I eat a lot of dinners in and around Manchester, it’s a (brilliant) perk of the job. Still, I have never, ever licked my plate whilst out in public before. My mother would kill me.
After one visit to Our Place though, the supper club that goes out of its way to help local people in need despite being homeless itself, that all went out of the window. Sometimes, rules just have to be broken – especially when the food is this good.
Founded by top Manchester chef Iain Thomas and his business partner David O’Connor, the pop-up dinner series is best described as a ‘roaming’ kitchen with events held at different locations around the city.
Managing to be both exceedingly unpretentious and lip-smackingly moreish at once, as well as gaining serious kudos for the work it does with homeless people in the city through its partnership with local charity Only A Pavement Away, there’s a lot to praise here.
Hattersley-born chef Iain Thomas cooking up at storm at Sureshot brewery. / Image: The Manc Eats
Warm bread rolls with whey fat butter at Our Place. / Image: The Manc Eats
Serving up local, seasonal, and sustainable food, much of it grown and harvested by Hattersley-born chef Iain on his Stockport allotment, when I visit Our Place their supper club is being hosted in a working brewery behind Manchester Piccadilly train station.
ADVERTISEMENT
Sureshot, I’m told, stepped in last minute and ‘saved the day’ after their original host was forced to pull out. After one glance at the beer menu, which features some of the silliest beer names I’ve ever come across (‘Small Man’s Wetsuit’, ‘Hot Fudge Carward’, and ’18 Free Personalised Fridge Magnets’ anyone?), I’m grateful, both for the laughs and the hospitality.
The brewery’s long tables are perfect for encouraging the sort of friendly communal dining that Our Place champions, and as the courses start to fly out – warm bread rolls with whey fat butter inspired by after-school teas growing up, followed by corn-fed confit chicken with onion tops and Iain’s SK14 allotment chutney – a relaxed buzz spreads through the room.
Littlewoods Butchers beef rump with ox tongue beef sauce, boulangerie potatoes and onion tops from Iain’s allotment with a wild garlic and purple sprouting puree / Image: The Manc Eats
Some of the brilliant beer names at Sureshot Brewery, all inspired by in jokes amongst the brewing team. / Image: The Manc Eats
David, formerly head of Sales and Marketing at Jay Rayner favourite The Alan, is on serving duties and explains each dish as it lands on the table in front of us.
His warm, unpretentious manner sets the tone for the night, with jokes about growing up with busy parents – one a bin man, one a nurse – who he insists would regularly dish up warm bread and butter under the guise of ‘cooking’.
ADVERTISEMENT
The dinner itself is a feat of hearty nostalgia, centered around great produce and topped up with little homely tidbits such as these.
Masterminded by Iain, a chef with an intimidating CV (you’ve likely tried his food at Ancoats’ gastro pub reborn the Edinburgh Castle, The Alan, or maybe back in the day at The Establishment on King Street, now home to Rosso), each plate is more delicious than the last.
Corn fed confit chicken with SK14 chutney and crisps. / Image: The Manc Eats
Inside Sureshot Brewery for Our Place supper club. / Image: The Manc Eats
For mains, we dig into Littlewoods Butchers beef rump with boulangerie potatoes, onion tops from Iain’s allotment, and a wild garlic and purple sprouting puree. An ox tongue beef sauce, rich and comforting, is the final temptation for my loss of table manners – and, honestly, I’ve no regrets.
Finishing things off with a warming bowl of ‘Nana Betty’s’ rhubarb and custard and a poetry reading from Manchester’s own Chubby Northerner, aka ‘the pub poet’, aka Tom Stocks, it’s one of the most enjoyable evenings I’ve had out in a while, made even better knowing that £5 from each ticket goes to support local people in need.
Having been homeless since its inception, for the next three months Our Place will be hosting events on selected Friday nights inside Manchester Art Gallery as part of a new partnership.
The date for their first dinner at the gallery will be Friday 26 May, with tickets priced at £45 and vegetarian and vegan options available for non-meat eaters. To find out more, visit Our Place on Instagram here.
Featured image – The Manc Eats
Eats
Bangkok Diners Club moves out of Ancoats just months after Michelin Guide win
Daisy Jackson
Bangkok Diners Club, the critically-acclaimed restaurant above the Edinburgh Castle pub, has closed its restaurant space.
The Thai restaurant was added to the Michelin Guide last October, not long after taking over the upstairs of the popular pub.
It also received a rave review in The Guardian from restaurant critic Grace Dent, who said it would be ‘one of Manchester’s hottest dining tickets’.
But now Bangkok Diners Club has decided its time in Ancoats is up, and has closed its beautiful restaurant space with immediate effect.
In an email sent to customers with reservations, they wrote that Bangkok Diners Club ‘sadly won’t be returning to Edinburgh Castle’.
Owners and husband-and-wife team Ben and Bo Humpheys aren’t leaving things there though, announcing plans to move into the Exhibition food hall on Peter Street.
Co-owner Ben Humphreys outside Bangkok Diners Club. Credit: The Manc GroupThe food earned them a place in the Michelin Guide. Credit: The Manc Group
They’ll be joining MoreJoy and pasta concept Anatra in the space, but bidding farewell to their own dedicated restaurant for now.
The email sent to customers reads: “We have just noticed that the system has allowed you to make a reservation during a time that we are closed. We apologise that this has happened.
“Ben and Bo are cooking at Exhibition during 2026 and Bangkok Diners Club sadly won’t be returning to Edinburgh Castle.
“Sincerest apologies for all the inconvenience caused.”
Doux Chaton debuts in Manchester: Vietnamese and French cuisine meets the North West
Danny Jones
Regardless of our rivalry, the Scousers have given us a lot: The Beatles, two Premier League football clubs for us to get regularly riled up against, even the Bold Street brand – and now it’s the turn of Doux Chaton, who just landed in Manchester.
Vietnamese food right in the heart of town, but like you’ve never had it before, Doux Chaton is the Southeast Asian spot with a European twist that’s already turning heads.
In fact, despite quietly opening on the main Deansgate strip over the festive period, there was already plenty of passion for this place down the Mersey, as this Liverpool-founded business has developed a foodie favourite following here in the North West.
Run by owners Jimmy and Jennifer Ly, whose parents Ko and Linda moved to the UK back in the 70s, this place might be regionally born and bred, but it’s still deeply rooted in the rich heritage of two ex-pats helping bring some seriously incredible flavours to our shores.
Walking past the old unit on the ground floor of Great Northern Warehouse – during a real ghost town period for the city centre this past Christmas – we saw a team hard at work putting together their first Manc venue.
This was at around 10/11pm from memory, as we saw a man on ladders finishing the hand-lettered sign by lamplight; this is all relevant because, before anything, it’s worth noting that this place from 9am until 9pm all week round.
Yes, as in every single day.
Since they’re still relative newcomers, we’re not entirely sure when they take any time (if, indeed, they do at all), but one thing we can already vouch for is that hard work can well and truly be tasted in the food and drink they put out.
Expanding their traditional Vietnamese menu in Merseyside, Doux Chaton Deansgate has seen them create a whole new selection of sweet treats, doubling not only as a neo-French patisserie but as a platform to showcase both traditional and modern bakes from their home country.
There is a long history of their national cuisine being deeply influenced by the classical culinary culture in France, but when we tell you their bahn mi sandwiches and clever take on a sausage ‘pho’roll were even tastier than their decadent croque monsieur croissant, you know you’re on to something special.
And then there are the bowls of broth and noodles themselves; we tried plenty of pho in and around Greater Manchester, with plenty purporting to be ‘authentic’ – and many of them are – but there can be a question about this first and second generation team.
Taking ‘Mama Hong’s treasured recipes from the streets of Hanoi and elevating them ever so slightly in certain spots, whilst still letting the flavours, textures and smells speak for themselves, it’s comfortably some of the best Viet scran we’ve had in these parts.
The cute little cat in a bowl logo almost feels like the most warm and fitting welcome you could hope for.
Service with a smile, simply fantastic food, a bloody GREAT cup of stylish drip coffee and a big chalkboard where you can even leave your own message, not to mention unrelenting opening hours – this could be our new go-to at any given time of day.
Georgina Pellant -
12th May 2023 
