Eats

Festa Italiana 2022 – full line-up, opening times and how to get there

Brought to Manchester by Salvi’s, the festival has become something of a favourite amongst local foodies

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 17th August 2022

Festa Italiana, the free-to-enter weekend-long festival celebrating Italian food, drink and culture is returning to Festival Piazza this August bank holiday weekend for its fifth year in the city.

Taking place from 26 to 28 August 2022 at Cathedral Gardens in Manchester city centre, it will bring together some of the city’s best Italian and Sicilian eateries alongside a host of live music, Italian bars and special chef masterclasses.

Featuring street food pop-ups from the likes of Pasta Factory, T’arricrii and Lucky Mama’s, to a dedicated Aperol Spritz bar and Airstream bar selling Italian craft lagers, and a special intimate chef’s dinner event, there is a lot for foodie fans to get excited about this year.

What is the street food line-up at Festa Italiana 2022?

Over the course of the weekend, foodie fans can enjoy sweet treats from Café Cannoli, wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas from  I Knead Pizza and Proove, and ‘rasta pasta’ from Chorlton-via-Eccles favourites Lucky Mamas.

T’arricrii will bring along handbuilt arancini and fritto misto, whilst the Pasta Factory will be on hand with its authentic plates of fresh Puglian-style pasta dishes.

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Elsewhere, there’ll be sweet treats from festival founders Salvi’s, doughnuts from Destination Doughnut and grilled paninis, cakes, drinks and snacks from Kickback Coffee.

What bars are on offer at this year’s Festival Piazza?

The main festival bar will serve Italian favourites including fine Italian wine, Ponte prosecco, Luxardo, gin and tonics and other popular Italian spirits.

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An Airstream Bar from Birrificio Angelo Poretti will serve Italian craft beers, whilst an Aperol Spritz bar will be on hand serving up everyone’s favourite low-ABV aperitivo. Soft drinks and coffees will also be available on-site across the weekend.

Live music

This year, Compagnia Sole Luna will bring traditional folk music from Naples, revisited in a folk-rock style from southern Italy.

There will also be a full lineup of local artists and bands including the city’s best-loved opera singer The Manchester Tenor, while DJs will be spinning records each night.

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What events and masterclasses are taking place?

Festa Italiana Feaast – Dine with legendary Italian restaurateurs, authors, and UK TV favourites at the Festa Marquee

On Saturday 27 August an intimate chefs’ table dinner featuring top-class Italian TV celebrity chefs, Gennaro Contaldo, Giancarlo Caldesi, and Aldo Zilli, hosted and cooked by Salvis-owner Maurizio Cecco, with fresh pasta made from scratch by Carmela Serano Hayes. Guests and chefs will dine alongside one another, enjoying a four-course meal and drinks reception hosted by Gin Mare.

Festa feast tickets available here

Masterclasses inside the Festa Marquee

Carmela’s Kitchen – Carmela Sereno Hayes will be hosting ‘Carmela’s Kitchen’ across the entire weekend, with free drop-in sessions on the hour, every hour teaching pasta-loving adults and kids how to make the perfect pasta.

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Friday 26 August

1.30pm – Festival founder Maurizio Cecco hosts a cooking masterclass with his daughter Sienna.

2.30pm – The team from I Sapori di Corbara Tomatoes will be flying in from Naples and doing a talk showcasing the brand and their products

3.30pm – Giulia Martinelli of The Pasta Factory will be showyou how to be a pasta master

4.30pm – A drinks masterclass from the Luxardo Maraschino team, whose versatile cherries are used in desserts and drinks across the world.

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 5.30pm – A drink making Campari masterclass.

Saturday 27 August 

1.30pm – Maurizio Cecco hosts a pasta masterclass

2.30pm – Masterclasses and book signings from Gennaro Contaldo, UK brand ambassador for Parmigiano Reggiano, (Saturday Kitchen, Two Greedy Italians, Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast)

3.30pm – Masterclasses and book signings from celebrity chef and award-winning restaurateur, Aldo Zilli (The One Show, This Morning, Celebrity Masterchef) 

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4:30pm – A drinks masterclass from the Aperol team, showcasing the methods behind some of the most loved Italian drinks

Sunday 28 August

1:30pm – Masterclasses and book signings from Giancarlo Caldesi (Return to Tuscany, Saturday Kitchen, Sunday Brunch

2:30pm – Gennaro Contaldo returns for a masterclass

3:30pm – A masterclass from Great British Bake Off 2021 winner Giuseppe Dell’Anno 

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4:30pm – A very special pizza making masterclass by the team from Pizzeria Da Michele

When is Festa Italiana 2022 and what are the opening times?

Festa Italiana 2022 will take place from 26 to 28 August 2022 at Cathedral Gardens.

It will open across the weekend from 11am to 11pm, Friday to Sunday.

How do I get to the Festa Italiana festival hub?

Located opposite Manchester Victoria Station, the Festa Italiana festival hub sits in Cathedral Gardens. It can easily be accessed via tram, bus or train and is a short walk from Manchester Piccadilly.

Eats

Beloved Stockport bar Bask is rebranding as Greater Manchester’s latest Irish bar

Danny Jones Danny Jones

Yes, one of the names synonymous with Stockport’s resurgent hospitality scene, Bask, is set to rebrand into yet another Irish bar following a flurry of openings across Greater Manchester.

The lively bar, breakfast and pub grub spot, also known for live music nights, matchday pints for Stockport County and various other events, has had a bit of a turbulent period over the past few months or so, but remains a much-loved local venue.

Bask were forced to issue a statement following an arrest back in February, and one of the founding members behind the venture also stepped away in August 2024.

Looking to close that door firmly behind them, the team – now headed up by native DJ and producer Jon Fitz – are set to launch the all-new Fitzpatricks “very soon.”

Fitz (a Stopfordian by birth) announced the latest iteration of the unit located just next to Stockport train station on social media late last month, writing: “It’s been a long time coming, and we’ve poured our hearts into this one — we’re aiming to open very very soon…”

As detailed in his most recent post, also shared on Bask’s existing accounts, this is tipped to be the start of “a bold new chapter.”

Detailing a distinct Irish-American theme, influenced by the “friendly bars of Boston to the lively streets of New York City, Fizpatricks brings that gritty charm and warm hospitality across the pond, fusing Irish roots with American spirit.

Fans of Bask’s roots in entertainment will also be glad to hear that lineups of live music will remain “every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday — with the best of Irish, American and Country music.”

With co-creator Benji Taylor, who ultimately stepped away last year, having brought his music industry background to the business model, live entertainment has also been a big selling point of the bar.

In terms of food, Fitzpatricks will be delivering everything from classic American comfort food to “healthy gym options” as part of their new bar and grill approach, along with a proper Sunday roast menu.

Perhaps most notably, much like Taylor’s influence over the course of his tenure, the new-look venue is set to further immerse itself in the local sports experience, promising plenty of cold pints for the punters heading to the match at Edgeley Park, as well as a brand new ‘360 multi-screen experience’ and more.

Fitzpatricks even looks set to embark on an official partnership with Stockport County ahead of the 2025/26 League One season – a big coup, indeed.

Bask may be over, but there’ll always be the memories. In fact, we wagered it was the best night in Stockport, so here’s hoping Fitzpatricks can follow in its footsteps.

Bask is not so quietly becoming the best night out in Stockport
Bask is no longer, but there’s a new kid on the ever-growing Irish bar block, although an opening date is yet to be confirmed.

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Featured Images — The Manc Eats/Jon Fitz (via Facebook)

Eats

There’s a new summer terrace in town with a weekend spritz happy hour

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Embankment Kitchen terrace in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group

There’s a new summer terrace in Greater Manchester that’s the ideal spot to soak in some rays – and enjoy a few discounted spritzes while you’re there. 

Over on Chapel Street – just across the river from Manchester Cathedral – you’ll find Embankment Kitchen, which has opened up its terrace for the season. 

This stylish spot is part of the CitySuites aparthotel, and has a menu rooted in the warm spirit of Northern hospitality. 

It’s worth a visit all year round for their seasonally-focused, local-as-possible menus, but the summer terrace at Embankment Kitchen is a real added bonus in spring and summer. 

And following that spell of absolutely glorious weather, they’re opening up two hours earlier every day too for maximum sun-soaking from 2pm. 

At Embankment Kitchen you can tuck into a drinks and nibbles menu from 2pm until 5pm, and Happy Hour drinks deals from 4pm until 7pm. 

That means two-for-one cocktails, plus discounted wines, prosecco and beers – an ideal post-work haunt.

Cocktails at Embankment Kitchen in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Cocktails at Embankment Kitchen in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Small plates on the Embankment Kitchen terrace. Credit: The Manc Group
Small plates on the Embankment Kitchen terrace. Credit: The Manc Group

It’s usually almost impossible to find a happy hour in Manchester at weekends, but these guys are doing two-for-£12 spritzes every Saturday and Sunday between 12pm and 4pm, with flavours including Aperol, Hugo, and limoncello. 

Drinks on the menu include signature cocktails that are inspired by the city’s industrial roots, like The Emmeline, Manchester Exchange (a take on an old fashioned), and the Atomic Zombie, as well as classic cocktails such as an espresso martini, limoncello negroni, amaretto sour, and strawberry daiquiri. 

As for nibbles, tuck into treats like garlic bread, edamame beans with smoked salt, garlic and parmesan fries, salt and pepper tater tots, and halloumi fries. 

Surrounded by lush plants and gigantic parasols, it’s hard to believe you’re just across the river in Salford when you’re soaking up the sun at Embankment Kitchen. To find out more, head HERE.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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