More freebies are being handed out in town today to celebrate Manchester United’s final Champions League group game, courtesy of the popular chain, German Doner Kebab, who will be handing free kebabs to those first in line.
However, there’s a catch…
With United playing Bundesliga and European football giants Bayern Munich as they cling on to a sliver of hope that they might somehow make it through to the knockouts, you can only get your hands on a free kebab from the city centre food spot if you order in German.
And no, you can’t just say ‘kebab bitte‘.
Between 11am and 5pm on Tuesday, 12 December, German Doner Kebab’s Oxford Road site will be handing out a total of 100 free kebabs to the first people in line, so long as you say the right phrase when ordering.
ADVERTISEMENT
But don’t worry, you don’t have to be a fluent German speaker because they’ve given you the sentence in full: “Kann ich bitte einen OG Kebab bestellen?” (‘Can I please order an OG kebab?’).
We’re already sincerely looking forward to you all butchering Deutschland’s beautiful albeit sometimes aggressive-sounding language.
ADVERTISEMENT
There might be plenty at stake for Man United tonight and a history of fierce rivalry between the two clubs (‘late in May in 1999…’), but I’m sure we can all come together in harmony over one universal truth — free food is the best kind of food. Mancunian or German, we can all agree on that, surely?
Once again, this offer will only be available to the first 100 people to say the German phrase to an acceptable level at the Oxford Road location, and you can enjoy it right there in-store or to takeaway.
For those of you who’ve never tried one of their kebabs before, they’re well worth queuing up for regardless; prepared right in front of you, they combine premium, lean meats imported from Germany, fresh, locally sourced salad, served in their world-famous toasted waffle bread and with unique signature sauces.
ADVERTISEMENT
The brand has been a big hit with local fans since it opened in late 2021 and now has over 130 restaurants in the UK alone, including four here in Greater Manchester, but only one is handing out free kebabs.
Lastly, while that might be German Doner’s only proviso for getting your hands on a free kebab, our only condition for sharing this information with you is that you don’t show yourself if you bump into an opposition fan in the line: we want well behaved Mancs doing their best to speak the language.
Lively Irish pub Nancy Spains set to open in Manchester for the first time
Daisy Jackson
An Irish bar famed for its live music is heading up to Manchester for the first time, and is promising £2.50 pints to lure us in.
Nancy Spains will be venturing out of London for the first time promising to bring the ‘ultimate traditional Irish pub experience’ to the Northern Quarter.
If you were to ask what the hottest trend in hospitality is right now the answer would, apparently, be Guinness. We’re drowning in the stuff.
This latest opening is more about Murphy’s, another Irish stout, than Guinness (they actually won’t serve Guinness at all) but the craic will be much the same.
Nancy Spains is actually set to open almost directly opposite the aforementioned Salmon of Knowledge, taking over the former Corner Boy unit on Stevenson Square in the heart of Manchester.
To celebrate its opening, the pub will be serving its first 5000 pints of Murphy’s for just £2.50, so that it can show off the atmosphere that’s established it as ‘one of London’s favourite pubs’.
They’re promising an array of Irish whiskeys behind the bar, live music performances, and a lively late-night setting.
Nancy Spains was set up by three brothers who travelled all over their home county of rural Kerry researching Irish pubs, before launching two venues down in London.
They want it to balance a traditional pub with the vibrancy of the city.
Peter O’Halloran, co-founder of Nancy Spains commented, “We’re so excited to be launching in Manchester, bringing Nancy Spains to the heart of the Northern Quarter.
“After the success of our two venues in London, it was only right to bring Nancy Spains’ infectious spirit and Irish pride to Manchester. Slainte!”
Nancy Spains will open its first Manchester pub on Saturday 15 March at 21 Hilton Street.
Lucky Mama’s – The Italian restaurant serving pasta in a dough bowl and ‘pregnant’ pizzas
Daisy Jackson
Lucky Mama’s is a local sensation, thanks to its slightly whacky but delicious Italian creations like pasta served in a bowl made of pizza dough and its latest offering, a ‘pregnant’ pizza.
What on Earth is a pregnant pizza, you ask? Firstly we should stress this is a nickname we’ve bestowed upon the dish, rather than Lucky Mama’s chosen branding.
But essentially it’s a helping of fresh pasta that’s folded into the bubble crust of the pizza, like a half-calzone.
Lucky Mama’s started life when founders Mamadou Dhiam and Gaby Santos set up a trailer in their backyard in Eccles in the depths of lockdown.
But thanks to a formidably loyal following that’s spread the word of Lucky Mama’s far and wide, it now has two pretty pink restaurants in Greater Manchester.
Back in 2022, they threw open the doors to their Chorlton restaurant, before returning back to home turf for spot number two in Monton in 2024.
The recipes are fresh and pretty authentically Italian up until the last step, when they throw a curveball by loading their pasta into unconventional vessels.
‘Pregnant’ pizzas at Lucky Mama’sTraditional Roman pizzasLucky Mama’s pink restaurant in Chorlton
Their pasta pizza bowls are what they’re best known for and they fly out of the kitchen – this is where pizza dough is placed around a metal bowl before being baked in an oven.
Then it’s piled high with freshly made pasta, with popular flavours like cacio e pepe, mushroom alfredo, and rasta pasta.
Pasta is available in a regular ceramic bowl too.
You’ll find Lucky Mama’s at 565 Barlow Moor Road in Chorlton; and 217 Monton Road in Eccles.
Danny Jones -
12th December 2023 
