Acclaimed taco bar Madre to set up shop in Manchester this summer
Madre will be serving their traditional Asado-inspired tacos at Escape to Freight Island - the new outdoor food and entertainment complex at Mayfield Depot near Piccadilly.
Madre – an acclaimed supergroup of smash-hit taco brands – are setting up a brand new stall in Manchester this summer, owners have confirmed.
A combined venture from the teams at Mexican outlets Belzan and Breddos, Madre has proven enormously popular in Liverpool over the past two years.
Now, owners are taking their famous tacos down the M62 – pitching up at Piccadilly’s new food and festival space, Escape to Freight Island.
Madre / Instagram
Co-founder Sam Grainger said: “We can’t wait to get to Manchester, we’ve been waiting patiently and searching for the right space to come up and when we heard about Escape to Freight Island we just knew it was for us.
“The opportunity to work with this team is beyond exciting and it’s a great way for us to introduce ourselves to Manchester.
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“If you’d have asked me at the start of lockdown if I thought I’d be opening in Manchester in July then I’d have laughed!
“But here we are, the truck is loaded and the Mexican barbecues are ready to light!”
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Operating from a converted 1981 VW truck, Madre will be dishing out an authentic Mexican menu featuring dishes such as Pork Al Pastor, Carne Asada and Grilled Elote with fresh salsa.
The first Belzan and Breddos collaboration event in 2018 sold out in less than an hour, laying the foundations for Madre – which has moved from strength to strength ever since.
The move to Manchester represents the biggest step for the brand yet.
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“We spent our formative years in Manchester and it will be incredible to come back, get back stuck in to the city and experience this incredible new development,” said the owners.
Madre arrives at Depot Mayfield on 24 July, with the taco brand among the first traders to join Escape to Freight Island.
Table slots of three hours are available Thursday to Sunday from midday to midnight.
Society is offering Mancs a chance to win free dinner and drinks if they share their best breakup texts
Danny Jones
Ever hoped that a crushing breakup text from a few years back would one day come in handy and bring you some joy?
Well, you’re in luck because that day is almost here.
Popular Manchester city centre food and drink venue, Society, is putting itself out there for all those who have been ghosted, left on read, or just plain dumped this Valentine’s Day with an exciting trade: some of your romantic moments for free scran and drinks.
That’s right, Society are inviting foodies from all over Greater Manchester to share their best (or worst) breakup texts to be in with a chance of winning dinner and drinks at the food hall along with a plus one of your choice – be a bit of a gamble if they picked them in some kind weird blind date situation.
Breakup texts finally making us feel good. (Credit: Society)
With reports finding that as many as 45% of breakups take place just before the 14 February – as partners look to avoid pricey dinners and gifts – and up to 88% of these happening over a mere text, Society is stepping in to provide solace for the those on the wrong side of the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ text.
So how does it work? Well, it’s all rather simple: submit a memorable breakup text that you’ve received to be in with a chance of winning a free Valentine’s dinner and drinks at Society for you and your equally lucky plus one.
Texts can be submitted via Society’s Instagram, TikTok DMs, or by email; you can enter from Monday, 3 February until Tuesday 11 Feb 2025.
The team will then choose the most iconic/unbelievable/heartbreaking/downright hilarious entries to win prizes from the on-site food traders and bar team, and, with your consent, may even share some of the best to their social media channels.
The food and drinks selection and Society is top-notch, so that’s a good start. (Credit: The Manc Eats)
Now, before you get all panicked that you have to air your dirty laundry, don’t worry: all entries will remain anonymous unless you say otherwise.
Best of luck to all those submitting their breakup text entries and we sincerely hope we get to see a corker or two.
Love you, Society – you’re one of the most stable relationships in our lives x
New Manchester restaurant ‘couldn’t be happier’ after ALREADY receiving glowing national review
Daisy Jackson
Stow in Manchester is already making waves beyond the city, just weeks after it opened, receiving a glowing review in The Sunday Times.
The new restaurant on Bridge Street is a cosy space with a ‘supercool bar’ in front and a white-bricked dining room out back.
And what sets it apart from the others is that everything – desserts, breads, meat and more – is cooked over fire. No ovens, no hobs.
It’s this theatrical element that’s earned it its first (and surely not last) glowing review in a national title, impressing restaurant critic Charlotte Ivers in a dazzling review in The Sunday Times.
She raved about Stow’s potatoes, particularly, but also about the cosy restaurant’s service, theatre, decor, atmosphere, and basically everything they touched.
In the column, she said: “Particularly good restaurants make you feel as if you are at the centre of the world when you walk in… Stow is one of these restaurants.”
The Sunday Times piece continued to say that Matt Nellany and Jamie Pickles are creating food that is ‘far more exciting’ than their roots, down the road at much-loved Northern Quarter bar Trof.
She heaped praise on their milk bread, served with salty onion butter, the ricotta and beetroots which are roasted overnight on the embers of that huge grill, and the pork and fennel sausage with creme fraiche and tomato sauce.
The review then added that she will think of the ratte potatoes, topped with fat slices of garlic and shavings of Corra Linn cheese, ‘on my deathbed’.
Since the review went to print, Stow has said: “This day goes down as a big one for the Stow team – we couldn’t be any happier.”
Congratulations to the whole team. If you haven’t checked Stow out yet, make sure you do HERE.
The Manc -
23rd July 2020 
