A cocktail experience inspired by the fantastical world of Alice in Wonderland is heading to Greater Manchester this summer.
The Alice Cocktail Experience will invite people into a colourful, spellbinding tea party setting, complete with The Mad Hatter orchestrating the whole thing.
Guests will create their own cocktails which will get ‘curiouser and curiouser’, the organisers say, while enjoying a 90 minute live show.
Themed cakes and a venue decorated with bright flowers, teapots and neon signs will add to the illusion that you’ve taken a trip to Wonderland.
The Alice Cocktail Experiences comes from Once Upon A Bar, who have run similar events at venues across the globe already.
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And for their trip to Manchester, they’ll be creating a fully themed bar at Broadway, the diner where staff serenade you with musical hits.
You’ll dive down the rabbit hole (… The Trafford Centre) to experience the magic of Wonderland, with the experience including themed activities like painting and eating ‘Eat Me’ sweet treats.
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An Alice in Wonderland-inspired cocktail tea party is coming to the Trafford Centre. Credit: Publicity picture
There’ll be a carefully created menu of cocktails and mocktails, with an element of magic to all of them.
Each ticket includes one free drink, with plenty more to choose from throughout the 90 minutes.
Organisers say: “Indulge in an interactive tea party like no other, designed for those who possess an insatiable thirst for wonder.
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“The Alice Cocktail Experience guarantees to be the ultimate tea party, leaving you mesmerised and spellbound. This experience has been a global hit and each city’s venue is uniquely decorated.
“Create your own liquid concoctions under the watchful eye of The Mad Hatter and expect things to get curiouser and curiouser. Dive down the rabbit hole into a fantasy world where you will experience firsthand the magic of Wonderland, paint the roses red and devour an ‘Eat Me’ sweet treat!
“Come and explore the magic in the heart of Manchester and join the tea party to end all tea parties.”
The Alice Cocktail Experience will take place on Mondays and Tuesdays between 20 May and 20 August at Broadway at the Trafford Centre.
Family behind Salvi’s launch new concept, weeks after iconic restaurant closure
Daisy Jackson
Just weeks after the closure of its iconic, 16-year-old Italian restaurant in the Corn Exchange, the family behind Salvi’s have revealed a brand-new concept.
And this time, the reins are being handed over to the next generation.
Salvi’s founder Maurizio Cecco has helped to shape Amò, but it’s all the brainchild of his daughter, Sienna.
Sienna will run the business out of a unit up on Deansgate Mews, serving fresh pasta dishes, pizza sandwiches, tubs of tiramisu, and two-for-£10 spritzes.
The deli aspect of the original Salvi’s has been carried over to Amò too – you’ll find shelves almost to the ceiling filled with Italian pasta, wine, olive oils, pistachio spreads, and more.
Sienna has grown up in restaurants, with her parents launching Salvi’s when she was just two years old.
She said she wants the space to be a livelier, fresher version of the Italian restaurant that has been so loved by Mancs for so many years.
Sienna outside AmòFresh pasta dishesInside Amò by Salvi’sTheir viral frozen crema di caffeLemon granitaInside Amò by Salvi’sTiramisu pots
Amò, which is Neapolitan slang for ‘my love’, will have loads of fresh Italian dishes, including arancini, gnocchi, and hearty pasta plates.
At lunchtimes, guests can order from a £10 lunch menu, with dishes changing daily depending on the best produce the kitchen can get – it could be a pizza sandwich with proscuitto and tomato, a spicy pasta, or a gnocchi bake, always served with your choice of soft drink.
With its position on Deansgate Mews, Amò basks in the sunshine at lunchtimes.
And while it’s definitely a different concept to the original Salvi’s, Amò looks set to carry the family’s Italian food legacy into its next generation.
Award-winning Didsbury bakery La Chouquette reveals incredible new site
Daisy Jackson
La Chouquette is one of Greater Manchester’s top bakeries – an award-winner, with queues down the street every weekend for its authentic French pastries and loaves.
And now they’re ready for a new chapter, revealing a major expansion today.
Owners Catrina and Flo have painstakingly expanded the bakery into the unit next door, creating what feels like a true French bakery.
And in the midst of this huge renovation project, they’ve welcomed a tiny new baby boy – quite the summer for the couple.
Catrina and Flo launched La Chouquette in lockdown, and in a time where people could only get their hospitality fix from takeaways, immediately became one of the most popular spots in the region.
Their success has been so great, you’ll still consistently find queues down the street every weekend, for their top sellers like their authentic almond croissants.
Then in October 2024, they grew the business and launched Piqniq, a new deli in Didsbury village, serving freshly-baked baguette sandwiches, breakfast butties, toasties, tiramisu pots and their legendary pastries.
The new-look La Chouquette features beautiful details like mosaic floors, rich blue walls, wooden shelves, and brass light fixtures.
La Chouquette’s best-selling almond croissantsInside the stunning new La Chouquette in DidbsuryNew savoury bakesThe chausson aux pommesThe counter stuffed with artisan French bakesChocolate chip cookies and cinnamon buns
The huge new counter displays more pastries and breads than ever before, like a hearty chausson aux pommes filled with apples that will be perfect for autumn, plus seasonal treats like a rhubarb creme brulee pastry, and homemade quiche.
Speaking at the grand relaunch today, Catrina said: “The layout has changed, it looks so much more chic, it looks like a traditional French bakery. We’re really excited about it.”
As for what’s on the counter, Flo reassured fans that their beloved almond and pistachio croissants remain, but with some new savoury editions, like a truffle croque monsieur made with croissant dough.
La Choquette has reopened today, and will be open seven days a week from 7am until 5pm.
Daisy Jackson -
7th April 2024 
