One of Greater Manchester’s coolest new restaurants has quietly opened in recent months, and if you’re looking in the direction of Ancoats, turn around – we’re off to Stalybridge.
This often-overlooked town in Tameside has welcomed Cafe Continental, a charming little neighbourhood restaurant that feels like it’s been plucked from a pretty Parisian back street.
With its cafe curtains, red leather furniture and wood-panelled walls, it feels like the sort of local hangout that’s been here for decades.
But Cafe Continental is barely eight weeks old, and already firmly finding its feet as one of the region’s most exciting newcomers.
As with all good neighbourhood restaurants, the menu spans breakfast all the way through lunch and dinner and into cocktails, stopping off for an epic Sunday roast too.
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It’s also got 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.
Inside Cafe Continental in Stalybridge. Credit: The Manc GroupThe Paris hot chocolate. Credit: The Manc GroupInside Cafe Continental in Stalybridge. Credit: The Manc Group
This place might have caught the attention of the social media food crowd, but it’s far from gimmicky.
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On its menu you’ll find classics that will stand the test of time, like giant tiger prawns with garlic butter, ribeye beef, flame-roasted chicken, croquettes and hand-dived scallops.
There’s a lunch menu that will stop you in your tracks – think seasonal soups with wedges of bouncy focaccia, spicy twice-fried chicken buns, and a steak sandwich with fries.
There’s also an excellent cacio e pepe pasta, served with an egg yolk on top that you can pop and twirl into the pasta.
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It’s co-owned and created by Ryan Robinson, who’s quick to point out that Cafe Continental isn’t the first restaurant worth travelling for in Stalybridge, which already has a deep-rooted independent food scene.
The fried chicken bun. Credit: The Manc GroupCacio e pepe pasta. Credit: The Manc Group
“We’ve already got some really good food establishments in the area,” he said, “With Gladstone and SK15 and Guiseppes, so the skeleton’s there with Stalybridge, you just need to have some meat on the bones, really.
“And obviously, like we’ve jumped in and hopefully that adds value to the area and then hopefully we see a few more drinking and dining establishments.
“There’s loads of space for development in Stalybridge, and it’s just gonna get better and better.”
Ryan says his inspiration comes from his travels to cities around Europe, and the sort of off-the-beaten-track, full-of-locals restaurants that are so often the most memorable part of a holiday.
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“No matter where you are, whether it’s France or Italy or Spain, there’s always that one restaurant you seem to find that’s set in the back streets, and it’s busy and it’s noisy and the food’s amazing, and you end up having such a good time on the off chance, that you just want to tell everyone about it.
Soup and focaccia at Cafe Continental. Credit: The Manc GroupCod bites and a chicken bun. Credit: The Manc Group
“You want to stay there all night, and that was kind of the inspiration for Cafe Continental.
“We just wanted to make a really buzzy local place.”
Ryan, who previously worked as a DJ and across the hospitality industry, has always had a big passion for food.
He’s teamed up with a good friend who is his head chef, and a couple of other friends as business partners, who just ‘believed in the idea and trusted it’.
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It seems to be paying off, with Cafe Continental already luring people out of the city centre to visit, and drawing in a decent returning local crowd.
Ryan finished by saying: “Support locally this Christmas – there’s a lot of great restaurants in Stalybridge and the surrounding areas that are working hard to bring people the best Christmas possible.
“So if everyone can support local, that would be amazing.”
Cafe Continental is open now at 5 Melbourne St, Stalybridge, SK15 2JE.
Brand-new sandwich shop with Michelin credentials ALREADY forced to close
Daisy Jackson
A brand-new sandwich shop in Oldham founded by a Michelin-trained chef has had to close its doors already… because it’s simply too popular.
Fjord launched over the weekend, headed up by chef Kieran O’Reilly, with a fine-dining-inspired take on the humble butty. That means sandwiches with up to 20 elements inside.
But the sandwich bar above a barbershop has had to unexpectedly close after just a day of operations, telling followers ‘this isn’t sustainable’.
Fjord’s opening day on Saturday was so popular, they completely sold out within 90 minutes.
The new restaurant said it was having to turn people away from its Lees location, saying it ‘doesn’t sit right’ with them to do so.
And so Kieran and his team have decided to close the sandwich. bar and kitchen for the time being, so that they can reevaluate their operations.
“We’d rather pause briefly now than compromise on quality later,” they wrote in a statement.
“We need a little time to rework our production, increase our capacity, strengthen our supply chain and make sure we can deliver the quality and experience that Fjord stands for, without people queuing endlessly or missing out.”
Saddleworth’s new sandwich bar and kitchen with Michelin credentialsKieran O’Reilly (right) has launched Fjord in Lees
Over the next couple of days, Fjord will be meeting with their investors to stock up on more stand mixers, and more produce, so that they can scale the business to meet the incredible demand from locals.
In their full statement, they wrote: “Over the last few days, the support for Fjord has completely exceeded anything we could have imagined. From local customers to food bloggers, content creators and everyone who’s made the journey to see what we’re about, thank you.
“Today was our official launch, and the response has been overwhelming. We sold through what we expected to be a week’s worth of ingredients in a single day. The feedback on our sandwiches has been incredible, and seeing so many people enjoy what we’ve created has been a proud moment for the whole team.
“The only downside … We’ve had to turn people away. That doesn’t sit right with us. So we’re going to be closing for the next two days.
“Not because anything is wrong, but because everything has gone right.
“We need a little time to rework our production, increase our capacity, strengthen our supply chain and make sure we can deliver the quality and experience that Fjord stands for, without people queuing endlessly or missing out.
“This isn’t a step backwards; it’s a step towards building something sustainable, consistent and worthy of the support you’ve shown us.
“We’d rather pause briefly now than compromise on quality later.
“Thank you for your patience, your support and for believing in what we’re building. We’ll be back very soon, better prepared, fully stocked and ready to welcome even more of you through the door.
“This is only the beginning. All food options, booking and concepts reworked, all announced over the next days. Wednesday morning 9am.”
Manchester champagne bar launches new £155 menu of ‘exceptional’ single-bite dishes
Daisy Jackson
The UK’s first dedicated champagne boutique, Portfolio, is finally ready to launch its restaurant experience – and it’s like nothing Manchester has seen before.
The luxury champagne bar on Bridge Street has unveiled a new restaurant concept built entirely around ‘the perfect bite’, with diners able to enjoy up to 18 single-mouthful dishes for £155 per person (or 14 dishes for £135pp).
At lunchtimes, Portfolio will offer a 10 course menu for £75pp, with an optional wine pairing.
The intimate nine-table restaurant is the latest venture from acclaimed chef Julian Pizer, formerly of Another Hand and Edinburgh Castle, who says he wanted to focus on the one bite guests remember long after a meal has finished.
Rather than serving traditional tasting menu courses, every dish is designed to be eaten in a single mouthful, paired with some of the world’s finest and rarest champagnes and wines.
Diners are encouraged to tackle each course in one go – no matter how tempting it might be to savour it a little longer.
As co-founder Pizer explains: “I’ve always been drawn to the most memorable part of any meal – that single perfect bite, the one you remember long after the meal.
Beef fat hash, beef tartare, horseradish and Bloody Mary gel, served on top of champagne corks Carrot tart, gooseberry, fresh curds in thin crispy pastryhiso leaf taco with spring shoots, citrus vinaigrette, blackcurrant wood
“This menu is built around that idea: big flavour, perfect balance, all in one mouthful, designed to sit seamlessly alongside great Champagne.”
Highlights include a chicken and oyster tempura skewer topped with sour cream and chives, a carrot tart packed with gooseberries and fresh curds, and a beef-fat hash crowned with beef tartare and Bloody Mary gel, dramatically served on champagne corks.
One standout dish is a decadent lobster roll enriched with pork fat, where crispy brioche provides the perfect contrast to sweet Cornish lobster, cucumber, celery and apple.
Elsewhere, a refreshing shiso leaf taco with spring shoots and citrus vinaigrette offers a palate-cleansing break before richer dishes including Chinese-style pork belly with white kimchi, and a duck course featuring breast, confit meatball and duck neck sausage.
Some of the paired wines with the Portfolio lunch menu in ManchesterInside Portfolio ManchesterSome of the paired wines with the Portfolio lunch menu in Manchester
Dessert arrives in the form of a kiwi marshmallow-style treat with blackberry, mint and a dusting of icing sugar.
The drinks are no afterthought either. Portfolio houses more than 250 champagnes from over 70 producers, and diners can add carefully matched champagne pairings to either the 14-course (£135) or 18-course (£155) menu.
With only 24 covers available at any one time, the experience is intentionally relaxed. There’s just a single sitting each service, meaning guests can linger over their food and fizz for as long as they like.
For those not ready to commit to 18 bites in one sitting, Portfolio’s bar remains open six days a week, offering a more casual snack menu alongside its extensive champagne list.
Pizer describes the concept as his chance to experiment freely and, above all, ‘make food fun again’.
Daisy Jackson -
31st October 2024 
