A new David Bowie-inspired gyros kitchen has opened in Manchester, with chefs borrowing a little Ziggy Stardust magic to bring their creations to life.
Launched at indie music venue Yes, it’s called We Can Be Gyros and comes from the Now Wave promoter team – also behind the popular bar and music hall.
Considering it has come from some of the city’s best independent live music and club promoters, it makes sense that there is a bit of a musical inspiration behind the concept.
The new kitchen concept is serving up the likes of ‘Lady Stardust’, a vegan chicken gyros with seasoned fries, pickled red onion, rainbow coleslaw and sriracha vegan mayo, alongside meaty and cheesy gyros stuffed with your choice of smash lamb and beef kofta, spicy sizzled chicken and golden halloumi.
Live, Lamb, Love gyros at We Can Be Gyros. / Image: The Manc Eats
The Cosmos platter at We Can Be Gyros. / Image: The Manc Eats
Elsewhere on the menu, you’ll find platters like The Cosmos, made up of vegan chicken gyros, pickled veg, rainbow slaw, sriracha vegan mayo, tomato and seasoned fries, and The OG Overloaded, a meaty chicken version with crumbled feta, honey mustard, and smoked aioli sauce.
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Add to that Firecracker Fries topped with smoked garlic aioli and smoked paprika, deep-fried courgette ribbons with a spicy seasoning, and a host of flavourful sauces including Korean BBQ, tzatziki, zesty sour cream, and Sriracha mayo, and you’re well set for a boozy late-night scran.
Honestly, the new gyros at Yes are so big we were cradling ours like a baby. They also take some skill eating, due to their epic size. Really, though, that’s what we want from gyros. So it’s fair to say the kitchen here has more than delivered.
The pickled veg is on point, too, the bread pillowy and soft. All in all, We Can Be Gyros is perfect for filling up after a few pints (or fancy cocktails). Yes is always worth a visit, now we have another reason to go.
Featured image – The Manc Eats
Eats
Mouro opens third coffee shop on Tib Street in the Northern Quarter
Daisy Jackson
South Manchester’s beloved independent coffee brand Mouro has opened its third location – and this time, they’ve headed to the Northern Quarter.
The stylish neighbourhood coffee bar has taken over a vacant unit on Tib Street, serving speciality coffee as well as sandwiches, cinnamon buns, and pastries.
The two-storey venue has been kitted out beautifully (but that’s no surprise – the team here are also behind So Marrakech in Altrincham).
There are comfy banquette seats in the window, marble and wood sunburst tables, terrazzo floors, hanging wooden lights, and all sorts of other carefully thought-out design details that set it apart from everything else in the Northern Quarter.
Outside, they’ve preserved a lot of the character of Tib Street, painting their sign directly onto the old brickwork above the door.
Mouro is already a well-established name in Heaton Moor and Altrincham, where it’s built up a loyal following for its house-roasted small-batch coffee beans.
In the Northern Quarter, you can pick up a bag of beans to take home with you – and if you do, they’ll make you a fresh coffee to take away with it.
Cinnamon buns at MouroInside Mouro on Tib StreetSandwichesThe newest Mouro opens on Saturday 15 MayMouro is opening in the Northern Quarter
Alongside those house blend and single-origin coffees, there’s a whole spread of cinnamon buns, including ones made with an espresso frosting (again, made with their own roasted coffee).
There are also sandwiches and other bakes to have in or take away.
Mouro will open its doors at 68 Tib Street on Saturday 16 May, with free coffees and matcha from 9am to 12pm on launch day.
Mouro will then be open Monday to Sunday, 8am to 4pm, and on Sundays from 9am to 4pm.
Inside Tyga, as a Manchester favourite changes its stripes for a new era
Danny Jones
We recently had the pleasure of visiting Tyga, Manchester city centre’s latest Indian restaurant, which has taken the place of former local favourite, Asha’s.
The Peter Street spot had always been a great place for a curry and progressive takes on the nation’s staples, often pulling inspiration from the Rajasthan region, but now the unit is the start of a new chapter.
In truth, the food was always pretty damn good here – often truly great, even – as we found out the last time we reviewed it; however, it’s clear that there’s been a greater honing of the concept.
Put simply, Tyga is trying to elevate what the team already did so well, whilst adding an extra layer of fine-dining refinement.
@the.manc Peter Streets Indian spot Tyga, has had a serious glow-up, bringing a more refined, fine-dining take on Indian cuisine while keeping all the bold flavours at the heart of it. The 24-hour slow-simmered lamb shank is an absolute must, as is the butter chicken which just melts in your mouth. 😍 It’s not just about the food here though, with an extensive cocktail list that brings theatre to the table, they’re the perfect accompaniment to your table full of scran. It’s the perfect spot for date night, celebrations, or when you just want to seriously impress someone over dinner. 🍸 Get it booked. 📍 47 Peter Street, M2 3NG #themanc#tygamanchester#manchesterfoodie#manchestercurry#wheretoeatinmanchester♬ original sound – The Manc
You hear sentences like a ‘contemporary twist on cuisine’ and ‘modern approaches to classics’ recycled quite a lot, and we get it: it can be a great way to get across that you’re trying to push culinary tradition(s) forward, but it often feels a bit of a throwaway term that’s used far too much.
That being said, while there’s definitely a feeling of familiarity to this recently refreshed foodie lineup, this is one of the times and places where it actually seems like that phrase means something.
While the building and stunning venue itself might have stayed largely the same, bar some knick-knacks being swapped for a few different tiger-based decorations, the authentic clay-pot lamb, ‘Tyga’ prawns, salmon tikka, and Vepudu spiced stir fry show some real innovation.
A lot of these might be rooted in a kind of food we know very well here in Britain, but these latest iterations in recipes and experimentation with their components result in some very cool creations.
The ember wings were smoky and moorish in a way that we’ve not had in a restaurant like this before, and the lamb chops alone were worth ordering by the wheelbarrow full.
Small plates have also been thrown into the mix more seamlessly this time around, too, as have some of the Indo-Chinese options that feel less like a footnote now and, instead, like a continuation of the tweaking and trying out new things seen throughout the rest of the offerings.
Even the vegetarian/vegan section of the menu has been lifted in certain aspects, too, with previously popular dishes being brought back better and more beautifully presented than ever.
Before we forget, a special shout-out goes to those beetroot dill patties.
Speaking of presentation, although they might have simplified some stuff (such as the okra fries that simply need to be dumped on the table and be devoured in seconds by gannets like us), as mentioned, plenty of other bits have been levelled up.
It comes as no surprise, therefore, that they’ve just been voted alongside some fellow standout spots by the Asian Catering Federation.
They’ve never shied away from a bit of pageantry, and nothing has changed in that respect.
Everything from the plating to even giving you a rotating water jug that revolves on a single point and never spills has a bit of flair, without being too much or straying into gimmicky territory.
Most importantly of all, whether you want a classy room for your next date night, somewhere intimate the next time you go out for tea with your partner, or still fancy a more banquet-style feast for you and your mates in the form of the updated ‘Maharaja’s Grand Platter’, Tyga can turn its paw to any occasion.
Georgina Pellant -
27th July 2023 
