A group of restaurants in Manchester has launched its festive food offering – featuring gravity-defying Christmas food.
The Botanist – which has sites on Deansgate, at MediaCityUK, and in Didsbury – will be serving a festive twist on its popular hanging kebabs this year.
The Christmas skewers will feature orange glazed turkey with all the trimmings, The Hoot reports.
There’s also now an option to turn it into a sharing kebab that includes a chicken, a crispy halloumi and a lamb kofta kebab on a triple-skewer rack.
Served with properly seasoned fries, coleslaw, hummus and flatbread, it’s the perfect option for three diners to tuck into.
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Image: Supplied
Another delicious new addition is the turkey and camembert burger with maple glazed bacon and cranberry sauce. The best bit? It comes with a giant pig in blanket sat right on top of it.
There’s also a great selection of new starters and side dishes on the menu, including straight up bowls of pigs in blankets glazed with orange and cranberry, a sharing baked truffle camembert fondue and a three-cheese baked mac ‘n’ cheese.
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Image: Supplied
Can’t decide between all these festive goodies? Don’t worry because you don’t have to. The Botanist’s hot sharing board now comes with tater tot poutine, turkey koftas, Cumberland scotch egg, mussels in fragrant curry sauce and mac ‘n’ cheese.
The vegan option includes bang bang cauliflower, superfood salad, sweet potato houmous, crispy porcini gnocchi with truffle mustard mayo and roasted tomato soup. It’s the perfect food to nibble on whilst enjoying a few festive drinks between friends.
Image: Supplied
The sweet toothed out there can tuck into The Botanist’s signature warm cookie dough dessert that has had a seasonal makeover and now comes with After Eights or Celebrations.
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Speaking bout the launch of the new seasonal dishes, James Scott, Executive Chef at The Botanist said: “This time of year is all about celebration and enjoying good food with loved ones and that feels even more so the case this winter after our get-togethers have been restricted for the past couple of Christmases.
Image: Supplied
“With this menu we wanted to showcase a modern take on comfort food with festive flavours that taste luxurious and indulgent, offering our diners a seasonal update to the signature dishes they’ve come to know and love when visiting our restaurants.”
Manchester’s first banana pudding bar has opened in the city centre
Clementine Hall
Make sure to save room for pudding…because one of the city’s most-talked about dessert brands has found a new home.
Buttercup launched last summer, creating little pots of the hit US dessert made famous by the iconic Magnolia Bakery.
Each dessert features vanilla custard whipped with cream, soft sponge, and fresh banana, which you can then customise with rotating flavours and toppings.
And after a brief disappearance from the Manchester foodie scene, Buttercup is back with a bang with their beautiful new home on Deansgate.
Images: The Manc Group
And when we say beautiful, we really mean it.
Glossy burgundy tiles, butter yellow walls and sleek chrome furniture make up the space beneath the huge arched window, and there’s even a few seats for you to enjoy your pud and watch the world go by.
Open daily from 10am til 10pm, the menu includes three puddings on rotation ready to scoop.
Images: The Manc Group
Choose from the classic banana, indulgent tiramisu and an ever-changing seasonal special, alongside a wall of toppings for you to customise your own pud.
Each recipe has been perfected in-house and the proof really is in the banana pudding…because it tastes just as good as it looks.
Since launching, Buttercup has served around 50,000 puddings, hosted sell-out pop-ups across the city, collaborated with some huge brands, and built a loyal following around its signature build-your-own pudding bar.
Image: The Manc Group
With this new standalone space, you’ll of course be able to indulge in its signature banana pudding, as well as breakfast yoghurt bowls, coffee and matcha.
Officially opening tomorrow Saturday 26 September, the first 50 customers will get a free topping and sauce with the purchase of any pudding, plus a free lip gloss from Manchester-born beauty brand REFY.
‘Remember to support genuine independents’ – Manchester’s rotisserie chicken bistro Tartuffe announces closure
Emily Sergeant
Rotisserie chicken bistro Tartuffe has called final orders on its time at popular city centre hangout, Side Street.
Serving some of the best rotisserie chicken in Manchester – ‘sexy chicken’, if you will – Tartuffe first landed at Side Street inside the ABC Building back in the later summer of 2024, and quickly became known and loved by critics and customers alike for not just their rotisserie options, but also their stylish bar snacks and standout sides.
But despite being a roaring success these past two years, Tartuffe took to social media this week to announce the end of the ‘longest pop-up ever’, with its final service being tomorrow (25 September).
Tartuffe will be leaving Side Street this Friday / Credit: The Manc Group
Announcing its closure on Instagram, Tartuffe wrote: “That’s right, our time at Side Street has come to an end and our final service here is this Friday.
“It’s been an incredible two and a half years cooking for the wonderful people of Manchester and we’re hugely thankful to everyone who’s been to see us whilst we’ve been here.
“Another big thanks to the staff at Side Street who we’ve loved working with. We’ve made some great friends and worked with some absolutely brilliant people.
Clementine Hall -
19th November 2022 
