There’s nothing that sounds more inviting on a cold January evening than a lovely warming pie, so when we heard that The Black Friar’s now annual Pie Festival is returning once again for 2024, we have no shame in admitting we did a little dance.
In case you never had the pleasure, The Black Friar pub over in Greengate, which was resurrected and lovingly restored to an unparalleled level of personal glory back in 2021, serves some of the best you’ll find on the Salford side of the Irwell and a couple of years back they started their own Pie Festival.
Now entering its third edition, the public house and gourmet restaurant is bringing back the parade of meat and gravy, sweet and savoury, and pretty all things pie and pastry-encrusted in the New Year.
Best of all, not only are there some seriously enticing flavours on offer but this thing is also all about value for money and we can never resist a good deal.
Launching from Monday, 8 January and running all the way up until the end of February, The Black Friar will be helping warm your cockles all winter with some proper northern pies.
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Following rave reviews of Head Chef Ben Chaplin’s recipes from revered food critic Jay Rayner in 2022, the festival’s inaugural year, you can expect beloved menu signatures as well as an ever-rotating lineup of lip-smacking daily specials for two whole months.
Boasting flavours such as Creamy Chicken and Pancetta, Minced Aged Beef and Root Vegetable, as well as a Classic Fish Pie for their three fixed offerings, alongside a host of daily specials like a breakfast pie, curry fillings, sweet dessert pies and even a ‘doggy’ pie (man’s best friend’s got to eat too).
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Every single one of those is getting a firm Churchill the dog nod and a hearty ‘Oh yes!’ from us. Unbelievably, each pie will be available for just £10 and if you don’t mind spending more than a tenner, you can also grab their seasonal desserts like sticky toffee pudding, apple crumble and a gingerbread rice pudding for just £7 extra. Banging.
You can grab a side of chips, mash or seasonal veg for just £3 too. (Credit: The Black Friar Salford via Instagram)
£10 pies will be available all day every Monday and will be served until 6pm from Tuesday-Friday. Even if you don’t fancy a pie whilst the festival is on but still fancy popping in, the new 2024 menu will also have a range of winter warmers mains, including Grandma’s Pork Sausage served with mash and onion gravy, a creamy Mushroom Tagliatelle and a fragrant Vegetable Bhuna made with seasonal veg.
As for starters, we’re talking Boddingtons Rarebit with hen’s egg and chard (yeah, you heard us), White Anchovies on Toasted Sourdough, as well as Roasted Cauliflower with Ras El Hanout, harissa ragu, grapes and almond, just to name a few.
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And for dessert, we’ve already reeled off the seasonal specials but you’ll know there’s always plenty more to choose from when it comes to The Black Friar’s impressive gourmet menu. It’s pub grub done proper and never disappoints.
To book a table for the Pie Festival, head over to The Black Friar’s website HERE and if you wondering where it ranks amongst the best places to get pie in Greater Manchester, look no further:
Popular outdoor dining event returns to MediaCity waterfront this summer
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester’s popular outdoor dining concept is back again this summer, and there’s a proper tasty lineup of traders.
Kargo on the Docks, which is MediaCity‘s al fresco dining pop-up, has taken over the waterfront and gardens once again with a fresh wave of local food traders and stunning artwork by Salford-based creatives, all as the sun shines down on Salford Quays this summer.
A handful of Greater Manchester‘s most popular independents have set themselves up Quayside inside those signature re-imagined shipping containers.
Foodies can expect a menu packed with bold new flavours including Caribbean, Lebanese, Mexican, Ethiopian, and Pan-Asian dishes.
Loads of local indie food vendors have taken over the Salford Quays waterfront for the summer / Credit: Supplied
Afro Shack – the sister brand to Kargo.MKT favourite House of Habesha – will be serving fusion food combining East African flavours with indulgent American fast food, while new kids on the block Wok Bros will deliver sizzling, wok-tossed Pan-Asian street food and 100% halal dishes inspired by authentic flavours and fresh ingredients.
Iconic Jamaican dishes will also be on offer from Sunrise Caribbean, while Quiero Tacos will bring slow-cooked Birria tacos, cheesy quesadillas, and vibrant rice bowls packed with the spirit of Mexico.
Last but not least, Mediterranean food lovers can expect juicy lamb koftas, golden halloumi, and richly spiced chicken shawarma from Habibs.
Foodies can expect a menu packed with bold new flavours / Credit: Mark Waugh (via Supplied)
As well as the tasty food on offer, as mentioned, Kargo on the Docks also features a range of artwork and installations from local independent talent – with each container adorned with murals from creatives including Fernandes Makes, Kelly Ma, and Caroline Daly, bringing a feel-good summer vibe to the MediaCity Gardens.
Visitors can also enjoy an art trail display through the gardens, featuring structures designed by, A Studio Called Jane, Luke Passey, and Tasha Whittle.
There will also be a range of pop-up events hosted at the venue throughout the summer, with more announcements to be made very soon, so keep your eyes peeled.
Kargo on the Docks is now back at MediaCity from today (9 May) and will be open Tuesday to Sunday from 12pm-9pm throughout the summer.
Featured Image – Mark Waugh (via Supplied)
Eats
I went all the way to Paris to test out Big Mamma ahead of Manchester’s most exciting new restaurant opening
Daisy Jackson
Hospitality heavyweights Big Mamma Group are finally heading to Manchester, opening a Circolo Popolare Italian restaurant in the city centre – so we nipped over to Paris to see exactly what’s in store for us.
In the 10 years since launching their very first restaurant, East Mamma in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, the group have spread their wings wide.
There are Big Mamma Group restaurants, under several different names, all over Europe – and although they all belong to the same family, each one is treated like a total individual.
Some have maximalist, kitsch interiors with animal print furniture, gilded ceilings and retro prints of men in Y-fronts; others are more traditional trattorias with exposed brick, terracotta floors and crisp white tablecloths.
These interiors are fun, which is so refreshing in an industry which sometimes takes itself a bit too seriously.
On our tour of Big Mamma restaurants in Paris I came across delightful details like a loo wallpapered in pictures of Rod Stewart, a cocktail menu designed like a retro football sticker book, and an ice cream parlour built into an old train station carriage.
Every corner is packed with whimsy and wonder and there’s a whole team dedicated to sourcing these little touches from antiques fairs, second-hand shops and independent makers, stashing them all in an Aladdin’s Cave of a warehouse. Each restaurant even has its own crockery pattern.
East Mamma, one of Big Mamma’s Paris restaurantsNo Entry cocktail barA Big Mamma speakeasyPink MammaLa Felicita food hallLa Felicita food hall
So yes, the interiors in Manchester will be similarly interesting and lavish.
Big Mamma Group has already confirmed that the huge two-storey Circolo Popolare trattoria will be inspired by a Sardinian Festa, meaning cosy alcoves, more than 8000 bottles of vintage booze, and a vast room inspired by an overgrown Mediterranean courtyard.
As it takes shape in Gary Neville’s £400m St Michael’s development, they’ll be moving in big sharing tables, antique trinkets, reels of twinkling lights and even an Italian wishing well ahead of the big launch next month.
But not enough of us are talking about the food yet – this is a restaurant group that sources its produce from 160 different Italian artisans to ensure that everything you’re eating as authentic and delicious as possible.
Food at Big Mamma
While the menus shift between restaurants you can expect hearty bowls of handmade pasta laced with truffle or tomato or cheese, crispy-soft pizzas layered in creative sauce bases (like zucchini cream or black truffle cream, along with their classic San Marzano DOP tomato sauce), and per iniziare starters like giant burrata balls, melt-in-the-mouth croquettes, and slivers of cured meats – all prepared in an open kitchen run by Campanian-born Alfonso Esposito.
And a show-stopper for Manchester will be an outrageous six-inch lemon meringue pie, with a wibbly wobbly tower of Italian meringue on top.
Circolo Popolare will officially open its doors on 6 June – and before then, there’ll be a very limited soft launch where you can snag yourself 50% off your bill. Sign up HERE, with bookings live on Monday 12 May.
Danny Jones -
28th December 2023 
