Once you have explored the varied architecture, trendy shopping and vibrant cafe culture of the city centre and want a more laid back, yet very chic urban experience, take the number 111 or 46 bus from the city centre and get off by the Metropolitan pub on Lapwing Lane or Burton road (about 3.5 miles south of the city centre). This is the heart of West Didbsury. It is full of chic little boutiques, retaurants, bars, curious little shops, art shops, furniture shops, a couple of small supermarkets and so on. Everything you need concentrated into a small area, full of really nice people.
The age range here is much lower than the national average, having said that there are plenty of more "mature" people coming here for the excellent restaurants.
Best place to start is with a laid back coffee or glass of wine (perhaps light lunch) at the Assembly. Sit outside on the veranda if you can. It's great for people watching. If you are there in the evening, perhaps try the Lime Tree next door(also has a veranda) which is one of the most sought after restaurants in the city and then I recommed trying the One Lounge bar on the corner of Lapwing lane and Burton road or M20 cocktail bar not far from there down Burton Road. Also the magnificent Metropolitan Pub/Restaurant (opposite). It's one of the most famous pubs in Manchester.
From West Didsbury you can either walk or drive about a mile to Didsbury village. Or take the 23 bus. Didsbury main high street which is also known as Didsbury village (though villagey it is not!) is the more traditional but still very fashionable part of the area. It's much larger than West Didsbury with even more restaurants and shops than West Didsbury, but perhaps more of a traditional family environment with slightly older crowds than West Didsbury. There is still a younger crowd in the evenings and weekends, especially on sunny days, with pretty much all the bars and restaurants having outside seating. I would recommend eating at Felicini Italian restaurant. It's one of the best known in the city. You probably need to book ahead though (as you do for the Lime Tree in West Didsbury).
look up post code M20 2WS on multimap.
And Felicini was much better when I was a kid - a smaller, friendlier family restuarant. I was born in Didsbury(20 years ago) and I kind of disagree with this assessment of the area. Didsbury has gone downhill and lacks character - there are too many Pitcher and Piano, Caffe Uno, type establishments catering to weekend heavy drinkers. There are still some really brilliant shops in Didsbury village - a butchers (axxons), a shop stocking hundreds of kinds of cheeses and deli products (the Cheese Hamlet), a fish monger (my mum would remember the name) and an everything-shop (the Village Saver), but the first three would be there regardless and the village saver is finding itself surplus to yuppie requirements. West Didsbury is nice though I suppose. Rhubarb is a great restuarant.
The Metropolitan is pants and expensive. The tiny Railway is a much better pub.
Add the Great Kathmandu (Nepalese & Indian) and Azzurro (Italian) to your list of restaurants in west Didsbury (both on Burton Road). The Assembly has recently been sold to a new owner. It remains to be seen if it will stay as a bar/bistro. Hopefully they will retain the nice veranda! The Assembly is now Piccolinos. Same as the restaurants by the same name in Manchester, Knutsford etc. Great Italian food! The midland hotel (to give the metropolitan its true name) has become a sterile, homogenised haven for image conscious clones to be seen in, complete with mock library, crappy furniture and shitty old prints on the walls. Gone are the days when The Mondays, The Roses, 808 State, Alex Higgins and The Bullers would frequent the premises, these days they've not even got a jukebox. I think they should bring back the pool tables and drug dealers.And to say west Didsbury is full of very nice people is rubbish, unless i'm invisible as this is the way it would seem when i'm walking down the pavement and people try to walk through me and then completely fail to apologise.
Is this your business?