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.
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.
Brewch is getting bigger: Cereal milk stars open new café in Chorlton
Danny Jones
Anyone who lives in or around Gatley will undoubtedly have heard of Brewch Coffee, but now this cult favourite café has just opened up a new location in central Manchester.
Making their way over from the suburban edges of Stockport, Brewch’s second site has just launched in the centre of Chorlton.
So, what’s different about this one? Well, a few things…
For starters, the menu has expanded ever further, and they’re already becoming one of the busiest spots on Manchester Road.
@the.manc You can now get iced coffee AND matcha topped with Frosties-flavoured cereal milk and my god it’s good. It’s all thanks to the wizards @Brewch 🧙 Choose between coffee or matcha as your base, a huge pour of that delectable milk, all topped off with a handful of crispy Frosties straight from the box. This sweet treat is only available at their Chorlton site – go, go, go. 📍 97 Manchester Road, Chorlton, M21 9GA #themanc#cerealmilkcoffee#chorlton#viralcoffee#chorltoncafe♬ original sound – The Manc
The well-known stretch of the leafy Manc neighbourhood isn’t short of brunch spots and coffee shops, of course, but we will say that this latest one also arrives with a great reputation built over a few years.
Most notably, this most recent addition is more of a grab-and-go style concept compared to the original digs and some others in the area.
For example, as well as some proper good brews, they’ve also got a strong selection of hot sandwiches freshly toasted with everything from classic toasties to the steakhouse melt and siracha tuna.
Then we turn our attention to a pretty insane bakery counter, where you’ll find the GOATed hot honey toast, white chocolate rainbow sprinkle cookies and their increasingly popular trademark and well worth the hype cookie/croissant hybrids.
Call them what you want, all we know is they’re bloody delicious.
As for the hot drinks themselves, it’s not just the usual selection you’ll see on most menus these days; they’ve got creative – including with one of their signature ingredients.
One of their specialities is their Spanish lattes, but just this week, they’ve now introduced new cereal milk lattes and iced matchas. Served over ice, using milk steeped with Frosties and decorated with a final sprinkling of cereal, these aren’t like anything else on the market in Greater Manchester right now, really.
They soak the sugary goodness overnight, and if you’ve ever heard of Christina Tosi’s famous Milk Bar flavoured drinks and desserts like the legendary ‘crack pie’ (just Google it), then you’ll know how tasty these can be.
Already laying plans to hopefully open a third venue here in Manchester city centre sooner rather than later, we’re fully locked into Brewch’s expansion. They’ll have some stuff competition, of course, but we reckon they’re well-equipped to go toe-to-toe with even the biggest names.
The Manc -
23rd July 2020 
