There is more than enough to keep anyone sated and quenched this week with a whole heap of food and drink news including two new pieces of news for street food specialists GRUB that overlap with good news for Rochdale’s citizens. Manchester’s loss is Salfords gain, whilst Manchester does gain a definite opening for Kala, and Withington welcomes a pop-up bar for a one-off event in a bank. There’s even news of a presumed lost pub reopening in Ancoats.
Street food heroes GRUB setting up in Rochdale
Having already cemented itself as a firm favourite in its twin locations of Mayfield Depot and Fairfield Social Club, GRUB is set to embrace a new location outside of the city centre. Once a month, on the first Friday, from April 5th, GRUB will bring its usual selection of high-class street food and local beer to the Greater Manchester town. Alongside the food for meat eaters and veggies alike, the best Northern brewers including Track, Magic Rock, and others will be on tap. For those further South, GRUB will still be in its usual locations, and present a special East Asian Food Fair on the last weekend of March. Dumplings, bao, and all manner of East Asian food will be paired with a tap takeover from Wild Beer.
Fri 5 Apr (then first Fri of every month), The Rochdale Market & Food Hall, The Butts Avenue, Rochdale OL16 1ES. Free entry. www.facebook.com
Rochdale Artisan Market launches at the end of March
Just before GRUB heads to the space, a new artisan market will be popping up in Rochdale Market. Launching on March 30th, the Market Company run event will focus on local produce and traders and is another addition to Rochdale’s growing markets and events.
Sat 30 Mar, The Rochdale Market & Food Hall, The Butts Avenue, Rochdale OL16 1ES. www.themarketco.co.uk
Gary Usher's Kala hits its target
A few weeks ago, twitter personality and chef Gary Usher, realised he had made a mistake with the finances of his new restaurant Kala, and wouldn’t be unable to open if he couldn’t find £100,000. Thankfully for him, having a few uber famous chefs and a knack for self-promotion meant he managed to raise that amount in just a few hours on Kickstarter. So, luckily for him and his patrons, Kala will still be opening sometime in May and he can patch up that hole in the finances of his sixth independent restaurant.
Opening in May, Kala, King Street, Manchester M2 7AT. follow @kala_manchester for up to date info.
Pop-up Pub at the old Natwest bank in Withington
This Saturday sees the former bank building in Withington becoming a local boozer for just one day. A group of beer lovers are taking over the old Natwest building for a day to bring some of the best local beers to the town including Blackjack, Shindigger, and plenty more. The Lock Inn will be a community affair, with food provided by Withington cafe Boho Utopia, and local DJs playing throughout the night.
Sat 23 Mar, The Lock Inn, The Old Bank, 437 Wilmslow Road, Withington, Manchester, M20 4NW. Free entry, follow @lockinnwithy for up to date info.
Cocktail Bar for old Cord site in the Northern Quarter
It has been a while since the old site of Cord on Dorsey Street has seen any action but at long last there’s a confirmed opening for a new bar in the space and it’s soon. After a couple of aborted attempts by other ventures, garden themed cocktail bar, Alvarium, will be opening in April. Making plenty of use of the Manchester bee (Alvarium is Latin for hive), the bar will be decked out with foliage and flowers as well as bee murals. Keeping with the plant theme, half the cocktail and wine list will be suitable for vegans as well as plenty of food menu options. It’ll be nice to see one of the original Northern Quarter locations back and open.
Opening in April, Alvarium, 8 Dorsey St, Manchester M4 1LU. www.facebook.com
Bid up: Where The Light Gets In on eBay
Stockport’s fine dining jewel, Where The Light Gets in, is selling off meals at a special experimental night in an experimental way. Whilst you may be more used to finding broken lamps on eBay, you can now start the bidding on just one of 22 spots at the restaurant on April 9th. The auctions are open now in collabartion with Full Fat, a charity initiative set up to honour John-Paul Cassidy who died earlier this year and all money raised will go to Keep Our NHS Public. The menu will be comprised of techniques and ideas not yet used on the menu proper, and all meals will include a wine flight. Bidding is open now and can be found by searching Full Fat x WTLGI on eBay.
Tue 9 Apr, Where The Light Gets In, 7 Rostron Brow, Stockport SK1 1JY. Available to buy now at www.wtlgi.co
Marble Brewery moving to Salford
Manchester brewer Marble is upping sticks and making a new home for itself in Salford. With need for a larger site than their current brewery in The Green Quarter, Marble will make a spot for themselves in Weaste, joining Se7en Brothers, Pomona, and historical brewer Hydes, in The Other City. As well as featuring a much larger site to brew on, Marble will also be opening a taproom - meaning there’s now three of their venues to try their own beers (yes, don’t worry Thomas Street and The Marble Arch are staying put). The brewery should be up and running in April with the taproom following in May.
Opening April, Marble Brewery, Boston Court, Weaste, Salford. www.marblebeers.com
Flok gets a makeover
Stevenson Square’s wine and beer bar, Flok, has undergone a quick bit of a makeover in the last couple of weeks. Anyone who hasn’t ventured to the European styled bar may notice it has grown quite considerably as they’ve squeezed the kitchen to the side of the bar. The long marble counter has been kept, and downstairs has found a few new seats too. With a food menu concentrating on locally sourced meat and cheese platters, as well as bar snacks, the previous City Life Bar of The Year has plenty more space in which to enjoy them.
Flok, 5 Stevenson Square, Manchester, M1 1DN, 0161 236 7212. www.flokmcr.co.uk
Ancoats favourite The Shamrock to reopen
When The Shamrock pub in Ancoats closed its doors last year it very much seemed like last orders for what was described by the then landlord as ‘the last traditional pub in Ancoats’. With the constant building and opening around the area, it even looked like the Irish pub could be torn down but Joseph Holt have now announced they will be reopening the pub. Having taken over from old owners, Marstons, Holt’s expect to reopen the Bengal Street boozer after considerable redevelopment sometime in 2020. Hopefully with enough of the original slice of old Ancoats remaining.
Opening TBC, The Shamrock, 17 Bengal St, Manchester M4 6AQ. www.joseph-holt.com
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