It’s hard not to mention the chill as temperatures plummet and the frost starts appearing on the ground. Luckily, there are plenty of places to keep you warm and dry, whether it’s in our cosy beer guide or with brand new food and drink offerings. There’s the warmth of a good deed as Surplus waste food night goes weekly, a new cosy pub in Ancoats launching a menu fit for winter, a Christmas platter on Stevenson Square, and even news of Manchester’s finest obscure seafood restaurant getting national attention.
Chapel Street has gained itself another celebrity resident to go with the other glitzy stars in CitySuites hotel. Masterchef: The Professionals contestant Marika Healey is heading up the newly opened Embankment Kitchen inside the building at the bottom of Victoria Bridge Street and she’s aiming for a modern British brasserie feel. The 80 cover restaurant will offer relaxed dining as well as private rooms and even a big screen to watch sport – which may come in handy for certain football managers who reside there.
There’s been quite a buzz about Edinburgh Castle, the new local boozer in Ancoats, and following its opening weekend it doesn’t seem to be dying down anytime soon. Kitted out with the intention of being a proper boozer, its dark walls and dim corners have gone down a treat with Ancoats’ residents and now the pub, from the people behind Cottonopolis, is aiming to impress with its food. With a full roast menu, salt baked beet wellington for the veggies alongside lamb, pork, beef and hake options on a Sunday as well as small and large plates during the week – it seems it’s not just going to be a place for a pint of ale. That said, booze does make a menu appearance in dishes such as the stout rarebit and the Johnnie Walker sauce on the sticky toffee pudding.
Another Ancoats fixture that’s been revived is Halle St Peter’s which opens its doors this weekend. Whilst it’s not the first thought for food and drink in Ancoats, this deconsecrated place of worship will finally be home to a cafe for attendees of events at the church as well as those who just fancy a bite and a brew. If you want to be one of the first to see the fruits of the 18 month expansion, you can visit this weekend as a full programme of events baptises this new-old space with opportunities to listen or take part as you feel. And, of course, a chance to sample the new cafe’s menu.
Behemoth craft brewer Brewdog is set to open a new hotel in Manchester alongside its new bar – but not for a while yet. The first of these mini-hotels – affectionately called Brewdog Kennels – has recently popped up in Aberdeen, home of the Scottish Punk IPA maker, with a second heading to Columbus in the US next year. Alongside Paris and London, Manchester has also been promised one of these mini-hotels with bookers treated beers in the shower, a well stocked mini-bar and a full selection of cool hotel accoutrements including Bromptons, vinyl players and guitars. Obviously the hotels will be dog friendly, but there’s no word just yet on where the Brewdog owners plan to open up.
You know it’s well and truly the Christmas season when you start seeing the Christmas Cake and sherry coming out and unsurprisingly, Flok has got this end of things covered. For just £10, two people can get cake (or mince pie) and cheese, expertly paired with a specifically selected sherry. The offer runs all the way through the Christmas period and seems a perfectly calming way to end a day of Christmas shopping.
Ashton Old Road isn’t where you’d expect to find a national restaurant critic in their element but Live Seafood has been spotted and caught by Observer writer Jay Rayner. This Sunday’s paper saw the critic rave about one of the more obscure seafood restaurants in the city (if you think Umezushi was out of the way then think again). The tanks full of live seafood thrilled Rayner who described it as ‘a parade of the best and (obviously) freshest Chinese seafood dishes you will ever have had placed before you’. With El-Ammar bakery and cafe (the original spot of the people behind Altrincham’s Caesars Restaurant) a few hundred yards up the road, it’s proving an unlikely corridor for a wealth of food.
- Words:
- Joe Daly
- Published on:
- Tue 19 Nov 2019
Since earlier this year, Open Kitchen Mcr and Beer Nouveau have been ensuring food that’s good enough to eat doesn’t end up in the bin with their monthly Surplus evenings. These waste food experts and local brewers have noticed such an appetite for the project that they’re now going weekly with their night of saved food and beer. While the event undoubtedly produces high quality food and drink, it also helps Open Kitchen’s work supporting food banks and helping to feed the homeless around Manchester, as they provide hot, nutritious meals. The events are every Friday at Beer Nouveau and there’s no need to book.