Two of Liverpool’s cult-favourite and beloved independent vegan eateries have announced they are expanding delivery services across Manchester next month.
In what is sure to be music to the ears of the city’s plant-based foodies, vegan junk food restaurant and cocktail bar Down The Hatch and sister eatery – plant-based Chinese chippy Woo Tan Scran – are teaming up and coming to Manchester next month.
It’s certainly not an understatement to say these two restaurants have developed a cult following on the Liverpool food scene since opening doors.
And now it’s Manchester’s turn to see what the fuss is all about.
Down The Hatch – which prides itself on delivering “damn good food” – is inviting everyone to “fill your boots and stuff your faces” without judgement at a vegan junk food restaurant committed to “making sure your belly is full and your hangover is cured, one overflowing plate at a time”, with everything from burgers, loaded fries, ‘home cooked’ classic meals and more making up the menu.
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Down The Hatch x Woo Tan Scran
Woo Tan Scran, on the other hand, is a fully plant-based Chinese chippy – serving up vegan salt and pepper boxes, spring rolls, dumplings, prawn toast and everything else you’ve come to expect from a decent Chinese chippy – that’s gone down a real hit with the locals.
Such a hit in fact that, according to Deliveroo, it was found to be the most-ordered-from takeaway in Liverpool during the last national lockdown.
In what is believed to be due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, both eateries will be opening under ‘Dark Kitchen’ format only from next month.
Similar to a traditional takeaway format, a ‘dark kitchen’ refers to food that is prepared at separate takeaway premises, rather than a restaurant, and sees orders placed online only without the option for the public to enter the premises.
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Further information on delivery radius and Manchester launch dates are expected to be announced soon.
It is also not yet known whether the DTH x WTS Manchester project will seek to expand to a permanent premises in the future, so foodies are encouraged to keep their eyes peeled and fingers crossed for more updates.
You can follow Down The Hatch on Instagram here – as well as the brand new specially-dedicated @DownTheHatchMCR account – and find Woo Tan Scran on Instagram here.
Eats
Inside Chinatown’s enormous new three-storey restaurant, with futuristic karaoke booths
Daisy Jackson
A gigantic three-storey restaurant and karaoke bar has just opened its doors in Chinatown in Manchester.
Sovereign Clouds is the newest addition to one of the city’s most beloved and ever-evolving neighbourhoods, taking over a sizeable building on Faulkner Street that’s been vacant for 10 years.
Inside the 1,000 sq metre space, you’ll find a glittering restaurant adorned with marble and gold, where you can tuck into a massive menu of dim sum and traditional dishes.
One floor up and you’ll find yourself surrounded by live lobster tanks and the massive kitchen, alongside several flexible private dining spaces.
And up on the top floor are the most futuristic karaoke rooms in town, where you can customise lights, LED ceilings, and even sing through an autotune microphone.
Three roast meats from Sovereign CloudsDelicious dim sumAuthentic Chinese cooking from Sovereign CloudsBlack Gold Lava Buns with salted custard fillingThe massive Sovereign Clouds restaurant
On the menu you’ll find tonnes of steamed dim sum, stir fries, traditional claypot stews, roast meats, and loads more.
There’s seafood like stir-fried lobster with salted egg yolk, and traditional Cantonese steamed grouper; a whole section for abalone (advance orders only) including braised goose feet and fish maw; and a good selection of spicy Sichuan dishes.
The chefs here also have an impressive array of Chinese roast meats, like Peking crispy duck, pork belly, and char siu, as well as three roast meats with rice.
Futuristic karaoke roomsThe main restaurant at Sovereign CloudsFuturistic karaoke rooms
And that’s alongside ingredients you don’t find on a lot of menus in Manchester, like jellyfish, tripe, and century eggs.
It’s all led by Terry Ni, who has been behind the popular Dynasty Chinese and Thai takeaway in Timperley for more than a decade, and has spent years transforming this empty old building into one of Chinatown’s most glittering restaurants.
Come for dinner, stay for a turn on the karaoke upstairs, and tell everyone – Sovereign Clouds is a fantastic addition to Manchester.
‘Surreal’ moment Stevie Wonder dines at Stalybridge restaurant after enormous Manchester gig
Daisy Jackson
Stevie Wonder has stunned a local restaurant in Stalybridge after he popped in for dinner after his massive Manchester show.
The soul icon had performed a huge gig at Co-op Live on Sunday night, performing hits from his illustrious, decades-long career.
And while you might expect someone of Stevie’s fame and stature to dine at one of the city centre’s many Michelin-recommended restaurants, the star instead headed straight for the suburbs.
He was spotted dining at Cafe Continental, an independent restaurant that’s become one of the Greater Manchester’s most-hyped neighbourhood haunts since it launched two years ago.
The stylish spot is famed for its European-style restaurant and cafe culture, aiming to recreate the atmosphere of the sort of place you’d stumble upon down a back street in Rome or Paris.
On the menu they’ve got a rotation of small plates, open-fire dishes, pastas and burgers, along with their divine Parisian hot chocolate, served with a bowl of whipped cream on the side.
Cafe Continental has had a good track record for pulling in local famous faces, but arguably nothing comes close to Stevie Wonder himself.
Inside Cafe Continental in Stalybridge. Credit: The Manc GroupSoup and focaccia at Cafe Continental. Credit: The Manc Group
The night before Stevie’s visit, they’d served his band and daughter – and clearly word got back to Stevie fast, because he returned the next night to test it out for himself.
Cafe Continental posted: “Surreal things happen now and again. This is one of them! Pleasure to welcome Mr Stevie Wonder to the restaurant to close off his tour!”
And according to the MEN, Stevie left a whopping £1,000 tip for the staff.
Not only did Stevie Wonder support a local hospitality business, but he also arrived dressed in Drama Call, a Manchester-based sportswear brand.
Emily Sergeant -
17th November 2020 
