There’s another success story coming out of Altrincham Market – pasta kitchen Soots has gone and opened its very own restaurant in the Northern Quarter.
Owners and co-founders Ellie Proudfoot and Ruth Duarte have taken the leap to their very own bricks and mortar site on Tib Street, where they can serve up their handmade fresh pasta in their own restaurant space.
Named after their cocker spaniel Soots, the restaurant opens officially tomorrow.
The pair had hoped that Altrincham Market would be a launchpad to them eventually opening their first restaurant – and it’s worked brilliantly.
Inside Soots, it’s a cosy space with amazing green arches along the walls and a huge window that opens out onto this iconic Northern Quarter street.
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Soots will again have a fully plant-based menu, broken down into snacks, small plates, pasta and puddings.
Everything is plant-basedEverything is plant-basedThe menu at SootsFresh, handmade pastaSmall plates
Expect heritage tomatoes with stracciatella and basil oil, butternut squash and chilli arancini, and a beautiful dish of marinated beetroot.
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As for the pasta, there’ll be rigatoni with browned butter and confit tomatoes, sundried tomato-filled girella, and a lovely basil pesto spaghetti (a firm favourite from their Altrincham Market days).
And it wouldn’t be a pasta kitchen without a tiramisu on the dessert menu, along with lemon and olive oil ice cream, and white chocolate mousse.
Soots Pasta has been the first solo venture for Ellie, who used to work as a private chef as well as at restaurants around the region.
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She’s taken her background – which includes culinary school in France – to create this modern European menu that takes inspiration from Italy.
What’s not immediately obvious, on reading the menu or eating it, is that everything on the Soots Pasta menu is entirely vegan – and they have gluten-free pasta available on request.
Soots Pasta is on Tib Street and officially opens on Saturday 9 Augst.
‘Manchester’s best lunch deal’ that’s only available for two hours a day
Daisy Jackson
There’s a cafe in the centre of Manchester that’s had queues all the way down the street thanks to its incredible value lunch deal.
Although it’s been in Spring Gardens for two years now, Meridian has remained one of Manchester’s best-kept secrets online, thanks to its decision to stay totally off social media until recently.
That hasn’t stopped the queues though, and they’re all here for the same thing – a loaded £5.80 lunch box.
Tucked away just off Market Street, Meridian is an unassuming cafe operated by founder Dan.
It’s much more than a coffee shop, with a menu of Asian fusion dishes served in the cafe, as well as for grab-and-go lunches.
The lunch boxes start from just £5.80, which gets you a box absolutely packed to the brim with delicious Chinese and South East Asian items.
You start off with a base of either egg rice fried, chips, or noodles; then lash on a sauce like Malaysian curry, Thai sweet chilli, or satay.
Meridian in ManchesterThe Meridian lunch boxes in Manchester
As for the toppings, there’s a massive list including popcorn salt n chilli chicken, Japanese gyozas, roasted pork ribs, tofu bites, and crispy spicy beef.
Plans officially submitted for ‘vibrant’ new food hall in Wythenshawe
Emily Sergeant
Are you feeling hungry? Good, because a new food hall is on the horizon.
That’s right – plans to transform Wythenshawe Civic have taken another exciting leap forward this week, as Manchester City Council and placemaker Muse have submitted a planning application to bring a brand-new food hall to the town.
Set to be housed within the three units next to the former Peacocks store – which has now been demolished – the new food hall will become a ‘vibrant’ destination for independent and local food vendors to attract people with ‘delicious and diverse’ offerings.
Developers also hope the new food hall will keep the suburban Manchester town’s centre ‘bustling’ throughout the day and into the evening.
The announcement that the new food hall is in the works comes as part of the already-announced plans for Wythenshawe Civic – with work to soon begin on everything from the public realm, and outside space, to the vacant office space above the existing Iceland-store, which will also be transformed into modern new workspace to support local start-ups and bring new jobs into the town centre.
Developers also recently submitted three separate applications to create 422 new affordable homes for social rent across three locations in the town centre.
“Listening to local people over the last year and more, we know that Wythenshawe residents want more from their town centre – more things to do, opportunities to spend time in Civic and night time attractions that give the area a lift and attract visitors,” commented Cllr Bev Craig, who is the Leader of Manchester City Council.
“This is the drive behind the Culture Hub. A place for local people with an interest in the arts to take part in creative activities, see a show or enjoy the cinema space – right in the heart of their community.
“This is another exciting chapter in the transformation of Wythenshawe Town Centre.”
Joel Chandler, who is the Senior Development Manager at Muse, added that developers are ‘moving at pace’ with plans to give the town centre the ‘regeneration it deserves’.
“The food hall will be a hive for a range of local outlets and will provide new spaces for the community to spend time in and give the town’s nighttime economy a major boost.”
Daisy Jackson -
10th August 2025 
