There’s a new restaurant in Manchester dedicated to the world’s greatest food item – pie.
Great North Pie Co is ready to open the doors to its first city centre venue, after establishing itself in Altrincham Market.
Its award-winning pies have been cropping up on pub menus and at farmers markets ever since, as well as in their own site in Ambleside in the Lake District.
And now the team have taken charge of a cosy unit at Kampus, with booth-style seating for up to 20 people, plus an outside (rain-proof) terrace overlooking the neighbourhood’s lush gardens.
On the menu are classic pies stuffed to the brim with quality ingredients from around the North West.
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Flavour combinations include Lancashire cheese and onion pie, made with Dewlay’s tasty Lancashire cheese and caramelised onion, and a 14-hour braised beef and ale pie, with Manchester Union Lager and redcurrant jelly.
Great North Pie Co. Credit: The Manc Group
There’ll be regular specials, like the current dish of minted lamb suet pudding with chip shop curry sauce and some of the best chips in Manchester.
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Every pie can be ordered with a range of sides, from mash to chips to mushy peas to pickled red cabbage.
For dessert, you’ve currently got one option, and it’s a good one – a proper chocolate pudding, served steaming hot and swimming in chocolate custard.
The menu will change seasonally, but what you’re guaranteed of is a huge bowl of comforting, proper northern grub, served in one of the city’s cosiest and most picturesque settings.
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The drinks menu includes the likes of Manchester Union Lager on draught, a selection of quality wines and proseccos, plus a handful of spritz style cocktails.
Once the site opens on Monday 27 February, there’ll be breakfast sandwiches served daily between 10:30am and 2.30pm, plus cold pies to take home with you.
Neil Broomfield, co-founder of Great North Pie Co, said: “Since we started making pies it’s always been an ambition to have a base in the city centre. We’d been looking for a while and as soon as we saw Kampus, Little David Street and the gardens, we knew it was the right place for us.
“While it’s our first city centre venue, we don’t have plans to rollout out any more, as we place our focus on keeping the quality and consistency we aim for. We just want to concentrate on doing one thing and doing it well. The mix of traders coming into Kampus is amazing and we’re so proud to be part of it.”
Featured image: The Manc Group
Eats
Inside Manchester’s new padel club with a Pot Kettle Black cafe and courtside cocktail bar
Daisy Jackson
Padel is the fastest-growing sport in the world, and it’s really picking up speed in Manchester now too with another city centre club opening this month.
The Pollen Club is a little different to the others, in that it’s fully undercover and protected from Manchester’s less-than-favourable weather.
And another thing that makes it a must-visit is the cafe attached to it – a third site for the beloved Pot Kettle Black.
The Pollen Club and Pot Kettle Black have both taken over a prominent city centre spot just off Deansgate, at the foot of the recently-opened Treehouse Hotel.
There are two state-of-the-art padel courts inside, with a mezzanine terrace for enjoy Pot Kettle Black’s offerings.
In summer, there are plans to launch a bar downstairs too, where you can sip spritzes courtside from loungers and swing seats.
The exciting new Manchester padel club will host pop up events, DJ takeovers and an extended evening food offering.
Pot Kettle Black are part of the new padel clubInside Manchester’s new padel club, The Pollen ClubPot Kettle Black are part of the new padel club
And even if you’re not heading inside The Pollen Club, Pot Kettle Black has a grab-and-go hatch facing onto Blackfriars Street, making their delicious coffees, sandwiches and pastries (from their own bakery Half Dozen Other) even more accessible.
Commenting on the opening of the new site, Pot Kettle Black co-owner, Mark Flanagan said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have opened our third Pot Kettle Black site at The Padel Club. This achievement is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the team.
“After ten years in the city we’ve been enjoying seeing some familiar faces stopping by for a coffee and we can’t wait to get started on our programme of summer events!”
Insomnia Cookies is giving away FREE cookies to anyone with these two names
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s late-night sweet treat spot Insomnia Cookies is dishing out freebies this week… but there’s a catch.
You have to be called one of two specific names to get one.
With the long bank holiday weekend upon us, those in-the-know will also have noticed that this Sunday isn’t just Easter Sunday, it also happens to be 4/20… and that means Insomnia Cookies is back with its ‘blazing’ £4.20 deal, giving you the chance to bag a box of four warm cookies while saving nearly £7 at the same time.
But even better still, if you happen to have either the first or middle name ‘Mary’ or ‘Jane’, then you can also get yourself a warm tasty cookie for free.
To mark both 4/20, and celebrate the launch of its newest strain of mouthwatering cookie, the Mary Jane, anyone called Mary or Jane can pop into either of Insomnia Cookies’ two Manchester city centre sites – Cross Street and University Green – show their valid ID with their name on, and walk alway with a cookie free of charge.
If you want to try the new Mary Jane cookie, then this limited-edition special is made up of a cookies n cream dough base, packed with rainbow sprinkles.
The freebie deal has been running all week, and you have up until 3am on Monday 21 April to take advantage of it.
Customers will be limited to one free cookie per day.
Insomnia Cookies is giving away free cookies to anyone with these two names / Credit: Insomnia Cookies UK
If you aren’t lucky enough to be called one of those two names though, then thankfully you can still make some great savings on a classic four-pack of cookies over the spring bank holiday weekend, and for every four-pack sold, £1 will be donated to Groundwork – a charity helping make Manchester greener for nature and for local people.
“We’re calling for Marys and Janes to join us to live the high life with free cookies all week,” commented Millie Ralston, Head of Marketing at Insomnia Cookies.
Daisy Jackson -
23rd February 2023 
