Eats

Inside The Head of Steam as huge new pub opens in Northern Quarter

30 lines of beer, plus burgers, darts, and live sport screenings.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 26th November 2025

The Northern Quarter has a brand-new pub, as The Head of Steam moves into the city centre.

The craft beer brand has taken over what was formerly Cottonopolis (and then briefly the Lamb of Tartary), completely transforming the historic Grade II-listed space.

The Head of Steam has added a huge central bar into the building, surrounded by cosy booths and bar tables, plus six screens showing live sports.

There’s augmented reality darts and a photo booth, plus a VAST range of beers behind the bar, all packed into this 2,800 sq ft space in the heart of the city.

Expect 30 lines (24 keg and 6 cask) of beers, including The Head Of Steam’s own British-brewed range and an extensive selection of Belgian favourites.

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And on the food menu, you’ll find USA-style smash burgers and a gigantic sharing platter of sides, from Salford street food favourite That Burger Place – previously named among the top burger joints in the UK.

To celebrate its launch – and to kick off its arrival into the city centre in style – The Head of Steam will be giving away 1,995 free pints.

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Craft beer fans will have the chance of winning a free pint of the Head of Steam’s own IPA, Lager, or Gold.

That Burger Place platter
That Burger Place platter
The mozzarella slab
The mozzarella slab
Beer and wine flight at The Head of Steam
Beer and wine flight at The Head of Steam
The Head of Steam in the Northern Quarter
The Head of Steam in the Northern Quarter

If beer’s not your thing, there’s also a cocktail menu, premium spirits range, and wine list – plus the option to order a beer or wine flight for the beer-curious.

The Head of Steam is set to open later this week, its 16th venue nationwide and second in Greater Manchester.

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David Scott, Retail Director at The Head of Steam, said: “We’re incredibly proud to confirm our opening date in the Northern Quarter – it’s one of the most vibrant areas in Manchester and the perfect place to bring our craft beer community together.

“With some fantastic West Coast beers on offer, partnering with That Burger Place, a food brand who share that love for bold West Coast flavours, just made perfect sense.”

Ryan McDermott, Co-Owner of That Burger Place, added: “We’ve always loved The Head of Steam brand. I grew up in pubs as my parents ran several sites, so hospitality has always been in my blood.

“When the opportunity came to bring That Burger Place into The Head of Steam, it was a no-brainer. Working with the team feels like a perfect match, and we can’t wait to share our burgers with Manchester city centre for the first time.”

To sign up for a chance to claim a free pint when The Head Of Steam opens in the Northern Quarter on Friday 28 November, head HERE.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Global sensation Eggslut is FINALLY coming to Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones Eggslut opening in Manchester city centre

After waiting what feels like a lifetime, worldwide viral sensation Eggslut is at long last coming to Manchester city centre.

Cracking news (sorry not sorry).

Honestly, there aren’t many big-name food chains that we’ve been waiting to arrive in Manchester longer than Eggslut, which started as little more than a food truck in LA and has gone on to become a truly global giant in the culinary scene.

Set to pop up at Centurion House over on Deansgate, which backs onto Lincoln Square, Eggslut is scheduled to make its Manchester debut very soon.

eggslut menu manchester
Literally drooling at the mere thought more than those drips. (Credit: Publicity pictures)

I mean, LOOK at it. Class, just class…

Aiming to launch in the new year, Manc foodies who have been clamouring for the brand’s arrival for more than a decade now will soon be able to get their chops around fan favourites and internet-famous items like the ‘Fairfax’ and ‘Gaucho’ sandwiches, as well as the standard but signature ‘Slut’.

Oh, and yes: having tried various parts of the menu down in London, we can assure you they are just as naughty as they sound – especially those truffle hash browns and those new dippy French toast sticks, which we cannot wait to sample for ourselves.

The video of founder Alvin Cailan talking us through the story behind Eggslut and the secret ‘off-menu’ special order that was so good that people just couldn’t stop forcing it into the mainstream is still one of our most-watched videos of all time.

Not only is this the eighth UK location, but Manchester will also be the first venue in the country outside of the capital.

With the first CGIs of the space having now been shared with the ravenous masses, we confirm it is set to take the place of the existing Starbucks site at the base of the Bruntwood SciTech building.

You can see more down below:

eggslut manchester city centre
egglslut uk locations
Credit: Supplied

Head of Operations at Eggslut, Pedro Ribeiro, says of the impending opening: “Manchester has been crying out for an Eggslut for too long, and we were only too happy to make that dream a reality.

“The city is the perfect place to bring our kind of breakfast to a brand new area of the UK, and we cannot wait to join such a fast-paced and buzzing food scene.”

Matt Pazos, as for Bruntwood SciTech‘s Retail Commercial Manager, Matt Pazoz, he commented on them taking up residence here: “We’re delighted to be welcoming the first Eggslut outside of London to Manchester and can’t wait for the team to crack open their doors on Deansgate.

“The brand has built a cult following thanks to their delicious chef-driven comfort food, and we know that it will fast become a go-to spot for businesses based in Centurion House as well as locals and visitors to the city.”

Coming to a mouth near you by the end of January 2026.

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Publicity pictures (supplied)

Eats

I went on a walking wine tour around Manchester and it might be the perfect afternoon out

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Manchester Wine Tours. Credit: The Manc Group

If you love wine, and you love Manchester, and you’d quite like to do something with your afternoon that celebrates both of those things, can I put you onto the Manchester Wine Tours?

This genius little event sees small groups of people heading across the city on, essentially, an organised and very sophisticated bar crawl.

Imagine Carnage, but instead of drawing on a t-shirt and slamming neon green alcopops, you’re dressed up nicely and visiting some of Manchester’s top food and drink businesses.

Manchester Wine Tours is owned and operated by Kel Bishop, a local food and drink writer and wine teacher.

Each tour is different, taking in different bars, different wines, and different people.

But as a general rule of thumb you can expect to meet up with Kel somewhere centrally, and follow her to around four different bars, sampling one or two wines in each.

You end up drinking roughly two-thirds of a bottle of wine, unless you get lucky with a small group like ours, where we definitely got a little more than that.

And each tour factors in a few points of interest, in classic walking tour style and for even more of a Manchester flavour.

On the Manchester Wine Tour I joined, our route included a few of the city centre’s newest wine hotspots, starting at Kallos, the fantastic greek restaurant in Salford that’s striving to have the largest collection of greek wines in the UK.

Here we tucked into their divine, puffed-up flatbreads and dips, as well as tinned octopus, all paired with a crisp sparkling Domaine Karanika Brut Cuvee Speciale.

Stop one on our Manchester Wine Tours - Kallos
Stop one on our Manchester Wine Tours - Kallos
Stop one on our Manchester Wine Tours – Kallos

Then it was on with the big coats for a walk back into the city centre to Sterling.

On a personal note, I’ve been working as a food and drink journalist in Manchester for a decade. I did not expect to have any surprises along the way.

But then Kel led us into the wine room at Sterling – not usually open to the public – and proved me wrong.

Tucked away from the main bar, surrounded by wooden shelves glinting with different wines, we sampled a dry Chenin a New Zealand Lethbridge Chardonnay, and all realised we had been judging Chardonnay far too harshly.

Inside Sterling
Inside Sterling
Inside Sterling

It’s at this stop that Kel really breaks down the art of wine tasting, and how to build your understanding of a wine from sight to smell to sip.

Suitably warmed up, it was time for a dash across to Winsome, the new British restaurant that’s already been added to the Michelin guide, where we crammed around a centrepiece of wine bottle candles dripping in wax to discover the delights of the Greek Alkemi Xenomavro rose – my favourite wine from the night that I bought an extra bottle of to take home.

Each stop of the wine tour offers snacks as well as the wines, and for Winsome it was a delicate squash dish picked by the chef to compliment our drinks.

Manchester Wine Tours in Winsome
Manchester Wine Tours in Winsome
Manchester Wine Tours in Winsome

We also sampled a lethally good Terre de Zeus Xinomavro here – it was a good day for Greek wine.

By this point of the tour we’re like a slightly wobbly gaggle of baby birds, scurrying after Kel towards our final spot for the night – Beeswing.

The Kampus bar provided an Austrian Funkstille Zweigelt (ordered an extra glass of this, it was so good) and a The Good Luck Club Cabernet Sauvignon from the Barossa Valley, plus boards of charcuterie and cheese.

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My brain is like a sieve for wine facts (I’ve written up most of this by looking at the labels), but I guess that just means the Manchester Wine Tour will have a repeat customer.

Kel is an expert at reading the room and deftly tailors her tastings to suit each person’s wine experience. For some it’s just the pleasure of drinking a nice wine (here, have a top-up), for others it’s digging into the history and politics of the drink. Some just wanted to uncover a new bar or restaurant, playing tourist in their own city.

It felt as though all seven of us on our tour took something different away from the exact same experience – and is that not the beauty of good hospitality?

It’s all completely accessible, approachable and very, very fun.

You can find out more and book your spot HERE.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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