Everyone’s favourite festive pop-up, Bar Hutte, is ready to open in Manchester for another year of karaoke, festive drinks and live music.
The beloved wooden huts and twinkling fairy-lit spaces have reappeared, ready for their grand opening on Thursday.
Now with two sites in the city centre, Bar Hutte promises a vibrant festive atmosphere and loads of events running all the way through to the new year.
The alpine pop-up brings a taste of the apres-ski experience to two corners of Manchester – the waterside space at Kampus and Great Northern Square.
At Bar Hutte Kampus, the beautiful gardens will be made even more magical with the arrival of snug wooden karaoke huttes and an apres-ski bungalow, filled with cosy furnishings and glittering lights.
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There’ll be a full schedule of Christmas movie nights, including Love Actually and Office Christmas Party, where you can relax with a mulled wine or fizz and popcorn, plus Kids Movie Mornings with family friendly festive hits like Polar Express and The Grinch.
On 21 November, Bar Hutte Kampus will host Ginger Hunter’s Sparkling Chalet Chic Drag Night, with festive bingo, games, and karaoke.
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Nell’s Pizza is servedBar Hutte’s siganture ski shotsBombardino, hot chocolate and a Baileys martini at Bar Hutte
You’ll also be able to join in with freestyle painting workshops and wreath making sessions in the run-up to Christmas.
At the Santa Claus Club, kids will have an hour of karaoke fun and hot chocolate, plus the chance to meet Santa Claus himself.
Expect winter warmer drinks like Bombardinos and the Bar Hutte ski shot, festive cocktails, and classics like mulled wine and fizz.
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And all of that is fuelled by giant pizza slices from Nell’s, who’ll be slinging out slices and whole pies from their restaurant next door.
Bar Hutte has popped up at KampusUpstairs at Bar Hutte KampusBar Hutte has popped up at Kampus
Across town, Bar Hutte at the Great Northern will be a go-to party spot, with 14 cosy huttes under a heated stretch tent, with live singers, DJs, pizza made fresh on site and an exciting drinks menu.
Callum Winsper, operations manager at Bar Hütte, says: “We’re so pleased to bring Bar Hütte back to Manchester for another year.
“Our festive karaoke hüttes, lively courtyard and schedule of family events have become a holiday favourite in the city, and we’re proud to continue this tradition.
“We’re excited to return to both locations, Great Northern and Kampus, and we look forward to welcoming everyone – whether with friends, family, or colleagues – for another memorable Christmas season.”
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Bar Hütte at Kampus opens on 14 November, while Great Northern Square opens on 15 November. You can make a booking HERE.
Northern bakery with Greater Manchester pop-up fires back perfectly at ‘bigots’
Danny Jones
All of us were no doubt hoping to start off 2026 on a completely positive footing, but we were gutted to see some of the messages and comments received by cult Northern favourites, Finch Bakery – still, at least they responded in a pitch-perfect way.
Who doesn’t love a good comeback?
In case you haven’t seen the story yet, Lancashire-born independent business Finch Bakery were met with a series of what they have quite rightly dubbed as “ill-educated, bigoted conversations” with a number of users on social media over flagging that lots of their food is halal-friendly.
Surely just a bonus and therefore a good thing across the board, right? Well, you would think so, but unfortunately, the beloved indies were still somehow met with backlash.
Sharing their reaction in the caption to this post, sharing a glimpse at some of the remarks they received, Finch Bakery wrote: “Just in case anyone was wondering why we’re halal-friendly: we have Muslim friends. We want to be inclusive.
“Everyone deserves to be able to shop where they want based on dietary requirements, whether that’s for religious or cultural reasons, allergy or intolerance purposes, sensory reasons, or digestive disorders.
“And we will continue to try and provide a selection for all of these people as long as it’s safe for us to do so (like our lack of a GF kitchen means we cannot provide gluten-free items). It also makes business sense to try to cater to as many people as possible.
“If you’re going to slide into an inclusive business’ DMs and then immediately block them, don’t think I won’t come for you. Yes, I’m 34. Yes, I’m a mum of 2. Yes, I’m a grown-up (apparently).”
The response to the messages, which left the team and countless others among their customer base ‘rolling their eyes’, continues: “You don’t have to agree with something to respect someone’s choices. Especially when we’re not adding any meat products into our brownies.
“We will and always will be inclusive for a wider group of people, and we are proud to be halal-friendly. If you don’t like it. Please unfollow.” Well said, guys.
The bakery itself was founded by two twin sisters, Rachel and Lauren Finch, who are now approaching more than a decade of success since opening their first proper location in Great Harwood near Blackburn. They now have pop-ups as part of the Selfridges chain.
We also enjoyed how they used it as an opportunity to simply show more of their stunning menu, which – while not fully Halal Certified – has extensive disclaimers and signposting towards what is appropriate for different diets.
Many of those individuals in question are said to have unfollowed the brand on Instagram; however, their hundreds of thousands of fans across the North West and online have sent plenty of love and praise for how they handled the situation, not to mention respecting other cultures and life choices.
If you want to show your support for a brand doing things right, which also happens to be bloody delicious, go and try some of their brilliant bakes at their site in The Trafford Centre.
Featured Images — Finch Bakery (via Instagram)/The Manc Group
Eats
A restaurant dedicated to all things truffle is opening in the Northern Quarter
Daisy Jackson
A new restaurant and takeaway with a menu dedicated to truffle-infused dishes is opening in the Northern Quarter.
Mother Truffler is set to open on Tib Street, taking over the former Kingfisher chippy (which we didn’t even know had shut down).
Signs have appeared in the windows of the corner unit, which will count venues like Siop Shop and Ad Maiora as neighbours.
Mother Truffler has been successfully operating as a dark kitchen with glowing reviews on delivery platforms, but is now venturing out into its first bricks and mortar site.
Based on their delivery menu, Mother Truffler will be serving a menu of different burgers, each one featuring a truffle-infused sauce.
And there’s a gap in the market for burgers in the Northern Quarter since the closure of Super Awesome Deluxe.
Founder Youssef Taha has been sharing updates of the renovation of the space, as work gets underway to transform the old chippy into a truffle restaurant.
The new website states: “Proudly crafting truffle-rich food in the heart of Manchester. Rooted in quality. Inspired by truffle.”
And menu items are set to include smash burgers with truffle mayo, chicken burgers with truffle ranch, truffle parmesan fries, and a range of other mouth-watering sides.
Daisy Jackson -
12th November 2024 
