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.
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.
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
The Lawn Club closes temporarily after bar brawl at event leaves ‘trail of blood’ on floor
Daisy Jackson
The Lawn Club has been temporarily instructed to close after a fight last weekend left a trail of blood on the floor outside.
The popular Spinningfields sun-trap bar has said that it’s cooperating fully with Greater Manchester Police and Manchester City Council while the incident is investigated.
A report from GMP said that ‘a large group of people’ were fighting at the city centre bar, one of whom reportedly was seen with a gun, which was thankfully not fired.
At 10.25pm on Sunday 4 June, North West Ambulance service reported that a male had been stabbed in the leg but ‘the knife was no longer in his leg and they didn’t know where it was’.
The victim got up and walked away, and has still not been traced.
The incident happened during an event that was organised by a third party promoter.
The Lawn Club provided CCTV footage to officers, which showed two males arguing before a third appeared with a black handgun.
A spokesperson for the venue said: “On Sunday 4th June, an incident occurred at The Lawn Club, the premises operated by Hardman Bars. This was during an event organised by a third party promoter.
The Lawn Club is temporarily closed. Credit:The Manc Group
“As a result of this incident, we have been instructed to close the premises temporarily. We also recognise and fully comply with the request by GMP and Manchester City Council, received at a hearing on 07.06.23, for a temporary suspension of our licence while the incident is investigated and reviewed in full.
“We are cooperating entirely with GMP and Manchester City Council to provide any information they require in relation to the incident.
“We’d like to reassure our customers and the community that this is an isolated incident. But nevertheless, the safety of our team, customers and the community is of the highest importance to us. As such, during this period of closure, we will be actively working with the authorities and relevant parties to review all policies and procedures in place at the premises.”
Featured image: The Manc Group
Eats
The Stockport farm supper club where you eat outside in the fields
Georgina Pellant
There’s a supper club on a community farm in Stockport where you can dine outside in the very fields where your food has grown.
Hosted by Manchester food waste cafe Open Kitchen in partnership with The Kindling Trust, the journey from plot to plate has never been shorter.
The pair have joined forces to celebrate local, seasonal and sustainably produced food in the most delicious way possible – with a three-course vegan menu designed to show off the organic produce grown at The Kindling Trust’s site in Woodbank Memorial Park.
The supper will be served outside in the fields as part of a unique ‘pop-up restaurant’ experience, accompanied by paired organic wines designed to complement each dish.
Full bar service will also be provided, with provisions made for cover from the ‘Manchester weather’ if required.
Corin Bell, Exec Director of Open Kitchen said, “Messages about sustainability can sometimes feel like they are all about going without…. Don’t fly, don’t drive, etc.
Image: Supplied
Image: Supplied
“We want to focus on positive messages about sustainability, that focus on shifts in behaviour that are kinder to planet and people.
“The event with Kindling will showcase beautiful food and drink, and also be supporting local, sustainable, independent and ethical business, all of which are really core values for both open Kitchen and Kindling”.
Chris Walsh from the Kindling Trust said: “Events like fine dining in the fields are really important to us, because they open up the farm to members of the public, and help to really bring the message home about why local and sustainable produce is so important for our planet and our local economy”.
Located just a mile east of Stockport town centre, Woodbank Community Food Hub is an urban horticulture hub co-ordinated by the Kindling Trust that joins up inclusive community gardening with commercial organic food production.
The size of one and a half football pitches, it includes several large polytunnels for under-cover veg growing as well as three field blocks, apple trees and a community garden.
As well as hosting the dinner in the fields, it is also a place to collect fresh organic veg bags delivered by the Veg Box People, who make sure farmers get regular demand and a fair price for their produce.
Taking place from 6 to 9pm on Wednesday 21 June 2023, to find out more about the dinner and purchase tickets click here.
Georgina Pellant -
23rd March 2023 
