Plenty has changed since Cheadle Hulme could be considered a quiet community bypassed by roads linking Stockport, Cheadle, Manchester and Wilmslow. Today, this Stockport neighbourhood still isn’t the loudest in the region, but has built a reputation for quality food and drink based on allowing establishments to do the talking themselves. Zumuku Sushi, which operates numerous sites across Manchester and beyond, has helped bolster the district’s name in culinary terms, bringing flavours from the Far East to the hungry locals and those visiting town.
If this is your first contact with Zumuku, then let’s just say they take their raw fish, rice, noodles and more very seriously, and although each location is different, Cheadle Hulme is the address that showcases this the most visibly. Beyond the menu, which is available to eat in or takeaway, you’ll also find masterclasses taught by some of the most talented sushi chefs in the north, helping lay folk like us start to perfect their hand-rolling techniques. Not a bad idea for a present, either to yourself or someone even luckier.
In terms of what the kitchen does, you’ll find an outstanding selection of dishes available for lunch or dinner, with afternoon customers enjoying any two courses for £12.95, the options dominated by yakisoba noodles, chicken teriyaki, and katsu curry — ‘plant powered’ and meaty. If you’re visiting for the full menu, expect uramaki rolls, nigiri, maki, and sashimi sliced, diced and prepared using the freshest catch of the day, and punting for an omakase sushi sharing platter means getting a chance to try most of those. Or at least whatever the chef thinks is the best option at the time. Oh, and did we mention this place has been nominated in no less that four categories of the Deliveroo Awards, three years running, including Best Sushi? Point made, all that remains to be said is get yourself to Cheadle Hulme, or one of the other locations.