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.
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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’).
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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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).
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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”.
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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 5 best places to go for a matcha in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Matcha fever has the nation gripped at the minute – it feels like half the country has turned its back on flat whites in favour of the popular green tea drink.
This pretty Japanese beverage might have been around for centuries, but it’s having a bit of a new moment here in Manchester and finding a whole new wave of fans.
With the global success of brands like Blank Street, you can barely walk down the street without passing someone sipping something green.
So we’ve decided to pull together five local spots in Manchester who are doing the very best matcha in town, from the very traditional to the very playful.
Know of somewhere we’ve missed? Drop us a DM on our The Manc Eats Instagram page HERE.
Ohayo Tea, Chinatown
Matcha bubble tea and soft serve at Ohayo Tea in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
This adorable bubble tea cafe in Chinatown has a Shiba Inu dog as its mascot, and you’ll find his face carved into the walls, waffles in the shape of his head, and a giant dog statue bursting out of the wall.
Ohayo Tea serve a complex take on a matcha drink that plays into their bubble tea expertise – expect your matcha to come layered with tapioca pearls, cheese foam, pistachio foam, and plenty more options too.
These drinks come with instructions – tilt your branded cup (the Shiba is back) it to at least 45 degrees to get every layer at once, or, if you insist, use a thick straw to mix it all together.
You can also get matcha soft serve here with shards of honeycomb stuck to it. Delightful.
Just Between Friends, Ancoats and Northern Quarter
Matcha drinks at Just Between Friends, Ancoats. Credit: The Manc Group
If you’re someone who actually likes matcha to taste of matcha, rather than of all sorts of syrups and other add-ons, turn to one of the city’s best coffee shops.
At Just Between Friends – which has locations tucked into an old mill in Ancoats as well as right on Tib Street in the Northern Quarter – matcha is whisked properly with a traditional bamboo whisk, before being added to steamed or chilled milk.
The result is either a warm, smooth drink served in an earthenware cup, or a refreshing iced matcha.
You can wedge yourself into a window seat or even sit on the cobbled archway outside and imagine you’ve transported yourself to a Tokyo backstreet.
We’d love to tell you the opening hours and location of this pop-up matcha hotspot, but it tends to shift around Manchester a bit.
It’s worth tracking down though – Matcha Kyoto is importing speciality ingredients all the way from Kyoto and doing everything as authentically as possible.
With matcha whipped cream, matcha lattes, matcha desserts and matcha toppings it’s a dream come true for matcha lovers… Is the word matcha starting to sound like gibberish to anyone else at this point?
Track their latest movements on their Instagram HERE.
Sipp, Ancoats and Deansgate Square
Sipp matcha in Ancoats. Credit: The Manc Group
If you’re new to matcha, or just know that you like yours with a little sweetness and fun, you must get a sip of Sipp’s.
These guys are based in General Stores around town, with their own coffee shop soon to open in Chorlton, and they have a whole list of ‘Matcha Cloud’ drinks.
Their best-seller is the raspberry and coconut, which tastes exactly like a lamington, or there are always specials cropping up (currently, it’s a mango and passionfruit).
This is gateway matcha – and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Tsujiri, Chinatown
A selection of matcha items at Tsujuri in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Not satisfied with simply serving matcha you can drink, Tsujiri is a Japanese tea house using this powerful ingredient in cakes, ice creams, cheesecakes and more.
Tsujiri was founded all the way back in 1860, before bringing the finest matcha lattes and infused desserts to British shores.
In Manchester, you’ll find them in the heart of Chinatown, tucked up an anonymous flight of stairs, where there are cabinets full of green sweet treats like a matcha basque cheesecake, matcha sundaes, and classic iced lattes.
The two best bakeries in Greater Manchester, according to the Good Food Guide
Daisy Jackson
The Good Food Guide has released its list of the top bakeries across the UK – and two in Greater Manchester have made the cut.
The prestigious guide has been travelling across the nation testing out the joy of British bakeries, from pastries to loaves to biscuits.
50 bakeries around the UK have been selected, ‘from a makeshift industrial unit in Devon to a radically remote destination in the Scottish Highlands and a must-visit spot in Mid Wales’.
Greater Manchester, as we know, has no shortage of great bakeries, whether it’s queueing for ages for an artisan pastry at La Chouquette, the ever-changing specials at Half Dozen Other in the Green Quarter, or delicious bakes and breads at Companio.
The Good Food Guide has said that the nation is going through something of a ‘modern baking boom’ and selected two spots locally that are doing it better than anyone else.
The first is Pollen, a legendary bakery which started life under a railway arch near Manchester Piccadilly, where people would queue all morning for a cruffin (at the time, this was revolutionary).
The team have now gone on to open a sunny waterside cafe at Ancoats Marina, and another in the leafy Kampus neighbourhood.
Pollen in AncoatsPollen in AncoatsPollen at KampusPollen at KampusCredit: The Manc Group
The Good Food Guide praised Pollen for its ‘quality viennoiserie and sourdough loaves’.
The Good Food Guide says of Pollen: “Since the aroma of fresh croissants first wafted from the ovens of the original bakery in Ancoats, Pollen has established something of a cult status in Manchester for its quality viennoiserie and sourdough loaves.
“A second, larger outpost at the Kampus development in the Piccadilly area is a serene, putty-hued space looking onto a lush courtyard garden where you can linger over a lunch of BBQ mushrooms on toast with celeriac and salsa verde or Jerusalem artichoke soup with herb butter.
“The counter also advertises a handsome selection of sweet treats: our surprisingly delicate matcha cheesecake was a sure sign of the pastry team’s skills.”
Long Boi’s Bakehouse in Levenshulme. Credit: The Manc Group
The second of the bakeries in Greater Manchester to catch the eye of the Good Food Guide is the brilliant Long Bois over in Levenshulme, a sunny, colourful little bakery which first rocketed to fame for its homemade pop tarts.
The guide said: “A small team of all-female bakers turns out a satisfyingly creative selection of sweet and savoury bakes – perhaps a pandan lamington (a take on the coconut-drenched Aussie classic) or an ‘everything bagel’ croissant stuffed with dill, spring onion and cream cheese – while classic cakes and pastries are presented with equal doses of flavour and flourish.
“With a tiny production kitchen, bread comes from the also-excellent Holy Grain Sourdough in Manchester city centre. Like any self-respecting neighbourhood bakery, they sell out quickly – so get there early.”
Where’s your favourite bakery in Greater Manchester?
The Manc -
2nd November 2020 
