Being this close to Christmas you might think that the new Manchester bar and restaurant openings would start slowing down a bit – but you’d be wrong.
This week we’ve got a whole host of new places to shout about – including three new openings from operators outside of Manchester.
From a new video game bar with its own signature Pokemon cocktail to Christmas-themed bar Miracle on Cross Street and new sports bar BOX, there really is something for everyone.
Add in a new winter pop-up at KAMPUS from Bread Flower and some very special festive kebabs, and we think you’ll be mighty pleased with this week’s list of new Manchester bars and restaurants.
Keep reading to discover the new food and drink spots to hit up in the city this week.
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Image: The Manc Group
Pixel Bar
Ok, so technically this one opened last week – but it’s so cool we couldn’t leave it off our list. First launched in Leeds two years ago in a basement on George Street, Pixel Bar has a fully themed drinks menu inspired by games like Pokemon and Super Mario.
Think 18 different gaming-themed cocktails, plus consoles, arcade games, high-spec PCs, and a downstairs club room playing early 00s pop punk until the early hours on the weekends.
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Find it at 10 Thomas St, Manchester M4 1DH.
Image: Miracle on Cross Street
Miracle on Cross Street
Another brand new opening that just launched, this Christmassy winter wonderland has it all: mulled wine, espresso-ho-ho-ho martinis, pigs in blankets and mac and cheese – plus a giant, snow-covered Christmas tree and twinkling fairy lights galore.
Originally hailing from Liverpool, alongside festive food and drinks Miracle on Cross Street will also host a series of Christmas movie nights this month. You can walk in, but tickets are recommended. These come with a complimentary drinks voucher, Christmas hat, candy cane, Miracle on Cross Street pin, and mince pie (vegan options available).
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Open Wednesday to Sunday. Find it on Cross Street.
BOX bar in Leeds, part of the Arc inspirations group that also owns Banyan and Manahatta, is opening in Manchester this weekend / Image: BOX
BOX
Already well established in Leeds, sports bar BOX – part of the Arc inspirations group that also owns Banyan and Manahatta – will open on Deansgate this week, bringing us pornstar and espresso martinis on tap, fresh Budvar straight from the Czech Republic, and giant cocktail steins.
As for food, the thing to try here is the pizza – over in Leeds, they are legendary for it. But if that doesn’t take your fancy, there’s more to choose from like handmade burgers and kebabs.
Open from Saturday 27 November. Find it at 125 Deansgate, Deansgate, Manchester M3 3ND.
Image: Bread Flower
Bread Flower at KAMPUS
More of a pop-up than a full-blown new opening, Bread Flower will be opening a cafe inside KAMPUS throughout the festive period offering up a variety of bagel and floral delights.
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On the ‘Bread’ side, think open-topped bagel sandwiches, bagel french toast, salt beef bagel sandwiches, and bags of sourdough bagels to takeaway – plus a special Hannukah inspired supper club in collaboration with Le Social Wine.
As for the flower side? Winter centerpieces, wreaths, and bouquets will be available to pre-order, helping to make your home beautiful for the season, whilst small hand-tied bunches can be picked up on spontaneous visits.
Opens from Thursday 25 November. Find it at KAMPUS, Aytoun St, Manchester M1 3GL
Image: The Manc Group
Kongs Chicken Shop at A Clubhouse Christmas
Christmas kebabs and pigs in blanket-loaded fries? What more could you possibly want? Kong’s Chicken Shop has created a special festive kebab menu for the Clubhouse Christmas takeover on Spinningfields Square and it is top tier.
There are four kebab options to choose from, filled with pulled turkey, fried sprouts and cranberry hot sauce, chipotle orange and cumin pulled pork, mulled wine braised beef brisket, or slow-cooked mushrooms and fennel – all rolled in pillowy, soft naan bread.
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And that’s not all. Opt for pigs in blanket-loaded fries with baconnaise, and cranberry hot sauce; or Kong’s Christmas poutine, which comes loaded with mozzarella, mulled wine gravy, and more sprouts – plus festive cocktails from the Clubhouse bar.
Open now. Find it at Spinningfields Square, Deansgate, Manchester M3 3AE.
15 places kids can eat for £1 or FREE throughout the summer holidays
Thomas Melia
With the summer holidays just around the corner, we’ve rounded up 15 places kids can eat for £1 or free across the UK.
In case the ongoing heatwave didn’t remind you, summer is in full swing, and that means the inevitable school holidays are nearly here.
If you’re after ways to enjoy some quality family time without having to break the bank, we’ve found lots of places where kids can eat for £1 or free – 15 of them, to be exact.
So, whether you’re in the mood for a hearty Italian, a bit of brekkie, or even a big Greek feast, just because you’re on a budget shouldn’t mean you have to limit your and your family’s taste buds.
Here are 15 places you can take the kids to eat for £1 or even free this summer holidays.
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15 places kids eat for £1 or free throughout the summer holidays
Asda Café
Any child aged 16 or under can eat for £1 when dining at any Asda Café location, and every meal comes with a piece of fruit. There’s no minimum spend required and this deal is running all-day, seven days a week.
Bill’s
Brunch spot Bill’s is offering two free kids’ meals to any child aged 10 or younger when purchasing an adult main meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner). This free meal includes a main, side and dessert, but is only applicable Monday to Friday. They’ve even got a special deal built for teenagers, too.
Turtle Bay
This Caribbean-inspired chain entitles one free kids’ meal per each adult, who spends £15 or more and presents a code via its app. Children paying a visit to Turtle Bay, who are 10 and under, will receive a kids’ meal and small soft drink.
The Real Greek
Every Sunday, The Real Greek is offering one free kids’ meal for each adult that spends £15 or more on any menu items. This deal will be automatically applied to the bill with the child getting to choose between a souvlaki wrap or mezze selection.
Beefeater
Two children under 16 are entitled to a free breakfast with any adult who purhcases an unlimited cooked breakfast for £10.99. There’s no specific end date for this one, and it applies to Premier Inn hotels as well as further Whitbread restaurants: Table Table, Whitbread Inns, Bar + Block, and Brewers Fayre.
There are lots of locations offering kids eat free or for £1 across the UK / Credit: Tesco (Supplied)
Bella Italia
Any adult dining at a Bella Italia location who purchases a main meal can get a free starter, main, dessert and juice for their child. Kids eat free all-year-long between Sunday to Thursday. This offer will be automatically applied to the bill. Subject to venue.
Morrisons Café
At Morrisons Café locations, when an adult spends £5 or more on a main meal, little ones can get a free hot meal including a main, side and veg or pick ‘n’ mix meal which contains a sandwich, snack and drink.
Tesco Café
Running in over 330 participating Tesco Café sites, kids are allowed a free hot meal, breakfast or pick ‘n’ mix meal when purchased alongside a full price adult meal. A valid Tesco Clubcard must be scanned, with this offer working on weekends too. The supermarket is also bringing back free fruit in 800 Tesco stores.
Sizzling Pubs
When visiting with a Sizzling Pub on a Monday after 12pm, children can eat for £1 alongside any adult buying a main meal. This discount will be automatically applied and will work at all their restaurants.
Travelodge
If an adult purchases an unlimited breakfast for £9.99, two kids aged 15 or under can eat for £1. This deal is running for anyone, and you don’t even have to be staying over at one of their hotels – you can simply walk in.
Dunelm Pausa Café
A child can eat free with every £4 spent by an adult at Dunelm Pausa Café. The deal guarantees kids a main, two snacks and a drink. If an adult spends £8, two kids could eat for free and so on.
Brewers Fayre
Just like Beefeater and other Whitbread restaurant brands, two children under 16 can get a free breakfast when an adult purchases an unlimited cooked breakfast for £10.99.
Table Table
As mentioned above, two children aged under 16 are entitled to a free breakfast when dining with a paying adult who buys an unlimited cooked breakfast for £10.99.
Dobbies
When an adult purchases a main meal of £8.75 or more, kids can dine-in for 88p. The offer applies to the children’s breakfast and lunch menu with the option of hot food or a pick and mix box, both including a drink. Only applicable in Dobbies; the offer isn’t valid in ‘Little Dobbies’ stores.
IKEA
Although there isn’t an official offer, Swedish furniture chain IKEA is recognised for its affordable menu serving up delicious dishes like pasta and tomato sauce for children from 85p. The adults’ menu is pretty reasonable too, with a mixed vegetable rice meal for just £2.50. Breakfast rolls are £1.75, and individual breakfast items start from 75p.
Featured Images – Press Shots (Tesco, Bill’s, IKEA via supplied)
Food & Drink
The unsung Manchester pub serving beloved local pints for £3.35 that’s thrived during the World Cup
Danny Jones
Finding a pint for less than £5 in Manchester in 2026 is almost unheard of; combine that with a pub that’s truly levelled up as a go-to for the World Cup this summer, and this increasingly rowdy little corner of Castlefield is well worth writing home about.
We’re talking about The White Lion on Liverpool Road and just around from the city centre’s famous Roman fort, ‘Mamucium’, which has always been among the more reasonable places for a tipple in town and is no stranger to showing the football.
However, after a significant refurb just a few years ago and after gradually growing a refreshed crowd of regulars, the Manc boozer hasn’t just steadily repatronised local punters but rather it seems to have gained a whole new lease of life this summer.
The 2026 World Cup showings, complete with a new outside screen on their sizeable and sunny outdoor terrace, have certainly helped, but when you can get a drink for as little as £3.35 for a pint of Boddies, it’s not hard to see why more and more people are flocking here amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Part of us almost thought about trying to still gatekeep this one for ourselves, but the truth is, the place has become so popular over the past few months (at least that’s as long as we’ve noticed a significant increase) that the cat is very much out of the bag and it’s no one’s ‘best-kept secret’ anymore.
Yes, with Boddingtons, a.k.a. the recently reborn ‘Cream of Manchester’, on tap for the same cost as a half-decent coffee these days, not to mention various cheap draught beers and other offers on booze – whether it be shots, the growing Buzzball craze, or just a standard spirit and mixer – it’s a godsend.
We all know how expensive it can be going out for the night at present, but the no-nonsense bar prices and setup overseen by Craft Union, who specialise in community pubs and keeping the beating “heart of high streets and neighbourhoods across the country” alive and well, are nothing short of unsung heroes.
To clarify, we’re not pretending that no one knows about this gaff, far from it, but it does feel like one of those understated and underrated places that doesn’t get anywhere near enough props as it deserves.
Credit: The Manc Group
The private limited company, which operates as a subsidiary of the wider Stonegate Group, may be one of the largest in the UK, but one of the most impressive parts about their work at The White Lion is that it still feels like a local pub made for locals.
Better yet, they’ve also coincidentally filled a whole left by the much-loved Sir Ralph Abercromby: the Manchester United fan favourite and all-round footy pub who sadly lost their bustling beer garden (complete with a hot dog/burger van) amid the major St Michael’s development.
On the upside, what those who used to frequent that venue have somewhat lost as a result of the building works can now be found at the likes of White Lion, as it’s also often filled with Reds throughout the year – they’ve even added a little food hatch of their own in the corner of the shrubbery-lined patio.
And once again, with price points as reasonable as these, they’re not just undercutting most other venues in the vicinity by some distance, but they’re at least trying to do their bit in hopefully redressing the balance when it comes to combatting inflation within the hospitality industry.
Cheap shots, bombs 2-4-£6, and a good pour of Guinness for LESS than a fiver. (Credit: The Manc)
It’s also worth noting that the current landlords are also doing their bit to help minimise spending on gig nights, too.
With Sounds of the City 2026 now wrapped up, they had extra deals on drinks right throughout the duration of the multi-date festival down the road at Castlefield Bowl.
Put simply, they may not be reinventing the wheel here, but if we can’t shout about a place doing its best to keep things affordable while still offering a good time come the weekend or even just to reward yourself after work, we don’t know what is.
England’s World Cup may have come to a heartbreaking end, but at least more Manc residents have come across this place, and we expect The White Lion in Castlefield to have a very fruitful summer.
Georgina Pellant -
22nd November 2021 
