If you’re looking for news of a new pop-up from a much respected chef, a pizza restaurant doing a special pie, a couple of national chains heading to Manchester with Indian street food and vegan kebabs, the launch of a brand new NYC-inspired donut cafe, the announcement of a new head chef at 20 Stories, or news of a local brewery having a rebrand then you are in luck this week. Below we cover all of this and a bit more in our weekly round-up of the goings on and the what’s on in Manchester’s food and drink scene.
Spinningfields’ fine-dining restaurant, 20 Stories, has announced the appointment of a new Head Chef, Mike Jennings. Jennings, who has previously worked at Bohemia in St Helier as it won a Michelin star, will be known to Manchester diners having worked with Simon Wood at Wood, as well as stints at Northcote and the much missed Grenache in Walkden. He promises to bring his own take on the menu which will feature dishes such as grilled mackerel and beetroot salad and Dover sole with brown shrimp.
National Indian street food chain Chaiiwala is set top open a site in Manchester after planners gave the go-ahead to the proposed location in Cheetham Hill. The company opened their first UK site four years ago – nearly 90 years after opening in Delhi – and now has 25 sites across the country, including local stops in Rochdale and Bolton. Replacing the former Martin’s Bakery site on Bury Old Road, the restaurant will serve all day desi breakfast alongside street food throughout the day. Expect to see the site open later this year.
Crazy Pedro’s may be a pizza parlour but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have an affinity for some other great comforting food stuffs and their March special is set to prove this. Honouring the pie, their March special is given the film title treatment with Pie Hard 2 – Pie Harder with a monster of a topping. Fans of the British classic can shout ‘Yippee ki-yay’ to chicken and mushroom, red onion, balsamic, spinach, and onion on top of one of Pedro’s pizza basis for the whole of March at both of their Manchester sites.
Dakota Hotel’s restaurant, cleverly called Dakota Grill, has launched a new fixed price menu for March for those hunting out a bargain meal. Available from 12.30pm – 2.30pm and 5pm – 6.45pm, diners can grab 2 courses for £20 or 3 for £25 and options include hot smoked salmon starter and pork belly with confit leek and apple puree for a main. The menu is available throughout the month.
Salford brewery, Seven Brothers, has undergone a rebrand and a relaunch following a £70,000 investment as they aim to expand their reach. Having recently opened a new brewery on Middlewood Locks, the new look designs centre around the number 7 to make them stand out whilst emphasising the seven brothers who own the business. Alongside this rebrand they’ve created a family of seven beers that create their core range, including old favourites as well as some updates on their original beers. Expect to start seeing the new look beer around Manchester from now.
This Thursday sees New York inspired donuts land on Hilton Street as Wilson’s Coffee welcomes Gooey, a new venture serving up donuts and cookies inspired by the Big Apple. The cafe will have the sweet treats baked fresh on site every day, overseen by head baker Lewis Loughman, formerly of coffee shops PBK and Takk. As well as the classics such as raspberry, custard and vanilla, expect some out-there collaborations with Oldham Street’s cereal cafe Black Milk being lined up to help create the Kinder Bueno donut. Donuts and cookies will be £3.50 each and, after the launch on Thursday 12 March, the donuts will be available for delivery later in the Spring.
The sandwich shop and arinicini spot on Hilton Street, William Sicilian, has upped sticks and moved into a spot vacated by the recently departed La Boca. Having grown from a much loved sandwich shop before becoming home to authentic Sicilian food a few years ago, the owners have decided it’s time to expand to their new home on Turner Street. For those who enjoyed the BYOB aspect of the last site, expect to be initially disappointed but be grateful they’ll be bringing some of Scilly’s finest local wines to their drinks list. The restaurant is open now.
An award winning vegan kebab restaurant is set to venture out of the capital and bring its plant based pittas to the North. Set to launch in an undisclosed location in the city, What The Pitta has got four restaurants down South and is ready to bring the much loved takeaway to an area that’s got plenty of meat kebab options and not so much for the vegans. When What The Pitta launches in May it’s sure to be a hit with locals if the praise from The One Show, Sunday Brunch and grime artist JME are anything to go by.
- Words:
- Joe Daly
- Published on:
- Tue 10 Mar 2020
TV’s ‘Rebel Chef’ Gary Usher is to expand his empire of local bistros by adding a Stockport pop-up to his chain portfolio. The Kala head honcho has teased a five day pop-up in a derelict pub in Stockport but has yet to say where it is as he creates a buzz around the venture. News so far is that the pop-up will be ticketed, and tickets will be available one Sunday soon before the event, that will seem to take place sometime in the next month. Stockport has recently seen an influx of new food and drink sites, so this might well be a trial run before the town sees the opening of Usher’s seventh permanent bistro.