When the chef team behind Unagi first unveiled their Trafford food truck Lil Kimchi back in early 2020 they had no idea of the success that was coming their way.
Originally, their plan had been to focus entirely on katsu – a Japanese dish of fried chicken made with panko bread crumbs, generally served with a light and fragrant Java curry sauce. Keep things simple, one dish, one trailer, sounds easy enough right? Maybe too easy.
Within the space of a week, the country had gone all topsy-turvy. Restaurants were being forced to close, kitchens were giving away food and staff were being paid to stay at home, whilst food trucks and takeaways had seemingly never been more in demand.
Staring into the face of adversity, Unagi triumphed – and soon found that the demand for their food was high enough to start opening other sites.
Soon came permanent sites in Altrincham, Didsbury and Wilmslow, followed by a branch in Media City. Then, last year, the team opened up a fifth spot in Cheetham Hill: assuaging those city centre folk who had, up until now at least, been feeling a little left out.
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Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Serving up a host of on-the-go street snacks like crispy fried squid and best-selling bang bang chicken wings alongside a huge selection of sushi, on the menu here you’ll find heavy-hitting sushi rolls like their truffled avocado Spider, and the Mushu special made with seared salmon and black tobiko.
All fish is delivered fresh every morning and broken down on site by their expert sushi chefs, who ensure that nothing goes to waste. The very finest pieces are used in their quality sashimi, while others are used in sushi rolls and hot dishes like Unagi’s sweet and sticky salmon teppanyaki.
Salmon teppanyaki over steamed rice at Unagi. / Image: The Manc Eats
Chicken katsu at Unagi. / Image: The Manc Eats
Highlights include the ‘chef’s choice’ omakase platters, an ornate assembly of the freshest sushi rolls that day – typically a mixture of nigiri, sashimi, hosomaki and urumaki rolls.
Elsewhere on the Unagi menu, you’ll find street-style Japanese tuna tacos with mango and avocado salsa, deep-fried pumpkin and prawns, kimchi, edamame and a kaiso salad with seaweed and goma sauce.
Salt and pepper squid at Unagi. / Image: The Manc Eats
Bang Bang chicken wings are a bestseller at Unagi. / Image; The Manc Eats
After being possibly the busiest Manchester takeaway during a lockdown and even recruiting their own driver team, Unagi has just gone exclusive on Deliveroo so you know we had to get down for an episode of Takeaway Champions.
We even managed to score a discount code for you to get £5 off when your order from Unagi with Deliveroo.
To see the full menu click here and to find out more about Unagi head over to their Instagram page here. Oh, and to save on your next Deliveroo order make sure to use our code 5OFFUNAGI when you check out.
Deansgate bar Simmons closes just over a year after opening
Danny Jones
London-born bar brand Simmons has closed their Manchester site just over a year after opening their first Northern location.
They’ve lasted roughly 15 months on one of our busiest nightlife strips.
Opening on Deansgate back in October 2024, Simmons Manchester wasn’t just their first foray here up in this half of the country but their only other venue outside of the capital.
An otherwise well-established and popular chain down south, they have a total of 15 different bars in central London, but things clearly haven’t quite taken off as planned here in Manchester.
Placing a poster in the unit’s shopfront besides the likes of Be At One, Yours, The Moon Under The Water Spoons and the Deansgate branch of Slug and Lettuce, as you can see, the fellow franchise founded over a decade ago said: “After much consideration, we’ve made the difficult decision to close our doors.
“It’s never easy to say goodbye”, they add, “We’re incredibly proud of what the team built here and so grateful to them, as well as everyone who joined us over the past year.
“We’ve had some unforgettable nights. We love Manchester, and we hope to be back under the right conditions.”
They go on to thank everyone for being “part of the journey”, but for now, it looks like the room has closed effective immediately.
Simmons started back in 2012 when founder Nick Campbell opened the first bar below his flat in Kings Cross, and their presence has grown hugely since then. The closing sign was spotted and shared on social media earlier this week.
Offering everything from stylish cocktails to New York-style pizza, live music and even private karaoke booths, the place had plenty going on.
With rising business rates, energy bills and more dovetailing with the continuing cost of living crisis that is still hampering both hospitality and the nightime economy, they are just one of many to unfortunately close their doors of late.
For instance, it was only earlier this month that we saw multiple well-known names shut up shop here in the city centre or elsewhere in Greater Manchester, including another long-standing late-night favourite, Revolution.
It’s a shame for any business to close, and we certainly hope they’ll return someday with a model that can be sustained in the current climate.
Inside Butter Bird – Ancoats’ hottest new neighbourhood rotisserie with a menu dedicated to butter
Clementine Hall
A new restaurant has opened its doors in Ancoats serving up two of life’s greatest pleasures.
Those two things being chicken and butter. And coincidentally, they go very well together.
Introducing Butter Bird, a new neighbourhood rotisserie restaurant that has taken over the old Counter House site on Blossom Street.
If you’ve been living under a rock or you have a healthy relationship with social media, then you won’t know that rotisserie chicken is very much ‘in’ for 2026.
Images: The Manc Eats
So of course, just like anything, Ancoats is first to hop on that trendy bandwagon.
When simple things are done properly then they’re very satisfying indeed, and that’s exactly what Butter Bird have achieved.
Built around classic spit cooking and time honoured technique, with an impressive Rotisol Millenium rotisserie oven at the heart of the space, the chickens are seasoned and brined in house, then slowly rotated over open heat so the meat self bastes as it cooks.
Images: The Manc Eats
The result? Moreish, crisp, golden skin, succulent meat and deep flavour.
If that doesn’t sound enticing enough, they’ve also got a section of their menu dedicated entirely to their house butters.
Flavoured, complex butters designed to compliment your bird in however you desire.
My personal favourite was the moroccan-spiced Chermoula, but the tarragon with wildflower and mustard was also stellar.
Images: The Manc Eats
Drinks wise they’ve got a great selection of Crémant, chosen to cut through the chicken fat, as well as fun cocktails and decent wines.
Obviously you’ll need some sides to go with your bird which you can order as a quarter or half, and they’ve got everything from rotisserie potatoes which you can douse in chicken gravy to a Caesar salad stuffed with enough croutons it’s probably not classed as a salad anymore.
Butter Bird opens to the public on Thursday 29 January, with a launch offer offering 50% off rotisserie chicken when booked in advance for the first two weeks.
Georgina Pellant -
9th March 2023 
