The Oystercatcher in Manchester

Genuinely one of the best meals I've eaten in Manchester! Between 3 of us, we shared 3 starters, the platter for 2, and a side of chips. Generous portions, delicate flavours, everything we ate was delicious. Excellent service. It was less than £45 a head with drinks, so amazing value as well. 100% would return!

Amazing restaurant! We enjoyed the seafood platter, oysters, and desserts—raspberry crème brûlée and sticky toffee pudding. The food was fresh, perfectly cooked, and incredibly flavorful. What sets this place apart is their use of charcoal grilling, which elevates the taste of everything to a whole new level. I can't wait to go back!

Really good seafood restraunt, service was top notch, nice chilled restraunt. Worth the price.

Found a gem-level gourmet restaurant. It only takes ten minutes to take an Uber from the city center to the restaurant, which is very convenient and a level worthy of returning. The four of us ordered oysters and salt-and-pepper squid as appetizers for dinner, and the main dish was angler fish cooked in seafood mixed with sauce, plus charcoal-grilled broccoli and French fries. We ordered a few non-alcoholic drinks. Every dish is delicious and delicious. The service is very attentive and friendly. What is a little surprising is that the boss (probably) speaks Cantonese and understands it well. He has such a friendly attitude. It is easy to understand that so many Hong Kong people have helped here before. This restaurant experience is a surprise, I will try its other dishes next time👍🏻

We found this restaurant through searching by location and it was a real find. Delicious food, tempting menu with friendly and efficient (but relaxed) service and great ambience. We overheard a fellow guest, who is obviously a regular, say it is one of the best restaurants in Manchester and we’d agree. Would be worth the effort to travel from a more central location.

The food at The Oystercatcher is simply delicious. My son and his girlfriend treated my wife and I to a dinner, it was a great evening out with really good food and the service was superb. I highly recommend this establishment. We shared the seafood platter, would also recommend this dish.

Reasonable price, excellent service, excellent food. Always my choice to go for seafood in Manchester.

Brilliant little fish place in Chorlton. A real gem. Fantastic fresh fish with lovely sides and a nice wine list, all for quite reasonable prices given the quality of the food. I had the whole sea bream with broccoli and tzatziki - excellent. Lovely bottle of French Viognier to drink. The cheeseplate from Chorlton Cheesemongers was outstanding as well.

Best seafood lead restaurant in Manchester. Flavoursome, great dishes, changing menu and lovely staff. Cant recommend enough.

Me and my partner had the best seafood I’ve ever had in the uk !!

I first came here about 2 or 3 weeks ago. I was with three colleagues who generally stick to food from their own country. I did the ordering and we had a mix of plates and I can safely say it was all devoured! This week, I returned with my wife and brother-in-law. We nibbled on the olives and padron peppers then on to starters. Scotch eggs (a portion each for my wife and me) and cured salmon taco for Jack. To mains, fish & chips, tandoori monk fish and a mixed platter for 1. A bottle of Malbec and sparkling water Everybody thoroughly enjoyed their food (with perhaps the exception of the flatbread that forms the taco which had an unusual flavour) and again, it was devoured. The staff are great and the restaurant has a relaxing, informal atmosphere. This eatery is well recommended. If you are driving, allow yourselves extra time to find parking. It is tight and you may have to park a few minutes’ walk away. Update 1st August 2024 Came back on Tuesday, four of us this time and again it was very good.

Absolutely shocking service. 2 items listed on the menu were missing from our order. The manager was incredibly rude and dismissive, he just didn’t care. Eventually offered a refund ‘if you bring everything back and don’t order from us ever again.’ Even the waitress sounded shocked that he wasn’t prepared to apologise or help rectify the mistake.

Best place for seafood lovers, loved every we tried!

Intimate restaurant, friendly staff. Food was absolutely excellent. Special starter of sardines and ezme salad was a great suggestion from our waiter. Perfectly cooked halibut for main. All the other dishes coming out the kitchen looked great too. A must visit for seafood lovers in Manchester.

A dinning experience that will not disappoint

Amazing place to eat. From the absolutely beautiful aroma as we walked in to the oysters, to the main dishes - just wow wow wow Highly recommend it and will be back there again and again

Service was excellent, front of house was by two young women who worked extremely hard and remained friendly, caring and very professional ! The food was sooooo yammy good ! We had in beer battered fish and chips and the Halibut. 👌 very good chefs to prepare fish to perfection !! The only very little let down was the sticky table. It felt not clean but probably was ! 🫣 But that is minor while the rest was FANTASTIC and it is about the food and the service and that was 🎊🤩

Cannot fault the food. Everything was cooked perfectly & didn't have to wait long. Will definitely come back

Lovely menu, delicious food, friendly and welcoming. Doesn’t look like much from the outside but the food and service were as good as any fancy restaurant.

My favourite place to eat in Manchester. Food is always amazing and the staff is so nice and lovely! I wish I could go every day. Thank you!

Very friendly staff, tasty food, will definitely visit again

We had a very nice lunch here on Sunday. All fish dishes we had were delicious, including the 'Fish and Chips' costing £17. Also if you don't know Chorlton, Oystercatcher is neighbour to lots of other quirky bars and it isn't too difficult to find street parking a few minutes walk away.

Our second visit. Won’t be our last. This time and last we came to Chorlton for another event and tagged this restaurant on as a bit of an addition. Next time the Oystercatcher will be the main event. Great food and super friendly staff.

Another I've had on my to go list for some time and finally got around to. Fantastic all around with fresh seafood like you were by the sea, will be back to try the rest of the menu. 6 stars.

5 stars all the way! A true hidden gem in Manchester for seafood lovers Great food, very decent staff, and lovely ambience The scallops are out of this world. Perfect cooking. Texture The grilled seafood platter is amazing 👏 Enjoyed every single bite of it

Atmosphere was laid back but warm, the smell of freshly baked seafood filled the air. Staff were very welcoming and spent their time explaining the dishes on the menu to us and making sure we had everything we wanted. We didn't feel rushed, had an enjoyable experience and we had a high chair for our baby. Would definitely recommend for any seafood lovers.

Food: It's very delicious. I had penang curry fish and my husband ordered monk fish tandoori. Both were super delicious. Scallops for starter was also super nice. Service: Restaurant was't busy that night so service is very fast. The staff was very kind and sharing some info about the food because we were super confused.

Tried this restaurant while visiting family. When we walked in we saw a table eating what looked a great dish, and we were told it was the Seafood Platter so yes that's what we ordered. Sea Bream, prawns, octopus and Mussels. Great taste and great value. The service was fine too.

Wonderful service and our waiter knew everything about wine! Shadow Point was our choice with fish and prawns.

Amazing staff and tasty food. Good portion and fresh seafood! Had the seafood platter for two and oysters! Will be back!

All the seafood are cooked well, the oysters are delicious, the octopus is crispy, the scallops are fresh and sweet, the shrimps are springy and have a charcoal flavor, and the mussels are average.

Tried and loved 🤤😻 - Cape Wrath Oysters - Scallops - Chargrilled Octopus - Penang Curry Mussels - Skin on Fries - Seafood Platter - Raspberry Crème Brûlée - Cherry Sorbet

We often dine in the oyster catcher and it has never disappointed! We love telling people about this place and bringing them to share the joy that we have when dining here! The food has always been 10/10. It’s small inside but we love that, it feels incredibly cosy. This time around we had multiple starters: scallops, curried muscles (these were unreal) oysters, padron peppers, anchovy crostini and every single starter was amazing. I had the BBQ tandoori monkfish as a main and it was cooked to perfection. Not a single complaint about any of the meals. This place is a true hidden gem I would highly recommend eating here! Lovely service, cosy atmosphere, amazing seafood and the best part it’s not ridiculously overpriced

Food was good but they neglect to include the VAT in the menu prices and add the usual manipulation tactic of 10% service charge onto the bill. A £45 cost me £65. Will not be going back,

Absolutely banging. Took my partner out for his birthday. The food was incredible and the service was lovely. Fully recommend.

10/10 Gem in Manchester!!! The portion is insane …… The seafood platter is 💯 A staff’s wife is from Hong Kong and he knows some Cantonese🤣🤣🤣 Really cute and friendly staff🥹 Highly recommended and will be back asap….

Sale restaurant- delicious food. All so tasty and cooked perfectly. Service was excellent and good atmosphere. Will definitely be back

Was OK Room cold, music too loud. Starters squid delish, octopus OK v small portion(defo bigger and tastier in San Juan) Mains my fish stew with orzo again OK wouldn't rave about it. Needed to ask for seasoning. Also would have been nice to have more bread to mop, or have more orzo. Staff lovely

Fabulous food. Would definitely go back.

Once the very loud group had left it was idyllic and amazing food as well. Intimate, friendly and good value.

Absolutely delicious food and amazing friendly service from our server Oli. Very attentive. Every dish was fresh, tasty and piping hot. My new favourite in Manchester. Will come again on my next visit.

The best in town... Dont miss it.. try oyster as starter,

Had a lovely meal here tonight, both had the burger which was amazing then we sampled the meringue, lemon curd and blueberry sweet which was big enough to share and would definitely recommend. Lovely place and would will definitely go again.

Brilliant Chorlton restaurant! Excellent food, great service, reasonable prices. Would recommend to anyone fancying seafood in Manchester.

Had my Mother’s Day lunch at this lovely restaurant today 😍 staff are very friendly ( especially the guy who is Italian and can speak Cantonese) and the seafood were so delicious 😋 highly recommend this place 👍👍

Totally out of this world food was unbelievable

My husband and I had a gorgeous meal here for our 25th wedding anniversary. The anchovies on toast were divine, the scallops beautiful and tender and the seafood stew and tandoori fish were delicious. We had the raspberry crème brulé and the cheese board for pudding. I adored the selection of cheese from the local fishmonger and my husband said the crème brulé was perfect. The waitress was absolutely lovely, professional, friendly and provided wonderful service. Thanks so much for making our anniversary so memorable.

Great place & delicious food with fds

Amazing little restaurant, we could not fault a thing. Luka and Henry were fantastic hosts. The portions are a great size and not too expensive. The oysters tasted like we were at the coast and the fish was cooked to perfection. I'd recommend the curried fish dishes or the monkfish. We will definitely be back.

It’s superb - cool guys - top fresh fish - it’s a bit like being on holiday! Cool Italio funk playlist while we were in - great front of house team.

Oyster Catcher is a must if you like your seafood! My partner and I went twice last year and have a booking for this week that we can’t wait for. The first time we went we tried our own separate dishes and loved everything we had. The second time we had the sharing platter and were blown away by how incredible everything was. The oyster catcher sharing platter has become a meme in our house because we both daydream about it so much and bring it up so often. Staff have always been very friendly and there’s a nice chill atmosphere in there too.

One of those places where you feel the need to go back as soon as you leave. Can’t wait to return to try a different dish. Tasted very fresh and delicious. They are also very flexible with people’s dietary preferences.

We had the oysters which were lovely followed by scallops. These were very disappointing, they were described as being served in the shell. We had a shell with three tiny scallops with a diameter less than a one pence piece. We should have sent them back but didn’t want to upset the waitress. These scallops were like the tiny frozen ones. If they had run out of fresh scallops I would have preferred to have been told. The mains were nice, my husband enjoyed the fish and chips. The wine was more expensive than elsewhere. The decor was basic. The service was friendly

A humble little seafood restaurant, delicious oyster shots and a very generous seafood platter. Great food and great service.

Is not a first time we visiting. Always great food a great service and nice cosy place either to come with your family or friends,but is a definitely great place and 100% recommended to enjoy seafood

Christmas Eve meal for me and my partner with our 4 year old. Food was outstanding, our best meal of the year. We went classic with whole bream and a plaice - they were magnificent, the salsa Verde was another level. Triple cooked chips were proper and the fennel gratin was so classy. Our little one had a ball, she told the lovely waitress to tell the chef her kids meal was the best fish fingers she'd ever had. Loved it!

Fantastic !!! Could not fault anything, every single dish was outstanding the service by Cara was just amazing. Worked and dined at the best UK restaurants but this shines out ! Absolute pleasure to visit everytime

Visited the Sale site. Fantastic food, the fish was cooked to perfection & a selection of scrumptious dishes. We both loved our choices and have already selected the dish for when we next visit. Service great too, friendly & informal. (I recommend the tandoori monkfish, the fennel side dish alone will bring me back)

We visited the restaurant in Sale, to make a booking. A waitress asked us which day we want? As soon as we said that we wanted to make a booking for New Year's and birthday, a person came who said he was the boss. He refused to book us face to face. He wanted us to make reservations online. We asked him for a card to enter the website online, but he again refused to give it to us. He kept repeating that we should book online. Meanwhile, the guy who he had an attitude problem: Recep Canliisik, pretended to be Italian while he is Turkish. [I wonder why he hides the fact that he is Turkish]. And why his staff wanted to made a booking face to face. But he contradict them and he insisted that we have to make reservations online. It is his loss. Now he lost an office party booking with 10 people

The waiter was very nice. Food was below average. We had tacos. Both of us thought it tasted strange. Grilled fish was nice, but mushy peas was not my taste. Battered fish was tasteless. To be honest I was disappointed with the food.

Great food. Brilliant customer service!

Thanksgiving dinner at the oystercatcher in Tampa/Clearwater area was awesome. The food was delicious and with a twist of oysters appetizers on the menu for Thanksgiving dinner. The employees were good. Only thing they could have done differently was decorating the table with a table cloth and few flowers or just with fall colored leaves to make it look festive. The tables were plain and absolutely nothing on them. We overlooked or ignored that part just to be able to enjoy the day and the event. We appreciated their time and efforts to work hard the day before and on the day of Thanksgiving to serve us one of the most important festive meals of the year.

Incredible food with great service - fast, flavourful, really easy going. 110% will be back and highly recommend.

This was honesty 10 out of 10 Vibe Food Staff Just every single thing Please please try, I couldn’t think of anything bad to say, it’s an absolute must Thank you oyster catcher ❤️

My Favourite Seafood restaurant in Manchester! Exceptional Quality Food! Helpful and accommodating staff will try to look after walking in Customers the best they can but pre booking recommended! Easy access for all abilities, toilets downstairs in the basement. Gazebo area well heated. Keep coming back at any opportunity 😊😍

Great seafood. Not posh but very friendly.

This place is great. Food, service, wine the works! I had the crab arancinni to start. Crispy on the outside and soft in the middle with a good amount of crab. My main was the seafood stew. Lots of prawns and mussels. The little bits of pasta added body and a under flavour of fennel was lovely. I will definitely be back.

Lovely neighbourhood restaurant. Food was delicious, and service great. They have highchairs and baby changing facilities too.

We visited the Sale branch last night and had the best meal we’ve eaten in years! The food was absolutely delicious: cooked to perfection with amazing flavours! One of those meals where you can’t start uttering ‘yummmmm’ at every mouthful! The service was fabulous and staff v attentive. We will definitely be revisiting!

Sorry i couldn't find the Sale restaurant on TripAdvisor so just adding it here. The opening night food was every bit a lovely as the food we get in Chorlton. Nice service and friendly staff as always .Delighted to have a restaurant that is now walking distance. We will be back.

Came here for a meal after my mates stag do because he likes sea food. I had the black bream which the fish was very nice but I didn't really agree with the lack of sides it came with, I was just given a cooked fish on a plate but it could of used some chips of vegetables next to it.

Excellent food and drink. Extremely fresh and really accommodating for dietary requirements. Excited to try their new site in Sale too.

Best sea food I’ve tasted in a very long time, amazing definitely will come again, staff so friendly as-well great customer service. Will be coming back 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Another stunning meal at this great restaurant. It's not a large seating area, so booking is recommended. The quality of the cuisine is excellent. The photos show the pardon peppers and olives. The main course, the fish platter for 2 and lastly, the raspberry creme brulee. The platter was stunning including juicy mussels, tender squid, large prawns and a whole sea bream. Char-grilled brocoli and hispi cabbage were perfect partners. All thoroughly enjoyed with a bottle of wine Rioja. Great meal. Now looking for to the - soon to open - Sale venue.

Had an amazing time here, thought the food was incredible and would definitely come again.

Great food, nice place. I'd go qgain

Without a doubt best seafood in Manchester. This is our third visit and food is excellent as always. One improvement I would say definitely needs to happen is the ventilation asap.

I had shrimp to start, the bream and it was amazing, with this lovely green sauce, loved the cabbage, chips and the desert was divine (Eton mes) ❤️ staff were lovely too. I had a lovely glass of red too!

This was our third visit to the restaurant. It was nice to see them busy on a midweek evening but that does increase the overall noise level which, at times, meant I found it difficult to hear my partner. Still, there was the prospect of decent food to concentrate on. Squid rings came in a light, crisp batter and were very tender– really good. There was a scattering of spring onion and red chilli. And a sauce that may have been the ponzu mentioned on the menu but didn’t have the expected citrus hit. Nicely cooked scallops came baked on the half shell, with a dab of cauliflower puree and sprinkling of gremolata. For mains, there was a perfectly cooked fillet of hake, the flesh just coming apart in big white flakes. Also on the plate, a grilled courgette – some may have said this was burnt, but it was tasty enough (so probably a deliberate long cooking). And there was a dollop of sogulme – a Turkish puree of aubergine and red peppers. Delicious in its own right, it may have been too assertive a flavour for the delicate fish. If that dish had too strong a seasoning, then BBQ’d monkfish could have done with more. It was advertised as “tandoori BBQ”, so you might have expected a good kick from Asian spices but it was all very muted. That came with a simple chopped kachumber salad – onion, cucumber and the like. And, served separately, a dish of fennel gratin which was lovely but didn’t really fit with the Asian feel of the dish. We both took an order of fries – nice and crispy. So, an OK dinner, although one where flavours missed the mark on more occasions than you’d like. Literally, while I was drafting this review, I heard of another seafood restaurant in Greater Manchester. We’ll go and try that one and the one in Wilmslow before we think of returning to the Oystercatcher.

The Oystercatcher is situated in Chorlton cum Hardy and is around half a mile on foot from Chorlton tram stop. We had walked from the Hilton Garden Inn at Old Trafford which is around a mile away. We arrived at the restaurant just after opening time on a Monday evening at around 5.15 and it was empty so we were able to easily acquire a table. We had looked in the previous evening and it was pretty busy so I imagine it is best to book in advance. We had Cape Wrath oysters to start, turbot in a gazpacho sauce with grilled lettuce for main and a selection of cheese for dessert. The oysters and turbot were really good. I was a little dubious about the grilled lettuce but that worked too. I had order a side dish of mushy peas which were fine although not really necessary. The three cheeses were tasty as well. To drink, we had a pleasant bottle of white Rioja and I had a brandy liquor coffee post meal. Service was really good and there was a pleasant atmosphere in this cosy restaurant. The bill for two was around £155 including service.

Nice little cosy place, received a warm welcome. Waiter went through the menu and specials. The food was amazing, everything was full of flavour and freshly cooked. Highly recommended if in the area.

I had a fantastic dining experience at The Oystercatcher, a delightful seafood restaurant. The simplicity of its decor creates a cozy and inviting atmosphere. The star of the show, however, is undoubtedly the food. Their oysters were a highlight for me – fresh, succulent, and served with just the right touch of accompaniments. The grilled whole seabream was a true masterpiece, cooked to perfection with a delightful flavor. The octopus dish also left a lasting impression, tender and bursting with flavor. The service was top-notch, with attentive and friendly staff who added to the overall pleasant atmosphere. Perhaps most impressively, the prices were reasonable, considering the quality of the seafood and the dining experience.In conclusion, if you're a seafood enthusiast looking for a simple yet exquisite dining experience, The Oystercatcher should be at the top of your list. From oysters to seabream, and their inventive specials, it's a seafood lover's paradise.

Delicious food and nice waiters.

- tabbouleh £4 - skin on fries £4.50 - beer battered fish and chips £16 - seafood platter £58 the menu states the platter serves 2 but it is so huge it could honestly feed 3 alone. you get loads of grilled seafood, including squid, a whole seabream, tiger prawns, mussels, as well as hispi cabbage and tenderstem broccoli! it was all cooked to perfection and i liked how the seasonings were kept simple so you can really taste the freshness of the seafood. we also got the beer battered fish and chips which exceeded my expectations. again, it was a massive portion and the chips in particular were HUGE! the beer batter was crispy and light whilst the fish on the inside was flakey. it was easily some of the best f&c i’ve ever had! the restaurant is quite small with most tables only seating 2-4 people so it would be very cramped for big groups. servers were friendly and down to earth too :)

The best food restaurant in Manchester hands downs.... keep up the superb cooking 🙏👍

Uno de los pocos sitios de marisco en Manchester. Trato excepcional, muy servicial. Tomamos el plato de mariscada y muy bueno, tanto la dorada como los mejillones, gambas, calamares y las verduras a la brasa. Mejor reservar porque siempre esta lleno.

One of the best seafood restaurant in Manchester. Love the ambience of the place. The staffs was friendly and polite. Both me and my husband had the seafood platter - worth the ££! Will definitely come again! :)

First time in C-C-H and went for lunch in the Oystercatcher. Nice joint. Low key decor and a short menu. Perfect combo for what what you need from for an independent, high street fish restaurant. The waiter told us the chefs were Indian and British. The food didn’t disappoint. The grilled octopus starter and kedgeree scotch egg were lovely. Special was Lemon Sole (only criticism was the sole seemed a either over cooked or old - it didn’t ‘flake’, it ‘mushed’ off the bone - it was tasty and we didn’t say anything at the time - so this is just a reflection). The Hake with spicy aubergine was delicious. Recommend for a Saturday lunch. Ahoy!

Delicious fresh fish cooked over coals buzzing atmosphere and friendly, helpful staff. Plenty of choices of fish and easy to book online with automated system.

Great food and very friendly staff.

Great atmosphere and amazing food! Thanks a lot to Scarlett, Brad and Harry for the great service!

Amazing place. Would highly recommend visiting. The food was amazing and will defiantly be returning.

The food was fresh, well cooked, delicious and service was quick and efficient. The staff is so friendly, the courtesy and the smile are so welcoming. High rate for the salt and pepper squid, scallops, squid ink spaghettoni and the creme brûlée, what a delightful desert.

Changed my review from 5* to 1* because after returning home I got severe food poisoning from the Monkfish dish. Felt fine in the morning but it was a 'rough night' no description necessary. No hand soap in the toilets either.

Little cute restaurant with brilliant food. The food was fresh and tasted great. The prices are more then average but it is worth it. We have spend £100+ for two people and bottle of wine. The octopus was nice but really small portion and it costs nearly same price as a main.

Our go to restaurant in Chorlton. Superb! Looking forward to Sale opening too!

10/10 food, 10/10 service, 10/10 vibes. Great dinner out for my brothers birthday. Thanks.

Amazing food, good prices too. We had the sharing platter and it was so much food, quality was excellent too. The brownies were far too dry but the other food more than made up for that.

First time at the Oystercatcher after several friends recommended it... It did not disappoint and was honestly the best food I have had in some time. Everything was delicious - we had the prawn and salt and pepper squid starters, bbq tandoori monkfish, & raspberry creme brulee. With it being seafood of course the menu is on the pricier side but for the quality, (and portion size) well worth it. Service was also attentive and friendly. Look forward to our 2nd visit!

Far bellow expectations for what you paying.A tiny place transformed from a living room into a place to eat.