Eats

A new ‘Mexicali’ food concept is the latest vendor confirmed for the upcoming House of Social food hall

Another one confirmed.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 30th April 2025

A brand-new California-inspired Mexican food concept from some familiar foodie favourites is the latest name to be announced as part of Manchester’s newest food hall, House of Social.

The ‘Mexicali’ creation is called OK Taqueria and is set to join the soon-to-open vendor space over on Coleman Street in Manchester city centre, becoming just the third kitchen confirmed for House of Social.

Set to welcome five in total, the upcoming food hall marks just the latest step in the continuing foodie trend, with long-standing staples like Mackie Mayor now just one of many across Greater Manchester.

The description of the food is simple but exciting: “A love letter to Mexican street food — deeply Mexican, unapologetically Californian, proudly un-autentico.”

Credit: Press Shots

House of Social‘s (HoS impending Mexican and Californian fusion comes from the team behind fellow Manc icons Gooey and Evelyn’s, which is already a strong enough advert in itself.

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There are plenty more brains behind this new concept, including Public and ‘gem of the Curry Mile’, Mughli, who will also be opening inside HoS – just their second-ever site and first in the city centre.

Inspired by taquerias “from Baja to Boyle Heights”, OK Taqueria will blend Mexican street food staples with California’s own laid-back slant on the cuisine.

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As mentioned, OK Taqueria is set to join the already announced Burger & Beyond, as well as ‘gem of the Curry Mile’, Mughli – which will be opening their second-ever site and first in the city centre – the lineup of traders is already looking stacked with lip-smacking talent.

You can read more:

Cult burger brand Burger & Beyond announced as second trader for new Manchester food hall

As for OK Taqueria, you can expect corn tortillas, warm off the press, stacked with crispy pork belly al pastor; tinga chicken with chipotle sour cream, vegan chicken-fried maitake mushrooms, and queso birria beef shin ready to dip in a deeply flavoured consommé. That’s just the tip of the sp-iceberg.

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That’s a terrible pun, so sorry…

Fish fans can get stuck into Baja-style cod cheek with crema, and there’ll also be a fiery twist on Cali-style breakfast burritos.

The brand is positioning this as “street food energy with sit-down flavour; fast and flavour-first”. They’ll also cater to the in-house students inside the tower block, sharing as well as the bar side of things, with plenty of margaritas to sip on.

Say no more – see you there this summer.

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Featured Images — Press Shots (supplied)

Eats

New Manchester restaurant receives rave review as another is slammed as ‘torture’

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson New Manchester restaurant Pip receives rave review as another is slammed as 'torture'

Pip, a new restaurant in Manchester, has received a rave national review this week – a review which slammed another restaurant in the same feature.

Food critic William Sitwell wrote in his review in The Telegraph that Pip is charming, refined, and fabulous.

“Bravo, Pip. Pip pip!” he wrote in the glowing write-up on the new restaurant, which stands at the foot of the new Treehouse Hotel and has the acclaimed Mary-Ellen McTague at its helm.

Sitwell’s Telegraph review particularly raved about dishes including Lancashire hot pot (‘fabulously good’), a wild garlic soup (‘a gorgeous thing’), and an apple trifle (‘a gift from heaven’).

But while it was all good for Pip, there were significantly less positive adjectives heaped on another restaurant in Manchester.

In fact, he said that Pip is ‘a great-value tonic’ for the ‘brash (and pricey) torture’ across town.

That restaurant was KAJI, formerly known as MUSU, which he said was ‘all tummies, bald heads, tattoos and heat’.

Sitwell said that while the service and sashimi are good at KAJI, the ‘place is afflicted by some overbearing cooking that cheapens the noble name of Japanese cuisine’.

He wrote: “Lamb chops fail the tender test and are properly wrecked sitting on a vulgar pond of sticky “tomato ponzu”. No beast should die to have that stuff squirted anywhere near it.

“And Kaji is a Japanese gaff without sake. Which is like opening a British pub in Tokyo and forgetting to put an ale on tap.”

Sharing the review, Pip wrote: “Thankyou @telegraph and @williamsitwell for the fantastic feature.
We’re so proud of our team here.”

You can read his full review HERE.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Milk Maids, Bolton – The family-run ice cream parlour on an award-winning farm

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Ice cream at Milk Maids in Bolton, Greater Manchester

Ice cream doesn’t come much fresher than those served at Milk Maids – in fact, you’ll be standing right on the family farm where the cows that produce the milk live, as you tuck into your scoop.

This unassuming dairy farm in Bolton has been in operation for decades, and in the same family for generations.

But it’s when sisters Fiona and Rebecca saw the full potential of all that award-winning milk being produced on their farm that Milk Maids was born.

This ice cream parlour on Dearden’s Farm in Over Hulton is now one of the hottest spots in Greater Manchester, especially when the weather is similarly hot.

Every month they release a whole batch of flavours, all made fresh daily (you can literally see Fiona legging it across the yard with buckets of milk to make fresh batches), with May specials including white chocolate and sea salt caramel, raspberry cookie, and passionfruit pavlova.

Milk Maids, Bolton - The family-run ice cream parlour on an award-winning farm
Milk Maids, Bolton - The family-run ice cream parlour on an award-winning farm
Milk Maids, Bolton - The family-run ice cream parlour on an award-winning farm
Milk Maids, Bolton – The family-run ice cream parlour on an award-winning farm

Cones can be filled with molten chocolate or pistachio creme before your ice cream is scooped and pressed into the cone.

Or you can have your chosen flavour whizzed up into a milkshake, served in a milk bun, or presented in an insulated take-home box for later.

We could wax lyrical about how good this ice cream is, but the queues really do speak for themselves, and you should go and get in it right now. 

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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