Hidden away in a village of shipping containers on the outskirts of Ancoats is one of Manchester’s most gorgeous new drinking experiences.
The natural progression from an at-home wine delivery service started during lockdown, the new bar takes the name ‘Le Social’ to a whole new meaning.
It’s truly impossible to spend an evening here without being drawn into conversation with those around you, and that’s exactly the point.
With room for just six covers inside (nine at a push), it’s wonderfully intimate.
The walls are lined with beautiful bottles of wine, in fact, there’s probably more room dedicated to the wine than the guests – but that only adds to its charm.
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Tucked away behind a muslin curtain, owner Jerome bustles in the kitchen preparing small plates which, just like the majority of the wine list, are created using responsibly sourced ingredients from French, Spanish and Italian producers.
The first bottle, Le Social sparkling, is a wine hand-selected by Jerome from a vineyard high up in the mountains just inland of Barcelona. Very dry with lots of acidity, technically it’s a cava but as he says it’s a “high spec” one.
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With no sugar added, it’s very fresh and floral, sitting somewhere between Champagne and prosecco.
There’s a great story about the label, designed by Jerome’s friend – an artist and Go-Go dancer for Manchester’s queer block party for all, Homoelectric, called Tony Sanchez.
Showing us the design, he tells us: “During lockdown, he was clearly missing cuddles very much so he was drawing lots of erotic drawings […] I really liked what he was doing and I picked the more PG 13 one, which is just a nice innocent cuddle between a few different people”.
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Their heads are replaced with flowers, and the colours – mostly red, yellow and black – echo the artist’s own Spanish background, as well as the heritage of the wine, but there also nods to time spent in Japan through the calligraphy.
Jerome adds that he intends to showcase more of Tony’s work in an exhibition later this year, at which point the PG 18 illustrations will also be revealed – drawing a collective laugh from our little groups of twos and threes.
Served with crisps, also from Catalonia, plump green olives and salted almonds, Jerome tells us that the idea behind the pairings is designed to mirror how it’s done in France or Italy.
Borrowing on the tradition of aperitif or aperitivo, where typically you might meet with friends after work for a few drinks, order a few nibbles (or, as is the case abroad, receive them complimentary), all the plates are small but delicious. Perfect for picking at.
As we progress through the wine list, more plates appear.
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Grilled artichoke halves are served with an easy-drinking Muscadet from Jerome’s hometown, and as it’s poured, we hear how in his village you’ll often tip out of the rave in the morning down to the market to drink this in shots along with oysters until you feel revived and ready to go again.
Olive oil is in plentiful supply. First in the crisps, then on the artichokes, then with aubergine fillets – served alongside a gorgeous French Divay.
Next, an orange wine with tuna fillets (served in yes, more oil) – made in the red wine skin-on style, using white grapes to create a beautiful peachy colour. It all goes down a treat.
Taking a break for a cigarette, we wander out into the shipping container village and realise just how much of a secret this place really feels.
Despite being just a ten to fifteen-minute walk from the city, it’s very dark and quiet, with the exception of a lone drummer practicing nearby in another container.
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Festoon lights line the courtyard, and there’s a little picnic bench table on which we enjoy wine as we shorten our lifespans.
In the summer he hopes to extend more outside, telling us the patch gets the sunlight throughout most of the day. We expect by then this spot will be heaving with outside tables all drinking and laughing, but for now it feels very under the radar.
A great place to come to impress a date or any lover of fine wine. Jerome is the only retailer in Manchester dedicated to sourcing high-quality organic wines – albeit not everything on the list is so.
He also sets great store by parity in his producers, proudly telling us that at least half the list is created by female winemakers or couples.
New to the scene, visiting Le Social feels like being let into a beautiful secret.
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Open on Saturdays only between the hours of 2 and 10pm, expect an ever-changing menu of natural wines, deli boards and continental plates.
Booking is essential due to the size of the space. You can message Jerome through the Le Social website here.
Eats
Man replicates Manchester pizza restaurant’s loo in his own home
Daisy Jackson
A man has fallen so in love with the loos at a Manchester pizza restaurant that he’s recreated it in his own home.
Yep, while most of us spend our time trawling Pinterest or Instagram for our interiors inspiration, local Matt Hatt got his inspo on a trip to the toilet in town.
He was so obsessed with Nell’s vibrant orange bathroom interiors that he’s now created his very own cookie cutter version in his own house.
And Nell’s has been so impressed, they’ve even got stuck in to lend a hand with the finishing touches.
We are totally on board with Matt’s appreciation for a good restaurant loo – you can spend all the money in the world fitting out a dining room, but it really can fall apart if you head to a toilet with a wonky seat or a door that doesn’t shut or hideous fluorescent lighting.
Thankfully you don’t find too many of those around town these days.
From the ultra-luxury bogs around Spinningfields to the cheeky nude-covered toilets in the Northern Quarter, Manchester has a load of brilliant restaurant loos to explore.
One of the best is Nell’s, the New York-style pizza joint down at Kampus, which is painted a vibrant shade of orange.
Matt has nailed that bright toilet decor in his Victorian home in Manchester, down to the white subway tiles, the rounded wall mirrors, and the globe light fixture.
He even slid into Nell’s DMs to let them know about his project, and they offered to give him a branded pizza box, which Matt framed and hung on the wall.
Sharing his inspiration in a video filmed at Nell’s, Matt said: “If you’ve never been in a men’s toilet before, welcome. This is Nell’s Pizza in Manchester and this is the inspiration for our downstairs loo. Isn’t it fab?
Manchester’s smash burger and ice cream legends Big Licks launch huge crowdfunding effort
Daisy Jackson
Big Licks, the Manchester restaurant that’s found the ‘sweet spot’ between amazing burgers and delicious desserts, is sailing through a huge crowdfunding campaign.
The restaurant, which has an eye-catching location down on Liverpool Road as well as two sites in Scotland, has already raised a whopping £135,000 for its expansion dreams.
It’s now pushing to hit £150,000 so that it can open new restaurants and franchises across the UK.
Big Licks was first launched by two teenagers in 2009 as a takeaway – it’s now gone on to be a rapidly expanding name bringing in £3m in sales and more than 400,000 customers in the last 12 months alone.
On their menu you’ll find incredible smash burgers (with up to four patties in each bun) made with free-range grass-fed beef that they source directly from farm, or buttermilk chicken topped with their signature ranch sauce.
There’s also an impressive menu of house-churned ice cream made with quality local ingredients, and cakes, cheesecakes and brownies all baked in house daily.
All that is alongside fried chicken, loaded fries, and other mouth-watering sides.
Next on the agenda for Big Licks is expansion across the country, offering up the chance to become a shareholder in this bright young business.
They want to use the money raised to prepare the business for franchising, with a target to open 18 restaurants by 2027.
Then any extra money raised will be used to open more company-owned restaurants.
And there are rewards on offer for those who choose to invest in Big Licks.
If you invest £100, you’ll get a Big Licks White Card which gets you 10% off in store, as well as owning a share of the business.
Then the rewards continue with other things like free burgers and shakes all the way to merch and much bigger discounts.
Co-founder Anees Ahmed said: “It is clear that the potential is great.”
He added: “We believe one of the key ingredients to a successful restaurant is creating a hangout spot, a vibe. That will always be our aim when you come to Big Licks.”
The businessman then said: “We won’t compromise on quality. We will always keep sourcing within head office. This means we keep producing our own ice cream using locally sourced organic milk and the finest Italian flavours.
“We’ve found that sweet spot. The combination of sweet desserts and smashing burgers that opens up audience’s doors, covering off every craving.
“We want you to be part of the journey and become a shareholder in Big Licks.”
You can find out more about the Big Licks crowdfunder through Crowdcube here.
*Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong.