The best: New food and drink openings coming to Manchester in November

Occupying the Oxford Road building that was once the iconic Footage, The Grosvenor has given the Grade II listed space a £1m makeover, complete with 30 beer taps, sports screens, pool tables, beer pong tables and a photobooth.

The venue’s original stage will host a packed entertainment schedule including weekly club events, interactive quiz nights, and live music from local DJs and bands, while the food offering will include a range of bar classics such as huge sharers, buckets of wings, loaded pizzas, and stacked burgers.

Opening Sat 2 Nov.

Stow comes from the team behind much-loved Northern Quarter stalwart, Trof. The concept is simple, a food menu cooked entirely over live fire alongside a short list of classic and signature cocktails and great wine.

The new venture will open on Bridge Street. The team will use local produce cooked using a custom-built grill from Firemade in Somerset and fuelled by locally produced wood and charcoal. A small, regularly changing menu will revolve around a small selection of meat and fish together with a thoughtful list of veg-centric sides and snacks.

The brothers behind the multi-award-winning Schofields are set to open a second iteration of their wine-led concept, Atomeca, in Spinningfields.

Building on the original Deansgate Square venue, which opened in 2021, the latest project will again focus primarily on wine, with a European-inspired menu of snacks, sandwiches, homemade pasta and small plates available for guests to graze as they sip.

Nell’s hardly needs an introduction, the team’s NYC-inspired slices have cemented them as one of Manchester’s favourite pizza spots. On Fri 22 Nov, they’ll be launching their fourth site in Altrincham’s Stamford Quarter, neighbouring the recently opened Lane 7.

Founder Jonny Heyes said “We’ve been hoping to open a Nell’s in Altrincham for years. We love the town, it’s so vibrant, it almost feels like coming on holiday when you head over here. We can’t wait to be part of it’”

In just six months, pasta specialists Little Scarfs became a mega hit at Altrincham Market. Now, the team are moving on to a new permanent spot in the flourishing Stockport underbanks.

Opening on Thu 7 Nov, the cosy space will be transformed into a super casual pasta and wine bar. Diners can order at the counter, picking from a handful of dishes that’ll be scribbled up on a chalkboard and pairing them with something from the specially curated wine list.

A particularly exciting collaboration sees Manchester Union Brewery, Trof and Wandering Palate come together for a new venue within the St John’s neighbourhood.

The Trading Route be serving cold craft beer, hot rotisserie chicken, fresh on-site baked bread, Heart & Graft coffee and other treats. A dedicated retail space will also be stocking natural wines, charcuterie, cheese and more to take away.

Another excellent-sounding newcomer to Stockport’s underbanks, Cantaloupe is described by the team as a neighbourhood restaurant serving European regional food and wine. Wine will be drawn from small European producers whilst the food, which will be mostly Mediterranean, celebrates the regional cooking of the continent.

The stellar founding team, Mike Thomas and Joshua Reed-Cooper, boast a CV that includes Where The Light Gets In and The Creameries…so guests will be in pretty good hands.

Shiruku, a new concept from the owners of Ribeye in Manchester and Birmingham, aims to deliver Manchester’s ‘ultimate Pan-Asian dining experience’.

Set in the previous Firefly site in the New Bailey area, Shiruku’s menu includes an array of small plates and mains designed to take guests on a journey through Asia’s rich culinary landscape.

The restaurant also boasts a zen-inspired interior designed to transport diners to a ‘serene and luxurious environment’, with silk cloud-like pillows fitted to the ceiling and a 1.8-meter fish tank at its centre.

Oldham’s brand-new food hall, The Egyptian Room, comes to the historic Old Town Hall, transforming the Grade II listed building into a 200-seat open-plan dining space.

The team have worked hard to showcase the The Egyptian Room’s original features, including its decorative glazed wall, column tiling, parquet and terrazzo flooring and arched windows and doors. Food comes from the likes of  Ply Loves Pizza, Wings of Power, Tuk Tuk, The Last Stop, Sticky Fingers and Seacoles.

Manchester’s oldest independent Italian restaurant has had a refurb and rebrand. Formerly known as Don Giovanni’s, now just going by Giovanni’s, the team have reopened following a three-month closure.

Along with a refreshed name and interiors, the new era also brings an exciting updated menu spanning breakfast, lunch and dinner, all tied together by the rich heritage of traditional Italian dining.

Launching late November, award-winning Stockport bookshop, Simply Books, will be launching a new bar within the shop. By evening, the space will be split into two spaces — downstairs you can pull up a seat at the shared table, inviting you to start conversations and share stories with those sitting around you, while upstairs guests can cosy up with a book and a glass from the extensive wine list.