Eats

Team behind Ramona and Diecast to launch new pizza project – with 10,000 pizza giveaway

Here's how to claim yours...

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 13th August 2024

A brand new Detroit-style pizza spot is set to open in Manchester in the coming months, from the team behind Ramona, Firehouse and Diecast.

Detroit Slims will be serving 10″ long rectangular pizzas, made fresh to order, with prices starting from just £5.

And to celebrate its opening at Circle Square on Oxford Road (which is also home to Onda, Hello Oriental and the new self-serve beer bar The Tap House), Detroit Slims will be giving away 10,000 pizzas for free. More on that later…

The new quick-service pizza joint will be serving up Detroit-style pizzas, which are made with a light and fluffy textured base using a special 48-hour, slow-fermented focaccia dough.

Toppings will include the Cheese Burger Slim, BBQ Meat Feast and the Shroom Slim – with the standout signature The Pepperoni Crown.

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The individual-sized pizzas – known as ‘The Slims’ – are a perfect match for house-made dips including Kimchi Mayo, Hot Honey, and Dill and Jalapeño Ranch.

As for sides, there’ll be dishes including chicken tenders tossed in homemade cajun pepper and crispy scooper fries.

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There’ll also be thick ‘Slim Shaky’ milkshakes, with flavours like banoffee pie and a Detroit-style ‘Bumpy Cake’ (vanilla, chocolate and butterscotch cake), plus ice cream sandwiches, cookie trays and soft-serve ice creams.

Detroit Slims is a brand new pizza project in Manchester from the team behind Ramona. Credit: Supplied
Detroit Slims is a brand new pizza project in Manchester from the team behind Ramona. Credit: Supplied
Detroit Slims is a brand new pizza project in Manchester from the team behind Ramona. Credit: Supplied

The restaurant space will span 1800 sq ft at Circle Square, and is just a three-minute walk from Oxford Road station.

Guests will be able to dine in the 30-cover restaurant, takeaway, or order their pizzas on Deliveroo.

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The team behind Manchester’s wildly popular venues Ramona, Diecast, and The Firehouse are now gearing up to launch Detroit Slims, inspired by their love of Manchester’s ‘twin city’.

Dan Mullen, director at Detroit Slims, commented: “Detroit Slims has been in the works for a while now and we are so excited to finally introduce this new concept. Detroit has been a city close to our hearts since we first visited, so much so, we brought a piece of it back home when we opened Ramona in 2021. Detroit Slims is the newest iteration of our love for Detroit-style pizza!

“We’re so excited to finally introduce the Slims brand to our home city of Manchester, and eventually bring Detroit-style pizza to everyone UK-wide!”

Detroit Slims is a brand new pizza project in Manchester from the team behind Ramona. Credit: Supplied
They’re giving away 10,000 pizzas to celebrate the launch. Credit: Supplied

Will Taplin, executive chef for Detroit Slims, commented: “We’re confident that everyone will love our pizza just as much as we do.

“All Detroit Slims pizzas will be completely homemade, made up of proper ingredients – making for high-quality fast food that will leave you feeling good. All of our bases will be made right here in the city, and eventually, as the brand grows, they will be shipped across the country to reach our other locations.

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“There is nothing like Detroit Slims in the UK, and we’re ready to introduce ourselves with some proper American hospitality.”

Matt Pazos, retail commercial manager for Bruntwood SciTech (which is behind Circle Square), shared: “Curating a broad range of restaurants, bars and retail venues for businesses and the general public to enjoy and explore has been crucial to realising our ambitious vision for Circle Square.

“We’re delighted to welcome Detroit Slims, whose team have already been so successful in the city, and this will be a great new offering for the Oxford Road Corridor knowledge quarter. Venues like theirs are what is truly bringing Circle Square to life.”

How to claim one of 10,000 free Detroit Slims pizzas

Detroit Slims is giving away 10,000 free pizzas to celebrate its launch – that’s the equivalent of more than 23 American football pitches when you line them up.

To claim your free pizza, you just need to be one of the first 10,000 people to sign up for the newsletter here.

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You’ll then receive a unique code to order your free Slim during their first few weeks of opening.

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Featured image: Supplied, Detroit Slims

Eats

Almost Famous announce they are closing their Withington restaurant in candid statement

Danny Jones Danny Jones Almost Famous closing Withington restaurant

The unfortunate hospitality news just keeps coming, it seems, as Almost Famous have announced they will soon be closing their Withington restaurant.

A staple of the Manchester foodie scene for over a decade now and with a growing empire across the North, the ‘dirty burger’ pioneers aren’t just one of the most recognisable restaurant names in Greater Manchester, they’re tastemakers and have been for years.

However, unlike the OG site in the Northern Quarter which first began blowing burger fans away back in 2012, their Great Northern Warehouse venue or their locations in Leeds, Almost Famous‘ Withington site simply isn’t working.

In truth, their most recent restaurant and fifth all-told had been struggling for a while and it was only back in May that they were thanking customers for helping them ‘pull through’ a rough patch, but it seems they’ve sadly slumped back into being quiet and can no longer continue in this fashion.

Explaining in the lengthy and clearly emotional statement, beloved owner Beau Myers wrote: “Announcement (sad sh***y one, sorry).

Sorry to say we will be closing the Withington branch of Almost Famous. It’s not working, we’re not busy enough and it’s dragging us down.

“Really sorry to disappoint you guys, we’ve tried and we’ve pushed and you’ve been amazing for supporting us, this just isn’t the one. Sometimes you have to hold your hands up, admit you f****d up, learn from your mistakes limit the damage and move on.

“We got sucked in with perhaps the most beautiful site ever in the wrong location (for us). It really is/was my fav[ourite] famous and I’m gutted it’s closing, it looks the coolest, we had the staff party there this year. I wish some of the art wasn’t straight on the wall so we could take it with us.”

almost famous withington
Almost Famous Withington will be closing after their final dinner service next weekend. (Credit: The Manc Group)

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They go on to add: “We will be closing after service on Sunday 22nd (next weekend). Please come down and say goodbye and enjoy this beautiful place one last time before it goes forever. There will be drinks and tears and laughs.

Having visited the particular branch a few times ourselves not only in a work capacity but in our own personal time, we can confirm the Withington restaurant had a special charm to it and we’re also very sad to see it go.

It goes without saying that the comments were filled with support, with one person writing, “This is so sad I’m so sorry: you’ve tried really hard. Sad loss for Withington”, and another adding, “Always sad when a place with friendly staff, serving good food, good drinks and at a reasonable price doesn’t make it… onwards and upwards.”

RIP Almost Famous Withy — we hope you come back one day soon and we’re sure the whole team will bounce back stronger than ever no matter what comes next for the much-loved brand.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Manc Eats/The Manc Group

Eats

Cutting Room Square’s first-ever Indian restaurant set to take over former Rigatoni’s site this month

Danny Jones Danny Jones

Manchester foodies, strap in because it’s something big because a brand-new Indian restaurant is coming to the heart of Ancoats later this month.

Indian Affair, the family-style restaurant that has already seen great success on Barlow Moor Road over in Chorlton, is now set to take over the former Rigatoni’s site (previously Sugo Pasta Kitchen and then Sud) which closed back in May.

Not only will this exciting new opening be Affair’s second location as their reputation around Greater Manchester grows but it will also be the first-ever Indian restaurant to pop up on the ever-bustling Cutting Room Square.

A real hotbed for good food in the city and culinary competition on its own, landing a lot on the square is no mean feat and if you’ve seen their food already, you’ll how exciting this is.

indian affair restaurant chorlton
what happened to rigatoni's manchester?
Credit: Indian Affair (via Facebook)/The Manc Eats

Owned by loving couple, Harshit and Natasha Chopra, the new Indian Affair venue is the first of its kind for the area, focusing on Indian small plates and thalis.

Their flagship restaurant in Chorlton only opened back in October 2022 but quickly became a hit with the locals and is sure to have the same success over in Ancoats – after all, as a city famous for the Curry Mile, it’s fair to say we’ve got a lot of love for the Indian cuisine.

Commenting on the announcement, Harshit said: “We always dreamed about opening a city centre restaurant. We’ve been totally blown away by the love for our Chorlton site and are extremely grateful to those who’ve visited and made it a success. 

“As a family, we enjoy spending time in Ancoats, exploring the restaurants and Sunday markets. Cutting Room Square has a community like no other, we felt it was the perfect space for a modern Indian restaurant.”

With a menu inspired by the couple’s favourite flavours from home back in Delhi, every dish will be hand-selected by the husband and wife duo, with thalis options – a selection of smaller plates served on an Indian-style round platter – aiming to offer guests a bit of everything, be it vegan, veggie or carnivorous.

Indian Affair also encourages guests to dine family-style, prioritising socialising, sharing, and tasting a bit of everything on the table just as much as enjoying your own meal.

Credit: Indian Affair Chorlton (supplied)

Small plates range from £5-13, with favourites including chicken tikka samosa, spinach fritters drizzled with yoghurt, tamarind and mint chutney; chargrilled lamb chops, as well as tandoori king prawns in garlic and garam masala. 

In addition to offering traditional Delhi-inspired offerings, the team has also curated dishes with more of a modern twist, including chicken and paneer bao and malai artichoke. Oh yeah, they’re clever these lot.

The menu also features classic biryanis, fluffy freshly cooked naans, parathas and rotis from the clay oven tandoor, alongside a wide selection of rice, salads and chutneys to choose from.

Better still: exclusive to the new Ancoats restaurant only, the team is also launching a new lunch menu featuring filled naan rolls, further contemporary Indian takes on loaded burgers and bao buns – all of which will be priced from £8.00 and served up with crispy masala wedges.

Sure to be a hit with the locals, for sit-in and takeaway, you’ll also be able to pick up a paneer tikka or lamb seekh rolled up inside one of those lovely garlic naans, packed with fresh onion salad, mint and coriander chutney. Hungry yet?

Or, if you fancy a proper good burger that’s a little bit different, the butter chicken burger is the passionate pair’s favourite new addition to the menu and not one to be missed. And to wash it all down, Cobra will be served on draft, met with wines, alcohol-free options and a great selection of cocktails. 

Mouthwatering stuff. (Credit: Supplied)

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Safe to say that just like co-owner Natasha, we’re very excited about this one. She added: “Our small plate concept has been a great success in Chorlton. We know the demographic in Ancoats enjoy sharing food whilst socialising, so we hope the menu will be popular.

“We’re excited to try out our new lunch menu with Indian twists on your favourite lunch classics. We’re looking forward to welcoming you all very soon.”

Indian Affair promises to showcase North Indian cuisine, inspired by Delhi’s diverse flavours and home-style cooking at its very best, whilst also reflecting both the traditional and modern sides of the city and their growing home here in Manchester.

Cutting Room Square’s newest arrival soft open on Monday, 16th September with bookings available from Friday, 20 September. See you there real soon, and we hope you’re in the mood for sharing – because we sure are.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Supplied/The Manc Group

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