Eats

A new axe-throwing bottomless brunch is coming to Manchester – and there’s 100 free tickets

It's already being described as "the most visceral bottomless brunch in the UK", and it's launching this August bank holiday.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 8th August 2022

Manchester is soon to welcome yet another new bottomless brunch to town, and this is one of the most unique concepts so far.

With the choice of bottomless brunch offerings in the city growing by the day, the UK’s original urban axe-throwing brand Whistle Punks – which opened its doors in Manchester back in November 2019 – is set to take its own spin on things by launching a bottomless axe-throwing brunch from this August bank holiday weekend called ‘Sunday Sessions’.

During what is described as “the most visceral bottomless brunch in the UK”, you’ll first get to take part in an axe-throwing competition with your best mates, all before sitting down to tuck into unlimited food and drinks.

You can expect irresistible sourdough pizza, delicious cocktails, and contemporary craft beers.

With bottomless brunch sessions at 11:20am, 12:40pm, 2pm, and 3:20pm every from Sunday 28 August onwards, each party can take on 70-minutes of axe throwing followed by 50-minutes of bottomless pizza and drinks for just £30 per person.

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The UK’s original urban axe-throwing brand Whistle Punks is launching a Bottomless Axe-Throwing Brunch / Credit: Whistle Punks

Drinks will be available for the full two hours, and a selection of beers and cocktails can also be ordered direct to your lanes.

Alongside an extensive menu of freshly-prepared pizza, with plenty of vegetarian and vegan options too, some of the classic drinks in the bottomless offer include Whistle Punks Lager, Bloody Marys, Aperol Spritz, prosecco, and more.

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“I think a large part of the appeal is that it feels like something you shouldn’t be allowed to do,” explained Whisle Punks’ co-founder Jools Whitehorn ahead of the brunch launch.

“It’s a visceral experience which is physical without being too demanding, and it all takes place under the close watch of our instructors who make sure everyone stays safe while having a truly unique night out [so] with our brand new axe brunch launching at Whistlepunks Manchester, we feel we’ve put together the most high-octane brunch experience in the city.”

It’s already being described as “the most visceral bottomless brunch in the UK” / Credit: Luke Dyson (via Whistle Punks)

And if all of that didn’t sound exciting enough as it is, the Manchester venue has chucked in the chance to get a ticket for free.

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Read more: You can get paid £150 a day to test bottomless brunches with your best mate

To properly celebrate the launch of the highly-anticipated event this month, Whistle Punks Manchester is giving away 100 free tickets on a first come first served basis, and to be in with a chance of winning one, all you’ll need to do is head on over to the venue’s website here.

When you book online, just make sure to add the 100% discount code ‘SUNDAYSESSION’ to get your ticket for free.

Featured Image – Luke Dyson (via Whistle Punks)

Eats

Cruel irony as beautiful country pub is named one of the UK’s best – two days after it closed for good

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

One of the north’s most beautiful country pubs has been crowned as one of the best gastropubs in the country – but the news came just as it closed for good.

In a bittersweet turn of events, the Moorcock Inn – just half an hour from Manchester – received a nod from the prestigious Top 50 Gastropubs, which took place on the same weekend that the pub shut down.

While the other winners on the list were celebrating their accolades, The Moorcock staff were throwing one final farewell party in their windswept corner of Norland Moor.

The cosy Sowerby Bridge restaurant, famed for its local and wild ingredients, announced its closure with an emotional statement last spring but saw out the rest of 2022.

Owners Aimee Turford and Alisdair Brooke-Taylor wrote that the decision to shutter The Moorcock Inn was prompted by the end of their five-year lease, as well as the ‘unstable world’ of rising costs, supply issues and ‘looming recession’.

In the end, the raft of awards and critical acclaim it has earned over its years wasn’t enough to keep the business afloat.

Credit: The Moorcock
Credit: The Manc Group

It finally closed down last week, just as the Top 50 Gastropubs named it as the 21st-best pub in the country.

The platform said: “Unfortunately the pub has had to close its doors just days before the list announcement, but read all about it below.

“The pub offers an ever-evolving seasonal menu alongside views over West Yorkshire’s Ryburn Valley and is an all-round charmer of a gastropub.”

Upon reviewing The Moorcock Inn, our food and drink editor found the venue to be full of surprises and warmth, from the outdoor barbecue where a chef cooked meat over coals in a blizzard to the snug bar itself showcasing an extensive drinks selection.

She wrote: “Let’s just say, the locals here are blessed.”

Our review of The Moorcock Inn’s food offering celebrated crispy potatoes served split in a heap of small dish of yeasty mayonnaise, a whole charcoaled flounder smeared in butter, and crispy pig tails with apple sauce and artichoke.

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The restaurant was famed for its nose-to-tail ethos, from the butchering and dry-aging taking place on site to the homegrown vegetables to the handmade crockery.

The Manc’s review concluded: “This is a glorious pub, serving glorious food. This new offering feels wonderfully relaxed, combining the best of both restaurant and bar menus. We completely see what all the fuss is about.”

The Moorcock Inn was one of the greats and will be sorely missed – but at least it got to go out on a high.

Featured image: The Moorcock Inn

Eats

This Manchester restaurant serves an all-vegan roast with ‘meat’ and all the trimmings

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

A Manchester vegan restaurant is serving an all-vegan roast with mock ‘meat’ and all the trimmings, putting an ethical twist on the British Sunday classic. Keen to see if it’s worth the hype, I took a trip down to try it out for myself – and left feeling pretty impressed.

Not being a vegan personally, I enlisted the help of two friends of the plant-powered persuasion to accompany me to get a real feel for every option.

Suffice it to say, it was a success and, whilst I won’t be converting to veganism any time soon, it’s nice to know that there are options out there for when I feel like being ‘good’.

With three different roast choices on offer, Wholesome Junkies is the first restaurant in the city centre to venture past the usual vegan choices of mushroom Wellington and roasted squash and go all-out with a variety of mock meat options.

Meats have been created in partnership with Liverpool vegan brand CB Sushi, using their mock beef and turkey joints to give vegans the feeling of a ‘proper’ roast.

Glazed ‘turkey’ roast at Wholesome Junkies with Mabel’s vegan Yorkshire puddings and all the trimmings. / Image: The Manc Eats
‘Beef’ roast at Wholesome Junkies with onion gravy, Mabel’s vegan Yorkshire puddings and all the good bits. / Image: The Manc Eats

Think glazed ‘turkey’ filled with stuffing, medallions of ‘beef’ and crispy deep-fried oyster mushrooms, all served with lashings of onion gravy, ‘buttered’ seasonal greens, glazed carrots and parsnips, deep-fried stuffing balls, crispy roasties and fluffy Yorkshire puddings created by Mabel’s.

Having tried all three, I have to say that my favourite was the turkey. It’s actually my least favourite meat to eat, so it was something of a surprise to find I enjoyed the vegan version much more than the real thing.

The texture was spot on, and there was none of the dryness you typically associate with the bird. Washed down with a pint of locally-brewed Cloudwater Fuzzy Hazy Pale Ale, it absolutely hit the spot.

The deep-fried oyster mushroom roast at Wholesome Junkies. / Image: The Manc Eats
Cloudwater’s Fuzzy Hazy Pale Ale. / Image: The Manc Eats

Coming in a close second was the deep-fried oyster mushroom roast, which was so packed with flavour that it almost felt like I was eating fried chicken with my Sunday dinner.

As for the beef, it didn’t really do it for me – tasting more of herbs than red meat, but then, I don’t suppose there are many vegans queueing up the block for a bloody meat substitute.

Wholesome Junkies has long been a favourite with Manchester vegans. First shooting to fame in 2018 with an appearance on BBC2’s Million Pound Menu, owner Chelsea appeared on the show to ask for 95,000 to open her own vegan junk food restaurant.

Prior to that, she’d been running her Wholesome Junkies concept as a street food pop-up at sites like Grub and Ancoats General Store.

Whilst her bid to impress the BBC judges was not successful at the time, the TV appearance put her on the map and within a year she had her own Arndale market stall.

Read more: This hidden Manchester pasta and dumplings restaurant has just made the Michelin Guide

Fast forward a few more, and in 2022 she opened her first bricks and mortar restaurant – taking over the former Umezushi site at 4 Mirabel Street.

Since moving in, she’s completely transformed it: decking it out in bright colours and filling every corner with quirky little ornaments and decorations.

Strings of fairy lights, hanging mushrooms and frames filled with pictures from local artists all make the small space feel incredibly warm and welcoming – and our visit the restaurant was absolutely packed.

Read more: Tim Martin is blaming ‘people drinking at home’ for UK Wetherspoons closures

At a time when so many vegan restaurants seem to be closing, it was an absolute joy to see so many bums on seats during our visit.

Veganuary might almost be over, but if you’re a vegan – or simply just trying to cut down on your meat consumption – it’s definitely worth giving this one a go.

Feature image – The Manc Eats

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