Moving to a new country where the culture is completely different can be a little scary at first. One of the things international students often worry about is finding food from their home region to enjoy.

Manchester and Salford have so many different international cuisine options that you will be spoiled for choice. In this blog, we’ve rounded up some of the best international cuisines in the city for you to enjoy.

International Food Districts

Manchester has two main international food districts: The Curry Mile and Chinatown.

The famous Curry Mile is located in Rusholme, just a few minutes drive out of the city centre. It has the highest concentration of Asian restaurants in the UK, including Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi cuisines. In fact, there are 70 food outlets all along one street!

As well as restaurants, there are also cafes, dessert shops and venues showing sporting events from around the world. It has multiple Asian and world food supermarkets which are open every day with specialist ingredients from different regions. So if you’re wanting to cook some of your local food at home, the Curry Mile is a good place to look for ingredients.

Located on Faulkner Street, Manchester boasts the second largest Chinatown in the UK, and is one of just five cities in England to have a Chinatown. It has a wide range of restaurants, bakeries and supermarkets. The highlight of the year is in February when the area transforms to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Chinatown is vibrant and bursting with diversity, it doesn’t just have Chinese restaurants, but also Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai and many more South East Asian restaurants. If you would prefer to cook from home there are plenty of supermarkets selling delicacies from the region.

Away from the districts, there are several fantastic international restaurants across the city, here are a few of my favourites.

Chakalaka

Chakalaka is a South African eatery located in the Northern Quarter. They are famous for their boerewors sausages which are handmade to a traditional recipe by their local South African butcher using beef, pork and traditional spices. They also have a selection of other traditional South African dishes including Bunny Chow.

Porta

Located just down the road from our Peel Park campus on Chapel Street, Porta is a Spanish tapas restaurant. They serve traditional dishes including patatas bravas, jamon iberico, tortillas and croquettes. When the sun comes out, you can also sit outside in their outdoor seating area.

Habas

Habas is a restaurant serving modern Middle Eastern cuisine, with a menu of small plates designed to be shared. The restaurant has an open-plan design where guests can watch their dishes being prepared. Dishes include hummus, tzatziki, chicken shawarma and batata harra, to name a few.

Rita’s Reign

Located in the Piccadilly Garden Markets, Rita’s Reign serves Afro-Caribbean food from Tuesday to Sunday. The eatery has got a fantastic reputation so you will likely have to queue but trust me it will be worth the wait! The jerk chicken and goat curry are the bestsellers.

Kargo MKT

If you aren’t sure what food you fancy, why not try the brand-new international eatery, Kargo MKT located in MediaCity?

Whatever cuisine you’re in the mood for you’ll likely find it there, from Burmese to Italian and Greek to Ethiopian. Not only does the market have a wide range of food options, but it also accommodates for whatever time of day you’re eating.

The location is also a big pull for Kargo MKT as it is in the heart of MediaCity, close to our campus and the Lowry Theatre.

We hope you liked our guide to just some of the international cuisines you will find in Manchester and Salford.