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:
Family behind Salvi’s launch new concept, weeks after iconic restaurant closure
Daisy Jackson
Just weeks after the closure of its iconic, 16-year-old Italian restaurant in the Corn Exchange, the family behind Salvi’s have revealed a brand-new concept.
And this time, the reins are being handed over to the next generation.
Salvi’s founder Maurizio Cecco has helped to shape Amò, but it’s all the brainchild of his daughter, Sienna.
Sienna will run the business out of a unit up on Deansgate Mews, serving fresh pasta dishes, pizza sandwiches, tubs of tiramisu, and two-for-£10 spritzes.
The deli aspect of the original Salvi’s has been carried over to Amò too – you’ll find shelves almost to the ceiling filled with Italian pasta, wine, olive oils, pistachio spreads, and more.
Sienna has grown up in restaurants, with her parents launching Salvi’s when she was just two years old.
She said she wants the space to be a livelier, fresher version of the Italian restaurant that has been so loved by Mancs for so many years.
Sienna outside AmòFresh pasta dishesInside Amò by Salvi’sTheir viral frozen crema di caffeLemon granitaInside Amò by Salvi’sTiramisu pots
Amò, which is Neapolitan slang for ‘my love’, will have loads of fresh Italian dishes, including arancini, gnocchi, and hearty pasta plates.
At lunchtimes, guests can order from a £10 lunch menu, with dishes changing daily depending on the best produce the kitchen can get – it could be a pizza sandwich with proscuitto and tomato, a spicy pasta, or a gnocchi bake, always served with your choice of soft drink.
With its position on Deansgate Mews, Amò basks in the sunshine at lunchtimes.
And while it’s definitely a different concept to the original Salvi’s, Amò looks set to carry the family’s Italian food legacy into its next generation.
Award-winning Didsbury bakery La Chouquette reveals incredible new site
Daisy Jackson
La Chouquette is one of Greater Manchester’s top bakeries – an award-winner, with queues down the street every weekend for its authentic French pastries and loaves.
And now they’re ready for a new chapter, revealing a major expansion today.
Owners Catrina and Flo have painstakingly expanded the bakery into the unit next door, creating what feels like a true French bakery.
And in the midst of this huge renovation project, they’ve welcomed a tiny new baby boy – quite the summer for the couple.
Catrina and Flo launched La Chouquette in lockdown, and in a time where people could only get their hospitality fix from takeaways, immediately became one of the most popular spots in the region.
Their success has been so great, you’ll still consistently find queues down the street every weekend, for their top sellers like their authentic almond croissants.
Then in October 2024, they grew the business and launched Piqniq, a new deli in Didsbury village, serving freshly-baked baguette sandwiches, breakfast butties, toasties, tiramisu pots and their legendary pastries.
The new-look La Chouquette features beautiful details like mosaic floors, rich blue walls, wooden shelves, and brass light fixtures.
La Chouquette’s best-selling almond croissantsInside the stunning new La Chouquette in DidbsuryNew savoury bakesThe chausson aux pommesThe counter stuffed with artisan French bakesChocolate chip cookies and cinnamon buns
The huge new counter displays more pastries and breads than ever before, like a hearty chausson aux pommes filled with apples that will be perfect for autumn, plus seasonal treats like a rhubarb creme brulee pastry, and homemade quiche.
Speaking at the grand relaunch today, Catrina said: “The layout has changed, it looks so much more chic, it looks like a traditional French bakery. We’re really excited about it.”
As for what’s on the counter, Flo reassured fans that their beloved almond and pistachio croissants remain, but with some new savoury editions, like a truffle croque monsieur made with croissant dough.
La Choquette has reopened today, and will be open seven days a week from 7am until 5pm.
Danny Jones -
28th December 2023 
