Here's our pick of places to gather outdoors with friends and family for that long-awaited catch-up in and around Manchester city centre.

Tacos and Tequila, Wood Manchester
Chef and hospitality hero Simon Wood has been fighting for the hospitality industry’s rights since the first lockdown began. Now he will be putting smiles on the faces of happy diners with taco and tequilas from a shack being built outside his popular Manchester restaurant. The former MasterChef winner and his team will be serving taco trios – think pulled corn fed chicken with lashing of hot sauce and guacamole and Aleppo cod fish with zesty pepper and lime sauce – along with margaritas of all kinds. What’s not to love? Open from April 12th until May 9th, woodrestaurantgroup.com

Manchester Bar and Grill
Dine from morning until night, soaking up the spring sunshine with a new spring menu at this popular city centre restaurant. The Restaurant Bar & Grill will be serving tasty breakfast treats from 10am to 12pm every Monday to Friday. Bottomless brunch will also return every Saturday and Sunday. From April 12, individualrestaurants.com

El Gato Negro, Manchester
Think Mediterranean-style dining with outdoor seating and parasols on this popular dining destination’s street-level terrace on pedestrianised King Street. Serving signature dishes, plus our superb selection of drinks (substantial meal no longer required). There’ll be a bottle shop so you can take home something to continue the experience. Want to keep warm? Bring your own blankets and toasty layers to add extra warmth! From April 12th, elgatonegrotapas.com

Refuge by Volta, Manchester
This brand-new al fresco area in the courtyard at Waterhouse Way promises to be Manchester’s best kept secret. Tuck yourselves away on an industrial hidden street and get cosy in the heated and covered area, filled with plants and sound-tracked by the city’s finest DJs. To celebrate the re-opening, Refuge has curated a selection of new dishes including meat and fish sharing platters along with a new dessert and drinks menu, featuring a special ‘Refuge Lager’. From April 12th, refugemcr.co.uk

Nibble, Northern Quarter
Girl-powered independent café Nibble is cranking up the homemade al fresco brunch offering with its new partly covered outside area, spreading onto Oldham Street. Serving from April 15, it’s a great place to people watch – and bring your four-legged friends – for coffee and cake, brunch and lunch with the option of vegan and gluten free dishes, too. There’s a zero waste-inspired daily menu, with cakes and sweet treats baked on site from scratch. It’s table service, so all you need to do is get comfy and allow the team to do the rest. nibblenq.com

Edinburgh Castle, Ancoats
The trendy Edinburgh Castle is back with a bang as it teams up its outdoor drinks and dining space on the streets of Ancoats with a brand-new outdoor menu, featuring fancy dishes like lobster roll, steak and oysters alongside EC favourite fish and chips. There’s also a new brunch menu, with plates like smoked salmon and sourdough crumpet, salt-beef brisket hash and duck egg and raspberry and honey cranachan – and why not go one step further by adding £30 on to any dish for one-and-a-half hours of bottomless drinks? With Estrella, Pignoletto, bloody Mary, bellini and Garibaldi on the list, we sure wouldn’t say no. From April 12th, ec-ancoats.com

READ MORE: 10 of the best places to eat al fresco in and around Lancashire

SUBSCRIBE: To Lancashire Life magazine's print or digital editions to discover everything that's wonderful about living in the county