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.
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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’.
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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
Michelin-recommended rooftop restaurant Climat has closed its doors with immediate effect
Daisy Jackson
One of Manchester’s top-rated restaurants has announced its shock and immediate closure.
Climat, which is set way up high in Blackfriars House with staggering views of Manchester city centre, has said that the Michelin-recommended restaurant is now permanently closed.
In a heartbreaking statement, founder Christopher Laidler said that Climat is ‘yet another casualty of the times we’re living in’.
Laying out the brutal reality of running a hospitality business, Chris wrote about ‘rampant food inflation’, an ‘ever-increasing tax burden’, and ‘the persistent cost of living crisis’, describing it as a perfect storm against hospitality.
Then delving deeper into the numbers, he shared that Climat has faced an eye-watering £112,000 electricity bill for its first 13 months in business – that’s 400% more than they’d budgeted.
That was chased by a 33% increase in staff wages, then a jump in business rates from £12,000 a year to £38,000 a year.
Couple that with reduced footfall and it’s ‘spelling disaster for so many’.
Climat has closed its doors with immediate effectClimat has laid their finances bare in their closing statement
He wrote: “Whilst I wanted to highlight these reasons for closure, in the naive hope the Government will start to listen before it’s too late for others, I want to acknowledge the fantastic work of our team over the last 3.5 years.
“The closure does not do justice to their efforts and dedication. I’d also like extend a huge debt of gratitude to our guests for their support, enabling us to build a nationally recognised wine list – our raison d’être.”
Signing off, he said: “I wish everyone the very best of luck in these challenging times. Bye for now, Christopher.”
Climat opened in late 2022, with an impressive wine list and a beautiful restaurant space overlooking Manchester.
It didn’t take long before it was added to the Michelin Guide, which wrote: “An open kitchen is the focus of the room, with its aromas filling the air, and the concise fixed-price menu includes well-executed dishes such as halibut with spinach and sorrel velouté, where the ingredient quality shines through.
“Wine is a feature with one side of the room acting as a bar and the carefully curated list deftly mixing traditional and modern styles.”
Legendary Northern Quarter bar Trof is reopening as a classic pub and dining room
Daisy Jackson
Trof is one of the Northern Quarter’s finest offerings, and has been ever since it launched in the early 2000s – but the times are a-changing.
Trof has now revealed a brand-new era, reopening later this week as a classic pub and dining room, complete with refreshed interiors and a new food offering.
Soon operating as The Trof, the latest era will come from the team behind acclaimed Manchester restaurant Stow.
The Trof will be a classic pub right in the heart of the Northern Quarter, serving a menu of British pub classics that will showcase top local produce.
That’s alongside a considered wine list, and a range of cask ales from Thornbridge across in the Peak District.
Expect mains like ox cheek pie with Ratte potato mash, a classic beef burger in a milk bun, and a pork collar with cabbage and bacon, chased by proper puds like a sticky toffee pudding, and a pistachio and cherry Bakewell tart.
And there’ll be proper roasts on Sundays, with quality joints of beef rump, porchetta, chicken, and Knutsford roast lamb from Littlewoods, served family-style and accompanied by all the trimmings.
The menu and drinks offering is a real nod to co-owner Jamie Pickles’ Peak District upbringing.
Everyone in Manchester’s got a Trof story, whether it’s first dates or regular after-work pints, and The Trof hopes to continue being a space for both drinkers and diners.
Inside, the space will have a refurb that will accentuate the building’s character, while evoking the cosiness of a local pub, with pine wood features and flooring, a centrepiece bar, and even a piano.
The building itself dates way back to the 1880s, but was opened as a neighbourhood bar in the early 2000s by the legendary Adelaide Winter and Joel Wilkinson (Firehouse, Ramona, Schloss) before being purchased from Mission Mars by co-owner Matt Nellany in 2022.
Matt and Jamie joined forces at Trof the following year, before launching Stow.
And now they’re realising their long-held dream of refurbing and relaunching this iconic Northern Quarter venue.
Matt Nellany, co-owner and landlord of The Trof said of the change: “It’s nerve wracking to make such a big change to a venue which is so significant to so many people!
“Ask anyone in Manchester and they’ll have a Trof story – we seem to have hosted a LOT of first dates here over the years – but we felt that it was time for the next chapter in this beautiful building’s history.
“We love pubs, and we’ve always wanted to do that elegant, city centre pub which you see so much across London – being able to do that with fabulous northern produce including cask ales from Thornbridge and meats from Marcus at Littlewoods right in the heart of the Northern Quarter is a privilege we will take very seriously!”
Jamie – co-owner and heading up the food said: “The Trof sits right in the heart of what was Manchester’s market district and hopefully the menu pays homage to that – fabulous veg, great quality meat, excellent bar snacks – all served with well cellared cask ale and a great wine list – this will be a pub truly for Manchester’s people and we can’t wait to get it open.”
The Trof will reopen at midday on Friday 1 May, with space for walk-ins plus reservations for the dining room.
Georgina Pellant -
12th May 2023 
