Lunya

Manchester sure ain’t short of Spanish restaurants these days, and many of them seem to have congregated on Deansgate and its surrounds. One of the latest is Catalan restaurant and deli, Lunya, branching out from its original Liverpool restaurant with its second outlet in Barton Arcade.

Lunya’s price points may be slightly higher than some of its nearby counterparts’ – though slightly lower than others – but stand-out dishes like deep-fried Monte Enebro goats’ cheese drizzled in honey, and Chipirones (fried baby squid) might just about justify the hike, and while desserts can be a bit hit-and-miss, the cheese menu is a corker – Torta del Casar’s your guy if you like your sheeps’ cheese stinky and buttery, and there are some great blues if you’re going for a sweet sherry after dinner.

There’s a surprisingly good gin selection, too, which includes several rarer Spanish varieties such as Sikkim Fraise and Mascaro no. 9 alongside better-known favourites like Gin Mare, but the sherries are even more impressive, with a decently priced £7.95 taster flight for both novices and the indecisive, taking you from a dry Fino through to sticky-sweet Pedro Ximenez via Amontillado. [Jess Hardiman]