"Located in a disused railway arch in Cheetham Hill, this independent continental pasta restaurant run by a Polish sake enthusiast is the kind of strangely wondrous restaurant that shows you where Manchester’s creative energies are at. Dim lighting and walnut furniture give The Spärrows an olde-worlde, rustic charm, and while the spätzle that gives the restaurant its name (the Austrian pasta means ‘little sparrow’ in German) are excellent, a completely unassuming plate of gnocchi in sage and butter steals the show. Ordering a glass of sake alongside, and saving room for dessert is advised. There’s a silky panna cotta, poised in its bergamot tea infusion, and the best spätzle dish on the menu: a sweet version, bathed in cinnamon, butter, and brown sugar." - Joel Hart