Everything you need to know about our city's booming food and drink scene...
WELL DONE WELL-HUNG
(15/09) Two Manchester traders, Well Hung and Dim Sum Su, have made it to the finals of The British Street Food Awards 2016. Following five heavily contested regional heats, the judges selected seventeen of the very best street food vendors across Britain who will compete in a fierce food fight on September 17-18 in Birmingham for the coveted title of 'Best Street Food in the UK'.
The public can cast votes for their favourite street food vendor along with a judging panel including food writer Xanthe Clay, Michelin-starred chef Simon Hulstone, and Richard Johnson, founder of the awards, who will decide the winners.
Well-Hung secured their place by serving popular favourites such as Philly Cheesesteak, Land and Sea Flatbread and Beef Dripping fries. In another competition run by The Kitchens on Leftbank, Spinningfields, the boys behind both Well Hung and Bangers and Bacon - Richard Brown and James Taylor - also won the right to open their own restaurant, ‘Beastro’, next month.
ARTISAN’S ARTISAN MARKET
(15/09) Artisan by name and artisan by nature. The spacious Spinningfields restaurant and bar will be launching its very own artisan market on Sunday 25 September; 12-5pm. Local independent traders such as Kula Gallery, Wonderhaus, Acorn and Pip, The Manchester Bee Company, Ink Inc Design and Vinyl Therapy will be taking advantage of the free stall spots to offer an eclectic selection of unique goods including stylish children’s products, collectible vinyl, gifts and arts and crafts.
A kid’s corner will feature activities including pizza-making and cupcake decorating, board games and face-painting, with a magician on hand to entertain. For grown-ups, there will be live music from 2pm onwards, spirit masterclasses, Artisan cocktail showcases, Prosecco vs. Champagne tastings, a build your own Bloody Mary bar and blend your own Haig, as well as an in-situ photo booth.
A Sunday Roast will still be available for diners with 30% off your total food bill all day. Tables can be booked via www.artisan.uk.com/marketfest
BARKING MAD MARKET
(15/09) The monthly Makers Market returns to Spinningfields this weekend, but canine-you believe it? They’ve put the spotlight on four-legged friends with familiar traders putting a doggy spin on things during the ‘Mutts and Makers Market’ on the 17 and 18 September.
Guru Pet Food will be giving out free dog food samples, Hey Little Cupcake will be selling dog-friendly pupcakes and Smooth Radio will have a ‘doggy lounge’ marquee where owners can rest on deckchairs, while dogs recharge on a cosy bed with treats and fresh water. Street foodsters Bangers and Bacon (who else?) will be hosting ‘The Dog House’ pop-up, serving hot dogs for market visitors. Most Spinningfields restaurants offer dog-friendly outdoor seating, with Dockyard and The Oasthouse welcoming pooches indoors.
The Garden on Leftbank will be showing Walt Disney’s Lady and the Tramp at 12pm on Saturday 17 and again at 3pm on Sunday 18, followed by Turner & Hooch at 3pm Saturday and 12pm Sunday.
RED’S TRUE DELIVEROO CLUE
(15/09) Sometimes a measly tenner prize or a round of cheap lager isn’t much of a pub quiz incentive. But would it be worth more effort if the prize was an exclusive invitation to a secret speakeasy packed with craft beer and smoked BBQ food?
Red’s True Barbeque is banking on it, so have teamed up with on-demand delivery service Deliveroo to host a secret BBQ speakeasy for Mancunians this Friday 16th at a top secret location which will only be revealed on the day.
Red’s, known for its pit-smoked barbecue trays and deliciously supersized sandwiches will be featuring a treasure map on its website where clues will be posted alluding to the mystery location. Those who solve the clues will get to enjoy the ultimate Friday late-summer’s eve alongside heavenly smoked BBQ delivered fresh by Deliveroo, craft beers from Legitimate Industries microbrewery, live music and DJ.
SPANISH PLUMS
(14/09) Well we’ll be damsoned. The long-standing Heaton Moor restaurant has jumped on two popular bandwagons turning its former bar area into a separate Spanish tapas bar and gin joint. Half of Damson has now quietly re-opened as La Cantina with a more rustic Iberian look that reflects current market demand. The tapas bar does not take bookings but welcomes walk-in customers Monday to Friday from midday and from 10 for brunch on weekends. Review to follow.
Somewhere behind that lot there's two restaurant
TAKE REFUGE
(14/09) After a major £25m ‘urban lifestyle’ refurbishment, a rebrand and months of secrecy, The Refuge by Volta at The Palace Hotel is finally welcoming its first dining guests. The huge, open, multi-faceted 10,000 sq ft lobby space is now open all-day for coffee, brunch, lunch and dinner, as well as afternoon tea served in the winter garden.
The Refuge, curated by DJs-turned-restaurateurs Luke Cowdrey and Justin Crawford, co-owners of the award-winning Volta in Didsbury, will also offer ‘The People’s Lunch’, a daily-changing, seasonal dish for those who want 'an express, eyes-down, no-nonsense, sleeves rolled-up, big hearty bowl of soul food for £7.50'.
Typical ‘Voltini’ dishes include Crispy Lamb Shwarma with Harissa, Slow Cooked Ox Cheek with Egg and Sriracha and the much-loved Smoked Feta, Beetroot and Feta dish from Volta’s menu.
MUNCHING MODERN MOSES
(14/09) Jay Rayner’s previous visits to our fair city are usually unannounced and undercover, but this time the much-feared national food critic and chair of BBC Radio 4’s Kitchen Cabinet has revealed he will be dropping in on Manchester as part of his Ten Food Commandments tour.
Expect an illuminating audio visual ‘romp’, as the self-styled modern Moses attempts to lead dining disciples to the edible Promised Land. He’ll explain why thou shalt always eat with thy hands, why thou should most definitely worship leftovers, and why thou must celebrate the stinkiest of foods.
The presentation also includes a Q&A session and book signing. We’re not sure local restaurants should breathe too much of a sigh of relief though, he’s still going to want to find somewhere to eat while he’s in town....
Royal Northern College of Music, Sunday 23rd October, 7.30pm. Tickets £21, book here
NACHO AND EVEN MORE FRIENDS
(13/08) As part of the upcoming Manchester Food and Drink Festival, Iberica’s Executive Chef, the multi-starred Nacho Manzano is set to welcome Mark Poynton, Head Chef at Michelin starred Alimentum in Cambridge, to Iberica in Spinningfields. They will be working together to produce a special six-course game themed evening menu, with matching wines.
Guests at this highly-anticipated event will have the chance to explore culinary delights, only available from August through to January, via a casual tapas menu comparing game traditions from both Spain and England.
Mark will be returning to cook in Manchester for the first time since his eighteen months at Juniper in Altrincham, where he worked with Paul Kitching.
Nacho and Friends with Mark Poynton will be held on Tuesday 4th October, 7pm at Iberica, M3 3HF Tickets are £75 per head. To book, email reception.manchester@ibericarestaurants.com
Nacho Manzano
WHAT DO YOU CALL A GORILLA IN A DISCO?
(11/09) Gorilla Bar on Whitworth Street West is bringing the hugely successful Sounds Familiar - described as “London’s most popular and raucous music-based quiz” by Time Out magazine - to Manchester on Friday 16th September.
Nothing like the quiet, mundane quiz nights at the local pub, instead, it promises to deliver a riotous night of amusement by combining the music-based quiz with a disco. Participants are encouraged to sing and dance along to popular tunes from different eras, much like they’ve done at a number of other prestigious Sounds Familiar events and venues, including Glastonbury, Bestival and Secret Garden Party.
Kat Warburton from Gorilla said: “Expect to be singing like Whitney, dancing like David Brent and partying like Charlie Sheen. This isn't your average quiz, this is Sounds Familiar Music + Disco Quiz.”
Friday 16 September, 7pm – 12am. Entry and drink £4. The venue is limited to 200 seats so advanced booking is recommended. Table bookings are available for larger groups.
Morning rave at Gorilla
TAKE REFUGE
(09/09) Perhaps the most highly anticipated new opening of the year, The Refuge by Volta (by The Unabombers in The Palace on Oxford Street in that there Manchester, to give it its full name) are offering first-come punters the chance to dine for half price during a soft launch from 14-21 September, whilst the team 'find their feet'.
Confidential's Gordo recently popped in for a first taste of the menu here and left speechless... imagine that.
If you get a move on, you might be able to snag one of the limited soft launch slots by emailing info@refugemcr.co.uk. Daily service between 12-4pm, 5pm-11pm and weekend brunch from 11am-4pm.
Oxford St, Manchester M60 7HA
Trialing dishes at The RefugeGETTING SPICY IN SWINTON
(08/09) Things are set to get spicy in Swinton this September when the monthly Makers Market incorporates The Swinton Chilli Festival on Saturday 17th September, 11am-4pm.
Stalls will be selling hot food for spice lovers and there will also be scorchers such as chilli chocolate, ice cream, sauces, cheese and wine. The family event will also include a children's fairground and face painting.
Key 103 will be live on the main stage and a salsa band will tempt you to swing your hips up and down the market aisles in Swinton Square Shopping Centre.
SKIP ADVISOR
(08/09) Tables were turned on the much distained online review site Trip Advisor recently, by a cafe in Stockport who highlighted unfair reviews in witty comments on their A-boards outside. As a result, the clever use of the unnecessarily negative public forum comments has gone viral.
The actions of Arlo Calderbank, Manager of The Nook Neighbourhood Cafe on Heaton Moor Road, have resulted in thousands of shares on social media and have even hit the national press. They have also proved to be popular with The Nook’s happy customers. Our favourite is 'Come into our cafe that Gary from TripAdvisor said was ‘small and cramped’. We’re called Nook, for a reason Gary. (We don’t really know what you were expecting).'
Having said that, we don’t really mind Trip Advisor, makes our writers look much better.
MFDF MELTING POT
(08/09) The brochure for the nineteenth Manchester Food and Drink Festival has been published and we can’t help but notice a few brand new events have sneaked into the programme reflecting the fact that Manchester restaurants have upped their game in recent years. The UK’s largest urban food festival, which runs from 29 September – 10 October, will feature one off Hidden Banquets, a Fest-aurant in the festival hub with Adam Reid, Head Chef at The French, and a Binner Party with the real Junk Food Project and Chef Mary-Ellen McTague. To celebrate Manchester’s global outlook, there will also be a Spanish Tapas Crawl and an Italian festival with Salvi’s featuring a twenty metre pizza – that’s lunch sorted then.
To view the whole programme of events, visit www.foodanddrinkfestival.com
CHEFS ON TELLY
(08/09) A brand new daily food programme is coming to your telly box this month featuring sixteen chefs - all with Michelin stars - mentoring amateur home cooks whose dishes are pitted against each other for Friday's weekly final. Filmed on location at the Cheshire Cookery School in Altrincham, Yes Chef will feature chefs Atul Kochhar, Bryn Williams, Frances Atkins, Galton Blackiston, Luke Tipping, Mary Ann Gilchrist, Matt Gillan, Michael O'Hare, Nathan Outlaw, Nigel Haworth, Paul Ainsworth, Rupert Rowley, Ryan Simpson, Stephen Terry, Theo Randall and Aiden Byrne from Manchester House (who, as far as we’re aware hasn’t held a Michelin star for a couple of decades.)
Yes Chef is presented by ex-Emmerdale actress Sheree Murphy and the final dishes will be judged by three-star Michelin chef Pierre Koffmann. Yes Chef is shown at 3.45pm on BBC One. The episodes featuring Aiden Byrne will be shown on the 13th and 16th September.
Aiden Byrne
GET BINNED
(07/09) To celebrate their nomination for ‘pop-up of the year’ at this year’s Manchester Food & Drink Awards, the Real Junk Food Project - a not-for-profit which intercepts waste food from supermarkets, restaurants and elsewhere, and turns it into healthy, nutritious meals on a ‘pay-what-you-can’ basis - are planning to host a banquet for 150 guests within Manchester’s new hidden arts space, 53two (read about it here).
Headed up by former Aumbry head chef and new RJFP recruit, Mary Ellen McTague, the 'Binner Party' will form part of the festival fringe programme and include drinks, dinner and entertainment, with all funds put towards establishing Manchester’s first pay-what-you-feel waste food restaurant.
Free tickets are available here
The Binner Party will take place in 53two
EINS VEI DREI STEIN!
(07/09) Manchester’s bouncing two million quid Bavarian beer palace is gearing up to throw its own Oktoberfest this month (16 Sept to 9 October), offering a selection of limited edition beers usually exclusive to the world famous festival in Munich. Guest beers include Spaten, the beer traditionally tapped open first by the Mayor of Munich, as well as the special brews from Bavarian brewers such as Hacker Pschorr, Lowenbrau, Paulaner and Hofbrau. The beers will be shored up by a selection of special weiners, including the inexplicably popular German staple, Currywurst. There’ll also be music throughout the week from Balkan Beats to Kraus Rock and German Disco - which is always a hoot.
Oh and free beer is on offer for any wally turned out in traditional Bavarian get-up.
Tables are now available to be booked online, or by calling 0161 833 4040.
ROC & RYE
(06/09) Sound the new bar klaxon. Confidential has just had word that itinerant Manchester bartender, Sean Finnegan – formerly of Red’s, Kosmonaut and Escapade – is preparing to launch his first standalone bar in the city centre.
Named Roc & Rye, the new 150-capacity ‘craft coffee and cocktail’ bar will launch (should the council play nice) on the ground floor of 60 Spring Gardens - the Grade II listed former warehouse designed by Manchester Town Hall architect, Alfred Waterhouse, and offloaded earlier this year by Aviva for a cool seven mill.
Expect a late-2016 opening.
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OPULENCE REVEALED
(05/09) Premium cognac brand Rémy Martin has announced that later this month it shall bring its exclusive private members club to Manchester – a city which has famously welcomed such hoity-toity institutions with open arms.
Members – by invitation only – will have open access to La Maison Remy Martin on the twelfth floor of Manchester House, where they can enjoy ‘tangible masterclasses’, a ‘Cognatheque’ housing the brand’s ‘finest expressions’, and the ‘Opulence Revealed’ experience – where attendees will be invited to taste the ‘array of epicurean delights that denounce and pull out the notes of the sublime spirit’.
Reckon they do ale?
La Maison Rémy Martin Manchester House will be open from 6pm to 11pm from Tuesday 27 September to Saturday 1 October 2016.
Manchester House
JAPANCOATS RETURNS
(05/09) After the success of the last Japancoats event last month, this collaboration between Squid Ink restaurant and its Ancoats neighbour, tea bar Cha-ology, is set to return in September. The special supperclub, featuring five Japanese-themed courses conjured up between the two venues will be having its second event on Tuesday 27th September. A three course menu based on modern Tokyo, will be served at Squid Ink, followed by dessert and a formal tea ceremony reminiscent of Kyoto tea rooms, next door at Cha-ology.
This is a limited ticketed event at £30 per head. For tickets email: bookings@SquidInkMcr.com
TV DINNER
(03/09) Following the opening of their Oxford Street dessert bar in July, the MilkJam trio - Claire ‘Ginger’s Comfort Emporium’ Kelsey, Charlotte ‘BakeOrama’ O’Toole and Nicki ‘Lush Brownies’ Griffiths - have been revealed as the hosts of the third Manchester Food and Drink Festival's ‘Hidden Banquet’, following chef Aiden Byrne's 'Innovation' night on 30 September, and 'Industy' by Duck and Waffle's exec chef, Dan Doherty.
The pudding purveyors will host ‘TV’, a six-course feast based on the ground-breaking television produced by Granada Studios since its first broadcast in 1956. Catering for 75 sweet-toothed diners, it will be held in the studio’s OGS Works. Now a co-working space, this was once home to Granada canteen, where old Corrie stars and other famous faces once dined - a fitting location then for a ‘TV dinner’.
Guests are encouraged to come dressed as their favourite Granada TV character for the chance to win a prize at the event, which takes place on Thursday 6 October. Tickets cost £55 including cocktails and can be bought here.
WAKEY CAKEY, LET'S GET BAKEY
(01/09) For the second year running, Manchester Food and Drink Festival will be incorporating a Great Manchester Bake Off to crown the best home baker in the region. 30 registered budding bakers (first come, first served) are invited to bring their sweet creations to MilkJam on Oxford Street on Sunday 11th September for round one.
The Festival’s judging panel will decide who gets through to the Final Challenge at Festival Hub’s Bake Sale on Sunday 9th October, where the winner will be crowned Greater Manchester Bake Off Champion 2016/7. Less competitive bakers can also host their own bake sale stall at the Charity Bake Sale raising money for Forever Manchester, as part of their Caketober fund-raising month, with all proceeds being used to support grass roots community projects across the region.
The Great Manchester Bake Sale is free for all sweet-toothers to attend, and is open from 12-6pm
To enter the bake off, residents of Greater Manchester must register here. Prizes include £800 worth of Nisbets Baking goodies (including a Kitchen Aid mixer) and goodies from Slatteries.
BANGERS, BACON, BIKERS AND BROWN
(01/09) James and Richard from BeastRo and Bangers and Bacon will be making an appearance in the first episode of the new Hairy Bikers TV series 'Chicken and Egg' which airs on Tuesday 6th Sept at 8pm. (James’s poor wife Heather missed her telly debut as she was busy grafting at their butchers shop.)
The affably hirsute pair stopped at The Kitchens in Leftbank, Spinningfields as part of their tour to cook up a ‘hairy egg’; a take on the Scotch egg using cheese and onion crisps. They pitted their concoction alongside Robert Owen Brown’s famous Manchester Egg and asked the Bangers and Bacon team to judge which one they preferred.
On Wednesday the 7th September, Manchester Eggs will be available from the pop up cafe outside The Kitchens at £4, which also sells a takeout breakfast and brunch menu, special sandwiches and hot beverages (a banging bargain at only £1), Mon-Fri 7am-3pm.
COOL DINNERS
(01/09) This September, Crazy Pedro’s is planning to transport us back to our childhood with its newest pizza special ‘Back 2 School’; a nostalgic blend of turkey dinosaurs, potato smiles and spaghetti hoops on a pizza base. Available as a special throughout the month, the School Dinners pizza is £3 a slice or £15 for a whole 16-inch pizza. The pizza joint will also offer its infamous Happy Hour deal; two-for-one cocktails, 16” pizzas for £10 and single slices for just £2 (Sunday-Friday, 5pm to 9pm).
Lyndon Higginson, Creative Director of Crazy Pedro’s, The Liars Club and Cane & Grain says: “There’s something wonderfully nostalgic about school dinners. As an adult you forget how tasty spaghetti hoops and potato smiles really were. We’re bringing them back this September with our new Back 2 School pizza – who knows we might even start a turkey dinosaur renaissance!” If you say so Lyndon.
The late-night pizza party place has also announced that it will be bringing back two previous specials due to popular demand; The ‘Ducky Fuzz’ (duck, hoisin sauce, vegetable spring rolls) and ‘The Curry Mile’ (chicken tikka, onion bhajis, poppadoms, mint yoghurt).
WRITTEN INVITATION
(01/09) Northern Quarter bar and restaurant Pen and Pencil will be celebrating their first birthday by throwing an epic free party weekend for the good people of Manchester. On Friday 16th September classic electro group 808 State will be behind the decks, followed by Haçienda DJ Dave Haslam, keeping Manchester on the dance floor on Saturday 17th September until the early hours.
Follow them on Twitter to see what other delights they’ll be offering this month including film nights (with bespoke themed cocktails to match), a weekly quiz night, happy hour, special offers, guest DJs and live music.
DRY PALATE
(01/09) It’s interesting what comes up when noseying around commercial estate agents’ websites. We found two notable businesses have quietly gone up for sale. The first one is Palate in Chorlton, owned by the team behind the successful Parlour, nearby on Beech Road. The 70 cover restaurant only opened in March 2015 and received a rather lukewarm review from Neil Sowerby soon after.
Secondly, Oldham Street drinkstitution Dry Bar is on the market for £4m. Co-owned by the late Tony Wilson, who envisioned it as a pre-Hacienda hang out, the dark-hued bar opened in 1989 and was the original Northern Quarter drinking dens. The four-storey building has been granted planning permission to allow the two floors above the bar and the attic space to be converted into 69 en-suite bedrooms. The property also includes a ground floor bar and basement cocktail bar area.
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