The very model of a modern daytime spot, the Whitworth Gallery’s little café is down to earth without being boring & wholesome without being woolly. Chef Peter Booth has instigated a regime of properly sourced local produce made into simple, appealing lunchtime dishes: soups, sandwiches & bruschetta served on good bread, competitively priced pasta & salads, plus you can pick up home-baked cakes to go with Fairtrade coffee. Children eat well, & the gallery provides an activity pack on the side. The square room also hosts regularly changing exhibitions. For a more evolved design scheme – though without the arty distractions – take the short walk to Booth’s stand-alone café, Gabriel’s Kitchen on Upper Brook Street.