A brand new Detroit-style pizza spot is set to open in Manchester in the coming months, from the team behind Ramona, Firehouse and Diecast.
Detroit Slims will be serving 10″ long rectangular pizzas, made fresh to order, with prices starting from just £5.
And to celebrate its opening at Circle Square on Oxford Road (which is also home to Onda, Hello Oriental and the new self-serve beer bar The Tap House), Detroit Slims will be giving away 10,000 pizzas for free. More on that later…
The new quick-service pizza joint will be serving up Detroit-style pizzas, which are made with a light and fluffy textured base using a special 48-hour, slow-fermented focaccia dough.
Toppings will include the Cheese Burger Slim, BBQ Meat Feast and the Shroom Slim – with the standout signature The Pepperoni Crown.
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The individual-sized pizzas – known as ‘The Slims’ – are a perfect match for house-made dips including Kimchi Mayo, Hot Honey, and Dill and Jalapeño Ranch.
As for sides, there’ll be dishes including chicken tenders tossed in homemade cajun pepper and crispy scooper fries.
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There’ll also be thick ‘Slim Shaky’ milkshakes, with flavours like banoffee pie and a Detroit-style ‘Bumpy Cake’ (vanilla, chocolate and butterscotch cake), plus ice cream sandwiches, cookie trays and soft-serve ice creams.
Detroit Slims is a brand new pizza project in Manchester from the team behind Ramona. Credit: Supplied
The restaurant space will span 1800 sq ft at Circle Square, and is just a three-minute walk from Oxford Road station.
Guests will be able to dine in the 30-cover restaurant, takeaway, or order their pizzas on Deliveroo.
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The team behind Manchester’s wildly popular venues Ramona, Diecast, and The Firehouse are now gearing up to launch Detroit Slims, inspired by their love of Manchester’s ‘twin city’.
Dan Mullen, director at Detroit Slims, commented: “Detroit Slims has been in the works for a while now and we are so excited to finally introduce this new concept. Detroit has been a city close to our hearts since we first visited, so much so, we brought a piece of it back home when we opened Ramona in 2021. Detroit Slims is the newest iteration of our love for Detroit-style pizza!
“We’re so excited to finally introduce the Slims brand to our home city of Manchester, and eventually bring Detroit-style pizza to everyone UK-wide!”
They’re giving away 10,000 pizzas to celebrate the launch. Credit: Supplied
Will Taplin, executive chef for Detroit Slims, commented: “We’re confident that everyone will love our pizza just as much as we do.
“All Detroit Slims pizzas will be completely homemade, made up of proper ingredients – making for high-quality fast food that will leave you feeling good. All of our bases will be made right here in the city, and eventually, as the brand grows, they will be shipped across the country to reach our other locations.
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“There is nothing like Detroit Slims in the UK, and we’re ready to introduce ourselves with some proper American hospitality.”
Matt Pazos, retail commercial manager for Bruntwood SciTech (which is behind Circle Square), shared: “Curating a broad range of restaurants, bars and retail venues for businesses and the general public to enjoy and explore has been crucial to realising our ambitious vision for Circle Square.
“We’re delighted to welcome Detroit Slims, whose team have already been so successful in the city, and this will be a great new offering for the Oxford Road Corridor knowledge quarter. Venues like theirs are what is truly bringing Circle Square to life.”
How to claim one of 10,000 free Detroit Slims pizzas
Detroit Slims is giving away 10,000 free pizzas to celebrate its launch – that’s the equivalent of more than 23 American football pitches when you line them up.
To claim your free pizza, you just need to be one of the first 10,000 people to sign up for the newsletter here.
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You’ll then receive a unique code to order your free Slim during their first few weeks of opening.
The Greater Manchester book café serving literary afternoon teas and build-your-own bouquets
Daisy Jackson
If you like your afternoon tea with a side of good books, there’s a Greater Manchester café where you can quite literally have your cake and read it too.
Tucked inside this charming bookish spot, afternoon tea arrives with an unexpected twist. Rather than being presented with the usual three-tiered stand, you’re handed a stack of heavy hardback books.
But don’t start worrying that you’ve accidentally wandered into a very niche library club. The books are hiding something.
Lift the covers in Peony & Parchment – or, more accurately, open the book-shaped boxes – and you’ll discover a full afternoon tea concealed inside.
There are dainty sandwiches to get stuck into, including tiny egg mayo, herby chicken salad, ham and mustard, and cheese and tomato focaccia, alongside a little quiche.
Then comes the scone – classic, fluffy and ready for the obligatory dollop of clotted cream and jam. And, because no afternoon tea should leave you feeling like you’ve been short-changed in the cake department, there are five miniature slices to work through.
Afternoon tea concealed in a stack of booksSome of the other bakes on display
There’s a Victoria sponge with a dreamy vanilla cream, lemon drizzle, rich chocolate cake, a Bakewell slice and a pecan pie, all sourced from a local bakery just across the alleyway.
It’s all served with a pot of tea or coffee, with the option to add a glass of prosecco.
And the bookish theme doesn’t stop at the afternoon tea.
Downstairs you’ll find shelves packed with books, including the intriguing ‘blind books’. Instead of judging a book by its cover, you’ll be given clues and a short summary of what lies inside before taking a gamble on your mystery read.
Downstairs in Peony & Parchment‘Blind books’A role playing village for kids
There’s also plenty here to keep younger visitors entertained, thanks to a children’s area complete with a mini role-playing village.
And if books and cake weren’t enough, there’s another string to this café’s bow.
The Bloom Bar lets you build your own bouquet. Choose the size you want, then wander around selecting your own stems and foliage to create something that’s uniquely yours.
You can build your own bouquetThe Bloom Bar at Peony & Parchment
Of course, you don’t have to be visiting specifically for the afternoon tea. The wider menu includes tapas, full breakfasts and sandwiches, making it just as suitable for a leisurely brunch, lunch or coffee-and-cake stop.
So whether you’re there to discover your next favourite novel, assemble a bouquet, entertain the kids or simply eat your way through five different miniature cakes, this is one café where there are plenty of chapters to explore.
Major pop star crowns humble rice and three cafe as ‘Jewel of Manchester’ ahead of sold-out gig
Thomas Melia
A beloved city centre takeaway has been given the title of ‘Jewel of Manchester’ by chart-topping UK singer Sam Smith.
Known for hits like ‘Stay With Me’, ‘I’m Not The Only One’ and more recently ‘Unholy’, UK pop-ballad act Sam Smith also likes to drop a food review every once in a while.
Currently on the road with a run of shows in Manchester and London for their ‘To Be Free’ live shows, Sam Smith is stopping off at some of our city’s much-loved spots.
On their food-reviewing account titled ‘Sam Served’, where they adopt the aptly-fitting nickname ‘Ham Smith’, Sam has visited restaurants across the globe – and most recently turned their attention to Manchester’s own This & That.
Smith decided to pop in and grab a cheeky rice and three from long-standing backstreet food business This & That, and it certainly went down a treat.
After sampling their amazing selection of meat, vegetable and vegan curries, the musician crowned this family-run Indian takeaway a ‘Jewel of Manchester’.
The hitmaker described this Northern Quarter Indian eatery as ‘Everything food should be’ and definitely enjoyed all the curries on offer ‘leaving belly and heart full’.
This & That prides itself on affordable and comforting food with its ‘Rice and Three Curries’ starting from just £6 – not bad for a city centre foodie spot.
Sam has racked up an impressive 490k followers via their ‘Sam Served’ profile, with famous faces like Lily Allen, Denise Welch and CMAT all wanting to know the superstar’s foodie thoughts.
After enjoying a curry or three, Sam Smith also made sure to feed their soul to by venturing down to Afflecks and getting lost in the music at Mars Tapes.
Recognised as one of the UK’s only cassette and tape shops, Mars Tapes lets you flick through their crates of physical media and even preview tracks before you buy with its dedicated listening areas.
It’s safe to say that Smith has ‘Latched’ onto Manchester’s independent business scene and we’re here for it.
The London-born artist has just released their latest album Hazel Eyes and is currently amid a UK residency tour with two dates in Manchester’s Albert Hall and eight shows set for London Coliseum.
Daisy Jackson -
13th August 2024 
