An alternative Christmas market with flaming mulled wine and independent food traders is coming to Manchester

There’s a new Christmas destination worth your time in Manchester this winter – and it’s a very different offering to the traditional Manchester Christmas Markets.

This brand-new winter venue will include a 200-capacity heated tent, bars serving flaming mulled wines, and will have a food and drink offering that features some of our city’s top independent businesses.

Christmas at St John’s will be operated by GRUB – and if you love to spend your spare time in a market setting, you’ll already know you couldn’t be in more trustworthy hands than this.

The GRUB team, champions of independent food and drink in Manchester, will be teaming up with St John’s on this lively winter hideaway.

At the centre of everything will be a Feuerzangenbowle bar, serving flaming mulled wines, with pop-ups from resident favourites like Trading Route and Stables Tavern as well as Good Wines and Verdant brewery.

Expect a revolving door of the region’s most exciting chefs and traders, serving unique festive dishes you won’t find anywhere else.

There’ll be eight rotating street food traders across the month-long event. Some of the names taking part include Soots (the Altrincham Market plant-based pasta kitchen that recently opened its first restaurant in the Northern Quarter); BAB with gormet kebabs; and Akin Club serving Middle Eastern small plates.

There’ll also be a Jims Table x Good Wines small plates and wine pairing collab, plus Knights BBQ with Jamaican flavours, and Yorkshire legends Spud & Bros with poutine too.

This alternative Christmas Market will have you tucking into open-fire cooking, hand-rolled pasta, tandoor dishes, nostalgic Christmas comfort food, and GRUB’s take on classic bratwursts.

Christmas at St John’s is promising to be a ‘celebration of creativity, quality and culture that brings together everything Manchester does best: independent food, crafted drinks and a sense of community you won’t find anywhere else’.

You’ll even be able to reserve and collect your Christmas tree from here, right in the centre of town.

There’ll be live entertainment all season, like Matty White’s festive food quiz, comedy nights, alternative choirs, and more.

It will all take place with a cosy 200-capacity heated tent and 60-metre custom-built event space.

Bailey, GRUB’s Director, says: “We’ve pulled out all the stops for this one. Calling on our trusted partners from years of delivering street food events across Manchester, we’re creating something truly unique this Christmas.

“You won’t find these offerings anywhere else. Christmas at St. John’s is all about good food, proper drinks and creating special Christmas memories.

“It’s also a taste of what’s to come as we work with Allied London to bring GRUB’s flagship home to life at Grape Street next year.”

Christmas at St John’s will run from Thursday 20 November until Sunday 21 December and will be open from Wednesday to Sunday every week.

See more HERE.

Read more

• Manchester Christmas Markets 2025 – dates, locations, and essential information
• First look inside Gulliver’s World Land of Lights as magical lantern trail returns
• Stockport’s ‘captivating’ Christmas festival is back with 50 FREE shows and hundreds of performers

Featured image: Supplied