宽窄巷 Noodle Alley in Manchester

One of the best meals I had in Manchester since I came to university a year ago. The flavors of these food reminds me home taste a lot. Spicy, numbing and full of taste. Lovely little restaurant with friendly staff too. Definitely give a try.

Our team of 6 came for lunch on Wednesday, 28 August 2024. We all had different dishes accommodating different taste buds and dietary requirements. Everyone really loved it. It was a great out day for our team and we are planning to come back.

A small shop located in Chinatown serves incredibly delicious noodles, with a rich and irresistible Sauce-flavored beef. The red oil dumplings are particularly flavorful. There are many Sichuan specialties to try, and I highly recommend giving them a taste.

The best Sichuan Chinese restaurant ever with the most authentic flavour, even better than the local Sichuan Chinese in China. The menu is full of the most famous cuisines. Staffs and the owner are the most hospitality in China town.

The boss is a pretty lady, come and taste it quickly.

I don't understand the positive reviews for this place. We chose to dine here because of the high rating and it was mediocre at best but mostly bad. We like Chinese food, we like Szechuan and we like noodles and ribs. We also ordered rice and spring rolls. The ribs were bad and arrived cold. We left most uneaten. The spring rolls were tiny and flavorless. The egg rice was bland and pasty but the worst part was the noodles. We ordered the top offering in a place called Noodle Alley so if anything else failed, the noodles should have been great. No. It wasn't. They would have been sub par in any Chinese restaurant. In this one they were directly mediocre. I always enjoy the soup after eating the noodles. As with the ribs, I decided to not finish my plate instead. This is a never again place for us.

Amazing food, chewy noodles and so much flavour!! Great options for all food types. I really recommend the deep fried salt and pepper oyster mushrooms! We also had the scallion noodles, amazing and chewy noodles, stir fried noodles, king prawn stir fry, char Sui pork stir fry and the soy and tofu salad, all super yummy! Staff are lovely too!

Really enjoyed this restaurant, well presented and very tasty with just the right mix of spices. 5 stars from me.

Soup noodles came in a big bowl. Whereas the fried noodle portion was smaller and not very special. I would recommend soup noodles. The sour and spicy potato noodle was good but could have been better if it were Sichuan spice. The spicyness of the noodle was supposed to be 2 chilli but not very spicy. If you have an allergy to nuts, beware and the staff was good at asking if we had any food allergies.

We love this lovely place! We've returned many times, drawn by their delightful service. We enjoyed stir-fried noodles and soup noodles with pickled cabbage and shredded pork. The noodles were so fresh, and the zesty, tangy soup was truly a flavor sensation.

Incredible food, full of flavour and not overly spicy. The atmosphere was cozy and inviting, creating a lovely dining experience. Highly recommend for anyone craving authentic Chinese cuisine.

Such a lovely place for noodles. Amazing taste and service.

Steamed Beef and Sauerkraut Rice Noodles This steamed rice noodles with beef and sauerkraut is a surprising combination of flavors and textures. The beef is steamed and tender in the mouth, with a slight spicy and garlic flavor. The sauerkraut provides a refreshing sour flavor that complements the smooth texture of the rice noodles. The overall taste is rich in layers, sour, spicy and fragrant, making it unforgettable. Whether served as a main course or on its own, this dish is a satisfying treat for your taste buds and highly recommended. Raw pepper beef noodles The beef slices in the Raw Pepper Beef Noodles are fresh and tender, and paired with the spicy kick brought by the raw pepper, it really makes you want to eat it one bite after another. But overall, the saltiness of the noodles is slightly high, which can easily take away the flavor of other ingredients. It is recommended to adjust the proportion of seasonings appropriately to make the soft texture of the noodles and the fresh flavor of the beef more prominent. In addition, if you can add some refreshing side dishes to balance the spiciness, the whole dish will be more coordinated and will not make people feel too greasy. Braised Sichuan style pig ears The pig ear slices in this dish of Braised Sichuan Style Pig Ears are thinly and evenly sliced, with a very crisp texture and the unique aroma of brine. However, the overall taste is slightly salty, and eating too much can easily make your mouth dry, which may affect diners' overall dining experience. Although the braised flavor is strong, if you can reduce the salt or add some greasy ingredients, such as cucumber slices or shredded green vegetables, it will better enhance the flavor of the pig ears and make this appetizer more refreshing and pleasant, suitable for a variety of main dishes. vegetable. This restaurant does not have a hygiene rating, and seating arrangements are based on the staff's preferences! 👎🏻

Still as good as the first time. This is our second visit. This time with friends and kids. The food is delicious,original and different to many others. Loads to choose from. Don't have to have spicy or if you do there is chilli on the table 😁 and Wendy is a wonderful host. Additional comment is from 9 year old Sophie - she asked for this to be posted: 😀 " Amazing food and service people were really nice. Spicy food and none spicy. Excellent drinks. Brilliant Chinese restaurant. 5 stars :) " ❤️

Great place! We accidentally put vinegar on our food and they replaced it for free. Very tasty food!

The service is very good and the staff are so nice. If you like spicy food, do not miss this one in China Town.

Great food, I had the dry noodles with yellow peas. Staff were lovely and quick service so good for a lunch break

You don't go here for the atmosphere, but for fantastic food. The steamed beef is highly recommended, as is the double cooked pork belly.

Noodles with pork mince were really delicious. The wonton weren't the best ones.

The waiters were extremely indifferent and made me feel uncomfortable.

Love the food - way better than those I had in London

Great food, friendly staff and reasonable prices. Great place 👍

A nice restaurant that seemed authentic to me. There were many interesting dishes that I had never seen on a menu before. However, the selection of spicy dishes is significantly larger than that of non-spicy dishes. I ordered the "stir fried noodles with pork char siu" and the noodles were really tasty. The meat was plentiful and ok. I also drank an iced tea that was too sweet for me. In summary, I would recommend this restaurant.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere, service, location, and the food was delicious. The soup noodles came out amazingly quickly, like within 3 minutes, but the dry noodles came a bit slower, but not too slow. The staff were super friendly and professional. Authentic Chinese dishes.

Really tasty food, the service is fast and the staff are very welcoming and quick to get you to your table. We went on a Friday evening and all really enjoyed it. Chinatown looks really cool from here too if you're looking for a photo

TLDR: A cosy little spot, to get a lovely fix of noodles in Manchester. Every dish is cooked to perfection, is incredibly fresh and tasty. I’ve been a couple of times and highly recommend the ‘burning noodles’ and ‘su jiao mian.’ Great value for money for a wonderful meal. It’s a little hidden gem in Chinatown, and highly recommend making a reservation (via phone call or Instagram), as it gets busy during evenings, however, it is a quiet spot during weekdays and lunch times on most days. The staff are friendly, and the food comes out relatively fast. The atmosphere is nice, nicely decorated, clean and aesthetic. In terms of drinks, they have a good variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks; highly recommend going for their ‘fizzy lychee and crushed raspberry’ which is incredibly refreshing, and compliments your meal. Overall, a lovely little spot, and I can see this as one of my favourite noodle restaurants in the whole of the UK! Thank you! 🍜⭐️

Food is great but don't trust the spice ratings, not sure who scored the spiciness levels but everything we've tried so far was mild at best.

Although I am not a Manchester United fan, as an Asiba fan, I still come here to like it.

The Su Jiao Mian was very flavourful and made you wish you could have more

Friendly staff, great food, amazing drinks, certainly worth a visit! Make sure to get one of the specialty drinks

My go-to place in Manchester Chinatown these days. Normally get one of the dry noodle dishes, raspberry and lychee drink, always great!

The most authentic Chinese food I've ever tried in Manchester! Had the hand-made thick noodles and the Pig's ear with chilli oil that they've just launched, it's exactly same with what I had in Sichuan few years ago. Also the service is reallly good and given me a kind home vibe. Will definitely try again with my friends!

Easy no fuss Chinese restaurant. Large meals. Actually to be shared by two customers. Red wine was delicious

Really delicious food! Noodles had the perfect texture and service was incredibly fast. Staff were also all lovely and attentive.

I had house steamed beef soup and crispy tofu with pickled chillies. Beef and noodles were amazing, not much meat though for the price. I expected a soup but received a saucy pasta instead. Sauce was tasty, but so rich you can only use it as a dip, it's not possible to drink the "broth". I wouldn't order tofu again. Tofu cubes are deep fried without any marinade and have no taste. Pickled chillies don't penetrate cubes enough to make it a satisfying dish. I might have picked wrong items but expected a bit more for the price.

Lovely little restaurant in China town. Very friendly staffs and truly authentic Sichuan food. My sweet potato vermicelli was the best I had for a long time.

I wanted to try this place since long time ago. Good is great service amazing and atmosphere really good. Il be back!

I come here often and highly recommend it! Delicious authentic food and great atmosphere. It can be a quick lunch for one, or you can get lots of sharing plates with friends!

Food is average, but service is terrible. Specifically the girl with a bun and black rectangle glasses - I’ve seen other reviews complaining about her and she needs to be fired. Firstly, we arrived at 5pm and the place was empty except for 3 tables. They pointed us to sit at a middle table, but we wanted to sit at the sides with the sofas so we asked this waitress if we could. She replied no as other people might have made a reservation or larger groups might come in. We understand if it’s peak time but there were literally 5 empty tables with sofas, it was so early and we were just gonna be there for like an hour?? Mind you in the hour we were there no reserved/large groups came in and they even let 2 girls sit there after us. Talk about discrimination. We then asked another waitress and she agreed to let us sit on the side. Secondly, they didn’t serve us tap water at all throughout the meal. Given that their whole concept revolves around spicy food I would expect some decency to ask if we want tap water. It’s as if they want to force you to order drinks from their menu. Lastly, since no tap water was given but we wanted to quench our thirst after the spicy food, I poured some water from my water bottle into an empty glass for my partner. That same waitress immediately snapped at me that outside drinks aren’t allowed. I stared at her and said but this is my own water?? from my own water bottle??? I cannot believe how rude she was being. You have eyes, look properly before criticising your customers. A good waitress would’ve also noticed that perhaps we needed water and would’ve offered to serve us tap water. But that’s probably too much to ask of her when she can’t even get the basics right. I was looking forward to trying this restaurant but I cannot be more disappointed by my experience today, it was ruined because of that one waitress.

Amazing restaurant, so much flavour in all the dishes and really nice atmosphere.

One of the best Chinese restaurants I've been.

Delicious Chinese food and unlike anything I've eaten before. We had the pork dumplings, the sweet and sour ribs (very tasty and completely different to any ribs I've eaten before) and 2 dry mixed noodle dishes with pork mince. The noodles were fresh and very filling and the right amount of spice without being overpowering. Staff were lovely and helpful. Toilets spotlessly clean. Definitely planning on going again and trying other menus. Access is downstairs so wouldn't be great for anyone with mobility issues.

Fantastic decor and food. Service was outstanding as well. Certainly coming back.

Hands down the best Chinese food I have ever eaten! Not only are the flavours excellent and unique, the food taste incredibly fresh! 10 out of 10 will definitely be eating here again!

Temporary drop by, the taste is first-rate, the most authentic noodles I have ever eaten in the UK This restaurant is the best tasting noodle I have ever had in the UK. Thanks.

Lovely restaurant, good prices, nice veggie options, really really good staff.

As a 50+ year old the only Chinese food I've eaten all my life is the anglicised version that is the same tasteless food that every restaurant serves wherever you go to. In the Last few years I've discovered the authentic chinese/Cantonese food and it's been a revelation, so much tastier and totally different to the food the English people are use to eating. We normally travel the 90 minutes round trip to Leeds as we have found an excellent restaurant there that serves traditional food. We are having a couple of days away in Manchester so I scoured TripAdvisor for a great traditional Chinese or Cantonese restaurant and boy did I hit the Jackpot, the menu isn't as big at Noodle Alley as the one in Leeds and for us, that was better as it wasn't as Daunting but the lovely waitress helped us by asking what we liked and the amount of spice and we chose perfect dishes with her advice. The quality was fantastic and very reasonably priced with incredible flavours. We are only here 2 nights but we are going back there again tomorrow to eat and there are hundreds of restaurants to choose from within 500 metres of our Hotel so that should tell you how good it is. 2 lads were looking at the menu outside when we left and we told them to go in as the food was amazing, they said they'd seen the restaurant on Tiktok and were trying to decide between this one and another but walked into Noodle Alley after we spoke to them. Try this restaurant, you won't be disappointed.

Amazing place for some really good Sichuan flavours. Hands down one of Manchester’s finest gems🫶🏼

Delisous veg noodles should have bought some tofu too as looked great, if we had more time was a very quick lunch and tgey served it quickly for us as we were rushing

Great food so far since I came for the first time. Portions size is quite big. Food came out quite quickly. Fried tofu was ok. Burning noodles were quite interesting and definitely worth a try if looking for something to eat in Chinatown

LOVELY !!!! Went on a recommendation - was not disappointed ! Absolutely fabulous authentic food - Wendy the owner and host was so knowledgeable and friendly, advising on the different dishes. Not your average 'chinese' - this was so different - everything cooked fresh, beautifully presented and tasty. Went on a Monday night- was still busy with a mix of customers, lovely to see plenty of Chinese clientele - I always think this is the best recommendation to see! Thoroughly recommend to try this restaurant - ask if not sure about any dishes. Beautiful atmosphere & decor. Thank you for a lovely meal & service Wendy 👍🏽

The food and drink are perfect, and the portions are very large. I will definitely bring friends to taste it again

Great food and amazing service. Prices were fantastic for the portion size too. Will certainly be back soon

I have never been a big fan of Chinese food and would rather choose other cuisines over it. Having seen great reviews, I decided to visit The Noodle Alley with my family. The restaurant was busy which was a good sign but it did not take very long to get a table. We have been recommended some dishes based on our likings by our lovely host and all perfectly suited us. My little daughter who is a fussy eater finished all of her hand-made wontons and my vegetarian girlfriend really enjoyed her tofu-based meal. My pork and peanut noodles with a ticklish Szechuan pepper were delicious. Small plates we decided to share disappeared in no time. Overall, Szechuan cousine is so much different than the bog-standard chinese-labelled food. Highly recommended jf you have not tried it before. The dishes we've eaten in this restaurant's have changed my perception of chinese food. Will definitely come back there to try some more.

Very good food and authentic Szechuan menu. Atmosphere is very good 👍

The fried rice was soggy, salty and unpalatable.

It has a good ambience and pretty good food. We had a food experience in this restaurant.

I don't see why I can't bring ice smoothies. I bought an ice smoothie before entering the restaurant and when I ordered I was told that I could not drink anything other than what was sold in this restaurant. The waitress took my ice smoothie away, and she returned it to me at the end of my meal, everything already dissolved into water. I'm really angry about this. You don't let customers bring drinks into the restaurant because then they won't buy your own drinks? Cheap.

Tried this place while in town. It’s a cosy place. We had the special meat ball/chicken soup noodle which had spam, chicken and vegetables. Soup was a bit bland, not sure where the meat balls were… The chicken dry noodle was nice and spicy. Service was friendly.

Friendly basement restaurant with great selection of reasonably priced noodle dishes. Tasty and spicy Szechuan options available as well as specials of the day.

Very tasty noodles in a nice atmosphere. Menu with some vegan options. Very friendly and attentive service.

The tastiest Japanese food, I've ever eat High quality service, nice staff 😍😍😍

Amazing food. Very quick service. A real gem! Will be coming back!

We have eaten in a few times and order to takeaway regularly and every time the food and service is lovely. Every dish i’ve tried has been really flavourful with incredible hand made noodles. Plenty of vegetarian options to choose from too. We can’t stop coming back!

Omg! This is spectacular I could have a food holiday here!

The noodles are super delicious, and the most important thing is that the ladies and aunties in the store are more warm-hearted than the last. After watching the game, I was soaked all over. The lady helped me put my clothes on the dryer and also helped my friend get a new towel to dry her hair. Thank you🥹

Lovely people at this very authentic place. Good noodles, good spring rolls, that is what you go for.

Most authentic Sichuan food in the town!

Coming with friends on a busy Saturday night. Staff welcomed us and help us get a table in just short wait. Really enjoyed our food especially my beef noodle and pig knuckles. Authentic and tasty. I would not hesitate to recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants to try real Chinese food.

The food was lovely, there were so many vegetarian options, the drinks were also amazing especially the raspberry lychee and the staff were so friendly and helpful. Would recommend for anyone looking for unique, delicious dishes!

Love noodle alley, wonderful food, amazing service, hand made spicy noodles, braised pork belly, vegan noodles with peanuts and chilli, This is my favourite place to eat, staff will take time and help with food selection and the owners are enthusiastic to share their hometown cooking and happy to chat. A really charming and tasty Sichuan noodle bar. Keep doing what you love guys. ❤️🍜👏

A delightful Sichuan noodle shop in Chinatown featuring additional rice dishes, small plates and interesting desserts. Any "spicy" marked dishes mean they have a lot of mala/numbingness. Traditional noodles weren't so chewy and had a slight bite, similar to spaghetti. We got scallion oil noodles, burning noodles, and beef brisket soup noodles with bamboo shoots. All dishes used a flavorsome oil, which made it oily but intense. Even their tap water has some lemon to balance this. I recommend getting an acidic drink/asahi beer with their noodle dishes. The burning noodles had peanuts and cucumber for texture and balance, I enjoyed this. The shop was simple and very red. The bench seatings on the side weren't very sturdy and were quite far from the table. The staff are very friendly and gave us sweets at the end. Would love to try their small plates next time. We also got the poached egg dessert because no way that could be good and it wasnt lmao please dont order it 😭

I really wanted to love Noodle Alley but I was very underwhelmed. Lovely staff and environment but the food was surprisingly bland and spice seemed to be missing. Even the house special chilli oil on every table didn't seem to have barely any spice in it. We had two noodle dishes and a wonton soup one, the soup broth was very watery and even the wontons lacked flavour although seemed fresh. Szechwan dumplings had no tongue numbing szechwan. I think it's a place of great potential and isn't doing itself justice.

Very tasty food at a reasonable price. Enjoyed this small restaurant on busy Faulkner Street - rather than stand in the queues for Happy Seasons or Pho Cue it’s worth trying this alternative. Good flavours and hearty portions, recommended.

I got the boneless chicken rice noodles and pork dumplings I was recommended this by the server Jenny ( service was amazing). Thank you for recommending to us.

A wide selection of noodles to choose from the menu and the staff were very attentive and welcoming

I loved Noodle Alley so much that I almost don't want anyone else to know about it. The food is brilliant, the staff are lovely, it's laid back, good portions, and I couldn't have had a nicer time. Fabulous.

Pork Aubergine and pork dumping were So good. Only issue was thick noodle was 2xl udon noodle, would be nice if its hand pulled noodle and slightly chewy.

Like the food here, service is great, definitely a nice place to visit

Incredible food, efficient service, and friendly staff. They serve generous portions and have a great variety of dishes to choose from (my favourite is the pork belly in garlic and chilli sauce and the Wan Za Mian). It has become one of my top restaurants in Manchester. Unique, authentic, has a beautiful interior, and an inviting atmosphere. I highly recommend visiting this restaurant!

Brilliant place, the sauce on the dumplings was amazing, resisted mopping it up with my fingers. Just!

Their food looks fragrant but isn't, so the dish feels like it's the same seasoning packet, salty but not fragrant, and it's not authentic. What's more to complain about is the pink-haired waitress, which especially affects the mood of eating, she is really disgusting, and can feel her impatience and discussion eyes. Don't let bring milk tea, mandatory to put it at the door of the store I don't know if it's reasonable. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant to anyone

Incredible noodles. Brilliant addition to the city bringing an under represented regional cuisine to everyone.

Absolutely loved it! Noodles were everything I hoped they would be. Highly recommended.

The food is super delicious and beautiful😊~ Jenny’s service is super nice~~ There is also a part-time lady from Hong Kong who also has super good service and she is super nice ~~ Thank you☺️❤️ I wish you all the best in your studies and work

Yummy but overpriced for small portions. Service was efficient

The cutest little restaurant in China Town. Absolutely delicious noodles! The dishes are value for money as the portion is big. Definitely will come back Again!

Fabulous find!! Hopefully will be back 🙏 👍

Street food experience. Very fast service. Food is good value. Not very spicy compared to typical expectations, but does not lose out on flavour and authenticity otherwise.

Very very good dishes and new flavors. 100% recommended if you fancy Asian food and are passing through Chinatown. The service was very friendly and they were very charming.

I love this place must try food as good as it looks 😍😉

First I tried Chinese food which is pretty good in the UK. I've been here twice, but unfortunately it didn't have any big dishes.

Basic set up but a delight to eat here. Really enjoyed the food and great staff.

Some of the best noodles I have ever had . Will definitely be coming back

I went to have dinner at noodle alley with a large group of people recently and unfortunately didn't have the best experience. While the food was delicious they clearly weren't equipped for a large group (15ish) and ordering was really difficult. The waitress, who was lovely but really struggling, asked each person individually for their order but we were confused because we were using menu numbers but she was using dish names and they'd already taken the menus away so no one could remember the name of their dish. This took about 10 minutes and then she went around and confirmed the order, once again, we tried but without the menu to refer back to, struggled. The food was really, really good and I was super happy with how quickly it came out, how clean it was and how good the flavors worked together. While there definitely wasn't enough staff for a large group they were attentive and made sure we had drinks and water. The issue came at the end of the meal. 4 of us were heading off the see a play and the rest of the group wanted to stay for a few more drinks so we went up to the counter to pay for our own meals. I understand that this isn't ideal but we all knew exactly what we had ordered and all of us tipped for the inconvenience but it required all three of the women working there to figure it out. We would say what we ordered, they would then ask the waitress in Mandarin who would tell them what we ordered in Mandarin, then they found the item in English on our receipt and then added it up, which is complicated and took ages but really wasn't our fault. Then, the woman who had served us started lecturing me about how she had worked so hard to take all the orders and now I was making life difficult for her colleagues and I felt really uncomfortable and embarrassed. While I love the food I wouldn't return because I wouldn't feel comfortable going back after being berated for trying to pay my bill. Edit: after a wonderful response from the restaurant I have amended my rating as I think is fair. It is always nice to see reviews taken seriously and I'm impressed with the professionalism displayed. I will be returning to try those fat noodles I've seen in photos!

Excellent, authentic Sichuan food. After living in China for several years, it was amazing to find this place which is in no way catered for foreign tastes. Don’t come here expecting takeaway style Chinese - this is the real deal! Staff were also extremely friendly, but perhaps used to Chinese dining custom - be prepared to raise your hand and ask for attention, rather than wait for them to come to you! Totally normal in China, but some not used to this may perceive it to be bad service - it’s not!

Horrible attitude from the cashier maxy. Stared at me and looked stern.

fab food, fab service, fab atmosphere and the plates are very cute

Delightful restaurant, run by absolutely charming staff, serving genuine authentic Chinese food. My only reservation would be whether you actually want genuine authentic Chinese food. I'll explain my comment with a parallel to Indian food - the most popular Indian dish in the UK is chicken tikka masala, but do you think that meal even exists in India? This place was rammed, so it suggests that people do want 'the real thing', but it is not the same as 'English Chinese', so make sure you understand the menu before visiting. I had a large bowl of chicken broth with noodles. The broth was delicious, but contained chicken skin and bones, with very little chicken you would actually want to eat. I can imagine what's left of a chicken carcass being chopped up with a cleaver, bone and all, then boiled to make the broth. I do the same thing at home to make (delicious!) chicken soup, but the difference is that I strain the soup to remove all the bits I'm not going to want to eat whereas they didn't. I'm sure that's authentic, but it's not actually the sort of thing I want when I go for 'a Chinese'. Judging by the queue outside, lots of people want genuine Chinese food - just make sure that you are one of them. If you are, then I doubt you will find nicer staff, or better service than at this restaurant.

Really enjoyed my visit to Noodle Alley! Had heard good things and it was bustling when we arrived which is a good sign. Despite it being busy, we managed to get a table for 2 quickly (on a Friday). There's a lot of different options on the menu, including sharing plates, small starters, dry and soup noodles. We ordered two starters to share and then a bowl of noodles each. All of it was delicious! A little bit spicy but in a good way and you can add more chilli oil or soy sauce if you want as they are available on the table. Will definitely come back to try the other dishes on the menu.