The hip Manchester district of Ancoats has once again found itself in a list of the world's coolest places. For Cutting Room Square in Ancoats has just been named in a list of the 33 Coolest Streets in the World according to Time Out magazine.
It features at number 21 in the list, which also boasts the likes of Auckland, New Zealand, Copenhagen in Denmark, Boston, Miami and San Francisco in America, and Berlin in Germany. Rue Wellington in Montreal, Canada tops the list of coolest streets - thanks to being bookended by what is described as the "best new bar and best new restaurant in the city".
But Ancoats makes the cut thanks to its mix of culture, dining and "rich history" - while the large open-air dining space at the heart of the square is praised by the guide.
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The list is made up of streets that Time Out says are "manageable microcosms of the world’s most exciting cities – each one chock-full of independent businesses, creative humans and everything else that makes urban life brilliant".
In choosing Cutting Room Square, the report said: "If there’s one place that brings together Manchester's proud industrial heritage with all of the advantages of a forward-looking city, it’s Cutting Room Square, right in the middle of Ancoats."
It advises visitors to sit out in the open air and to gaze out at the converted warehouses as well as St Peter's Church which is now the HQ of the Halle Orchestra. It praises the wealth of award-wining places to dine - which of course includes Greater Manchester's only Michelin star restaurant in the form of Mana.
It concludes: "Cutting Room Square’s seamless mix of culture, exquisite dining and rich sense of history makes it the coolest street in the UK’s coolest city (there, we’ve said it)."
The latest accolade for Ancoats comes amid the incredible renaissance of a district that was once home to some of the largest mills in the city and the engine room of the Industrial Revolution. But the area fell into disrepair after the slump of the cotton industry, and became more notorious than it was desirable.
The city's rapid development over the past 20 years would go on to see independent food and drink operators increasingly lured from the burgeoning Northern Quarter to the other side of Great Ancoats Street. It has seen old mills brought back to life and new apartment blocks spring up, fostering a community of creative, young professionals and a trove of restaurants, bars and cafés catering to them.
From Little Italy to Little Vietnam, the communities that have made their home here over the years have also shaped the melting pot of cuisines on offer. Time Out recommends Rudy's Pizza as the place to go in Ancoats - but there is now a huge range of eateries for visitors to choose from.
There's the acclaimed Jane Eyre for small plates and cocktails, Nam for Vietnamese street food, brunch favourite The Counter House, Canto for tapas and of course the Michelin Star fine dining of Mana. The Edinburgh Castle pub just off the square was also praised in the guide for being "downright Dickensian" in design with its candlelit nooks.
The council just last week confirmed that streets around the square would be pedestrianised for another six months - after doing so during the pandemic proved a success. If the continuation proves to be a hit it could be permanently car-free around the bustling section of Ancoats.
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