Another week, another great list of top Manchester scran options to tempt you with.
As we settle into September, this week welcomes the return of Manchester’s annual food and drink festival as well as heralding some new arrivals – including the opening of Bundobust’s new Oxford Road taproom and restaurant and a must-try waterside natural wine bar from the Higher Ground team.
Keep reading to discover our top food and drink picks for this week.
The team at Flawd have now moved into their own unit following a summer stint at neighbours Pollen / Flawd Image: Eatmcr
A neighbourhood natural wine bar with food from the Higher Ground team
Using fresh, organic produce grown themselves on their own 1-acre market garden in Cheshire, the team at Flawd have now moved into their own unit following a summer stint at neighbouring cafe Pollen.
With a constantly-changing seasonal menu put together by head chef Joseph Otway, there’s more to try than just charcuterie and cheese – although you’ll definitely want to eat that too. Wines and beers are also available to take away to enjoy at home or out on their terrace on the marina.
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Soon to be joined next door by Pippy Eats’ Noodlehaus, it seems that the Ancoats marina is going to become quite the dining destination.
Capable of producing 20,000 pints per month. the new 150-seat taproom and restaurant will open with fresh beers on tap to try alongside its menu favourites / Image: Bundobust
A new brewery and restaurant in a former carpark
The Bundobust team has been squirrelling away at plans to open a new brewery and restaurant in the former Oxford road car park since 2019. Now, at last, they’re ready to go – and they’re planning on giving out 200 free beers this Thursday 16 to mark the occasion.
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Capable of producing 20,000 pints per month. the new 150-seat taproom and restaurant will open with all of its menu favourites and six of its newly-brewed beers available on draught. Choices include a coriander lager, chai masala porter and tropical pale ale, a couple of different IPAs and a light, Kellerbier-style lager.
There are also some exciting collaborations on the horizon, including a salted lemon sour with North Brewing Co and a hoppy black lager collab with Deya.
Find it at . Bundobust’s new site opens this Thursday 16 September.
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Find it at St James’s Bldg, Bundobust Brewery, 61-69 Oxford St, Manchester M1 6EQ.
Manchester’s food and drink festival returns to the city this year, bringing with it a whole host of markets, street food pop-ups and special dinners / Image: MFDF
The return of Manchester’s annual food and drink festival
Manchester’s food and drink festival returns to the city this year, bringing with it a whole host of markets, street food pop-ups and special dinners. This week look out for the Artisan Market and MFDF Street Food hub, both at Cathedral Gardens, plus a special five-course menu over at the KAMPUS bungalow from the talented lads behind Tine.
Down at the hub you’ll find a Manchester beer bar, products from local artisans like Bread Flower, and street food delights including proper Breton crepes from Mason Briezh, and East Indian favourites from Stockport favourite Aunti Ji’s.
Find the festival hub from this Thursday 16 September at Cathedral Gardens, Corporation St, Manchester M4 3BG.
Pink grilled rump of lamb served with peas, broad beans, lamb bacon and a plump Hasselback potato / Image: Rendition
A new fine-dining restaurant in the former Tapeo and Wine unit
Serving up locally sourced dishes that champion British produce, newcomer Rendition releases new menus every month to suit the season. For September, head chef Stuart Valentine (formerly Tariff and Dale / Albert’s Chop House) is serving market-price oysters alongside dishes like beer-glazed chicken, duck, roasted rump of lamb, and homity pie.
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Opened by the team behind 90s London celeb haunt China White, the menu here is overseen by Exec Chef Arthur Potts-Dawson – the former head chef of The River Café in London who’s also worked with the likes of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver.
Find Rendition at 209 Deansgate, Manchester M3 3NW.
Passengers warned of ‘disruption’ ahead of more Bee Network bus strikes this weekend
Emily Sergeant
Bus services across Greater Manchester will be disrupted later this weekend as drivers from two companies stage strike action.
In what is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) says it has had confirmation that staff from two operators, Stagecoach and Metroline, will go ahead with further planned strikes this weekend.
If this is the first you’re hearing of the upcoming industrial action, 2,000 workers who were employed by Stagecoach, Metroline Manchester, and First Bus Rochdale – each of which are firms among those that make up the bus part of the Bee Network – walked out in a number of co-ordinated strikes earlier this month amid an ongoing pay dispute.
Unite the Union said each of the firms are ‘highly profitable’ and it’s therefore ‘disappointing’ that workers are being denied a fair wage.
In this case, Unite has confirmed that drivers at First have called off further action after voting to accept a revised pay offer.
Passengers are being warned of ‘disruption’ ahead of more Bee Network bus strikes this weekend / Credit: TfGM
However, both Stagecoach and Metroline staff have opted to proceed with strike action onFriday 10 October, Saturday 11 October, and Monday 13 October.
This means that around 190 services, including some dedicated school buses, will not run on strike days, and TfGM is therefore advising everyone to ‘check before they travel’ and allow extra time to make their journey.
Bus services in Tameside, Trafford, and Stockport are not expected to run, and some services in South Manchester, parts of the city centre, and Rochdale will also be impacted.
Many bus services will continue to run ‘as usual’, however, and this includes services such as the Free Bus in Manchester city centre, as well as the majority of buses in Bolton, Bury, Salford, and Wigan.
The strikes are the latest in an ongoing dispute over pay / Credit: TfGM
“While we are pleased that planned industrial action by First staff has been called off, we encourage Stagecoach, Metroline, and Unite to continue discussions to avert further strike action,” commented Danny Vaughan, who is the Chief Network Officer at TfGM.
“We’ll continue to keep passengers informed and support them to make journeys wherever possible. We encourage everyone to check the latest status of their service before they travel, leave plenty of time for their journey and to get in touch if they have any questions.”
Unite has indicated that further industrial action will also happen on Saturday 18, Thursday 23 and Friday 24 October.
This action could still take place, if pay negotiations are not concluded.
Featured Image – TfGM
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First vendors confirmed Glossop Market Hall, including two indie Manc traders
Danny Jones
The first vendors for the upcoming Glossop Market Hall have been announced, and the lineup includes two beloved Greater Manchester independent businesses.
Better still, the third is another noteworthy name from the North West.
Glossop Market Hall is scheduled to launch later this year, setting up shop in the historic town hall complex, where the High Peak Borough Council, a retail shopping arcade and various other municipal buildings have stood in various different iterations for nearly well over a century.
With the Derbyshire town set to celebrate the opening of the newly revamped market hall, those behind the new Glossop attraction have now revealed the first three names set to take up residence there.
As you can see, the biggest names already signed on to cook from one of the six kitchens is a Manchester favourite food hall in its own right: Hello Oriental.
The Pan-Asian paradise not only has a subterranean space below Circle Square, but also at The Trafford Centre, as well as a dessert spin-off in Freight Island.
Indie trader number two comes in the form of B&V Trading, who are based at Stanley Square in Sale and specialise in eco-friendly, UK-made treats, toys and essentials for four-legged friends.
After proving a hit with the locals, their small stall at nearby Altrincham Market has grown to see them open up not just a second site in the leafy Cheshire suburbs of Knutsford back in 2022, but now boast a third location in neighbouring Macclesfield.
Speaking of Macc, local gin and whisky makers, Forest Distillery – based up at the famous Cat and Fiddle Inn pub towards the Peaks – they round out the first wave of regional businesses set to pop up in Glossop Market Hall (GMH) when it finally arrives this winter.
And once again, as the update on social media reads: “This is just the beginning”.
Natives, day-trippers and tourists from all over are bound to visit this place when it opens sometime in November (exact date still TBC), and with space not only for a dedicated bar, dining space and a coffee shop, but a total of 17 retail spaces, we can’t wait to see what comes next.
GMH becomes just the latest among a growing trend of food and drink halls popping up all over our part of the country, with virtually every Greater Manchester borough now boasting at least one of their own – or, in the city centre’s case, what feels like a dozen now.
Exhibit number… not sure, we’ve lost track at this point.
Georgina Pellant -
13th September 2021 
