Restaurants in Manchester

The audience goes wild for Chef Jesus "Suso" Seoane as he deftly dances the handle of a sharp butcher knife between his fingers. As if drawn by magnet, the blade finds a large red pepper and flays it down the center in one fluid stroke. When Jesus isn't flaunting his knife skills on the Telemundo cooking show Cocinando con Suso, he's hard at work perfecting an authentic menu of Spanish and Latin-American dishes at his restaurant, Suso Latino Basket.

The word suso sprawls across his eatery's wall, a painted chef's hat jauntily hanging off the o. Just past the marble-tiled bar, tables populate with steaming specialties such as puerto rican pork pernil, peruvian sautéed pastas, cuban sandwiches, and spanish paella, which overflows with more seafood than Poseidon's bank vault.

Chez Ben Diner serves everything you’d expect from a classic American diner—three-egg omelets, triple-decker club sandwiches, and burgers—with an unexpected twist: a selection of authentic French-Canadian dishes. Founded by Benoit and Solange Quirion, the restaurant recently passed to Windsor natives Joel and Anne Quirion who continue the family tradition of friendly service, all-day breakfast, and uniquely Canadian dishes, such as poutine, a combination of fries, cheese curds, and brown gravy. The emphasis on traditional Canadian eats hasn’t gone unnoticed: the breakfast poutine earned a mention in Serious Eats, and Roadfood.com calls the cretons—a cold pork spread that can be served on toast or used as stucco on a gingerbread house—“addictive.”

Luen Hop Chinese Restaurant fills pint- and quart-size cartons with takeout staples including soft lo mein noodles, fried rice, and well-sauced cuts of seared pork, chicken, and beef. Roasted duck—a house specialty—complements mixed vegetables with its crisp skin and tender meat, and tofu and chicken surrender to sweet and spicy sauces during General Tso's good-cop-bad-cop routine.

Dedicated to bringing the culinary traditions of Peru to Hartford’s diners, Piolin Restaurant II has been serving the signature sizzling meats and sautéed veggies of the region since 1998. Within the bustling kitchen, chefs architect dishes such as Peruvian yellow potatoes, sweet plantains, and fried yucca in addition to hearty meats ranging from grilled chicken to fried red snapper. Along with the re-creation of time-honored recipes, the brightly hued walls and cheery decor of Piolin’s dining room grant guests the feeling that they’ve escaped to Peru without the hassles of answering a TSA officer’s riddles.

The chefs at Saffron Place take spices seriously. Drawing on shelves of cumin, curry, fresh ginger, and garlic, they craft each dish individually to account for each person's preferred level of spiciness, be it mild to smoking hot. The individual preparation of each order ensures that their traditional north Indian and Bengali dishes arrive at tables still steaming from the stove or easily startled dragons. Servers carry goat curry, chicken tikka masala, and vegetarian platters to tables or customers waiting for takeout orders.