There’s a tiny little opening on the outskirts of Stockport that’s so charming, with such delicious food, that we’re going to have to insist you all rearrange your plans to visit immediately.
This is Tawny Stores, a restaurant, cafe and deli where you can do everything from having a romantic candlelit dinner to scoffing a morning pastry to grabbing a loaf of bread to take home.
With a pretty canalside location, and windows that look out over the water, it’s already proving a fantastic addition to Greater Manchester.
Tawny Stores is in Marple Bridge, a picturesque village at the foot of the Peak District hills (which feels a million miles from Stockport, but the name on the wheelie bins doesn’t lie).
It may be a total pain in the arse to get to, especially with every-other train being cancelled, but getting stuck out here is far from being the end of the world.
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From their tiny kitchen they cook an ever-changing menu that’s technical, but simple.
By the time you read this the menu will probably have changed again, but here we go anyway.
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Rabbit pie at Tawny Stores in Marple Bridge. Credit: The Manc GroupA cheese toastie at Tawny Stores. Credit: The Manc GroupHomemade crisps and a glass of wine. Credit: The Manc GroupRoast squash and lentils at Tawny Stores in Marple Bridge. Credit: The Manc Group
We had a wild rabbit, cider and tarragon pie, with a crust that could win awards and a generous dollop of silky smooth mash.
There was a simple cheese and onion toastie, elevated by some top-quality bread and homemade chutney on the side.
A warming pile of lentils was then topped with roasted squash and a zingy and herby green sauce to zap it (and you) back to life.
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And then there’s homemade focaccia, which you can order with olive oil or have it as a sandwich, where fillings are currently festive and include squash and stuffing, crispy sprouts and aioli, and pork Milanese and cranberry.
Inside Tawny Stores, Marple Bridge, Stockport. Credit: The Manc GroupTawny Stores in Marple Bridge. Credit: The Manc Group
Before you head out, take a moment to browse the shelves full of produce (and the display unit filled with homemade cakes).
You can grab a hot drink to walk down the canal and burn off some of that fuel, or do it in reverse and come in here to warm your cockles after a brisk winter stroll.
Either way, it’s one to visit – and soon.
You can follow them on Instagram HERE for their latest menus.
You can get FREE sandwiches in Manchester this weekend – but only if you have certain names
Emily Sergeant
Hungry Mancs can help themselves to free sandwiches this bank holiday weekend… but there’s a bit of a catch.
You can only get yourself a sandwich if you have one of these particular names.
We’ve been enjoying some absolutely stunning sunshine across Greater Manchester and much of the UK over the past couple of months, and nothing says sunny days more than taking a packed lunch or grabbing a meal deal and taking it to your local park or greenspace for a picnic.
This is why Pret A Manger has decided to make picnics easier for those who are lucky enough to have a certain type of name.
This late May bank holiday weekend, the popular high street coffee shop chain will be dishing out hundreds of free sandwiches across the UK – including here in Manchester – to anyone whose name happens to start with ‘Nic’.
That means people called Nick, Nicholas, Nicola, Nicole, Nico, Nicolette, and plenty of others could be in with a chance of some free feasting over these next couple of days.
You can get FREE sandwiches in Manchester this weekend / Credit: Wikimedia Commons | Supplied
Here in Manchester, it’s the chain’s Portland Street site, just off Piccadilly Gardens, that’s participating in the free giveaway this weekend, and there’ll be 50 sandwiches a day given out, so you’ll need to be quick if your name starts with ‘Nic’ and you’re feeling peckish.
The offer is only limited to Pret’s freshly-made sandwiches, and unfortunately excludes baguettes, wraps, or rye rolls… but free food is better than no food, after all.
All you’ll need to do to grab a freebie is show your ID at the tills of participating stores this Saturday (24 May) to prove your name, and you’ll get to walk out with your lunch in hand, all without having to spend a penny.
Manchester’s Portland Street Pret A Manger will be giving out 50 free sandwiches to ‘Nics’ this Saturday, and they’re on a first-come-first-served basis.
Featured Image – Eaters Collective (via Unsplash)
Eats
Big Mamma Group opens incredible Italian restaurant Circolo Popolare in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Circolo Popolare, a lavish Italian restaurant from Big Mamma Group, is now ready to open in Manchester for the first time.
This incredible space marks the first time the acclaimed restaurant group has ventured up north, with restaurants already thriving in London and other cities across Europe.
They promised big things from their interiors, and they’ve certainly delivered on that.
As you step inside this two-storey restaurant just off Albert Square (it’s at the foot of Gary Neville’s £400m St Michael’s development), you’ll feel like you’ve been whisked off to an Italian island.
Downstairs in Circolo Popolare in Manchester is a twinkling paradise with a jasmine-clad ceiling, reels of festoon lighting, and antique trinkets tucked into every corner.
The large windows are lined with thousands of vintage booze bottles and on each table you’ll find hand-painted crockery designed especially for Big Mamma Group.
Upstairs, there’s a cosy, ivy-covered space inspired by a Sicilian courtyard, with a huge open kitchen at one end where you can see the chefs at work.
They’re working on dishes like gigantic bowls of truffle pasta, authentic Neapolitan pizzas (made the traditional way with thinner crusts, rather than the puffed-up contemporary style we see so much of these days), and Italian small plates.
As for dessert, the star of the show is their six-inch-tall lemon meringue pie, crowned in a wobbling tower of torched meringue.
But you also shouldn’t skip out on their tiramisu, scooped straight into your bowl table-side.
Circolo Popolare officially opens on 6 June – to book a table, sign up to their newsletter HERE.
Click or swipe through the gallery below to see more of Circolo Popolare in Manchester
Circolo Popolare in Manchester. Credit: The Manc GroupPizza, pasta and small platesFilippo La Gattuta, founder of Big Mamma GroupA giant lemon meringue pieThousands of vintage alcohol bottlesCocktails at Circolo PopolareThe beautiful bar areaThe open kitchen at Circolo PopolareAuthentic Neapolitan pizzaCircolo Popolare in Manchester. Credit: The Manc GroupThe private dining roomLamb pastaCocktails at Circolo PopolareTiramisu scooped table-sideHand-painted platesProsciutto and truffle pastaThousands of vintage alcohol bottlesThe private dining roomUpstairs at Circolo Popolare
Daisy Jackson -
21st December 2024 
