If you were to ask someone to paint a picture that summarised ‘community’, you’d like end up with a drawing of Station South in Levenshulme.
From families clustered around tables inside to chattering pals catching up on picnic tables outside, to cyclists pulling in for a bike service and a takeaway coffee to people admiring the on-site urban garden, this is a community hub for all ages and walks of life.
This is a room where you’ll see cotton baby grows and lycra one-piece suits and oversized denim and linen dresses all running along together.
Station South has a regular programme of events, from planned cycling trips to maintenance masterclasses, pub quizzes and mini markets.
Every Friday, DJs pop up for the weekly Platform Social, spinning disco, funk, soul and much more, and they host open deck nights where anyone with a vinyl collection can get involved.
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The building itself has been restored beautifully, with plenty of odes to its former life, from the wooden ceilings to the parquet floor.
It’s located around the halfway point of the Fallowfield Loop – in fact the busy cycleway passes directly underneath Station South. You can sit in the sunny side room and watch people cycling, running, scooting and skating along beneath you.
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Outside, there’s a sunny terrace bedecked with festoon lighting, and their little patch of green has been thoughtfully rewilded with native wildflowers and hedging.
There are picnic tables perched beneath pergolas crawling with plants, and even a few raised beds growing herbs.
As is so often the case with these suburban venues, Station South has a little something for everyone and for every time of day. That means roast dinners on Sunday, family-friendly seasonal menus, local beers, great wines, and plenty more.
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On its breakfast menu is a fall-off-your-bike-in-delight breakfast muffin – the Manc Muffin – an intimidating stack of sausage patty, hash brown, cheese, egg, and relish. They don’t scrimp on the fillings. You’ll get in a mess eating it and you won’t mind.
We also ordered a confit tomato, halloumi and butter bean toast dish with just the right amount of pesto stirred through.
That intimidating Manc Muffin. Credit: The Manc GroupExcellent Station South Coffees. Credit: The Manc GroupHalloumi, confit tomatoes and pesto butter beans on toast. Credit: The Manc Group
On a Saturday morning the place is packed and bustling in a comfortable, familiar sort of way.
And without the community Station South now serves, none of this might have existed.
A once bustling and integral part of Manchester’s public transport network, the former Levenshulme Station was gradually downgraded as electric trams arrived, war ravaged the economy, and the railways were nationalised.
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The building slowly stopped serving passengers, then reduced to goods only, then became a coal depot that simply watch trains pass through on their way to Manchester Central, until that also closed in 1969.
Inside Station South now. Credit: The Manc GroupInside Station South now. Credit: The Manc Group
In the late 1990s, a small group of keen cyclists rallied to have the old railway line turned into an urban greenway that would link up key South Manchester boroughs – this is, of course, the Fallowfield Loop (not actually a loop, before you get lost).
But the building above whizzed through several different iterations as various retail units before being almost completely abandoned and quickly falling into disrepair.
In 2017 a group of Levenshulme locals started their mission to bring the dilapidated but still-beautiful building back into use.
The Clink – The top-rated northern restaurant where your meals are prepared by prison inmates
Daisy Jackson
The Clink is a very extraordinary restaurant in its own right, serving impeccable dishes in a beautiful setting.
But what makes it even more extraordinary is that it stands in the grounds of HMP Styal – an active women’s prison in Cheshire – and is staffed by inmates.
Everything you eat is cooked and served by these students in training, helping them to get a foot in the door of the hospitality industry when their sentence ends.
By the time they finish their shifts at The Clink, they’ll have worked towards their City & Guilds NVQs in Food and Beverage Service, Professional Cookery and Food Hygiene.
It is, as the charity says, ‘their first steps towards a new life’.
So this spot definitely does good for the women here at HMP Styal – but it is also an absolute treat for members of the public too, regardless of its wholesome roots.
The Clink is based inside a converted chapel in a beautiful and leafy corner of Cheshire, with the National Trust’s Quarry Bank just on the doorstep.
Inside, beneath a towering wooden ceiling and colourful stained glass windows, the restaurant itself boasts a simple, historic grandeur.
Inside The Clink restaurant in Styal. Credit: The Manc Group
There are parquet floors underfoot and you can even still see the remains of the chapel’s organ, now standing proudly above the doorway into the kitchen.
The leather upholstery and boardroom tables inside have all been made by prisoners at HMP Frankland.
During the day the menu breaks down into all-day brunch dishes, small plates and hearty larger ones.
For brunches that includes a delightfully spicy shakshuka served with a flatbread, and one of the hand-on-heart best French toasts I’ve found, laced with a smattering of cinnamon and a warming winter berry compote.
Small plates come in the form of pork belly on a bed of red chilli jam and Asian slaw; and a highly-technical plate of beetroot served roasted, in gel form, and pickled, alongside little towers of goats cheese mousse and candied walnuts.
Beetroot and goats cheese, and pork belly small plates. Credit: The Manc GroupA spicy shakshuka on The Clink brunch menu. Credit: The Manc GroupFrench toast. Credit: The Manc Group
There are special evening sittings at The Clink too, where you can feast on four exceptional courses for just £40.
That menu currently includes a slow-cooked beef that falls apart as soon as it so-much as looks at a knife and fork, and a fillet of roast cod perched atop spinach puree and roasted leeks, topped with a bacon crumb.
And then come desserts that wouldn’t look out of place in a Michelin-level restaurant – all the flavours of the beloved Manchester tart, this time reassembled and elevated with raspberry gel, chocolate crumb, a coconut tuile, and coconut ice cream.
A deconstructed Manchester tart. Credit: The Manc GroupSlow-cooked beef. Credit: The Manc Group
There’s another British classic in Eton Mess, which has barely an inkling of ‘mess’ to it, a prettily-presented plate of meringue, fresh fruit and macerated berries.
The Clink consistently sits towards the top of the best restaurants in Cheshire. On TripAdvisor, it currently ranks first in Wilmslow and fourth in all of Cheshire overall.
After one brief lunchtime visit, it’s easy to see why.
And that pudding really does taste better knowing how much good work is going on behind the scenes.
To find out more, make a donation, or book your table at The Clink, head here.
They’re also hosting a charity night with Sacha Lord soon, who’ll be talking all about his life working in Manchester’s nightlife industry while guests tuck into a three-course dinner.
Simon Wood announces gutting closure of Manchester restaurant after seven years
Danny Jones
Celebrity chef and Manchester local Simon Wood has announced that his self-titled WOOD Restaurant has sadly closed its doors.
The Oldham-born chef-owner who won MasterChef back in 2015, revealed the unfortunate news on Wednesday, 2 October, confirming that the First Street site will be closing immediately. Truly gutting.
Wood has remained one of Greater Manchester’s most-renowned chefs for the past decade, not to mention a huge advocate for supporting the hospitality industry, especially post-Covid and during the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Sharing an emotional post on Instagram, he wrote: “It is with much regret that I have to inform you that I must close the doors here at WOOD for good, with immediate effect.”
“We have had 7 years as part of the Manchester city dining scene and I’m very proud of what the team and I have achieved”, the 48-year-old continued.
“Sadly with COVID rent arrears now being demanded by our landlord and an increasingly difficult marketplace, energy increases, ingredient costs and soon-to-be spiralling business rates we just cannot make this work.”
“I’d like to thank everyone for your support and patronage over the years. Thank you, Simon.”
It was only at the start of the week that Wood shared a frustrated post about a group of no-show customers over the weekend that failed to even pre-warn that they would no longer be attending one of his most exclusive and costly experiences.
We’re starting to lose count of how many local businesses are unfortunately struggling in the face of the rising business rates and energy bills that all independents are facing at the minute.
It was only last month that we saw Almous Famous had to call it a day with their Withington location and beloved sandwich spot Micky’s sadly suffer the same fate. Even cult favourite Cafe Marhaba looks to have gone up for sale. So tough to swallow.
We’re genuinely gutted for everyone involved with the brand. All the best, Si – we know you’ll be back stronger than ever one of these days.