A new bakery that serves fresh-out-the-oven cookies until 3am is ready to open in Manchester city centre.
Insomnia Cookies is opening its first ever UK site (and its second too, actually) here in our city, taking over a unit at the Royal Exchange on Cross Street.
Due to open early next week, you’ll find warm, chewy cookies, delicious freshly-made milkshakes, and ice cream sandwiches.
And to celebrate its launch, Insomnia Cookies will throw a grand opening party on Saturday 2 September, with free cookies handed out alongside merch.
The first person in the queue on the day will be given a year’s supply of cookies, too… race you.
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The cookie company already has 240 sites across the USA but until now hasn’t ventured to this side of the pond.
A box of cookies at Insomnia Cookies. Credit: The Manc GroupA Biscoff deluxe cookie at Insomnia CookiesInsomnia Cookies at Royal Exchange, Cross Street, Manchester. Credit: The Manc GroupInsomnia Cookies on Cross Street. Credit: The Manc Group
You can order warm cookies alongside ice-cold milk or even a pot of frosting for dunking in, with deliveries running until 3am with Deliveroo.
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Insomnia Cookies is the brainchild of founder Seth Berkowitz, who dreamt up the idea while he was a college student looking for late-night snacks.
The Insomnia Cookies menu
Classic Chocolate Chunk: the signature Insomnia flavour – classic dough loaded with thick, melty chunks of chocolate.
Double Chocolate Chunk: even more indulgent, the Double Chocolate Chunk also boasts a chocolate-flavoured dough.
White Chocolate & Macadamia: sweet and nutty with thick chunks of white chocolate and whole macadamia nuts folded through the dough.
Cinnamon: the UK’s take on a US staple, the Snickerdoodle. Contrary to popular belief, Snickerdoodles have nothing to do with Snickers and are in fact just… cinnamon flavoured.
Sugar Cookie: another US classic, the humble Sugar Cookie is for the purists. Think of it as a palate cleanser between cookies.
Vegan Hazelnut Deluxe: filled to the brim with smooth, vegan-friendly hazelnut spread, this chunkier cookie means that vegans don’t have to be left out of a late-night indulge.
Triple Chocolate Chunk Deluxe: this big, buttery cookie has a triple helping of gooey chocolate chunks.
Classic With M&Ms: the iconic M&M meets the iconic Insomnia crispy-on-the-edges-but-soft-in-the-centre cookie dough. A match made in sugary heaven.
Ben Lacey, managing director at Insomnia Cookies UK, said: “It’s a massive milestone for us to be opening our first bakeries in the UK. Manchester is a city that knows what it means to be up all night, so it was a no-brainer for us as our first location.
“We’re excited to be bringing the authentic, cult-favourite taste of Insomnia Cookies to the UK – including all the classics, plus some delicious limited edition flavours to boot.
“Late-night dessert shops are big here, but there’s long been a gap in the market for warm, fresh cookies hand-delivered to your doorstep all day and late into the night.
“Whatever the reason you’re up late at night – whether you’re hosting a house party, headed out to see someone special, or even editing episodes of your grindset podcast – we’re on hand to satisfy your sweet tooth.”
Insomnia Cookies opens two Manchester sites – on Cross Street in the city centre and at University Green of Oxford Road – on 29 August, with deliveries available through Deliveroo.
Manchester’s newest Mexican restaurant is giving away 1,000 FREE margaritas to celebrate its launch
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s newest Mexican-inspired restaurant is getting ready to open its doors with an exciting giveaway.
In case you hadn’t heard, the former Sunset by Australasia bar and terrace in Spinningfields is being transformed into a colourful new Mexican spot called OCASA, and it’s set to open just in time for this upcoming Easter bank holiday weekend.
The 80-seat sun terrace on The Avenue – just behind Australasia itself, which recently reopened after a stunning refurbishment at the end of last week – will take inspiration from the shores of Tulum, to the street food scene of Mexico City.
You can expect to see it serving premium tequila, cocktails, and Mexican-inspired food.
Manchester’s new Mexican-inspired restaurant OCASA is opening in Spinningfields this Friday / Credit: Supplied
Diners can look forward to plenty of music and entertainment, including mariachi bands, ice-cold frozen margaritas, and tableside guacamole, plus BBQ tacos fresh off the grill, Sunday feasts, and loads more.
Not to mention, it will also become the city’s ‘ultimate tequila destination’ with one of the country’s most extensive collections of premium spirits.
Oh, and if you go the launch day, you can also look forward to free margaritas too.
Running this Friday from 3pm through to 6pm, all with ‘no strings attached’, the first guests to arrive will be invited to enjoy an expertly-crafted frozen margarita, made with the signature Casamigos tequila, for completely free of charge.
You can kick off your bank holiday in style with an icy margarita on OCASA’s sun-drenched al fresco terrace, soaking up the city’s vibrant charm and spring sunshine… if it sticks around and shows its face, that is.
Alongside those free frozen margaritas, OCASA’s new menu will feature a mouth-watering selection of small plates all made for sharing while savouring and soaking up the atmosphere.
OCASA officially opens to the Manchester public on Good Friday (18 April), so if you want to be among the first to experience the city’s boldest new restaurant and bar, and claim your free frozen margarita of course, then get on down there from 3pm.
Featured Image – Jakub Kapusnak (via Rawpixel)
Eats
A tasty festival celebrating all things tacos is taking place in Manchester next month
Emily Sergeant
Manchester is celebrating the start of May with tacos, tacos, and even more tacos, so make sure you’re hungry.
To coincide with both the early May bank holiday weekend, and of course the annual Mexican celebration Cinco De Mayo, Manchester‘s biggest street food and events space GRUB will be hosting its very-own festival dedicated to all things tacos.
The Green Quarter-based social hub will be bringing hungry Mancs two days of ‘tacos, tacos, and more tacos’ from midday onwards.
Five of the city’s very best street food traders, including El Piloto Tacos and Enchilady, will be cooking for you all weekend long, bringing their own authentic take on the humble taco, plus a feast of other specials to go alongside.
The massively-popular Nina’s Taco Truck, and Pez Tacos will also be pulling up at GRUB across the two days, so there’ll be plenty of choice.
And of course, we all need a sweet treat to finish things off, so GRUB favourite Munchie Mummy’s Kitchen will also be on site serving up a wide range of plant-based bakes to suit all tastes and dietary requirements.
To wash it all down, what would Cinco De Mayo be without a margarita?
A tasty tacos festival is taking place in Manchester next month / Credit: GRUB
For anyone that books a table in advance for GRUB’s Taco Fest, there’ll be buy one get one free on margaritas from the special pop-up margarita bar.
You can also expect craft beer, cocktails, special sodas and oft drinks, and great tunes blasting out across the beer garden, so now all we need to do is hope the Mexican-style sunshine graces Manchester with its presence.
Daisy Jackson -
22nd August 2023 
