A huge vegan street food fair is coming to Manchester this month, bringing together some of the region’s most mouthwatering traders for a weekend.
Taking place at the popular Green Quarter street food hub Grub, plant-based foodies can tuck into a range of different vegan treats ranging from tacos and kebabs to sugary sweet bakes, pizzas and more.
With the date set for the last weekend of January, the festival will run for three days: starting at 5pm on Friday 27 January and continuing until 6pm on Sunday 29 January.
Those heading down can expect to find a number of street food delights, including vegan dumplings made with non-traditional fillings from recent Ancoats General Store pop-up trader, Desert Island Dumplings.
Image: Desert Island DUmplings
Image: Seitan’s Kebab
Known for serving a quirky range of dumplings stuffed with salt and pepper chickn, smoky cheez pizza, hoisin mock duck and cheezeburger, the menu here also features stacks of hash browns, chips and drunken noodles.
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And that’s not all. If you’re lucky, you might also get your hands on some sweet dumplings – with previous favourites including lemon drizzle and Lotus banoffee (and served with a sweet dip, no less). Dumplings can be mixed and matched, too, so you can get a little taste of everything.
Elsewhere, you’ll find woodfired Neapolitan-style pizzas from Lancashire favourite Marley’s Pizza and a host of Mexican tacos from Nina’s Taco Truck, who will also be serving new dishes like nachos, ‘El Jefe’ burrito, and dirty fries topped with the likes of cheese sauce, jalapeno, red cabbage, crispy onions and chipotle mayo.
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There’ll also be sweet treats from Drizzle City Bakes, known for creating fun bakes like red velvet and Oreo cupcakes, lemon and raspberry drizzle and rocky roads, plus more from That Vegan Bakery.
‘Manchester’s favourite’ vegan food fair is returning to GRUB this month / Credit: GRUB
And last but not least, Seitan’s Kebab will also be in attendance across the weekend serving up unique vegan takes on everyone’s late-night takeaway favourite, with the option of loaded fries on the side.
Drinks-wise, expect to find a fully vegan bar offering wine, cocktails, spirits, soft drinks and beer from local breweries, plus hot drinks from Alchemic Coffee’s pop-up garden bar featuring speciality teas, coffees, espresso martinis, mulled wine and hot chocolate. You can also expect music, vibes and lovely times.
Kicking off from 5pm on Friday 27 January, the vegan food festival at Grub will run from 5-10pm the first night, then all day on Saturday from 12-10pm. Its final day will be Sunday 29 January, with traders in situ from 12-6pm.
Feature image – Grub / Desert Island Dumplings
Eats
Local BID board launch new ‘Visit Alty’ app ahead of Taste of Altrincham 2026
Danny Jones
One of Trafford’s resident BID (Business Improvement District) board have officially launched their brand-new ‘Visit Alty’ app for the market town ahead of this year’s A Taste of Altrincham festival.
Set to be a dedicated one-stop where residents can find out what’s going on in and around the area, the platform is already available on the likes of the Apple App Store and Google Play for Android phones.
As A Taste of Alty returns for 2026, this is just the second instalment in the total 10-day food and drink party – with a big opening weekend celebration starting this Friday, 27 February – the latest innovation by Altrincham BID is hoping to keep residents more up to date on their village than ever.
Sponsored by native law firm Myerson Solicitors and supported by various local businesses, the sophomore edition of the now annual festivities serves as the ideal staging event for the fledgling Visit Altrincham app.
Running until Sunday, 8 March, A Taste of Altrincham is even bigger this time around. (Credit: Press shot)
With a full programme events kicking off this weekend, the app itself is ideal for keeping track of everything going.
In addition to workshops, live demos by regional chefs, supper clubs, wine tastings, the latest ‘Ultimate Pudding Competition’ and lots of other special events, it can be hard to keep track of everything.
That why, like any good festival, the app has a full map and guide featuring all the key info.
Beyond just the event itself, the app itself is aimed at supporting local independents and more by helping to increase their exposure, sign-post daytrippers to the old Cheshire holdout’s best bits, and push more and more people to one of the borough’s blossoming suburb in general.
Teaming up with a number of popular locations in and around the town centre, it’s a real come one, come all affair – just as things should be.
Residents and visitors alike can also found physical printed copies of the full Taste of Alty ’26 programme nearby at the likes of Altrincham Library, the Bee Network Interchange, as well as OYEZ Arts at the Town Hall.
Created with digital town hub partners, Loqiva, co-founder Marcus Chidgey said in a statement: “We’re pleased to be partnering with Altrincham BID to support Altrincham’s continued growth.
“With a strong independent business scene, an award-winning Market and excellent transport connections to Manchester, the Visit Altrincham app offers a new way for people to discover and explore the town.”
As for the local BID department, Alty’s director Mandy White added: “If you haven’t downloaded the Visit Altrincham app yet, now is the perfect time. It’s a simple way to find out what’s on, discover local businesses and unlock exclusive offers, especially during A Taste of Altrincham.
“The app helps people get more from their visit while supporting our independent businesses and high street brands.”
The Visit Altrincham app is FREE to download right now – you can find it HERE.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (supplied via Altrincham BID)
Eats
Six by Nico to close popular Manchester location as it ‘evolves’ into something new
Emily Sergeant
Unique restaurant concept Six by Nico has announced that it’ll be closing one of its most popular locations in Manchester.
Six by Nico is famed for its six-course tasting menu inspired by a different theme, destination, or concept that changes every six weeks – with the brand now having around 15 restaurants based in across 12 cities in the UK.
Launching in Manchester in Spring Gardens back in 2019, Six by Nico has gone from strength to strength ever since, opening a second site off Deansgate in 2023.
But despite this success, both nationwide and in Manchester, Six by Nico has sadly announced this week that its popular Spring Gardens site would be closing down as it is and ‘evolving into something entirely new for the city’.
Owner Nico Simeone took to Instagram last night to share the news of Spring Gardens’ impending closure, and explained what the future holds for the site.
“As Six by Nico approaches its tenth year, I look to reimagine one of our most successful restaurant locations, Six by Nico Springs Gardens, into something entirely new for the city,” Nico said in his Instagram statement.
“This hasn’t been a small decision. Spring Gardens has been one of our strongest and most loved restaurants. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built there, the team behind it and the loyalty Manchester has shown us over the years.
“Six by Nico will always stand for immersive storytelling, six-course journeys and transporting guests somewhere new. That continues, and we’re investing further into Manchester through our Deansgate location and beyond.”
Six by Nico is closing its popular Manchester location as it ‘evolves’ into something new / Credit: The Manc Group
The founder also then went on to say that he’s realised there’s another side of his cooking that he hasn’t shared, and it’s one that he feels is ‘more stripped back’ and ‘personal’.
“That’s where Lennox begins,” Nico continued.
Giving an insight into what the future holds for the Spring Gardens restaurant, the statement adds: “Spring Gardens won’t disappear. It will evolve. A new restaurant brand is being built in that space from the ground up. A different energy. A different style. A different way of cooking.”
The announcement that Six by Nico would be closing its concept at the Spring Gardens site has amassed dozens of comments on social media.
Anyone ‘curious’ to to know ‘what Lennox really is and what it will become’ is encouraged to sign up online at www.lennoxrestaurant.co.uk, and follow the journey on Instagram at @lennoxrestaurant.
Georgina Pellant -
20th January 2023 
