A pub in Manchester has launched a new ‘traditional’ pub menu for dogs featuring roast dinner bones, ‘Bark’ burgers, roasts, and fish and chips.
The Metropolitan Pub in Didsbury, part of the Stonegate Group, has partnered up with Sir Woofchester’s, a hospitality-focused dog food provider, to provide the new gastro-style feast for customers’ furry friends.
The group has over 80 Stonegate pubs across the UK offering the new dog menu, and also plans to introduce some seasonal new dishes to the menu as the year progresses – promising it will introduce a doggy Christmas dinner and a Valentine’s Day menu in the coming months.
Staples of the new menu, available now at The Metropolitan pub in Didsbury, include roast dinner bones, Bark burgers and a fully-fledged roast dinner, as well as traditional British pub favourite, fish and chips.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
The menu also includes doggy drinks, with dog-friendly beer ‘bark brew’ and even a paw-star martini on offer.
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All the doggy food products included in the new menu are grain free and include freeze-dried raw ingredients, so no matter what your dog’s dietary requirements there should be something on the menu for even the fussiest pooch.
We headed down with The Manc superstar Vinny, a six-year-old Bulldog cross with allergies of his own.
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On arriving at The Metropolitan, Vinny received special treatment as staff filled up his very own water bowl from a dedicated doggy service section that has been created outside.
Dog water bowls are refreshed from a dedicated black barrel wearing a dog collar, whilst next door, dog menus and cosy blankets for colder can be found in the house kennel.
After a quick scan of the menu, we opted for a plate of fish and chips for Vinny and a bowl of treats – both brought to our outdoor table by friendly staff who went above and beyond to make sure Vinny was comfortable.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
We can confirm that the treats and meal were a hit, as he dug in with absolute gusto – spilling biscuits around the floor and he buried his nose in to get at the sweet potato chips and tasty morsels of silver fish.
The pub has always been dog friendly outside, but it has only recently begun to welcome dogs indoors too – a move that was initiated by new General Manager Sam Rawlinson.
Sam told The Manc that so far the new dog menus have been going down really well, and on average the pub is currently selling between four and five a week.
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Being that Didsbury is such a doggy area, he said, “it works really well.”
Featured image – The Manc Eats
Eats
Inside The Black Friar as Salford pub unveils incredible floral display
Daisy Jackson
Spring has really sprung in Salford – legendary pub The Black Friar has just revealed a sensational makeover, with gigantic flowers sprawled across its frontage and a new seasonal menu to go with it.
The historic pub is celebrating the changing of the seasons with both a striking floral installation and a menu that celebrates spring and Salford in equal measure.
Most Mancs will by now have spotted the 4,000 flower-strong installation that now adorns the front of The Black Friar, with bright pink, yellow and purple flowers spilling from a gigantic pink tap.
And all those florals continue inside, with the pub’s Tavern – previously a cosy winter hideaway – now filled with trailing blooms and woodland installations, just off their award-winning garden.
Cheshire-based artist Kelly Louise Chapman is the woman behind this sensational transformation of the much-loved gastropub.
As for the pub’s kitchen, they’ve crafted a new very seasonal and very British menu, with plenty of nods to Black Friar’s Salford roots.
There are dishes like a Boddingtons braised ox cheek (the pub still proudly displays its Boddingtons sign outside), aged beef tartare, butternut squash and ricotta tortellini, and pan-roasted cod fillet.
Spring small plates at The Black Friar pubDelicious spring drinksInside The Tavern at The Black Friar
A popular item from the Valentine’s Day menu – the Cornish crab vol-au-vent – will be sticking around on the spring menu, along with an enhanced grill section that includes a lamb Barnsley chop cooked over coals.
Then for desserts, you’ll be spoilt with a banoffee knickerbocker glory, and passionfruit panna cotta.
And for drinks (because this is a pub, after all), The Black Friar has put together a range of seasonal drinks like a rose sangria sharer, and non-alcoholic sodas like kaffir lime and coconut.
Ben Chaplin, head chef at The Black Friar, said: “This new menu is all about celebrating the best of spring produce.
“We’ve carefully crafted each dish to highlight fresh, seasonal ingredients and bold flavours, adding new depth to our offerings while still delivering the comfort that will always be associated with The Black Friar.
“My top recommendation and personal favourite dish is the Slow-Cooked Boddingtons Braised Ox Cheek.”
Neil Burke, owner of The Black Friar, commented: “We wanted to bring a taste of spring to The Black Friar, inside and out. This floral installation will transform the space and bring sunshine and smiles, whatever the weather!
“My top recommendation on the new menu is the Cumbrian Spiced Lamb Scotch Egg. It’s EXCEPTIONAL.”
To find out more about The Black Friar and to book a table, visit HERE.
Team behind award-winning Higher Ground to open new Bar Shrimp seafood bar in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Higher Ground, one of Manchester’s very top restaurants, is to open a brand-new seafood bar later this year.
With Bar Shrimp, they’ll be bringing a brand-new offering to town, with cocktails, beers on tap, British seafood and snacks.
Bar Shrimp will come from Daniel Craig Martin, Joseph Otway and Richard Cossins, who at this point are a well-oiled operational machine.
They’re the team behind proudly British bistro Higher Ground, which grows much of its own produce at its Cinderwood Market Garden and earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand within a year of opening.
The same team are also behind Flawd, the beautiful waterside wine bar at Ancoats Marina.
And they’ve cemented themselves as one of Manchester’s most widely acclaimed hospitality teams – even Rick Stein says Higher Ground is one of the best places to eat in the entire country, which is high praise indeed.
Bar Shrimp, set to open in Manchester this winter, aims to be a ‘relaxed and focused bar with delicious food’.
They say: “Whether it’s a beer after work, some food with friends or after dinner drinks late into the night, Bar Shrimp will be a dynamic space where the music and energy evolves throughout the evening where everyone and anyone can come together for a memorable experience.”
They announced the news this morning on Cerys Matthews’ BBC 6Music Show.
British seafood with a side of cocktails? Sounds alright to us.
A location, opening date and more info on Bar Shrimp will follow – stay up to date with their latest HERE.
Georgina Pellant -
4th July 2023 
