are undergoing something of a revival, and that an obvious next step for Manchester markets would be for more of the stallholders who show at the Chorlton and other markets to roll up to Withington for one day in the month. So - keep an eye on things, and also 'Be the change you want to see in the world' and all that, if you are a market fan!

Held on the third Saturday of each month, Chorlton Market is worth a visit in its own right as the…read morebiggest and best on the South Manchester Street Market circuit. And although the newbie Castlefield Artisan Market just shades Chorlton in terms of the quality of the stalls (as I'm vegetarian YMMV) and has the benefit of the outstanding canalside location, Chorlton Street Market is still number one for me as a 'must do' trip. Because the Chorlton suburb is 'Bohemian Like You' and there are lots of other great businesses right next to the market. A case in point was the three-course lunch I put together for myself on my most recent visit to Chorlton Market. First up, a deep-fried Brazilian savoury 'apim' - imagine a croquette the size and shape of a sweet potato, but made from processed cassava flavoured with chives, filled with mozzarella and covered in breadcumbs - £2.95 (see photo). Next up, an almond & raspberry tart from Trove, £1.70 (see photo). Ending with split pea and rosemary soup to go from Unicorn, probably £1.50 or so. At a total cost of just over £6, that is one interesting, fresh and high quality meal, I can tell you! Trove I have already reviewed under the business listing for their Levenshulme café. But the Brazilian business is a stand-out street food offering. They call themselves 'Brazilia Snacks, Manchester's first Brazilian Pasteleria'. Basically, it is the old story - English guy goes to Brazil, falls in love with a Brazilian beauty and persuades her to come back to England with him. And, boy, can she cook Brazilian food! However, he was telling me that the Brazilian taste is for tons of salt and sugar, so they have nicely toned down their offerings to be more in tune with the English palate. They mould the croquettes and other savouries the night before, but cook them on the spot in front of you - ace tasting! Even sticking to the stretch of Manchester Road between the swimming baths and the library/market, you have Crema, Unicorn, Barbakan (polish deli, and they cook sausage and veg curries out the front on Saturdays), Tea Hive, Marble, take your pick. And lots more stuff at the market which isn't for me as a lacto-vegetarian, but might be for you - Pudding & Pie Café with traditional pies straight off the farm, another stall based around Spanish tortilla and soups, mini-pasties over there, cupcakes, cheeses, you name it. (Actually, almost all those business do have something for me, such as Pudding & Pie's cheese and potato slab pie - and you would need to be a farm worker to finish that thing!) Four stars because I feel this is just the beginning. Now that Manchester Markets have established the street markets, I would expect even more exciting new stallholders to feel it worth their while to participate. And then some stalls that do really well moving into permanent premises - Tea Hive is a graduate of the south Manchester Street Markets, I think.

This Farmers Market was recommended to me by fellow Yelper Gareth H who lives around these parts…read more Ashton Farmers Market takes place on the last Sunday of every month, 9.00am to 3.00pm, although in hardcore market tradition the action is better earlier in the day, with packing up starting as early as 1.30pm or whenever the stall in question has more or less sold out of stock. The stalls are housed outside in the shelters that are otherwise home to the outdoor section of Ashton Market, and indeed the indoor market opens for the earlier part of the Farmers Sunday, plus there are a few of the three dishtowels for £1 outdoor stalls open and looking to cash in on some of the trade passing to the farmers stalls! While there are some good artisan foodie markets in Manchester, I still think Ashton Farmers Market is worth a visit from further afield. While there are good cheese and chutney companies and cupcake makers here, you can tell from the ruddy faces, manner and vehicles of the majority of the stallholders that these are authentic diversified farm businesses or at least rural cottage industries. There is an impressive amount of cooking done from scratch on grill plates and the odd chargriller fashioned from an oil drum cut in half! Vegetarian choice is at least adequate, I would say - even farmers seem to be moving with the times, or at least this forward-looking bunch have. Other stalls include a tea stall with urn (£1 a cuppa), seasonal fruit and veg straight from the farm, garden plants, hand knitted goods and some other random stuff, all of which are done with a lot more TLC than your average high street store. Business is brisk, I was pleased to note. Stating the obvious, but if it is a proper rugged Farmers Market you are after, you need to get out a bit from the centre of the city. For example, Ashton seems to be on a circuit of Farmers Markets which include Todmorden and Hebden Bridge. And there seems to be a similar circuit down Cheshire way, taking place once a month in places like Lymm. Do let me know if you have experiences of good farmers anywhere near Manchester or in Lancashire. If you live anywhere near, or are passing near Ashton and looking for a bit of local flavour, Ashton Farmers Market is definitely worth a visit.

Well that was an enjoyable couple of hours spent at the farners market today…read more There is lots of stalls at this one which is always a plus,and it was the usual fare,lots of nice looking cakes,some seriously good pies and breads,lots of meats,from the usual beef to wild boar and venison. We tried some seriously good cheeses making it hard to decide which ones to buy! The star of this market and any other market they appear at was Robinsons Bakery,seriously it should be made a crime to not buy something from them,their goods are so nice and they are such lovely people. Mrs Z bought some bread and a Manchester tart from them and I had a Vienese finger (ooer!) because they are seriously addictive! Also from the market we bought what can only be described as a slab of meat and potato pie and a walnut batard. It would've been easy to buy more stuff,but we would run out of room! Held on the last sunday of every month this is one Farmers Market that is well worth a visit....

A lovely little farm shop hidden away in Dunham village. We only found it by going to the Axe and…read morecleaver pub and it being up the same road. When you go in you are greeted by fresh veg, packs of lovely meat from their only animals and a friendly face. The meat from here is absolutely fantastic and we use them for our Christmas joint as it is so good. I should really use it more often as the bacon and sausages are amazing!!

From the owner: We are a family run, traditional Farm Shop, in Dunham Massey village, near Altrincham and…read moreManchester. Providing Red Tractor Food assured Beef & local seasonal produce. Throughout the year we stock our own fresh Aberdeen Angus and Hereford Beef and local, free range Pork and Lamb. We exclusively stock Venison from Dunham Massey Park between September and January. Watch out for updates on the website and twitter. We also sell homemade gluten-free and plain pork Sausages, homemade Beef, Pork and Lamb burgers, Gammon and Bacon. We are happy to accept orders of any size and any cut and we sell Turkeys at Christmas time to our customers. We hope to see you soon, the Jones family

This Street Food Market has been up and running for a while now, and as it's always busy and…read morecouncil run I imagine its here to stay for a while. It pops up on Picadilly Gardens, at the top of Market Street, every Thursday, Friday and Saturday between 11am to 5.30pm. These a great mix of food with about 10 stalls ranging from Hog Roast to Paella, Giant Hot Dogs, and Thai curry. At each end there's normally a cake stall. One offers nice brownies, but is let down by its cup cakes, which have amazing decorations but the actual cakes are just boring vanilla. The other stall has more traditional things like bread and butter slices, Bakewells and even Manchester tarts. I'd head to this one for both bread and for something sweet.

Born from the genius and success of The Biospheric Project, 78 Steps is just around the corner…read more(well, 78 steps away) from the urban farming project which has taken Salford and Manchester by storm. The idea behind the shop is local food on a micro-scale, bringing the community in the area locally grown, ethically sourced and high quality produce. Stocking fresh fruit, veg & eggs from local farms, bread from the Barbakan deli in Chortlon and eco-friendly cupboard fillers from companies like Suma and Ecover, 78 Steps has a great range of British products, championing fresh local items and seasonal produce. As well at the shop itself, 78 Steps offer a Wholebox service, delivering fresh food to local people on a regular basis. Boxes start at as little as £5 and contain at least eight varieties of fruit and vegetables, making healthy eating cheap and accessible. Some of the fruits and vegetables have been grown at the Biospheric Project itself - just 78 steps away - making this a truly carbon efficient enterprise.

On a blustery winter day a visit to the market was the perfect escape. Plenty of food vendors and…read morestalls or pop into one of the nearby restaurants and wine bars on the row. Will be back!

TL;DR - Great venue but a victim of its own success…read more Alty market set the tone for most of the food halls which you can now find across Manchester, and it remains one the biggest and best. The venue itself is gorgeous, with a craft market taking up half the building and a food hall in the other half. All the options at the food hall are great - you won't be disappointed. But the biggest issue we've always faced here is that it's so popular you can't always find a table. There's plenty of seating, it's just that the place is so popular it's always full which is frustrating if you've taken the trip to visit.