Gail’s has revealed the opening dates for not one but two new Manchester bakeries as the hit London bakery continues its rapid expansion into the north of England.
The customer-facing bakery and cafe chain – famed down south for its artisan sourdough breads, pastries, sandwiches, and cakes – has revealed it will open its brand new Manchester city centre site on 7 June.
Moving into the former White Stuff shop on King Street, the new bakery-cafe will be Gail’s third in the north of England.
The new bakery will serve Gail’s artisan sourdough breads, pastries, sandwiches, and cakes alongside its speciality House Blend coffee, which changes four times a year with the seasons.
An outside terrace on the historic shopping street will give fans the option to enjoy a spot of al fresco drinking and dining, whilst a lower floor space offers the chance to host local events and gatherings.
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The King Street opening will be followed later in June by a second site in Didsbury village, which is tipped to open inside the old HSBC bank on Wilmslow Road on Friday 21 June.
Ahead of its King Street opening, the beloved bakery will throw itself wholeheartedly into Manchester’s famous Flower Show, which returns on 27 and 28 May.
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The bakery will be collaborating with local artist Amy Coney, who will be live painting a floral mural onto its windows as part of the festival, as well as with award-winning local florist Chloe Robinson.
Chloe has worked with Cheshire growers to create hand posies which will be given away with a loaf of GAIL’s Waste Less Sourdough between 11-1pm on Saturday 27and Sunday 28 May whilst stocks last.
The bakery will open on King Street,trading from 6.30am-6pm Sunday-Friday and until 7pm on Saturdays.
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The opening of Gail’s bakeries in the region reinforces its long-standing ties to the area following Gail’s wholesale bakery, which opened in Openshaw in 2017.
It has since supplied high-quality, artisan breads to some of the region’s top restaurants, cafés and hotels. The new bakeries will create new careers for people in craft baking, specialty coffee and bakery management.
For the past six years, Gail’s wholesale bakery in Openshaw has been supporting FareShare as well as local schools, presenting and teaching students about the benefit of healthier craft bread.
A newly established partnership with Manchester-based EatWellMCR will allow the distribution of any surplus food to those in the region who need it most in Manchester and surrounding neighbourhoods.
Featured image – Google Maps Street View
Eats
Inside Plere, Chorlton’s sunniest new bar with great wines and tinned fish
Daisy Jackson
Chorlton’s sunniest street has a new addition, with the arrival of wine bar and small plates restaurant Plere.
The new opening comes from couple Lee and Fiona, who’ve taken up a unit on Beech Road that’s been vacant for a few years and turned into a beautiful, light-flooded neighbourhood venue.
Plere takes its name from the Latin term ‘to fulfill’, and that’s exactly what this new spot has been doing ever since its arrival last month.
Plere’s menu is made up of easy small plates, including charcuterie and cheese plates, Portuguese tinned fish, and hummus, all served with quality bread from Holy Grain.
There’s a decent selection of craft beer too, including their own lager on draught in collaboration with Cloudwater, and tonnes of different wines available by the glass.
Inside Plere in ChorltonThe sunny terrace at Plere
There pavement terrace is a proper little sun-trap too, so it’s perfect for enjoying a pint or two in the Manchester sun.
With DJs spinning vinyls until late across the weekend and a solid team on the bar, this is a new opening you should get behind.
On launch weekend, Lee and Fiona wrote: “We are completely overwhelmed by all the lovely comments and amazing responses from you all on our opening weekend.
“Thank you so much for making us feel so welcome, we look forward to seeing you soon.”
The cosy Peak District pub serving a pick’n’mix sausage and mash menu
Daisy Jackson
There’s a Peak District pub that’s turned one of Britain’s most beloved comfort foods into a full-on pick’n’mix.
Tucked away in the postcard-perfect village of Castleton, Ye Olde Nags Head is serving up a fully customisable menu of sausage and mash dishes.
We’re talking near-endless combinations of proper pub grub.
You start by choosing your sausages from a daily rotating selection (not a sentence you hear every day, but we’re into it).
Expect classics like Cumberland alongside more adventurous options like venison and mustard, or even wild boar and orange, plus a veggie sausage daily.
Then it’s onto the mash – you can go for flavours like cheese and onion, wholegrain mustard, or even black pudding mash.
Classic cumberland, mustard mash, and mushroom sauceVeggie sausage with cheese and onion mash and classic gravyTucking in
To finish? A choice of rich, hearty gravies and sauces to bring it all together, whether that’s a classic onion gravy, a peppercorn sauce, or a creamy wild mushroom sauce.
And if that wasn’t enough, you can even upgrade your bangers and mash pick’n’mix by having it all served inside a giant Yorkshire pudding.
Ye Olde Nags Head is a historic 17th-century pub, with a roaring fire in every room and cosy bedrooms upstairs.
Inside Ye Olde Nags Head pub in the Peak DistrictYe Olde Nags Head pub is near Mam Tor
It’s one of those flagstone-floored, beamed-ceilinged, mismatched-furniture type pubs that welcomes everyone in every state, whether you’re caked in mud from a hike or popping in on a coach tour.
Another of the pub’s specialties is the Derbyshire Breakfast, a hearty plate of sausage, smoked bacon, black pudding, free range egg, grilled tomatoes, field mushrooms, baked beans and fried bread.
The pub also offers takeaway breakfast butties, so you can use it for both a pre-hike stop and a post-hike pint.
Given it’s just minutes from the ever-popular Mam Tor hike, this is one pub you’ll definitely want to add to your next Peak District day out itinerary.
Georgina Pellant -
24th May 2023 
