The Christmas Markets may be just around the corner but there are plenty of other food and drink openings to keep you occupied before the festive behemoth takes over the city for the winter period. Next year will see openings from local coffee roasters Ancoats Coffee Co, as well as national chain Rosa’s Thai. A bit earlier than that, and Macclefield has seen their new market open today, Lidl will be bringing a unique wine bar pop-up to the city and The Wolf At The Door has scooped a prestigious award. More on that below.
Manchester may have a good number of its own Thai restaurants but London chain Rosa’s thinks there’s space for more. Aiming to open in the Old Courthouse that previously housed Handmade Burger Company, the chain will be adding to its portfolio of 18 restaurants as it aims to go one better than its London Thai chain compatriot, Busaba, which lasted less than a year in the Printworks.
Sacha’s might not be the first place you think of when you think of high quality independent vegan grub but it’s been hosting a vegan winter festival for a few years now and welcomes the latest installment this November. On Sat 02 Nov, more than 80 stalls will welcome vegans and non-vegans alike to tempt them with their plant based goods. There will be food to takeaway as well as street food stalls if you’re feeling peckish. If you need a bit of inspiration, there will be talks and cookery demonstrations so you can get ready for a meat free Christmas. If all that isn’t enough to make you feel good, any surplus is donated to homeless charities at the end of the day and tickets are a mere £4. Read our preview here.
Envious eyes have been cast from many a town and village in the North West towards Altrincham and the way their market has helped herald a foodie revolution in the town. Now Macclesfield is the latest place to welcome the Altrincham Market traders with their third opening following Mackie Mayor. Following planning approval last year, old cinema The Picturedrome has been getting ready to welcome 180 covers alongside 11 independent business and has finally swung its doors open this morning (29th Oct). Expect to see many of the usual names including Tender Cow and Honest Crust.
The recently opened and swiftly renamed The Wolf At The Door has wasted no time in making another kind of name for itself. Imbibe’s Drinks List Of The Year Awards crowned it with their Avant Garde Drinks List Of The Year award in recognition of the varied and interesting selection of booze they offer. To top it off, Liars Group, from Wolf At The Door director Lyndon Higson, won best Group Drinks List for the company as a whole.
All those looking at the ill-fated Fizz! bar and wondering how long it will remain dormant should wonder no longer. Swapping Fizz for beans, Kiosk coffee shop is set to open in the old Prosecco bar’s shell imminently. Mital Morar is the person tasked with improving the fortunes of the space at the bottom of the escalator/stairs mash up in the centre of the shopping centre. Having proven a success at Ancoats General Store and the newly opened Stretford Food Hall, he is sure to provide a welcome spot for weary shoppers over Christmas and, if you need something a bit harder to get you through, Kiosk has a full alcohol license too.
Manchester has no shortage of food and drink openings and pop-ups that appear across the city throughout the year but the latest cool wine pop-up Chateaux Noir might be one of the more unexpected. Budget supermarket chain Lidl is hoping to expand drinkers’ minds so they judge wine just on what’s in the bottle, with its tasting in the dark concept at their weekend pop-up below Barton Arcade. Led by Lidl’s Master of Wine Richard Bampfield, drinkers will sample eight different wines in the dark (served by waiters with night vision goggles) as he aims to get rid of any preconceived notions of wine (and probably sell you on Lidl’s, let’s be honest) when the pop-up opens in mid November.
- Words:
- Joe Daly
- Published on:
- Tue 29 Oct 2019
The area around Piccadilly Gardens might not be the first place Mancunians think of when they think baristas but, following news that Foundation is set to open on Portland St, Ancoats Coffee Co are joining the coffee revolution with a new venture in Bruntwood’s 111 Piccadilly. After nearly five years in Royal Mills, the roasters have decided it is time to expand operations with a second spot in the office tower. The co-working space aims to welcome the new cafe in Spring 2020.