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Manchester pasta restaurant The Sparrows has just won a prestigious new Michelin award

The acclaimed pasta and dumplings restaurant has just been awarded a Bib Gourmand by Michelin inspectors

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 23rd March 2023
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Two months after it was listed in the prestigious Michelin Guide, Manchester European pasta and dumplings restaurant The Sparrows has been honoured by inspectors once again – this time with a Bib Gourmand.

The restaurant is just one out of 20 restaurants in the UK and Ireland to be awarded the coveted Michelin award, it was revealed yesterday.

The news comes ahead of the announcement of Michelin’s new starred restaurants, which will be unveiled on Monday.

Not quite a star, but most definitely not a consolation prize, the Bib Gourmand is named after Bibendum, the friendly Michelin Man and the official company mascot for the Michelin Group.

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

According to Michelin, it is a just-as-esteemed rating that ‘recognizes friendly establishments that serve good food at moderate prices.’

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The new rating is definitely something for The Sparrows to be proud of, and another step up from its guide inclusion in January.

Read more: Reviewed: The blink-and-you’ll-miss-it pasta and dumpling restaurant that just made the Michelin Guide

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At the time, the guide described it as follows: “Nestled under the railway arches in Manchester’s Green Quarter is a restaurant whose name is (almost) the English translation of the word ‘spätzle’ – which gives some clue as to the style of food on offer here.

“The dumplings and assorted pasta dishes are all made in-house and include excellent pierogi. The focus on Eastern Europe carries through to the wine list, which has a leaning towards Polish wines.”

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

Now, it’s sure to have even more customers clamouring at the door.

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Loved by locals for its continental pasta and dumplings, gorgeous European wine list and sake collection, The Sparrows in the Green Quarter is something of a hidden gem – tucked in a disused railway arch on Red Bank.

It received rave reviews from local and national critics alike when it first opened in 2019 in a tiny space with room for just 12 covers. Since then, it’s relocated to a bigger home and its following has grown significantly.

Read more: A restaurant in Ancoats is serving up plates of crispy fried squirrel

Front of house is headed up by Polish-born Kasia Hitchcock with her chef partner Franco Concli at the helm in the kitchen.

Plates celebrate Franco’s Tyrolean heritage, with their signature dish spätzle, a rustic fresh egg pasta from which the restaurant takes its name, sitting front and centre.

Feature image – The Manc Eats

Eats

Inside The Black Friar as Salford pub unveils incredible floral display

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Inside The Black Friar as Salford pub unveils incredible floral display
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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 pub
Spring small plates at The Black Friar pub
Delicious spring drinks
Delicious spring drinks
Inside The Tavern at The Black Friar
Inside 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. 

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Team behind award-winning Higher Ground to open new Bar Shrimp seafood bar in Manchester

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Team behind award-winning Higher Ground to open new seafood bar, Bar Shrimp, in Manchester
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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.

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Featured image: Supplied

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