Afternoon tea is one of the most quintessential British past times going, and here in Manchester, we have a historic tea room that has been serving it for more than 100 years.
The Midland Hotel has been treating Mancs to this popular afternoon treat since it first opened, so it seemed only right that we popped over to sample it for ourselves and see what is it that makes this tea room one of the city’s best.
Serving the longest-running afternoon tea menu in the city, afternoon tea has been a staple at The Midland Hotel since its opening in 1903.
It was originally served on the hotel’s roof terrace, which offered stunning views across the city centre, but moved when the hotel’s roof was closed to the public in 1910, relocating to what was then the Winter Garden area of the hotel.
Over time, afternoon tea moved to the Octagon, where it remained for years until the landmark Manchester hotel opened a bespoke Tea Room in 2017, where it has been served ever since.
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Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Today, teas are enjoyed from the newly-refurbished Wyvern Room overlooking St Peter’s Square – replete in soft pinks, creams, and muted sages.
Its popularity continues at pace, with an astounding 800 pots of tea served weekly on average, alongside 600 scones and 55 bottles of Champagne (equalling approximately 330 flutes).
All of the Tea Room’s cakes, scones, and sandwiches are made in-house by the hotel’s patisserie team, and guests can choose from ten loose leaf tea varieties, including three of The Midland’s own beautiful house blends – one of which tastes just like strawberries and cream.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Scones are served silver service style at the table, with thick scoops of clotted and a choice of homemade preserves spanning strawberry jam, raspberry jam, and tart-yet-sweet lemon curd.
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Sit overlooking St Peter’s Square, sip on beautiful teas, and, if you really want to push the boat out, Champagne, whilst enjoying some dainty finger sandwiches, cakes, scones, and proper silver service from its impeccable team.
Think crustless sarnies filled with the likes of crayfish and prawn, honey roast ham and broad bean puree, cucumber with mint and poppy seed cream cheese, as well as a shining brioche stuffed with zingy Coronation chicken and a miniature tomato and feta quiche tartlet.
As for sweet treats, these span an assortment of home-baked cakes such as raspberry opera cakes with lemongrass panna cotta, Valrhona dark chocolate mousse with salted caramel and vanilla, and lime and mint Savarins with pineapple and white chocolate, plus everyone’s favourite: scones smeared in jam and clotted cream.
Choices span traditional afternoon tea, a Champagne afternoon tea, and a vegan afternoon tea considered by plant-powered foodies to be one of the best meat-free afternoon tea offerings in the city.
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This is where you take your mum, your grandma, your partner or your best friend, to revel in tea, cake, and a few hours of peace just a stone’s throw from the noisy hustle and bustle of Manchester city centre.
Tawny Stores – Inside the stunning canalside restaurant that’s Stockport’s loveliest addition
Daisy Jackson
There’s a tiny little opening on the outskirts of Stockport that’s so charming, with such delicious food, that we’re going to have to insist you all rearrange your plans to visit immediately.
This is Tawny Stores, a restaurant, cafe and deli where you can do everything from having a romantic candlelit dinner to scoffing a morning pastry to grabbing a loaf of bread to take home.
With a pretty canalside location, and windows that look out over the water, it’s already proving a fantastic addition to Greater Manchester.
Tawny Stores is in Marple Bridge, a picturesque village at the foot of the Peak District hills (which feels a million miles from Stockport, but the name on the wheelie bins doesn’t lie).
It may be a total pain in the arse to get to, especially with every-other train being cancelled, but getting stuck out here is far from being the end of the world.
From their tiny kitchen they cook an ever-changing menu that’s technical, but simple.
By the time you read this the menu will probably have changed again, but here we go anyway.
Rabbit pie at Tawny Stores in Marple Bridge. Credit: The Manc GroupA cheese toastie at Tawny Stores. Credit: The Manc GroupHomemade crisps and a glass of wine. Credit: The Manc GroupRoast squash and lentils at Tawny Stores in Marple Bridge. Credit: The Manc Group
We had a wild rabbit, cider and tarragon pie, with a crust that could win awards and a generous dollop of silky smooth mash.
There was a simple cheese and onion toastie, elevated by some top-quality bread and homemade chutney on the side.
A warming pile of lentils was then topped with roasted squash and a zingy and herby green sauce to zap it (and you) back to life.
And then there’s homemade focaccia, which you can order with olive oil or have it as a sandwich, where fillings are currently festive and include squash and stuffing, crispy sprouts and aioli, and pork Milanese and cranberry.
Inside Tawny Stores, Marple Bridge, Stockport. Credit: The Manc GroupTawny Stores in Marple Bridge. Credit: The Manc Group
Before you head out, take a moment to browse the shelves full of produce (and the display unit filled with homemade cakes).
You can grab a hot drink to walk down the canal and burn off some of that fuel, or do it in reverse and come in here to warm your cockles after a brisk winter stroll.
Either way, it’s one to visit – and soon.
You can follow them on Instagram HERE for their latest menus.
10 of the best new bars and restaurants to open in Greater Manchester in 2024
Daisy Jackson
Another year has ticked by and once again, Greater Manchester has proven itself as a global heavyweight when it comes to new bars and restaurants.
As the city expands ever-further, with new neighbourhoods springing up like daisies, there’s been a flurry of new openings across the city region.
From the small teams painstakingly hand-rolling pasta or laminating croissants to much larger ventures flinging out sunny brunch dishes or slabs of meat, there’s been something to excite just about every palate in 2024.
With so many new spots to check out, you’re bound to have missed a few – so we’ve pulled together our 10 favourites to add to your visit list in 2025.
Cacio e pepe pasta. Credit: The Manc GroupSoup and a steak sandwich. Credit: The Manc GroupThe Paris hot chocolate. Credit: The Manc Group
In smaller Greater Manchester towns, new openings don’t come along every day – which might be why Cafe Continental caused such a stir initially when it launched in Stalybridge.
But as the months have ticked on this neighbourhood restaurant has proved that it’s far from a flash in the pan.
It looks like it’s been plucked from a pretty Parisian back street and has a menu that will stand the test of time, from a cacio e pepe pasta with an egg yolk on top to spicy twice-fried chicken buns and steak sandwiches.
That’s alongside excellent cocktails and one of the internet’s most viral sweet treats, a proper Paris hot chocolate, where you dollop thick cream into dainty cups of molten hot chocolate.
Blacklock’s cocktail trolley which roams their new Manchester restaurants. Credit: The Manc GroupBlacklock’s all-in platter outside their new Manchester restaurant. Credit: The Manc Group
Easily up there with the biggest openings in 2025 is Blacklock, which ventured out of its native London for the first time this year and landed in a basement unit on Peter Street.
Here, it’s all about the meat-heavy menu of reasonably-priced British classics, affordable cocktails, and its legendary white chocolate cheesecake scooped straight from the dish and dolloped onto your plate.
Blacklock is a modern take on a traditional chop house and proudly offers ‘hearty fare and rowdy comfort’.
A menu highlight is their all-in platter, where chops are piled high on charcoal-grilled flatbread which soaks up the meat juices. Delicious.
Pasta and pizzetta dishes at Onda in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Surely one of the greatest success stories in recent years, Onda has gone from a humble kitchen within Exhibition food hall, to a resident at New Cross in Ancoats, to its very own shiny restaurant at Circle Square in the blink of an eye.
From this massive new space, you can watch a team of chefs carefully making fresh pasta in the open kitchen, and glimpse their now-viral tiramisu drawer in action.
Even six months down the line, it’s damn-near impossible to book a table here, with people still waiting months to sample their delicious pastas, including fan favourites like nduja and vodka sauce, cacio e pepe bucatini, and a selection of thick-crusted pizzettas.
The tiramisu might have sent their popularity sky-high, but the quality and prices here prove that it deserves every bit of success coming its way. This place is not a novelty.
Rudy’s, Prestwich and Altrincham
Rudy’s in Altrincham. Credit: The Manc GroupRudy’s Prestwich. Credit: The Manc GroupRudy’s opened two new restaurants in Greater Manchester this year
Some might think that Rudy’s is getting a little big for its boots, now with 29 restaurants across the UK – properly impressive growth considering they were just a tiny pizzeria in Ancoats less than a decade ago.
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But these top-quality Neapolitan-style pizzas are the stuff of legend for good reason and are pulling in big crowds in every suburb they land in.
This year alone they’ve launched new restaurants in Altrincham and another in Prestwich, the latter of which has gone into a vacant bank building on the high street of the Greater Manchester suburb.
Will anything ever stop these guys in their tracks? Doubt it…
Medlock Canteen, Deansgate Square
Fresh baguettes stuffed with rotisserie chicken straight out of the oven. Credit: The Manc GroupInside Medlock Canteen. Credit: The Manc Group
Bottomless coffee, rotisserie chicken, epic sandwiches, schnitzels, and big brekkies, all served in a delightfully mid-century modern interior – we were excited for Medlock Canteen before the doors even opened.
Moving into the skyscraper neighbourhood of Deansgate Square, this place comes from the same team behind Madre (the Mexican restaurant at Kampus) and Belzan (one of Liverpool’s top restaurants).
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It’s had a few rave national reviews and pulls in a steady crowd, thanks in part to its proximity to Club de Padel. Going straight from court to cocktails is a pretty dreamy Manchester evening.
They’ll even let you order a portion of whatever the staff dinner is that night for a tenner.
Companio, Northern Quarter
Companio Bakery in the Northern QuarterMaritozzi from Companio BakeryCredit: The Manc Group
It’s always been one of Manchester’s best bakeries, but its original location on the very edges of Ancoats sort of kept it a bit too out of the way.
So when Companio announced a new spot in the heart of the Northern Quarter, bringing its loaves and pastries that little bit closer, the city centre rejoiced.
On the menu you’ll find sandwiches in freshly-baked bread, maritozzi bursting at the seams with cream, delicious coffee, seasonal bakes and loads more, in a gorgeous new cafe on an NQ back street.
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You can even pull up a seat right next to the bakery so you can sit and watch loaves being lovingly shaped and baked right in front of you – now that’s my kind of show.
Hive Stores, Altrincham
Hive Stores in Altrincham, Greater Manchester
It’s not every day that Greater Manchester gets a new business quite as beautiful as the bar at Hive Stores, which is filled with gorgeous antique furniture, a general store, and a cafe.
The business had previously operated as an antiques store from a ramshackle building out the back – but when this roadside space came up next door, they snapped it up and transformed it into a timeless, character-packed community cafe and bar.
You can pick up some eggs and have an espresso martini at the same time, tuck into a cheese board and a few glasses of wine, grab a Half Dozen Other pastry, or sit on the pavement with a spritz and people-watch.
It’s operated by Steven Sherratt and Gareth Wilkins and you’re guaranteed a warm welcome every time. A must-visit.
Dishes at Stow are seasonal and cooked over open fire. Credit: The Manc GroupStow in Manchester
This is the newest spot on the list, and if you’ve not already jumped on the bandwagon it’s one to add to your list for 2025.
What sets Stow apart from the rest is its innovative cooking style – no ovens, no conventional appliances, just fire and grill. Everything on the menu – even their bread and cake – is cooked over open fire.
They’ve totally transformed the space on Bridge Street too, which has at various points over the last few years been a futuristic coffee shop, a Thai BBQ restaurant, and a wine bar.
Stow is owned and operated by Matt Nellany and Jamie Pickles from Trof, who want to celebrate the ‘simplicity of great ingredients cooked over open fire with very little faff’.
Cheese and kimchi on toast at Caravan in Manchester
It would be quicker to list what Caravan doesn’t serve than what it does, but every single thing on their all-day menu is executed to the highest degree.
From brunches to sourdough pizzas, coffee to cocktails, grain bowls to brioche puddings, the menu harks from sunny New Zealand (as do its three co-founders).
Caravan is a wildly popular name down in London and finally landed here in Manchester in the summer, with a massive new 170-capacity restaurant and a full working roastery.
Menu highlights include jalapeño cornbread with chilli butter, Korean-style buttermilk fried chicken with kimchi pancakes, and, of course, fry-ups.
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RamenShop, Northern Quarter
Ramenshop in the Northern Quarter. Credit: The Manc Group
Alright this one technically isn’t a new opening, rather a rebrand – but something about that shiny new sign above the door made us fall back in love with RamenShop (formerly Tokyo Ramen) all over again.
The team who run the show here – Janven, Marc and Mark – have actually been given partial ownership of the restaurant, which is a lovely bit of positive hospitality news for a change, isn’t it?
Their concise menu sees 12-hour chicken broth bases piled high with perfect noodles, proteins and jammy eggs, including their best-selling ‘fire’ ramen, topped with crunchy koji-fried chicken, and the classic shoyu that’s topped with torched pork belly.
Georgina Pellant -
10th August 2023 
