A massively-popular travelling street food festival is returning to Wythenshawe next week with a packed lineup of traders.
Award-winning street food champions GRUB is once again teaming up with Manchester City Council to bring its monthly food and drink festival, GRUB Carnival – The Travelling Food Festival, back to Wythenshawe next week – with the first event kicking off on Saturday 22 April.
The monthly event is set to bring together the very best of GRUB’s top street food traders, alongside a series of pop-up brewery bars and take-home produce stalls.
The first GRUB Carnival of 2023 will be pitching-up in its new location in the centre of Wythenshawe Civic Centre.
The huge retail unit will be transformed into a space for indoor seating, bars, and activities.
Next weekend’s opening lineup of street food trader includes the likes of Burger Bros smashed burgers, Dough So Good on pizza duty, Feast Of The East with a wide range of Mediterranean treats, and House Of Wingz serving up wings.
Crepe Castle, Cake Box and Hyacinth Ice Cream will also be in charge of catering for the crowd with a sweet tooth, while Sparrows Garden Market and Cheshire Pie Co are leading the lineup of local independent food and drink producers at the a mini take-home produce market.
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Manchester artisan rum producers, Witch Kings, are in charge of the bar, and will be supplying cocktails, craft beers, and soft drinks to be enjoyed in the sun.
Neighbourhood Coop, Bakehouse 32, Jeyda’s Turkish Kitchen, Mangiama Streetfod, Gwafu Vegan, and Big Mama’s Twisted Street Food will then be joining the event later in the year.
GRUB’s massive travelling street food festival is returning to Wythenshawe next week / Credit: GRUB
Aside from all the food and drink, on top of all that, Woodhouse Park Family Centre and Happy Somedays Football will also be joining the Carnival for the first date next weekend to provide some fun activities for the little ones.
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GRUB says its monthly ‘Carnival’ will not only be a “fantastic, inclusive, family-friendly event” that’s designed to “bring people together”, but there’s also big ambitions to “become a focal point for the community” by providing new jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities, alongside space for local creatives to share their work and talents all throughout the summer.
Speaking ahead of next weekend’s first event, Jason Bailey – Director of GRUB – said: “We had a smashing time trialling the carnival last year, and so many Wythenshawe folk were happy to see us, so it is fantastic we have the chance to come back all summer long.
“Fingers crossed we can carry on building Carnival in to something that makes a difference”.
Inside The Black Friar as Salford pub unveils incredible floral display
Daisy Jackson
Spring has really sprung in Salford – legendary pub The Black Friar has just revealed a sensational makeover, with gigantic flowers sprawled across its frontage and a new seasonal menu to go with it.
The historic pub is celebrating the changing of the seasons with both a striking floral installation and a menu that celebrates spring and Salford in equal measure.
Most Mancs will by now have spotted the 4,000 flower-strong installation that now adorns the front of The Black Friar, with bright pink, yellow and purple flowers spilling from a gigantic pink tap.
And all those florals continue inside, with the pub’s Tavern – previously a cosy winter hideaway – now filled with trailing blooms and woodland installations, just off their award-winning garden.
Cheshire-based artist Kelly Louise Chapman is the woman behind this sensational transformation of the much-loved gastropub.
As for the pub’s kitchen, they’ve crafted a new very seasonal and very British menu, with plenty of nods to Black Friar’s Salford roots.
There are dishes like a Boddingtons braised ox cheek (the pub still proudly displays its Boddingtons sign outside), aged beef tartare, butternut squash and ricotta tortellini, and pan-roasted cod fillet.
Spring small plates at The Black Friar pubDelicious spring drinksInside The Tavern at The Black Friar
A popular item from the Valentine’s Day menu – the Cornish crab vol-au-vent – will be sticking around on the spring menu, along with an enhanced grill section that includes a lamb Barnsley chop cooked over coals.
Then for desserts, you’ll be spoilt with a banoffee knickerbocker glory, and passionfruit panna cotta.
And for drinks (because this is a pub, after all), The Black Friar has put together a range of seasonal drinks like a rose sangria sharer, and non-alcoholic sodas like kaffir lime and coconut.
Ben Chaplin, head chef at The Black Friar, said: “This new menu is all about celebrating the best of spring produce.
“We’ve carefully crafted each dish to highlight fresh, seasonal ingredients and bold flavours, adding new depth to our offerings while still delivering the comfort that will always be associated with The Black Friar.
“My top recommendation and personal favourite dish is the Slow-Cooked Boddingtons Braised Ox Cheek.”
Neil Burke, owner of The Black Friar, commented: “We wanted to bring a taste of spring to The Black Friar, inside and out. This floral installation will transform the space and bring sunshine and smiles, whatever the weather!
“My top recommendation on the new menu is the Cumbrian Spiced Lamb Scotch Egg. It’s EXCEPTIONAL.”
To find out more about The Black Friar and to book a table, visit HERE.
Team behind award-winning Higher Ground to open new Bar Shrimp seafood bar in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Higher Ground, one of Manchester’s very top restaurants, is to open a brand-new seafood bar later this year.
With Bar Shrimp, they’ll be bringing a brand-new offering to town, with cocktails, beers on tap, British seafood and snacks.
Bar Shrimp will come from Daniel Craig Martin, Joseph Otway and Richard Cossins, who at this point are a well-oiled operational machine.
They’re the team behind proudly British bistro Higher Ground, which grows much of its own produce at its Cinderwood Market Garden and earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand within a year of opening.
The same team are also behind Flawd, the beautiful waterside wine bar at Ancoats Marina.
And they’ve cemented themselves as one of Manchester’s most widely acclaimed hospitality teams – even Rick Stein says Higher Ground is one of the best places to eat in the entire country, which is high praise indeed.
Bar Shrimp, set to open in Manchester this winter, aims to be a ‘relaxed and focused bar with delicious food’.
They say: “Whether it’s a beer after work, some food with friends or after dinner drinks late into the night, Bar Shrimp will be a dynamic space where the music and energy evolves throughout the evening where everyone and anyone can come together for a memorable experience.”
They announced the news this morning on Cerys Matthews’ BBC 6Music Show.
British seafood with a side of cocktails? Sounds alright to us.
A location, opening date and more info on Bar Shrimp will follow – stay up to date with their latest HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
12th April 2023 
