Festa Italiana, the free-to-enter weekend-long festival celebrating Italian food, drink and culture is returning to Festival Piazza this August bank holiday weekend for its fifth year in the city.
Taking place from 26 to 28 August 2022 at Cathedral Gardens in Manchester city centre, it will bring together some of the city’s best Italian and Sicilian eateries alongside a host of live music, Italian bars and special chef masterclasses.
Featuring street food pop-ups from the likes of Pasta Factory, T’arricrii and Lucky Mama’s, to a dedicated Aperol Spritz bar and Airstream bar selling Italian craft lagers, and a special intimate chef’s dinner event, there is a lot for foodie fans to get excited about this year.
What is the street food line-up at Festa Italiana 2022?
Over the course of the weekend, foodie fans can enjoy sweet treats from Café Cannoli, wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas from I Knead Pizza and Proove, and ‘rasta pasta’ from Chorlton-via-Eccles favourites Lucky Mamas.
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T’arricrii will bring along handbuilt arancini and fritto misto, whilst the Pasta Factory will be on hand with its authentic plates of fresh Puglian-style pasta dishes.
Elsewhere, there’ll be sweet treats from festival founders Salvi’s, doughnuts from Destination Doughnut and grilled paninis, cakes, drinks and snacks from Kickback Coffee.
What bars are on offer at this year’s Festival Piazza?
The main festival bar will serve Italian favourites including fine Italian wine, Ponte prosecco, Luxardo, gin and tonics and other popular Italian spirits.
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An Airstream Bar from Birrificio Angelo Poretti will serve Italian craft beers, whilst an Aperol Spritz bar will be on hand serving up everyone’s favourite low-ABV aperitivo. Soft drinks and coffees will also be available on-site across the weekend.
Live music
This year, Compagnia Sole Luna will bring traditional folk music from Naples, revisited in a folk-rock style from southern Italy.
There will also be a full lineup of local artists and bands including the city’s best-loved opera singer The Manchester Tenor, while DJs will be spinning records each night.
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What events and masterclasses are taking place?
Festa Italiana Feaast – Dine with legendary Italian restaurateurs, authors, and UK TV favourites at the Festa Marquee
On Saturday 27 August an intimate chefs’ table dinner featuring top-class Italian TV celebrity chefs, Gennaro Contaldo, Giancarlo Caldesi, and Aldo Zilli, hosted and cooked by Salvis-owner Maurizio Cecco, with fresh pasta made from scratch by Carmela Serano Hayes. Guests and chefs will dine alongside one another, enjoying a four-course meal and drinks reception hosted by Gin Mare.
Carmela’s Kitchen – Carmela Sereno Hayes will be hosting ‘Carmela’s Kitchen’ across the entire weekend, with free drop-in sessions on the hour, every hour teaching pasta-loving adults and kids how to make the perfect pasta.
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Friday 26 August
1.30pm – Festival founder Maurizio Cecco hosts a cooking masterclass with his daughter Sienna.
2.30pm – The team from I Sapori di Corbara Tomatoes will be flying in from Naples and doing a talk showcasing the brand and their products
3.30pm – Giulia Martinelli of The Pasta Factory will be showyou how to be a pasta master
4.30pm – A drinks masterclass from the Luxardo Maraschino team, whose versatile cherries are used in desserts and drinks across the world.
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5.30pm – A drink making Campari masterclass.
Saturday 27 August
1.30pm – Maurizio Cecco hosts a pasta masterclass
2.30pm – Masterclasses and book signings from Gennaro Contaldo, UK brand ambassador for Parmigiano Reggiano, (Saturday Kitchen, Two Greedy Italians, Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast)
3.30pm – Masterclasses and book signings from celebrity chef and award-winning restaurateur, Aldo Zilli (The One Show, This Morning, Celebrity Masterchef)
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4:30pm – A drinks masterclass from the Aperol team, showcasing the methods behind some of the most loved Italian drinks
Sunday 28 August
1:30pm – Masterclasses and book signings from Giancarlo Caldesi (Return to Tuscany, Saturday Kitchen, Sunday Brunch
2:30pm – Gennaro Contaldo returns for a masterclass
3:30pm – A masterclass from Great British Bake Off 2021 winner Giuseppe Dell’Anno
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4:30pm – A very special pizza making masterclass by the team from Pizzeria Da Michele
When is Festa Italiana 2022 and what are the opening times?
Festa Italiana 2022 will take place from 26 to 28 August 2022 at Cathedral Gardens.
It will open across the weekend from 11am to 11pm, Friday to Sunday.
How do I get to the Festa Italiana festival hub?
Located opposite Manchester Victoria Station, the Festa Italiana festival hub sits in Cathedral Gardens. It can easily be accessed via tram, bus or train and is a short walk from Manchester Piccadilly.
Eats
City-wide celebration of beer – including a beer festival in an old swimming pool – to take over Manchester this weekend
Daisy Jackson
One of Manchester’s biggest and best-loved food and drink events is making its big comeback this week, celebrating all things beer right across the city.
Indy Man Beer Con (or IMBC)’s cornerstone event is the beer festival at the historic Victoria Baths, where the old Edwardian swimming pool is filled with bunting and bars.
IMBC was founded by Jonny Heyes of Common & Co fame back in 2012, and now brings together more than 60 brilliant breweries, including Bristol’s Lost and Found and Cheltenham’s Deya.
But the celebrating won’t be confined to Victoria Baths, with a city-wide IMBC Fringe festival also taking over other venues around Manchester.
Takeovers, events and collaborations will seep into bars right through until Sunday evening.
IMBC will be back at Victoria Baths. Credit: Jody Hartley
One of the big ones will be Runaway to Kampus, with Runaway Brewery Tap Room upping sticks and moving into the Bungalow at Kampus for the whole weekend.
The building-on-stilts at the canal-side neighbourhood will host the four-day residency, in conjunction with Nell’s Pizza and other friends of the brewery.
There’ll be fresh beer on tap plus a full selection of bottles (including a few rarities from the cellar).
Elsewhere, the award-winning Salford brewery will land at Chorlton’s beloved The Beagle all weekend, taking over the taps with keg and cask offerings.
IMBC will be back at Victoria Baths. Credit: Jody HartleyIMBC will be back at Victoria Baths. Credit: Jody Hartley
On Saturday and Sunday, the Drop Project Den will pitch up at Common with a six-tap takeover and a Shifty special pizza from Nell’s.
London’s Drop Project are known for creating fresh, premium beers that push creative boundaries.
Back at IMBC at Victoria Baths, there’ll be tasting areas, snug bars in the Turkish Baths, street food and – obviously – plenty of beer.
Traders on site will include Bundobust, Siop Shop, Tikka Chance on Me, Great North Pie, Dim Sum Su, Wholesome Junkies, Honest Crust, and Triple B.
Ticket-holders for the main event are advised to download theIMBC app, which will act as a total guide to all the beers on offer and where to find them, and will also send out alerts for pop-ups and more surprises.
Tickets get you access to the festival and a festival class, with tokens inside priced at £25 for 10 or £2.70 each, with each token entitling you to one third of beer at any Indy Man bar.
It’s a completely cashless event, and you’re encouraged to take your own vessel for water as, to minimise waste, there won’t be bottles on sale.
The new restaurants and bars opening in Manchester this month | October 2022
Georgina Pellant
Another month, another round of new openings – and there’s plenty to get stuck into.
Whether you’re into glitzy late-night hang outs, casual dining turnarounds or award-winning burritos, let’s just say there’s something on the list for you this October.
From the brand new Shogun Ramen and Bar, which sees beloved Chorlton restaurant Peck & Yard give it ‘one more shot’ with a ramen and sushi concept, to Mayfair celeb haunt Mnky Hse, keep reading to discover where to put on your list this month.
Shogun Ramen and Bar
Image: Shogun Ramen and Bar
Image: Shogun Ramen and Bar
Fans and staff alike were heartbroken when Chorlton restaurant Peck & Yard announced it was closing its doors for good in August, so we’re all happy to see the team return under a new guise.
Switching from baskets of fried chicken to steaming bowls of ramen and handrolled sushi, bosses will try something entirely new as they delve into the world of Japanese cuisine.
The concept is something they had originally considered before opening Peck & Yard, and they said that “with the times we’re in” they thought “why not go back to the original idea and give this one last shot”.
Soft launch 1 October from 5pm, open from 6 October.
Mnky Hse
Image: Mnky Hse
Image: Mnky Hse
Late-night bar and restaurant Mnky Hse (pronounced “monkey house”) is set to be taking over a space in Lloyd House this month.
First opened in Mayfair, London, in 2016, it will be the second UK site for the restaurant and its first in the north of England when it opens its doors this September.
Known for its ‘hidden entrance’, Instagram-friendly interiors, live music, extensive cocktail menu and Latin American dishes, here you’ll find a great range of tacos – both soft and crunchy – alongside a range of sushi, ceviche and grill dishes.
14 October
Tortilla, Oxford Road
Image: Tortilla
Image: Tortilla
Mexican food chain Tortilla has arrived in Manchester, bringing a new burrito shop to the Oxford Road student stretch this month.
Offering a range of award-winning burritos, nachos and tacos, you’ll also find quesadillas, chips and salsa, salad bowls and more on the menu.
The most hyped brunch restaurant in the city is opening a third site at the Circle Square development on Oxford Road at the end of this month.
With a later license allowing it to stay open longer and serve cocktails, beers and natural wines into the night, Federal Cafe & Bar will look to host occassional events at its new home
Plans for the new site include a new cafe set up, the addition of a corner shop, as well as a late alcohol license.
A new arrival in Longridge, Fell Bistro comes from former Masterchef the Professional finalist Oli Martin who previously spent eight years at four AA rosette restaurant Hipping Hall.
With head chef Rikki Hughes, previousl of Tom Kerridge’s Michelin pub The Hand and Flowers in Marlow, heading up the kitchen we expect great things.
The menu offers a selection of classic dishes with their wood fired oven and grill featuring prominently. Elsewhere, find hearty Sunday lunches and light bites.
Open now
Bread and Bowl, Spinningfields
There are carb overloads, and then there is Bread & Bowls‘ Full English breakfast in a hollowed-out loaf.
First launched in February 2020, these ginormous loaves of sourdough – stuffed with fry-up favourites like high-grade local sausages, crispy streaky bacon, beans, cheese, mushrooms, grilled tomatoes and hash browns – became something of a hungover lockdown sensation.
Now, you can find them at the new Spinningfields coffee shop 92 Degrees, housed inside the no.1 Spinningfields building Served between 8am and 4pm every day.
Open now
Bold Street Coffee, Oxford Road
Liverpool-born Bold Street Coffee has just opened its second shop here in the space of a few months.
Moving into the universities territory, the new site is found at University Green just off Oxford Road.
Serving the same menu as its Cross Street site, head down for egg boxes, signature BSC frys, and hearty bowls of super porridge and granola.
Open now
Feature image – Federal / Tortilla / The Manc Eats
Georgina Pellant -
17th August 2022 
