As we speed ahead into July, we take note of some of the most exciting new openings in Greater Manchester this week.
From a crumble cafe selling glittery, shortbread-laden desserts, to an independently-run vegan fast food site in Piccadilly that’s giving us strong guilt-free McDonald’s vibes, as ever there’s plenty of exciting new things to try in Manchester this week.
Keep reading to discover our top picks.
Homemade crumble cafe Crumbled has just landed in Spinningfields / Image: Crumbled
A brand new crumble cafe with glittery toppings and all the custardyou can eat
New Manchester cafe Crumbled is dishing up the wholesome homely favourite with a variety of different fruity bottoms like rhubarb, strawberry and apple.
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Hand-baked with love and care, they are all priced at £5 with a choice of shortbread or crumble.
Opt for yours to be served ‘traditional’ or with added glitz – think glittery toppings, blow-torched marshmallows, rose petals and ice cream.
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Find Crumbled’s pop-up inside Wolf Italian Street Food on Spinningfields, Wednesday to Sunday.
The asparagus and pancetta lasagne from Casa Lasagne / Image: Casa Lasagne
A new authentic Italian lasagne spot, using a pasta recipe passed through generations
Due to open this Thursday 1 July, Casa Lasagne is cooking up everyone’s favourite home comfort food with the utmost authenticity. Think pistachio, pesto and besciamella lasagne, rich pumpkin and white ragu lasagne and four-cheese lasagne made with parmigiana and stilton, and you’ll start to get an idea of the variety on offer here.
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A family-run operation using a pasta recipe passed through the generations, they also plan to cook up deep fried Neapolitan croquettas and other Italian treats.
Order from their website or find them on Deliveroo or Uber Eats.
Vegan Shack owners Dimeji and Saffron first started Vegan Shack in their Flat Kitchen two years ago. Think ‘Vegan McDonalds’ / Image: Vegan Shack
Collyhurst’s Vegan Shack arrives in town, with a second site on Piccadilly Gardens
Starting from humble beginnings in a flat kitchen in 2019, Vegan Shack’s known for its loaded fries and delicious plant-based kebab creations.
From spending their last £30 on food for their dark kitchen concept in 2019 to opening a second site in Piccadilly Gardens this week, founding couple Dimeji and Saffron have had quite a journey.
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Head down for fast food favourites like burgers, wraps, fries and shakes.
Find them just off Piccadilly Gardens inside One Piccadilly.
Scandinavian-inspired cafe bar Lättsam has it all: Beatnikz beer, Grindsmith coffee, wine, cocktails and pastries / Image: Lättsam
A new Scandinavian-inspired cafe bar in Manchester’s business district
New cafe bar Lättsam is set to open this Thursday 1 July on the corner of Fountain Street and Spring Gardens. Minimalist in design with striking white and yellow tiles, this cafe/workspace/kitchen will also house a Beatnikz bar and miniature brewhouse.
Head down this weekend for Grindsmiths coffee and fresh pastries, beers, wines and cocktails – and keep your eyes peeled for a big street food announcement coming soon.
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Find them on the corner of Fountain Street and Spring Gardens from July 1.
Summer Beer Thing brings hundreds of tasty beers from Manchester and further afield into the city centre every year / Image: Summer Beer Thing
It’s been an emotional rollercoaster for fans of Common and co’s Summer Beer Thing. Cancelled last summer, it seemed unlikely to happen again this year after the team announced they’d be leaving the Pilcrow.
Now (thankfully) it’s going ahead again – this year on the waterside at KAMPUS.
Kicking off this Thursday 1 July, there’ll be eight rotating taps plus natural wines and ice cream sandwiches from Nell’s.
Loafi – The Ramsbottom bakery thrilling customers with its old-fashioned northern bakes
Daisy Jackson
There’s a bakery in Ramsbottom that’s been making waves since it opened last year – but it’s not for cutting-edge bakes or trendy desserts.
Nope – at Loafi, it’s all about stripping things back to basics, with a properly northern menu of old-school bakes.
The bakery may be new, but the baking is not. You’ll find nothing but traditional favourites, including Eccles cakes, shortbread, and cornflake tarts.
And then as your eyes rove across the counter, you’ll land on the star of the show, and the one that’s got everyone (us included) travelling all the way up to Ramsbottom. The custard tart.
Loafi’s custard tarts are tall, like a pastry shot glass filled with just-set egg custard filling.
You can get them classic, or in a Manchester tart format with coconut and raspberry jam, or catch occasional specials when they have surplus ingredients to spare (we got lucky with a lemon meringue custard tart).
None of us should be surprised to find that this bakery is excelling in this particular field, because the man behind it is chef-turned-baker Rich Sharples, who was previously the executive chef of Gary Usher’s Elite Bistros restaurant group.
The lemon meringue custard tart specialTraditional bakes from LoafiThe custard tart and Manchester tart
One of those restaurants he was a mastermind of was Hispi, which is known across the region for its perfect wibbly-wobbly custard tart slices.
The custard tart at Loafi feels more nostalgic and approachable though, and the stream of customers pouring through the doors clear each tray within minutes of them landing.
Beyond that, you can pick up a whole host of bakery bits with proudly northern roots, like individual loaf cakes made with Irwell Works stout, and mini carrot and walnut cakes.
There are others that will whisk you back to your childhood, such as a pineapple and brown butter upside-down cake, and a banana sponge with toffee and cream.
Plus expect treats such as bakewell slices, tiramisu roulade, and flapjacks.
A full spread of bakes at LoafiRich Sharples with the team outside LoafiA selection of butties at LoafiFresh loaves of bread
Loafi has a fabulous savoury offering too, like sausage rolls made with meat from Walmsley’s Butchers, and bacon butties on soft milk rolls.
Around four different sandwiches drop onto the counter at 11am every day, each of them guilt-free, fuss-free, and affordable. Rich believes that getting a butty for lunch shouldn’t feel like a special treat.
The fillings change regularly but are always local ingredients, prepared and made right in front of you, from cured hams and corned beef to coronation chicken.
During the weekday, you can get this as a meal deal with a sandwich drink and a bag of crisps for £7.95.
There are proper cups of soup served with a wedge of sourdough too, which changes regularly – at the minute, Rich is utilising the stock from his potted ham to make a ham, lentil and tomato soup.
Loafi isn’t setting out to reinvent the wheelhouse, but rather to wind back the clocks to create a nostalgic, quality, Lancashire bakehouse. It’s being incredibly well-received already.
You’ll find Loafi in Ramsbottom – just follow the call of the custard tart.
A new ‘secret’ cocktail bar you have to text to enter is opening in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
A new ‘secret’ late-night cocktail bar is opening in Manchester this month – but if you want in, you’ll have to find yourself a secret entry code.
MDNT – pronounced ‘Midnight’ – will be a new speakeasy-style bar located down beneath Cross Street.
It comes from the GSG Hospitality team, who are also behind venues Salt Dog Slims and Bold Street Coffee.
If you thought the ‘secret bar’ craze had died down in 2015, you’d be incorrect, it seems…
To enter MDNT, guests will need to text the venue to receive a secret entry code, which will unlock a nondescript door inside the existing Salt Dog Slims.
Then a private walkway will lead guests into MDNT, which will have a drastically different atmosphere to its lively upstairs dive bar neighbour.
The newcomer will have a ‘more sophisticated late-night cocktail environment’, with DJs and a modern bar.
In the early evenings, guests can sit along the long bar to watch cocktails being prepared, but as the night wears on, it’s hoped the MDNT will be a space for dancing.
John Ennis, Founder of GSG Hospitality, said: “We really wanted to focus on the guest’s journey.
“If you’ve ever been to Salt Dog Slims on a weekend it’s packed and people are having a great time, so the contrast of walking through a coded door, along a private walkway and into a completely different environment is immediate.
“That moment of surprise and the mystique around the entrance is a big part of what MDNT is about.”
The drinks menu will show off both classic and original cocktails, with around 24 drinks split between reimagined classics and new creations.
That includes signatures serves like the Double Parked Porn Star, a playful twist on the classic Pornstar Martini served with a miniature bottle of Champagne, alongside a fresh Garibaldi made with freshly juiced orange and Campari.
Other cocktails will include the Nitro Negroni, Faz Mangoes, Oaxacan Nightcrawler and Jimmy Gimlet.
“With the drinks we’re taking them seriously so the guests don’t have to,” adds Ennis. “We want people to walk in, see something on the bar that makes them say ‘I want one of those’ and just enjoy the night as the energy builds.”
MDNT opens on Bow Lane on Thursday 26 March and will be open Thursday through Sunday.
Georgina Pellant -
28th June 2021 
