Lina Stores has opened its very first restaurant in Manchester, taking its beloved mix of handmade pasta and deli food outside of London for the first time.
80 years after opening for the first time in Soho, Lina Stores has headed north to open a 150-cover restaurant.
Blending coffee shop, delicatessen, restaurant, and bar, the new space is styled in traditional Lina Stores shades of pastel green hues, warm timber woods, and terrazzo and timber flooring.
You’ll find bespoke marble tables, original vintage Bentwood chairs, dark green booth seating and opaline globe lighting inspired by the original Brewer Street delicatessen.
Diners will be spoilt with an Italian-inspired breakfast menu, featuring dishes like truffle scrambled eggs with toasted sourdough, Greek yoghurt with Italian Macedonia fruit salad, and a selection of breakfast panini.
ADVERTISEMENT
At lunchtimes and dinner there’ll be antipasti such as ricotta and herb gnudi fritti with Calabrian chilli marmellata, and tuna crudo with capers, pink peppercorn and salsa verde.
Lina Stores Manchester will have the brand’s beloved pasta dishes, such as the 30-egg yolk taglioni with black truffle, and lamb sausage ragu pappardelle, plus new options like lemon sole and potato raviolo.
ADVERTISEMENT
For secondi (because this is Italy darling, you can have two mains!) there are dishes like chicken Milanese and Luganega fennel sausage.
And for dessert, it’s set to be a feast of Sicilian cannolo (filled with ricotta, pistachio and chocolate) and tiramisu.
Lina Stores – Italian deli restaurant serving homemade pasta and more is heading to Manchester. Credit: Rebecca Hope
In the open-plan delicatessen, you’ll be able to grab filling salads, freshly-made panini, and delicate cakes and pastries.
ADVERTISEMENT
Shelves will be stocked with Lina Stores Collection pantry essentials, from olive oil to traditional biscotti.
And just next to that will be Bar Lina, serving classic and modern Italian cocktails for aperitivo hour until late at night.
Expect favourites like the bloody martini, Rinomata americano, and the basilico with gin, vermouth, basil and lemon.
The bar will have a versatile wine list from all corners of Italy, including the brand’s own signature collection.
Lina Stores Manchester will be located on Quay Street in the recently-refurbished Quoin building, right opposite the Opera House theatre.
ADVERTISEMENT
Masha Rener, Head Chef of Lina Stores, said: “We’re extremely excited to be opening in Manchester this spring.
“The city feels like a natural home for us considering the area’s rich history, vibrant culinary scene and lively nightlife, and look forward to sharing our passion of great Italian food and produce with the Manchester community.
“Quay Street is the perfect location for us to do so, sitting right in the trifecta of Spinningfields, St John Street and St Peter’s Square.”
The 10 restaurant and bar closures that shocked Greater Manchester in 2025
Daisy Jackson
Greater Manchester has one of the most exciting and fastest-growing restaurant scenes on the planet – but that doesn’t make our city immune from hospitality closures, as 2025 has shown.
Given the economic climate and the increasing pressures on hospitality, it’s actually shocking (and a relief) that we haven’t lost even more beloved local spots.
In 2025, there have been some high-profile closures in Manchester that no one saw coming, as we bid a sad farewell to some local legends.
The good news is that the number of openings still outstrips the number of closures – you can see some of the biggest spots we welcomed last year HERE.
___
Almost Famous
Greater Manchester
Almost Famous / Credit: The Manc Group
It’s no surprise that this was one of the biggest stories in Manchester in 2025, because we simply could not believe our eyes when Almost Famous announced its closure.
The burger craze of the mid-2010s may have died down, but this spot had always felt like a Northern Quarter OG with a loyal enough following to stand the test of time.
Alas, it closed its doors very suddenly back in January, shortly followed by its sister smash burger brand Super Awesome Deluxe, with a staggering outcry and a lot of fall-out locally.
Thankfully, a short while later it was rescued by the team behind PINS Social Club.
___
Hip Hop Chip Shop
Ancoats
Hip Hop Chip Shop / Credit: The Manc Group
Another sad day for the Manchester food scene arrived in February, when Ancoats favourite The Hip Hop Chip Shop announced its closure.
Having first opened in 2014 as a street food stall, to opening their own site in Ancoats, the present financial pressures took their toll, and Hip Hop Chip Shop shut its shutters just a few weeks later.
We still fantasise about their battered halloumi.
___
Another Heart To Feed
Northern Quarter
Another Heart to Feed / Credit: The Manc Group
It felt like one of the Northern Quarter’s top brunch spots, and with queues around the block nearly all the time, seemed like a safe spot.
But the award-winning Another Heart to Feed’s popularity was not enough to overcome the challenges facing the industry.
In their statement, this lovely brunch spot and wine bar thanked customers and staff, past and present – you can read more here.
ADVERTISEMENT
___
Mother Mary’s
Oxford Road
Mother Mary’s / Credit: The Manc Group
One of Manchester’s newest Irish bars announced its sudden and immediate closure in November, citing financial pressures.
Mother Mary’s took over the old student haunt that was Font bar, just off Oxford Road, filling the venue with a state-of-the-art sound system for hosting live music and club nights.
It was much more than just an Irish bar and had become a safe space for so many locals – accessible, queer-inclusive, independent, and dedicated to championing local talent.
One of Manchester’s most legendary bars closed its doors after 13 beautiful years in the city earlier this year, shocking us and everyone who loved it.
Sandinista quietly shut down in October, throwing one final knees-up for loyal (and very sad) punters.
ADVERTISEMENT
The bar, just off St Ann’s Square, was famed for its menu of beers, tequila, and cocktails, including a pint of Zombie served on fire.
There’ll never be another one like it.
___
Bohemian Arts Club
Stockport
Bohemian Arts Club / Credit: The Manc Group
Stockport lost a good one back in September – Bohemian Arts Club, the stunning cocktail bar launched by Blossoms frontman Tom Ogden and his wife Katie, closed for good.
ADVERTISEMENT
It had been a much-loved addition to town, a real vintage-style speakeasy serving top quality drinks, and you could feel all the love the couple had poured into it (even down to the heart-shaped chairs handmade by Katie’s mum and dad).
Thankfully, it stayed in the family – Katie’s incredibly successful Bohemian Salon has expanded from downstairs to take over the entire three-storey building.
___
Feel Good Club
Northern Quarter
Feel Good Club / Credit: Supplied
After five incredible years in the city, brewing up some of the finest coffee, serving an all-day brunch menu full of all your favourite comfort food dishes, hosting countless events, and just generally being a wholesome community space for anyone and everyone who needs it, it’s the end of the road for Feel Good Club.
ADVERTISEMENT
Founders Kiera and Aimie sadly announced they would be closing the doors to their Northern Quarter cafe in the summer, after struggling to stay afloat this past year like so many other local indies.
They said: “We’ve had the time of our lives, and met the most incredible people along the way.”
___
Kala
Manchester City Centre
It was part of Gary Usher’s acclaimed group of restaurants, but Elite Bistros shut down one of its top spots earlier this year.
ADVERTISEMENT
City centre bistro Kala closed for good back in June, with a heartfelt and very honest statement.
Usher wrote: “Thank you to all the team past & present & I’m so sorry to all of you and all the guests that I couldn’t create something with longevity.”
___
Medlock Canteen
New Jackson
Medlock Canteen / Credit: The Manc Group
Just months after celebrating its first birthday, Medlock Canteen announced it was moving out of the Deansgate Square neighbourhood.
ADVERTISEMENT
The brilliant local restaurant served a really gorgeous menu that included rotisserie chicken, full English breakfasts, and quite possibly Manchester’s best Caesar salad.
It was all proper hearty food that you actually want to eat, with a stunning mid-century restaurant space and great drinks too.
___
Osma
Prestwich
Osma / Credit: The Manc Group | Osma
Prestwich’s burgeoning restaurant scene was dealt a major blow at the start of 2025, when Osma announced its closure.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Scandi-esque restaurant was a front-runner of Prestwich’s ever-growing food and drink scene since it opened in 2020, fronted by Manchester born Danielle Heron, who you might recognise from the Great British Menu and MasterChef: The Professionals 2024, alongside Sofie Stoermann-Naess.
You can still find their brilliant cooking at Exhibition in the city centre, but as for the restaurant itself, Osma said they ‘struggled to find experience staff, leaving us with little to no personal life’.
Sorely missed.
___
Featured Image – The Manc Group
Eats
One in six Brits would rather have a curry than a Christmas dinner, new survey reveals
Emily Sergeant
One in six Brits would apparently rather have a curry on Christmas Day in place of a traditional roast dinner, a new survey has revealed.
With the big day merely moments away, it won’t be long before we all sit down to tuck into what is always one of the biggest and heartiest meals of the whole year – but, if the results of a new survey is anything to go by, for a good chunk of Brits, this year’s Christmas feast won’t be the typical roast turkey that tradition’s always called for.
Instead, one in six would rather stray off the beaten track and opt for an Indian instead.
After a shocking survey by Next revealed last year that more than 12 million Brits think Yorkshire puddings belong with your Christmas dinner, around 1,000 UK adults have been polled by instatprint this time around to discover what’s making it on the festive feasting plate in just a few weeks time.
And, as to be expected, some weird and wonderful food combinations feature on the list, with over a third of Brits apparently planning on having sausages instead of the usual Christmas meats, and chips and beans also seem to be on the menu for the fussier eaters among us too.
One in six Brits would apparently rather have a curry than a Christmas dinner / Credit: Andy Hay (via Unsplash)
Chicken nuggets, eggs, caviar, goat’s cheese, haggis, and chimichurri were some of the other rogue choices given by some of the survey respondents.
Then, when it comes to the accompanying sides to the main event, 11% even revealed they plan on tucking into some macaroni cheese with their Christmas dinner this year, with another 11% sharing that mushy peas are a must on their plate too.
17% of Brits will be enjoying mustard, 13% will be squirting ketchup on their roast, and 7% will apparently be enjoying a dollop of mayonnaise too.
It’s all according to the results from a surprising new survey / Credit: Nicole Michalou (via Pexels)
But while some clearly like to freestyle their Christmas dinner and pop whatever they fancy on the plate, others are apparently ditching the norm all together, as the survey has revealed that only half of Brits are set on having their traditional Christmas dinner this year.
As mentioned, almost one in six would much rather tuck into an Indian curry, but not only that, 6% of us would rather have a Chinese, 5% would enjoy Mexican, and another 5% would opt for tapas if it was an option too.