Sugarvine

Long the foodie Cinderella, north Manchester and its more rural environs is now giving the south side more than a run for its money. In recent years, areas like Didsbury and Altrincham have become so affluent and proved so popular in the eating out department that rates have soared and many of the premises are owned by chain restaurants. That's far less the case north of the city, where cheaper business rates combine with quirkier locations to make restaurant life just as interesting and a lot more independent-minded in many ways.

A case in points is Ramsons up in the Pennine foothills of Ramsbottom. This one's been going in various guises since 1985, using organic produce for over 20 years, and now draws in visitors from right across the north of England. It's billed as an 'Italian' restaurant and the wine list is indeed all Italian but the food is Mediterranean-inspired rather than strictly by the book. The even better news is the menu bears no relation at all to the ersatz Italian you'll still find in so many lesser establishments. A new addition to the place is a basement wine bar where you can have a drink and tuck into various antipasti from £3 with cheese plates at £6 and giant bruschettas for the same price. The main menu is truly inspirational and the winter one has just been updated. Starters include Jerusalem artichoke soup, red partridge from the nearby Forest of Bowland with artichoke puree and Marsala. Or how about sauteed duck livers with marinated mushrooms and sherry sauce? Cannelloni is combined with smoked salmon and swordfish, courgettes fluffed up with ricotta in a soufflé with poached egg and chilli oil. This is serious and complex cooking.

Main courses are equally innovative and impeccably sourced. Veal is organic, and interestingly served with steamed oxtail pudding, shallots and Marsala sauce. Lamb is from North Wales, complete with pistachios and mint and garlic sauce. The Goosnargh chicken, which is de rigueur in most upmarket restaurants round these parts is served here with streaky bacon, sun-dried tomatoes and a potato gratin. Fishy choices include monkfish with Chard and saffron sauce and gilthead bream with potato gnocchi, pancetta and capers. Vegetarian options are also available on request.. Equally imaginative desserts include quince tart tatin, Williams pear crumble with Amaretto custard and Panna cotta with blackberry compote. Ramsons isn't by any stretch of the imagination cheap. But it's value for money. Lunch is a very reasonable £16.50 for two courses. More expensively, a three-course dinner is £33 on Wednesdays and Thursdays with Friday and Saturday dinner on offer with four courses for £48. The special occasion 'gourmet menu' is £60. Sunday lunch is £27.50 for three courses and £33 for four.

Not very far away from Ramsbottom is Nutters, the eponymous eaterie near Rochdale owned and run by celebrity chef Andrew Nutter. A media star at 21; Andrew's face is a familiar one on programmes like This Morning and Ready Steady Cook! But despite the fame he's stayed true to his roots and stayed in the northwest. Not only that but this couldn't be more of a family operation. Mum Jean Nutter does the accounts whilst dad Rodney looks after the management and admin side. Andrew's original restaurant really was in the wilds up on the moors and a great place to go but a couple of years ago he moved to larger more accessible premises - an 18th century manor house, set in 6½ acres of parkland with spectacular views across Ashworth moors, Greater Manchester and beyond.

Within a year of moving Nutters won the UK restaurant of the year and was voted by The Times one of the top ten celebrity chef restaurants in the UK. It continues to flourish. Lunchtime offers a good choice of soups for about £4.80 each, including three onion soup with truffle oil, shellfish bisque or creamy celeriac with green herbs and lime. Other starters, from about £5 to £8, include Bury black pudding with wontons, flash-fried brill with sage and onion and a potato and beetroot salad, and duck confit with garlic fries. Typical mains include roast cod with seabass 'fish fingers,' medallions of pork with ginger and spring onion and flash-seared beef fillet, At lunchtime, these are all around the £15 mark which let's face it is no more than you would pay in an average neighbourhood restaurant.

Nutters, however, is in another culinary league and that's reflected in the evening when you can expect to pay a few pounds more for similar dishes. Desserts for example are £5.50 at lunchtime and a pound more in the evenings. The toothsome list includes banana, white chocolate and toffee cheesecake with a custard cream crumb, hazelnut crisp and mini star anise jellies and warm treacle tart served with baby Baileys profiteroles and a rum and raisin ice cream. The wine list contains over 200 choices, 56 of which are below £20 and 150 of which are above the £20 mark.

More hilltop cuisine is on offer at the White Hart at Lydgate, a cosy gastropub renowned for many reasons. Its sausages alone are worth a careful perusal of the map of moorland villages near Oldham (which you will need to do before starting out). The choice of sausages includes chicken and black pudding, spicy pork, pork and leek and Cumberland. The White Hart was built in 1788 and has been at various times an inn, a prison, a Home Guard HQ and utterly derelict. In the early 1990s it was restored and beautifully refurbished by current owners Charles Brierley and John Rudden. It's won a tranche of awards, including Lancashire Life Restaurant of the Year in 2005. The design is traditional, with warm rustic colours, and open log fires. The Barn Room was once used for cock fighting, as a home for the hounds in the local hunt and a police station. Now it is famed as the servery for the famous sausages.

There are several styles of cuisine. The pub menu is served every day and specialises in homely comforting dishes such as steamed mussels with lemon grass, ginger and coriander, spiced haddock cakes with lime and coriander mayonnaise, potted cured ham shank with mushy peas and pea and ham soup. These are all around the £5 mark. Mains include liver and bacon with mash, steaks with various sauces and braised breast of lamb with caramelised onions and barley. Seabass, halibut and red snapper are among the fish choices and vegetarians aren't forgotten. Sample meat-free choices might include chickpea, lentil and lemon rice with slow roast balsamic and coriander tomatoes or roast garlic polenta with baked cauliflower and tomato salsa. Mains range from £11 to £21 for fillet steak with desserts like Treacle sponge and pear, ginger and almond tart around £4. Side orders like chips and buttered cabbage are just a couple of pounds. From Wednesday to Saturday there is also the option at the White Hart of the fine dining menu, which is a little bit more elaborate and expensive. Typical fare includes pheasant breast with thyme, lentils, black pudding and sweet potato or roast best end of lamb with mint and spinach, chickpeas and tomato. Should you be on a stricter budget the " 2 for 1" menu on a Monday evening in the Restaurant offers five courses for £35 and your partner dines for free.

Also on the Oldham borders over at Denshaw is Raineys restaurant at the Golden Fleece pub (pictured above) where head chef Anthony Byrom has more interesting, Modern British-style choices. Starters include treacle baked 'Garstang' free-range pork ribs, complete with devilled dressed watercress and crispy 'Goosnargh' duck salad, with lime, chilli, and peas, nuts, coriander and mint. Main courses include monkfish with spring greens, mussel casserole and roast fillet of Old Spot pork with mustard mash, carrots, and a cider gravy. Raineys upstairs grillroom has a more informal menu, including sandwiches. One of the most popular options is steak and chips, and other comfort stuff includes lambs liver and mashed potato, and risotto with broccoli and Yorkshire Blue cheese.

There are times when nothing but more spicy fare wlil do and back towards the city in Whitefield there is the Thai Lounge . This opened in June 2006 with much money spent on its exterior and interior. The style is contemporary with polished wooden floors, high-backed chairs and funky lighting. The menu is extensive, with plenty of choice for vegetarians and a range of banquet set menus and a kid's menu Set menus start at £19.80 a person and are amazing value, offering a choice of five mixed starters and a main course like curry or stir-fry with rice or noodles. The most sumptuous seafood platters start at £34 a head and offer a vast array of spicy soups, noodles, and mixed seafood. House wine starts at £10.95 a bottle there is often live entertainment.

A couple of miles away in Prestwich is the JS Kosher Restaurant which really is a one-off. Established in 1956, tight in the heart of Manchester's most Jewish district it's open Sunday to Thursday lunchtimes from 12.30 to 2.30 and in the evenings from 5.30pm to 10pm (last orders are at 8.45 pm). There is a vast international menu but the best stuff to go for is the Jewish cuisine -- chopped liver, falafel, fried fish the 'ultimate' Israeli platter -- and of course, chicken soup. Main courses of interest include chicken schnitzel, meatballs and best of all the hot salt beef served with pickled cucumber and coleslaw. With room for over 100 people, the J S can also be hired for private functions.

Back in the hinterland of Heywood, near Bury, times have changed at what used to be the Three Arrows pub. It's been renamed El Rancho Restaurante Latino and is owned and run by the same team behind Leonis Latin Cellar in Manchester. The menu is fairly standard fare, a blend of Anglo-Italian and Spanish favourites. But there are South American-inspired options like Pollo Andino -- chicken breast marinated in lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and herbs from the Andes. The chicken kebabs, marinated in garlic, oregano and lemon juice, and served with a rice and coriander dip, are good too. All the beef is Argentinian. The tapas menu has the usual suspects like patatas bravas and calamares but also salt cod croquettes for a few pounds apiece and there is a very reasonable bar menu with Paninis and salads.

Head back to the hills and Milnrow, again near Rochdale, has the wonderfully located Bella Vista. This first opened in 1982; has since been extended but still enjoys glorious views over the Pennines. It is owned by the same people who run San Rocco in Manchester so the food is absolutely top quality stuff. You can spend anything from well under a tenner on pizza and pasta to considerably more for fish, steak and chicken dishes. It is a special occasion sort of place and well worth the drive out. Especially in the summer.