Diners' Choice: Lively restaurants in Cheshire

OpenTable

Updated 05 December 2024

Looking for restaurants that have the most vibrant bar scenes in Cheshire? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyses nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favourite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you book, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

The Coast Prestbury

4.8

4.8 (833)

£25 and under

Italian

Macclesfield

About the restaurant

The Coast in Prestbury.

Reflecting our head chef’s love of Italy’s Amalfi coast, welcome to all the beauty and flavour of Europe’s most stunning coastline – in the heart of Cheshire.

Using only the finest ‘mare e monte’ or land and sea ingredients, our chefs create the best of both authentic and modern Italian cuisine in a glamorous contemporary setting.

The Coast has the perfect atmosphere for intimate meals, family parties, corporate events or to simply enjoy imaginative cocktails, wines and beers in our vibrant bar and lounge.

We look forward to seeing you at The Coast.

Top review

Jennifer

Dined 3 days ago

Delicious food and great service!!! Can’t wait to visit again 😊

Riva Cocktail Bar and Restaurant

4.8

4.8 (759)

£26 to £40

British

Hale

About the restaurant

WELCOME TO RIVA LOUNGE BAR AND RESTAURANT IN HALE VILLAGE

Great quality, serious but unpretentious food, with a friendly and personal service. All wrapped up in a relaxed, casual, comfortable setting.

Serving everything from Bar Snacks to a full A La Carte and Sunday Lunch, great cocktails alongside an extensive wine list.

Top review

Mark

Dined on 12 Dec 2024

An excellent venue for a cosy lunch with top service

Urbano 32

4.7

4.7 (649)

£25 and under

Pizzeria

Chester

About the restaurant

Urbano32 is a pizza restaurant, bar & social meeting place.
The focal point of the restaurant alongside its amazing rustic, industrial interior is the handmade clay pizza oven from which we serve sourdough pizzas alongside antipasti & daily specials using only the freshest quality ingredients.
With a thriving bar scene both before & after dining, fantastic service & great food Urbano32 is perfect for any occasion. A bespoke wine list together with a small but well defined cocktail list & a selection of craft beers will satisfy guests with even the most diverse of tastes.
Urbano32’s welcoming staff will provide you with great service and that coupled with the amazing food & drink makes us a fantastic addition to Chester’s dining scene.

Top review

stephanie

Dined 2 days ago

Overall, excellent experience, staff are great, helpful. Didn’t really like the table location but nobody’s fault, the place was busy. Food was lovely.

Giovanni's Knutsford

4.6

4.6 (1045)

£25 and under

Italian

Knutsford

About the restaurant

Giovanni’s is an absolute must for connoisseur’s of Italian food. Our staff have worked in the finest restaurants across Italy; so you’re truly guaranteed an unforgettable Italian dining experience, in both food & service.
Our restaurant is housed in the beautiful Grade II listed building formerly known as the Old Post Office, on King Street in Knutsford. Richard Harding Watt influenced the town’s architecture by delivering a little piece of Italy for everyone to appreciate, up and down King Street, notably in the design of the memorial tower overlooking Giovanni’s.

Top review

Adele

Dined 6 days ago

Great menu, options for everyone of every age and every diet. Staff are wonderful and the decor is lovely. Very upmarket feeling.

The Nags Head

4.6

4.6 (329)

£26 to £40

Pub

Beeston

About the restaurant

The Nag's Head is a quintessential English pub in a village called Haughton Moss, near Tarporley in rural Cheshire. It has been re-mixed and re-imagined by the people behind the multi-award winning Altrincham Market; Mackie Mayor, Manchester and Picturedrome, Macclesfield.

The Nag's Head is a listed building that dates back to its origin as a Smithy in the 1740's, on the trade route connecting the ports of Liverpool and North Wales to the Potteries.

At The Nag's Head sister venues we have earned a reputation for high quality food, delivered in beautiful buildings, served informally. The point? - to make eating out with family, with friends, with kids with dogs accessible, rewarding and part of your 'everyday'.

Expect seasonal changes, kitchen co-labs with our sister venues, glamping, growing and outdoorsy stuff on our adjoining 4 acres in the not-too-distant future.

Top review

Dave

Dined on 4 Dec 2024

Fabulous ambience. Relaxed and comfortable with great choice of areas to sit. Staff always welcoming and helpful. They have a good knowledge of their wine. Food was hot and a great selection for all palates. Well done team. Will be back …..

Piccolino - Knutsford

4.6

4.6 (206)

£26 to £40

Italian

Knutsford

About the restaurant

Situated in the heart of Cheshire and boasting the stunning Tatton Park on it’s doorstep, historic Knutsford is undisputedly one of Cheshire’s prettiest villages. Knutsford’s is an intriguing mix of past and present: think cutting-edge businesses housed within listed buildings, and high-end interior designers next to cosy tearooms. Knutsford is a town of contrasts, which is why it’s the ideal location for Piccolino. Piccolino’s ethos has always been to mix classic with contemporary to create something that truly is the best of both- that’s why Piccolino’s menu offers an array of Italian classics with a distinctly modern twist.
Piccolino, an authentic Italian Restaurant, is a proud fixture of the Knutsford dining scene. Ideally situated in a central village location on High Street, Piccolino in Knutsford boasts an open kitchen, second floor bar area and a substantial rooftop terrace featuring a fully retractable roof, for the ultimate alfresco experience rain or shine!

Top review

Sue

Dined 7 days ago

Fantastic experience this evening from being welcomed and shown to our table, to leaving. The food, service and whole ambience could not be faulted! Excellent and will return.

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Celebrate New Year's Eve!

Cibo Wilmslow

4.5

4.5 (226)

£26 to £40

Italian

Wilmslow

About the restaurant

Perched in the heart of Wilmslow, Cheshire, Cibo Wilmslow beckons with a promise of genuine Italian finesse. Much like its sibling in Hale, this establishment reflects a unique blend of design and style, offering guests a space that feels both familiar and fresh.

Surrounded by an aura of relaxation reminiscent of a warm Italian home, every diner is ensconced in an ambience of elegance and ease. Every dish tells a story, crafted with the freshest ingredients and age-old recipes, guaranteeing a dining experience that's truly memorable. Here, we don't just serve meals; we create moments. Join us and relish in authentic Italian cuisine that captivates the palate and warms the soul.

Top review

Neil

Dined 4 days ago

My favourite Wilmslow restaurant but wish the staff would give a smile now and again. They are always busy I get that but a smile and a pleasantry isn’t difficult. Piccolino’s isn’t as good and as traditional but the staff are far more pleasant. Can’t fault the food and the ambience though in CIBO so we are lucky to have it on the doorstep

Opera Grill - Chester

4.4

4.4 (440)

£26 to £40

Grill

Chester

About the restaurant

Standing out from the crowd, our 400-seater restaurant is housed in a grand Grade II listed building featuring a distinct neoclassical Greek façade and mixes an industrial look with a touch of opulence inside. Opera Grill brings theatre on a grand scale to Chester. At the heart of our menu is the theatre charcoal grill and wood-burning ovens, inspired by revered chefs and restaurants from around the world. The entertainment continues in a first-floor Music Gallery featuring a stage set for live acts every Friday, and a mix of soulful classics performed by our gospel choir every Sunday.
The distinctive spaces in Opera Grill are all available for hire for meetings, conferences and special events with bespoke menus and entertainment packages.

We have limited disabled access, the 1st floor and terrace is not wheelchair accessible.

Top review

Hiren

Dined 4 days ago

Good food, staff weren’t very attentive and also kept forgetting things from order. Nice venue too. Our business partners enjoyed the evening.

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Festive Party Night with Live Entertainment

Piccolino - Chester

4.3

4.3 (439)

£26 to £40

Italian

Chester

About the restaurant

Chester’s historic beauty and unique atmosphere make it one of the UK’s most popular places to visit. This ancient city is a must for history-lovers: walk the Roman walls following in the footsteps of Roman soldiers, and visit the largest Amphitheatre in Britain. It makes sense that with all that Roman history, Chester is also home to one of the area’s best Italian restaurants, Piccolino!
Piccolino, an authentic Italian Restaurant, is a proud fixture of the Chester dining scene. Located on Pepper Street, Piccolino in Chester boasts an open kitchen, cocktail bar, and wine boutique. Piccolino is also home to Chester’s very first Prosecco bar and alfresco terrace.
We visit the regions, meet the producers and are committed to sourcing the best quality ingredients. At Piccolino, passion for provenance is at the forefront of our menu, which incorporates the best and freshest seasonal produce, Italian cheeses, meat and seafood, all delivering pure classic Italian flavours.

Top review

Owen Hefin

Dined on 20 Nov 2024

Our experience at Piccolinos -Chester is always of the highest quality . The staff are always warm and welcoming and although it’s becoming incrementally more expensive-the food is always of the highest quality both in taste and presentation.

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Celebrate New Year's Eve!

Piccolino - Wilmslow

4.3

4.3 (424)

£26 to £40

Italian

Wilmslow

About the restaurant

A gem in the Cheshire countryside, this glittering new restaurant is the latest and greatest in the Piccolino Collection. The open-plan design brings theatre to the table as you sit back and watch the chefs create exceptional dishes found only at Piccolino.

Dine indoors in the elegant oak, marble brass and mirrored interiors or on the winterised Tuscan terrace. There's no finer place to enjoy a taste of Italian cuisine and Italian living.
Come for a coffee, for drinks, for an outstanding meal or to party in style. Piccolino Wilmslow serves moments of signature luxury every visit.

Top review

Janet

Dined 2 days ago

Fabulous restaurant serving lovely food and drinks. Friendly staff. Highly recommended.

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Celebrate this New Years Eve with Piccolino

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