On Saturday, for the second time in the space of eight months, the Prime Minister appeared on our television screens and ordered everyone to stay indoors – stirring up a stomach-churning sense of deja-vu.
The virus that sent the UK into quarantine back in March has enjoyed an alarming new lease of life, and without tough action now, Boris warned us, Christmas would effectively be cancelled.
There’s a temporary ban on most socialising, whilst thousands of businesses across England must close.
Among those ordered to shut, of course, are bars and restaurants.
Hospitality has had a raw deal throughout the pandemic, with the sector subjected to particularly stringent measures including a 10pm curfew.
But from Thursday, every bar, pub and restaurant in England will have to shut entirely – serving customers only via takeaway (although it will be forbidden to provide alcohol ‘to go’).
Ultimately, there’s lots of stock set to go to waste. And in order to clear the shelves and pipes, bars in Manchester are launching a wide variety of lockdown deals – offering customers the chance to grab a bargain before the country closes down again.
Here are a few of the best ones. We’ll keep adding more as they come in.
£1 pints at Albert’s Schloss
Albert’s Schloss is serving pints for £1 for three days in November.
Litre growlers are also being poured for £2.50.
All of their draught beer is included in the lockdown deal – and you’ll need to order food as per Tier 3 rules.
The bar wrote on social media: “Today [Monday 2 November] til end of play Wednesday, we’ll be serving £1 pints.
“Tour the Taps to stop it going to waste – you can also take away a 1 litre growler of your favourite bier for only £2.50, just ask your server.
“Our Haus will be open 4pm – 10pm til we close the doors (again) on Weds. Available on every draught bier – til they’re gone. Must be served with a substantial meal. Bookings strongly advised.”
Big sale at Nibble NQ
Northern Quarter’s Nibble restaurant is also arranging a huge lockdown clearance – with loads of ingredients up for grabs for low prices.
Eggs, sausages. beans, milk, juice, powder and sugar are all being advertised on the cheap – and you can place your order via email.
Nibble representatives said: “The money is undoubtedly better in the bank than on our shelves, so if you’re going to be getting any of these things from the supermarket over the coming days and weeks please consider placing an order with us instead to help with cash flow while we get ready to close up and focus on delivery and collection only.”
Nibble NQ added: “This list is subject to availability, and preorder only, once it’s gone it’s gone. But we will continue to provide our local and national delivery menus throughout lockdown so check out the website for these and email [email protected] for any upcoming orders and birthday treats for loved ones.”
£10 off per person at Kala Bistro
Kala Bistro is offering £10 off food and non-alcoholic drinks every day on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
The lockdown deal is available for both lunch and dinner, with the restaurant encouraging customers to enjoy “one last Kala fix before [they] close for a short break.”
The King Street venue will be opening from midday to 3pm and 5pm – 8pm.
Free shooting at Point Blank
Fancy taking out some of your frustration on the pending lockdown with a shooting game?
Point Blank – the speakeasy-style range on Deansgate – is offering customers a free go on the guns before the bar closes down.
Representatives commented on social media: “We are offering FREE SHOOTING all day Tuesday & Wednesday.”
They added: “Not only that, we’ve got drinks deals, pizzas, guns and positive vibes.”
To book a booth, customers can call Point Blank on 0333 023 0363.
50% off at Asha’s
Asha’s Indian restaurant on Peter Street has also announced a corker of a lockdown deal – half price dishes right across their A La Carte menu.
The restaurant wrote on social media: “As a massive thank you for your continued support throughout this pandemic, we would like to invite you to enjoy 50% off our á la carte menu from Monday 2nd November – Wednesday 4th November from 5pm – 9.30pm.”
Bookings can be made online or by calling 0161 832 5309. Walk-ins are also welcome.
50p wings at Northern Soul
Northern Soul Grilled Cheese – Manchester’s top toastie takeaway of Man v Food fame – has ordered in a “f*** load” of wings for this week, according to staff.
But now, due to new circumstances, they need to offload this grub somewhere fast.
That’s why Northern Soul is plating up wings for 50p each right up until Wednesday.
Both Solita restaurants in Northern Quarter and Didsbury will be offering an all-day discount Monday to Wednesday – with 50% off their menu (up to £10 per person).
Offers on alcoholic drinks will also be available.
Cutting Room Square’s neighbourhood kitchen and bar Elnecot also needs to get rid of its beer – so staff are encouraging customers to visit the premises with empty milk cartons and get them filled up with lager instead.
The price? £2 a litre.
Somehow it seems likely that Mancs will be ploughing through the rest of their milk supply later today…
Open from 4pm – 8pm Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday this week, Blossom Street Social is apparently all set to start serving “tempting platters, free wine upgrades & cheaper pints”.
According to their social media channels, the bar is pouring their “famous FOUR [at] just £3.50/ pint, served in an ice cold tankard!”
The very best ice cream places in Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
We know it’s not often sunny out in these parts to enjoy the proper summery joy of lapping up lots of ice cream, but there are still bloody wonderful places to get it here in Greater Manchester – and we know some of the best.
It doesn’t matter if you prefer it chock-full of chocolate chips and coffee, mouth-frothingly fruity sweet, you’re in your pistachio phase or cannot get past the raspberry ripple, there are plenty of places to get whatever you’re after.
Be it Manchester city centre or beyond, we do ice cream pretty darn good for a place that basically rains for two-thirds of the year.
In no particular order, by the way, because we already hate playing favourites and all those serve our infinitely sweet tooth are created equal.
The best ice cream shops and parlours in and around Manchester
1. Grandpa Greene’s – Oldham
First up, there are few other fitting enough places to start than the Diggle Lock’s legendary Grandpa Greene’s, which serves not just some of the best desserts we’ve EVER had but stunning, homemade ice-cream that we here at The Manc have even helped make in the past.
In fact, this place has been such a hit in the area that they’ve gone on to open their own bistro and, unsurprisingly, it’s proved just as impressive and popular.
2. Milk Maids – Bolton
From Oldham over to the borough of Bolton and native favourite, Milk Maids, whose award-winning dairy farming expertise has seen them garner an iconic status among locals, and it’s no wonder.
We’ve been on to this place in Over Hulton for ages, but now they’re approaching a decade of serving their oh-so-sweet scoops, we can’t pretend to take even the remotest bit of credit. Their reputation precedes them and is about as long-standing as their lines.
3. Ginger’s – Northern Quarter
Number three is a go-to ice cream place for anyone in Manchester city centre: Ginger’s over in Afflecks Palace. Well, Ginger’s Comfort Emporium, to give them their full title, and we can only concur that it does provide us with immense comfort whenever we call upon it.
Made in small batches using award-winning, home-churned dairy ice cream just like Milk Maids, these guys have actually been here even longer, serving the massive multi-floored shopping complex and indie paradise since 2010. There are new flavours and specials on all the time, each as delicious as the last.
In at number four is arguably the ice cream and dessert parlour with the very best name in Manchester, and that’s Big Licks, which recently relocated from Liverpool Road over in Castlefield to Printworks.
Now positioned in a much more central location, it’s no surprise that the spot has seen an increase in queues of late. You’ll find pretty much every combo you could ask for here; they also do some pretty banging burgers if you fancy eating both tea and afters here.
As a native Stopfordian myself, my grandma only ever called dessert a ‘sweet’ or ‘pudding’, regardless of what it was, but regardless of what you call it around your way/in your family, we have a Stopfordian ice cream spot that you need to visit.
Macari’s Gelateria opened up over in Heaton Moor back in 2023, and it’s quickly grown a passionate cult following – ourselves included. From their punchy and/or fruity flavours, to the super soft texture that their perfectly flaky wafers just about hold up to, it’s pretty perfect. Remember the name.
Credit: The Manc Group
6. Lazy Sundae – Manchester Arndale
We’re past the halfway mark now, and if you’re not already feeling a bit sluggish after this sugary feast for your eyes, you almost certainly will after looking at the super indulgent Lazy Sundae, who do everything from bubble tea and creative Korean desserts, to standard ice cream cones.
But make no mistake, there’s nothing plain or basic about this place: it’s remained one of the best places for ice cream in Manchester, and while we may have said goodbye to their OG spot in NQ back in January 2025, the Arndale parlour now serves as the perfect flagship location.
Sticking with the city centre and whipping our way back to NQ (pun very much intended), we’ve got the brilliant Black Milk up next, who we confess most regularly visit for a proper good milkshake, but they do shine when it comes to pretty anything sugary, to be honest.
Ice cream-wise, you can’t go wrong with their cookies and cream sundae, and their special St. Patrick’s Guinness gelato is still one of the most unique desserts we’ve ever had. Speaking of gelato…
Heading out to Trafford now and the ever-growing foodie scene in Sale, their increasingly well-known Gelato Creamery® store has been making waves for some time now, and by waves, we mean perfectly swirled scoops of ice cream’s somewhat healthier but still just as tasty Italian cousin.
They have a more central pod at Jacuna Kitchen over in Ardwick on the outskirts of the city centre, but really do recommend visiting their shop on School Road for a lesson on what proper good gelato should taste like.
The penultimate blood sugar pincher is the famous Get Baked, who barely even turned the key to unlock the doors before they had a crowd waiting outside the shop window of their first Manchester location.
Whether you’re three for big cookies, the famous Matilda-inspired ‘Bertha’ cake’ or their free-flowing soft-serve that is easier to drink than water – we know we have a problem, we’re working on it – you won’t be disappointed by no matter how long you wait.
Credit: The Manc
10. Baby Mayhem – Ancoats
Last but certainly not least of the latest newcomers to the Manc dessert scene and while it may not be strictly just an ice cream parlour, it is one of the best places for anyone who is powerless to resist their cravings for things fresh, cold, filled, fried and covered in sugar.
Baby Mayhem is where ice cream and doughnuts collide in one superior pudding. How does a ‘donut ice cream sandwich’ sound? Incredible? We thought so. It’s popped in the old Lazy Tony’s Lasagneria site and is already following in its footsteps of filling locals’ bellies to the max.
That should just about do you for now, and if this list wasn’t sickly enough, don’t you worry…
You best believe we’ll be going around all around Greater Manchester in search of more ice cream and the best places that do it whenever the sun is out.
So, just keep your eyes peeled for when we inevitably update this one, because there’s always room for one more scoop.
Ancoats bar Sammy’s closes after ‘online smear campaign’
Daisy Jackson
A popular late-night bar in Ancoats has announced its official closure after several months of silence.
Sammy’s Bar, which was styled as a retro 70’s diner and stayed open into the early hours, has said the bar ‘is officially no longer’.
In a statement shared on the bar’s Instagram stories, founder Sammy Shonn said that there was been an ‘online smear campaign’ and has decided to sell the bar ‘for my own mental wellbeing’.
The account, and the bar itself, will now be transferred to new owners.
Sammy’s opened in 2019 and was a popular, hidden-bar-style spot for late-night cocktails and DJs.
Their full statement reads: “It’s with regret that I inform you Sammy’s is officially no longer.
“Whilst I vehemently maintain my total innocence against all of the hurtful allegations made against me and my character in a recent online smear campaign, for my own mental wellbeing, I’ve made the difficult decision to sell the bar, along with all its associated assets, including this social media account.
“Thank you to everyone for your custom, your love and your support since 2019.
“Together we created something special. I am now transferring this account to the new owners, who I am sure will post something shortly regarding their plans.”
The Manc -
2nd November 2020 
