Manchester’s Arndale Market, home to dozens of street food stalls and independent retails, remains closed after a fire last week.
Shoppers were evacuated from the huge shopping centre on Friday afternoon last week after reports of a fire at one of the market kitchens.
Fire crews were then seen attending the scene, where witnesses reported they were ‘sweeping out water’ from the Arndale Market.
The damage caused by the sprinkler system has left the area closed every since.
Food traders currently based here include Dunkin Burgers, Hong Thai, Pancho’s Burritos, and Zorba’s.
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Over the years, the Arndale Market has launched plenty of local restaurant ventures, from Salt n Pepper to Viet Shack to Wholesome Junkies.
But on Friday, a fire which reportedly started in the kitchen of one street food trader led to the entire site being evacuated.
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One trader said that the sprinklers did ‘a lot of damage’ to the area.
Manchester City Council has since said that work is underway to ‘reopen the market as soon as we can’.
Shoppers evacuated from the Arndale Market in Manchester after a fire set off the sprinkler system
Rack, which sells incredible sandwiches from the Arndale Market as well as its site in Stockport, said: “As some of you will be aware the Arndale Market has been closed since Friday due to a fire.
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“The fire wasn’t in our unit and luckily no one was hurt but unfortunately the sprinklers did a lot of damage.
“We don’t know when we’ll be able to reopen but we’ll keep you all posted. For now we’re closed until further notice. Both our other sites remain open so get your rack fix from either Stockport or Sale. Sorry for any inconvenience and watch this space for updates.”
Takoyaki Master, which sells Japanese street food, wrote: “We will keep closing until further notice from council. Our neighbor at our back got a fire yesterday, and it started the sprinkler system and caught out the fire rapidly. Luckily there was no one hurt, but we suffered from [water damage].
“We are allowed to enter and check everything on coming Monday. We will try to talk to the office to see the next steps. Hope we can get back to normal soon.”
Takoyaki Master is one of the Arndale Market traders affected by the fire. Credit: The Manc GroupRack is one of the Arndale Market traders affected by the fireLittle Piece of Bahia is serving the best Brazilian food at the Manchester Christmas Markets
Meanwhile Little House of Bahia, which just opened a stall at the Manchester Christmas Markets in addition to its home in the Arndale Market, said: “We are all appalled by the fire at @arndalemarket, with everyone’s losses, but thank God no one was hurt.
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“Due to this incident, the store is closed, and delivery is suspended until the location is released again. We appreciate everyone’s understanding and ask for your prayers so that we can return as soon as possible! Rebuild and continue serving everyone with our food.”
Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council councillor Luthfur Rahman said: “We are working hard to reopen the Arndale Market as quickly as possible.
“We are working closely with the stall holders and would like to thank them for the way in which they have responded and their patience as the clean-up operation took place over the weekend.
“The Market is currently closed and cannot open until a full assessment and essential works have taken place and we will be keeping traders fully informed on the progress of the work to reopen the market as soon as we can.”
Manchester champagne bar launches new £155 menu of ‘exceptional’ single-bite dishes
Daisy Jackson
The UK’s first dedicated champagne boutique, Portfolio, is finally ready to launch its restaurant experience – and it’s like nothing Manchester has seen before.
The luxury champagne bar on Bridge Street has unveiled a new restaurant concept built entirely around ‘the perfect bite’, with diners able to enjoy up to 18 single-mouthful dishes for £155 per person (or 14 dishes for £135pp).
At lunchtimes, Portfolio will offer a 10 course menu for £75pp, with an optional wine pairing.
The intimate nine-table restaurant is the latest venture from acclaimed chef Julian Pizer, formerly of Another Hand and Edinburgh Castle, who says he wanted to focus on the one bite guests remember long after a meal has finished.
Rather than serving traditional tasting menu courses, every dish is designed to be eaten in a single mouthful, paired with some of the world’s finest and rarest champagnes and wines.
Diners are encouraged to tackle each course in one go – no matter how tempting it might be to savour it a little longer.
As co-founder Pizer explains: “I’ve always been drawn to the most memorable part of any meal – that single perfect bite, the one you remember long after the meal.
Beef fat hash, beef tartare, horseradish and Bloody Mary gel, served on top of champagne corks Carrot tart, gooseberry, fresh curds in thin crispy pastryhiso leaf taco with spring shoots, citrus vinaigrette, blackcurrant wood
“This menu is built around that idea: big flavour, perfect balance, all in one mouthful, designed to sit seamlessly alongside great Champagne.”
Highlights include a chicken and oyster tempura skewer topped with sour cream and chives, a carrot tart packed with gooseberries and fresh curds, and a beef-fat hash crowned with beef tartare and Bloody Mary gel, dramatically served on champagne corks.
One standout dish is a decadent lobster roll enriched with pork fat, where crispy brioche provides the perfect contrast to sweet Cornish lobster, cucumber, celery and apple.
Elsewhere, a refreshing shiso leaf taco with spring shoots and citrus vinaigrette offers a palate-cleansing break before richer dishes including Chinese-style pork belly with white kimchi, and a duck course featuring breast, confit meatball and duck neck sausage.
Some of the paired wines with the Portfolio lunch menu in ManchesterInside Portfolio ManchesterSome of the paired wines with the Portfolio lunch menu in Manchester
Dessert arrives in the form of a kiwi marshmallow-style treat with blackberry, mint and a dusting of icing sugar.
The drinks are no afterthought either. Portfolio houses more than 250 champagnes from over 70 producers, and diners can add carefully matched champagne pairings to either the 14-course (£135) or 18-course (£155) menu.
With only 24 covers available at any one time, the experience is intentionally relaxed. There’s just a single sitting each service, meaning guests can linger over their food and fizz for as long as they like.
For those not ready to commit to 18 bites in one sitting, Portfolio’s bar remains open six days a week, offering a more casual snack menu alongside its extensive champagne list.
Pizer describes the concept as his chance to experiment freely and, above all, ‘make food fun again’.
You can now get Deep South-inspired BBQ dishes on Manchester’s Deansgate
Daisy Jackson
There’s a brand-new menu of smokehouse-style BBQ dishes being served up on a sunny terrace on Deansgate.
Motley, the neighbourhood bar and restaurant on the corner of John Dalton Street, has added an authentic smoker to its kitchen.
That means they’ve got a whole load of new dishes, slow-cooked over hickory wood, that are bringing a taste of a Deep South BBQ to Manchester city centre.
The smokehouse-style meats are all seasoned in-house and cooked for hours, for a perfect fall-off-the-bone experience.
It might be an authentic American smokehouse menu, but it’s firmly British too, with most products locally sourced.
You can now get Deep South-inspired BBQ dishes on Deansgate / Credit: The Manc Group
Motley are calling on local suppliers like Althams Butchers (established since 1856) for their meat, plus greengrocers R Noone and Son, and Cheshire Farm for their real dairy ice cream.
Signature dishes on the new menu at Motley include slow smoked brisket, seasoned in Motley’s signature rub before being slow-smoked for more than eight hours.
There’s also a beef short rib with a chimichurri sauce, and a pork belly strip that’s seasoned with sage and onion and finished with a panko breadcrumb crust.
And for the veggies, there’s a vegan smoked veg kebab with courgette, mushrooms, bell pepper, sweet corn and red onion drizzled with homemade BBQ sauce.
Motley has added an authentic smoker to its kitchen / Credit: The Manc Group
Prices across the board start from just £16, served with beef dripping fries, rainbow slaw, pickles and homemade beef gravy.
As for small plates, you can expect short rib bonbons, homemade corn bread, spicy chicken wings, bang bang cauliflower, mac and cheese, and frickles.
House favourites like steak, vegetable hash, salads, and burgers will remain on the Motley menu.
Victor Gonzalez, food and beverage manager at Motley, said: “Our new signature smoked dishes are all crafted and seasoned in-house then slow cooked for hours over hickory wood to create rich and smoky melt-in-your mouth flavours.
“From our slow-smoked brisket to our home-made sides, everything has been carefully crafted to bring an authentic taste of the deep south to Manchester and we can’t wait for guests to try it.”
Motley can be found at 2 John Dalton Street on the corner of Deansgate in the city centre.
Daisy Jackson -
15th November 2023 
