Eats

Gooey is opening a Christmas-themed cafe in Greater Manchester

Including afternoon tea with Santa.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 28th October 2022

Gooey – the bakery that often has people queueing down the street for its chunky cookies and brioche doughnuts – has revealed plans for a Christmas cafe.

The cafe is set to offer festive afternoon teas and breakfast with Santa, as well as exclusive festive bakes.

Gooey’s 30-seat Christmas cafe will open at Selfridges next week as part of the department store’s ‘Season’s Feastings’ concept.

On the menu will be seasonal treats like a smores cookie pie, a Snowman choux, a layered chocolate orange cake and Gooey’s beloved millionaire’s shortbread with a Christmas twist.

All that will be alongside the gooey cookies and sugar-coated doughnuts the bakery is so loved for.

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Credit: The Manc Group
Credit: The Manc Group
Previous Gooey specials as bakery announces new Christmas cafe.

There’ll be boxes of cookies and doughnuts to takeaway, or diners can relax with a selection of barista coffees, boozy hot chocolate and soft drinks.

Throughout December, afternoon tea with Santa will take place every Thursday and Friday, while breakfast with Santa will run every Saturday and Sunday.

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Gooey first started selling its goods from a hatch in the Northern Quarter just before lockdown.

Since then, it’s moved into the kiosk space at Ducie Street Warehouse and more recently opened its first cafe, where the offering has expanded to include brunches and lunches.

And yes, there are still queues – this time for its unbelievable egg may sandwiches and its towering lighter-than-air French toast.

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The Gooey and Selfridges Trafford cafe will be open Monday to Sunday, in line with the department store’s opening hours.

It will open on Tuesday 1 November at the Trafford Centre – you can follow them on Instagram for updates.

Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Deliveroo is knocking 25% off takeaways for parts of Greater Manchester this month

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

Deliveroo is going to be slashing takeaway bills by 25% for people in parts of Greater Manchester.

The delivery giant is offering up the discount from today all the way through to the new year.

It means that locals in the city centre, as well as Chorlton, Didsbury and Rusholme, will be able to save 25% on their Deliveroo order.

The deal follows Deliveroo’s Black Friday discount which was offered up to customers last week.

There are loads of local restaurants and cafes taking part, including the ever-popular burger and shake joint Archie’s and long-standing favourite Tampopo.

Archie’s. Credit: The Manc Group
Yum Cha. Credit: The Manc Group

Yum Cha, which opened at Kampus this summer after 11 hugely successful years in Liverpool, is also taking part, with its incredible roast meats cooked for 24 hours in a custom-made roasting oven, plus Chinese small plates and dim sum.

Manc favourite Rudy’s, home of arguably the country’s best pizza, are included in Deliveroo’s 25% discount, alongside chicken legends Yard & Coop.

Read more: New restaurants and bars opening in Manchester this December

Then there’s Zumuku Sushi, Bondi Bowls and Zaxx Fried Chicken, to name a few.

The 25% discount applies to residents in Manchester city centre, Didsbury, Chorlton and Rusholme, and applies to order of £20 or over.

The deal is available between 5 December and 2 January.

Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

This Manchester bar is serving up £2.50 drinks every Friday

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

A bar in Manchester has made the move to introduce a ridiculously cheap drinks deal, pricing a number of its most popular bevs at just £2.50 each.

Yes, that’s right. Every Friday night for the foreseeable future, Alvarium in the Northern Quarter will be serving up bottles of beer, alongside spirits and glasses of red, white and rose wine at a super low rate.

Perfect for helping those struggling with the high cost of, well, everything right now, this is a way to get the Christmas presents sorted and still go out celebrating the festive season with your mates. Happy days.

Image: Alvarium
Image: Alvarium

The Northern Quarter bar, which stays open until 1am on Fridays, launched a new extended happy hour earlier this summer that saw it offer two bottles of San Miguel for £5, two cocktails for £10 and bottles of house wine at £12.50 each.

Now, however, Alvarium’s owners have taken things a step further – taking the pricing structure back to the nineties with a range of £2.50 drinks available every Friday.

As well as wine and beer, you’ll find tasty spritzes sitting alongside other festive-themed cocktails like ‘Santa’s Little Helper’ (a mix of brandy, bourbon, lemon, cranberry and orange) and ‘Winter Berries’ (vodka, apple, passionfruit, grenadine and lemonade).

Sharing the news online over the weekend, the dog-friendly cocktail bar and kitchen wrote: “INTRODUCING THE FRIDAY NIGHT SOCIAL.

Read more: 14 arrests made after animal rights protesters target £195-a-head Michelin-star restaurant Mana

“Due to the success of last week’s party […] to promote our happy hour running all night long, we’ve decided why not take it one step further… and continue our £2.50 (YES, £2.50) Friday Night drinks.

“All Friday, every Friday we’ll be serving selected drinks for £2.50. No need to book, just head down, booze up.”

Image: Alvarium
Image: Alvarium

On the £2.50 drinks menu, you’ll find bottles of Mahou Spanish beer, small glasses of temperanillo, temp rose and viura, plus a cinnamon and orange spritz with lemon and fizz.

Elsewhere, choose from ‘Orange and Berries’, made with Jameson orange, lemon, cranberry and more orange, and the self-explanatory ‘Tequila and Lemon’.

Read more: This Chorlton bar will serve a Sunday roast for you AND your dogs

The bar has previously hosted kitchen pop-ups from the likes of vegan kitchen Black Leaf, Manchester slab shack Lazy Tony’s Lasagneria, and Abeja Tapas Bar.

Now it has taken its food offering back in-house, serving up a selection of locally-sourced meat and cheese boards loaded with an array of pickles, chutneys, crackers, giant slices of sourdough and more – perfect for soaking up all that cheap, cheap booze.

Read more: Manchester United opening up ‘warm spaces’ in Red Cafe to the community this winter

To find out more, head down this Friday to check it out for yourself. Lord knows we could all do with a cheeky discount this month.

Feature image – Alvarium

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