Expanding at a rate of knots, Manchester is well on its way to becoming a truly global city.
And its multicultural make-up means there's a world of food to discover on our doorsteps.
We ran through the A to Z of countries whose cuisine you can enjoy in and around the city - though you'll find far more than just 26 nations represented here.
Many of the menus take in influences from neighbouring countries and their wider continents too.
Know a great restaurant serving a cuisine that's not on this list? Shout about it by tweeting us @CityLifeManc or join in the conversation on Facebook.
We also have a Facebook group dedicated to eating out in Manchester where you can find all the latest food and drink news and reviews and share restaurant recommendations with other food-lovers.
A is for... Armenia
Armenian Taverna
Armenian Taverna opened in a basement beneath Princess Street, just off Albert Square, in 1968, making it one of the city centre's oldest restaurants.
A recent refurb replaced its famous red murals with more understated decor, though it's still resolutely old-school.
Tables are spread with white tablecloths and laid with cut-glass wine goblets and tumblers, against a backdrop of mottled plasterwork walls, intricately embroidered wall hangings, tiled floors and marble columns.
Bordered by Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan and Georgia, and formerly a Soviet republic, Armenia's cuisine is a melting pot of Middle Eastern and European influences.
The menu here reflects that, mixing native staples such as lavash bread, khorovadz kebabs and stuffed cabbage leaves with the likes of borsch, a Ukranian beetroot soup also popular in Russia, and Georgian khinkali.
B is for... Belgium
Bock Biere Cafe
Tucked up Tib Lane, Belgian bar Bock Biere Cafe oozes continental class.
Stacked over three storeys, the cosy space is modelled on 'the timeless cafés of Europe' with leather booths, marble-topped tables and chequerboard flooring.
Behind the bar there's an enormous selection of Belgian beers, both on tap and in bottles, spanning everything from monastery-brewed Trappist beers to witbiers and saisons.
There's also a Lowlands-inspired food menu food menu with dishes such as moules frites, carbonade flamande (a Flemish beef stew) and bitterballen, alongside its signature fondues.
C is for... Cambodia
Angkor Soul
With restaurants in Marple and Altrincham, and stalls at Stockport Produce Hall and Didsbury's Mad Giant (trading as Kambuja at the latter), Angkor Soul is one of only a handful of operators showcasing Cambodian cuisine in the UK.
It's won plenty of plaudits including a glowing review from The Observer critic Jay Rayner, who praised the ‘vivid, extremely fresh home cooking’ at the original Marple cafe.
The menu at the main restaurants includes curries, stir-fries, noodle dishes, with a more streamlined, street food style menu at its food hall pitches.
D is for... Dominican Republic
La Republica, Eccles
Based on Eccles' bustling Church Street, La Republica specialises in picadera - Dominican tapas.
Expect bite-sized dishes such as cassava fritters and fried Quisqeya salami, alongside larger plates such as mofungo, a Dominican and Puerto Rican dish made from twice fried plantain, garlic, and pork scratchings, and served with different meats and a garlic gravy.
E is for... Ethiopia
Habesha
Accessed through a set of discouragingly shabby steps in the corner of a kebab shop, you'd be forgiven for hesitating at the doorway of Habesha.
But those who make it upstairs will be glad they did.
The menu revolves around injera, a fermented sourdough flatbread which is used as a huge shared plate from which to eat various meat stews and vegetable dishes.
Dinner is rounded off with Ethiopian coffee, a potent oily brew flavoured with cardamom and served black and short.
F is for... France
63 Degrees
Adding a certain je ne sais quoi to a street crowded with burrito and burger bars, French bistro 63 Degrees is a rare pocket of chic in the Northern Quarter.
Chef and owner Eric Moreau serves an elegant menu of classic Parisian-style dishes: think oysters, snails and côte de boeuf, alongside its signature chicken, cooked low and slow at 63 degrees.
It's one of the area's pricier restaurants, but there's a good value set lunch menu offering two courses for £16 or three for £20, and a Tuesday night tasting menu with five courses for £28.
G is for... Greece
Kosmos Taverna
Greek restaurant Kosmos has witnessed nearly 40 years of change in the student suburb of Fallowfield, while remaining resolutely unaltered itself.
Established in 1981 by Cypriot cook and erstwhile TV chef Loulla Astin and her late husband Stewart, and still run by the same family, the modest restaurant has become a south Manchester institution.
Behind its blue and white awning it's the taverna that time forgot - all waxed paper tablecloths, terracotta tiled floors, vases of fake flowers and clusters of family photographs.
The menu ticks off plenty of Greek and Cypriot classics, from mezze platters groaning with dolmathes, falafel, houmous and melintzanosalata to more localised specialities such as afelia, a pork shoulder stew simmered with red wine, crushed coriander seeds, cumin and cinnamon, and served with cracked wheat pilaf.
H is for... Hungary
The Sparrows
Named after the translation of Hungarian speciality spätzle - a type of v-shaped dumpling resembling a bird in flight - The Sparrows serves comforting, carb-laden, continental dishes.
Alongside other Hungarian classics like goulash, you'll also find Polish pierogi, Russian pelimeni, and northern Italian gnocchi and ravioli.
Essentially, if it involves European roots, clouds of flour and a deft hand, you'll find it here.
You'll have to wait a while for this one - they're in the process of relocating from Mirabel Street to a new site on Red Bank. A reopening date has yet to be confirmed - watch this space.
I is for... Italy
Salvi's
Manchester's spoilt for choice when it comes to Italian food. Pasta and pizza have a particularly strong showing thanks to specialists like Sugo Pasta Kitchen, The Pasta Factory, Rudy's and Honest Crust.
But for a reliable all-rounder of a menu, independent restaurant group Salvi's is our go-to.
The original mozzarella bar at the Corn Exchange is great for grazing on antipasti platters when the sun's out over its terrace on Exchange Square, while its new Northern Quarter restaurant delves deeper into Neapolitan cuisine.
There's also the Cucina restaurant on John Dalton Street and a dedicated pizzeria next door.
J is for... Japan
Yuzu
Loved by the guidebooks and critics, this Chinatown gem serves a simple menu of Japanese classics.
You won't find any sushi on the menu - they've humbly decided to leave that to masters of the craft - but there is a wide selection of sashimi alongside yakitori and kara-age chicken, assorted tempura and katsu dishes and udon stir-fries.
Reliable food, reasonable prices and relaxed surroundings make this Faulkner Street restaurant a hit on every level.
K is for... Korea
Baekdu, Stockport
Based in the old Jack Horner pub, Korean barbecue restaurant Baekdu was a bold addition to Stockport's fledgling food scene when it opened in 2017.
Inside, each table is inset with its own grill pit, where mountains of thinly-sliced, marinated meat are cooked over coals.
Away from the barbecue menu, there's also a selection of dishes including bibimbab rice bowls, noodle soups, hot pots and dumplings.
L is for... Lebanon
Remal, Prestwich
One of the latest openings in the ever-evolving Prestwich village, Remal has landed in a flurry of grains and parsley and meat cooked over charcoal.
It's an authentic taste of Lebanon, with house specialties including kibbeh (crushed wheat stuffed with lamb), fattoush salad, bamieh (an okra stew) and muklubieh (rice layered with aubergine and lamb).
You can't pass on dessert here, not when there's kunafa - a shredded pastry laced with butter, honey, sugar and nuts - up for grabs.
The restaurant is operated by the Salim family, who want to bring a taste of Lebanese culture - big family and friend get-togethers over plates of homemade food - to the suburb. Mission accomplished.
M is for... Malaysia
Penang
It's presented itself under a couple of different monikers, but this restaurant on the fringes of the Northern Quarter has been serving up Malaysian cooking for more than a decade.
Now going by Penang (previously it was Ning, though the logos and decor are largely the same), you'll find all the obvious Malay specialities here - nasi goreng fried rice, satay skewers, sambal prawns et al.
There are also influences from neighbouring Indonesia and Thailand in its rendang curries and pad Thai noodles.
It's stayed largely unchanged for a generation, but if it ain't broke...
N is for... Nepal
The Great Kathmandu
There's such a high ratio of Nepalese restaurants on Burton Road that it's practically a tiny, very flat Himalayas.
Gurkha Grill, Namaste Nepal and The Great Kathmandu all line up in a stretch of about 100m and are all worthy of your attention - but it's the latter that's snagged all the awards.
The restaurant was founded in 1986 by Gopal Dangol, with all six of his children chipping in to create what's become one of the most successful and long-standing Nepalese restaurants in the country - its lengthy list of accolades speaks for itself.
Marinated meats cooked in a tandoor oven, weighty silver platters of curries (including their fiery khorsani), and naan breads that droop over the sides of their plate all conspire to make The Great Kathmandu so great.
O is for... Oman
Ariyadh
Oh is for oh man, there's only one country that begins with O and it's Oman...
Manchester's incredibly culturally diverse, but we thought this letter would be a write-off - until we remembered Ariyadh.
The Rusholme restaurant serves a broadly Middle Eastern menu but with a real Omani focus, which means it's the go-to (/only?) place to go for a traditional shuwa: tender lamb slow-cooked in banana leaves.
P is for... Poland
Platzki
A hard-to-find gem right in the heart of the city centre, Platzki's farmhouse-style restaurant earned a glowing review from the M.E.N. last year.
An ever-changing menu is plated up at the Great Northern location from an open kitchen, where rows of handmade pierogi line up along the counter.
On our visit, it was the kluski dumplings that won us over - a type of springy potato dumpling that came swimming in a mushroom sauce and under a generous scattering of green herb crumbs.
It's filling, fresh, and endlessly comforting.
Q is for... Québec
Blue Caribou Canteen
Okay, this one's a total cop-out, but the only country beginning with Q is Qatar and we drew a blank (if you know of any Qatari restaurants, please enlighten us).
And at three times the size of France, Canada's largest province is big and culturally distinct enough enough to be its own country, so we're allowing ourselves a little creative licence here.
Based in Manchester Arndale's award-winning Food Market, Blue Caribou Canteen serves up Québécois cuisine centred around poutine - chips, cheese curds and gravy loaded with various toppings.
The menu also spans pogos (that's a Canadian corn dog), hot chicken sandwiches smothered in poutine gravy, and plenty of dishes incorporating maple syrup.
R is for... Romania
La Roberto Ristorante
You might not feel all that familiar with Romanian food - but the country's proximity to Turkey, Austria, Hungary, and even Greece has led to a cuisine that's at once loosely recognisable and exciting.
La Roberto in Hazel Grove is one of the few places you'll be able to get a taste in Manchester, even if its menu is predominately Italian.
In the Romanian section, expect sour soups, pork and cabbage. If you're stuck (or ravenous), there's a mixed platter of baked aubergines, beans, olives, feta and tomato to share.
S is for... Syria
Samir's, Stretford
Based on a busy stretch of the A56 in Stretford, Middle Eastern restaurant Samir's is a modest spot that's easy to overlook beyond the blur of passing traffic.
But behind its unassuming frontage lies a heartwarming story of determination, and the kindness of strangers.
Owner Samir Hamwyeh arrived in Manchester with his family as refugees from the war in Syria - and with the help of their new neighbours and parishioners at a nearby church, they opened this restaurant.
The menu mixes Syrian and Middle Eastern specialities such as tabbouleh, kibbeh and falafel with charcoal-grilled chicken and kebabs.
T is for... Thailand
That's Thai
If we told you that the best Thai food in the region could be found in a mechanic's garage right near Strangeways, you'd probably think we were pulling your leg.
But That's Thai, headed up by chef Wan Pradit Hewitt (her husband owns the garage that shares a wall with her cafe), has enjoyed so much success with its authentic, fresh menu that it's gone on to have a second site in Oldham.
Wobbly swivel stools around a formica bar top, Thai posters on the walls, empty tins of coconut milk holding plastic chopsticks - it's minimal fuss, maximum flavour on the agenda here.
Prawns are particularly impressive - we described them as 'fat, butterflied morsels of juicy meat, curled up like commas' - doused in a ginger and garlic sauce.
U is for... USA
Old School BBQ Bus
It was certainly an ambitious gamble, parking a big yellow American school bus next to the A62, throwing a big tarpaulin over it and lobbing some hay bales about for seating.
There's a fine line between madness and genius, and thankfully for the Old School BBQ Bus - and for those of us who work nearby - it's a gamble that's paid off.
It's regularly packed, aided by a kids' playpark outside, and people aren't just here for novelty of eating their lunch on a burlap sack with stars and stripes flags flapping overhead.
The meat is cooked low and slow, burgers are piled high, skin-on chips are generous in number. It's a burger gaff that gives all the others a run for their money.
V is for... Vietnam
Vnam
The edges of Ancoats have slowly turned themselves into a hotbed of Vietnamese restaurants.
Viet Shack, Nam, Ca Phe Viet, Pho No 1 and Vnam are all clustered around Oldham Road and Greater Ancoats Street, bringing the vibrant south east Asian cuisine to life.
Vnam's enjoyed a full decade in its unit, where it specialises in pho and barbecued meats.
There's also a selection of ever-changing specials to keep you coming back for more - and another site at the University of Manchester.
W is for... Wales
Siop Shop
What started as a basement bakery beneath Common quickly grew enough to warrant its very own café - and what a spot it's turned out to be.
Siop Shop (literally translating to Shop Shop) was opened in 2017 by Iwan Roberts and Lucy Jackson, and has plenty of nods to Iwan's native Wales.
There are breakfast muffins, Welsh baked eggs (featuring leeks, naturally), daily changing salads and quiches and doughnuts.
These aren't ordinary doughnuts, either - Siop Shop's flavours have included millionaire shortbread, lemon meringue, cherry bakewell and even a collaboration bake with beer in it. You heard.
X is for... Me xico
La Casita
There are no countries beginning with X. We'd managed to get quite far into this list before that dawned on us. Mexico is a bit of a stretch, but it'll have to do.
La Casita is a little neighbourhood spot in Chorlton that's quietly becoming one of the most highly-rated spots in Greater Manchester.
The authentic Mexican restaurant goes way beyond tacos and burritos (although there are plenty of those too) serving dishes like slow-cooked pork stew with green tomatoes and corn doughballs, and Aztec soup.
Y is for... Yemen
Hadramout
Floor cushions line the walls at this Yemeni restaurant, where diners sit cross-legged and share out plates of hummus, grilled meat with naan bread, and okra stew.
Hadramout sits as part of Manchester's world-famous Curry Mile, in the heart of Rusholme.
With influences coming from across the Middle East, ingredients such as lamb, chicken, tomato, onions, and plenty of spices are commonplace.
Z is for... Zimbabwe
Chakalaka
This South African bar in the Northern Quarter is named after a native spicy bean dish that's also commonly eaten in neighbouring Zimbabwe.
The tiny Oldham Street spot also serves biltong, koeksisters (fried dough soaked in a ginger and cinnamon syrup), bobotie (curried beef topped with a golden egg-based topping) and bunny chow (basically a curry served in a loaf of bread).
It's a meat-lovers' paradise, and if you're overwhelmed by choice there's a mezze board that brings together the best of the best.
Cocktails are fun and sweet - and on a two-for-one offer between 4pm and 8pm, and 10pm and closing.
