There’s a new bottomless brunch in Manchester with Middle Eastern-inspired small plates, and if you love a good Saturday afternoon out on the town then you absolutely need to put it on your list.
Hosted at former Michelin-recommended King Street restaurant Habas, for £38 per person diners can enjoy a ‘tipsy tapas’ with 90 minutes of non-stop cocktails, wine, beer, and a mouthwatering selection of punchy small plates.
Drink choices include the likes of fruit punch, Aperol and apricot spritzes, prosecco and bellinis, plus glasses of house lager and red, white and rose wine.
As for the food, you’re completely spoilt for choice with a selection of dishes that pulls out some of the restaurant’s dish highlights – spanning starters, mains and puddings.
Choices available with the bottomless brunch include the likes of harissa-roasted sweet potato, steaming chicken tagine, the most perfect crisp lamb pomme anna, garlic flatbreads and roasted cauliflower.
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Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Elsewhere, you’ll find mini Merguez sausages, salmon arancini, seared mackerel fillets, Israeli chopped salad, batata harra, Syrian lentils, Zalouk aubergine and Habas’s own Middle Eastern rice.
As for sweets to finish, think traditional honey and pistachio-drenched baklava, miniature donuts oozing with raspberry jam with a dollop of homemade vanilla custard on the side, zingy pineapple carpaccio, a Medjool date and orange cake, and beautiful cubes of Turkish delight.
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The third city centre restaurant from Simon Shaw (also chef-owner of El Gato Negro and Canto), Habas was added to the Michelin guide in 2021.
At the time, inspectors described it as follows: “Habas comes from the same owners as Canto and El Gato Negro and occupies what was once the wine cellars of the magnificent former Manchester Club building.
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Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
“Arrive early for a cocktail in the bar before moving into the fun, slightly retro style dining room.
“Small sharing plates take their influences mainly from the Middle East but there are also hints of the Mediterranean to be seen.
“Must-haves include the homemade pita bread, stuffed filo cigars and vegetable dishes.”
Habas and its sister restaurant Canto have both since been removed from the Michelin Guide but Shaw’s original Manchester restaurant El Gato Negro continues to be featured as a Bib Gourmand recommendation.
Bundobust has hit the free beer klaxon again, giving away hundreds of pints next week after a ‘real mess-up’.
The beloved Indian street food brand, which has two sites in Manchester as well as its OG restaurant over in Leeds, shared a statement that says ‘Well this is embarrassing’.
Bundobust has revealed it had planned a huge free pint giveaway for National Beer Day on Monday…
Except National Beer Day isn’t actually until June. They were looking at the American calendar, the silly sausages.
But not one to throw a good marketing stunt away, Bundobust has decided to crack on with its free beer giveaway as planned, on one condition – you must order in an American accent.
The restaurant will be handing out hundreds of free pints of its own Bundobust Brewery beer on Monday 7 April.
Just pop in with a friend, and any time one of you orders a beer and wishes them a ‘Happy National Beer Day’ (don’t forget the accent) you get a free beer for you and your mate.
Bundobust said: “Well this is embarrassing. We’ve really messed up this time.
“For weeks now, we’ve been planning to give away hundreds of FREE PINTS of Bundobust Brewery beer this National Beer Day, Monday 7th April.
Bundobust is giving away free beers after ’embarrassing mess-up’. Credit: The Manc Group
“All you’d have to do is bring a friend in, any time one of you got a Bundobust Brewery beer and wishes us “Happy National Beer Day” you’d get your beer PLUS a free one to give to your mate.
“So simple. So elegant! Only one problem though. Monday 7th April is National Beer Day in America. Ours is 15th June.
“We don’t want to wait that long though!! Also we’ve already programmed the “free beer for a mate” button into the till, which takes a good 5 minutes, so we’re going to go ahead with it this Monday 7th April!
“There’s one catch though: you have to do an American accent when you say “Happy National Beer Day”. Deal? See y’all on Monday, pardner.”
Their cock-up is our win – free beer deal is available at all Bundobust sites from 12pm on Monday.
A much-loved independent Manchester cafe is heading out of the city centre for the first time as they plan to open a brand new premises over in Bolton.
Bolton as a town and wider borough has no shortage of cosy little caffs, but the addition of this latest place for a brew, butty and a bake is sure to be an instant hit just as it was in Ancoats.
To call Cafe Cotton a cult favourite would be grossly understating things at this point: the Blossom St spot tucked into Hallé St Peter’s is not only a beautiful space inside but looks out onto Manchester’s trendy and ever-bustling Cutting Room Square, making it a great place to sit with a coffee.
With that in mind, as they prepare to open their third location further out towards Lancashire, Boltonians have every reason to be very excited.
Cafe Cotton is coming to a town in Bolton. (Credit: The Manc Group)
The indie success story began way back in 2013, if you can believe that, serving sandwiches, sweet treats and more to the Manc masses.
Oh yeah, they also do bloody brilliant coffee that’s considered some of the best in the city.
Opening another venue on the ground floor of Neptune Mill in neighbouring Piccadilly East just this past January, the expansion of the brand has been a relatively steady one despite more than a decade of loyal patrons and new customers becoming each year.
However, good things come to those who wait, as we’re sure the Bolton natives will vouch for when the next Cafe Cotton opens up in Farnworth Green.
The opening date might still be up in the air, but here’s a little glimpse at the kind of goodness they can expect to enjoy:
The new addition is part of the overall Farnworth regeneration project, which is being headed up by investors Capital and Centric, who are famously responsible for numerous new developments in and around Manchester in recent years. Over £20 million has been set aside for the wider plans.
Cotton Cafe’s founder, Chris Griffith, said of the soon-to-open site: “We’ve been on an amazing journey growing Cotton, and we’re incredibly grateful for the loyal following we’ve cultivated. Now, Farnworth Green feels like the perfect next step.
“This isn’t just about opening another café; it’s about investing in a community. The bakery is a big move for us too, allowing us to craft everything from scratch and supply all our locations with freshly made goods.
“We’re also buzzing to team up with Bolton Council to offer apprenticeships, helping young people take their first step into the industry.” The authority itself is actually looking for a project lead as we speak.
Is this the start of a big period of change for Bolton?
Georgina Pellant -
5th June 2023 
