A pub in Manchester has launched a new ‘traditional’ pub menu for dogs featuring roast dinner bones, ‘Bark’ burgers, roasts, and fish and chips.
The Metropolitan Pub in Didsbury, part of the Stonegate Group, has partnered up with Sir Woofchester’s, a hospitality-focused dog food provider, to provide the new gastro-style feast for customers’ furry friends.
The group has over 80 Stonegate pubs across the UK offering the new dog menu, and also plans to introduce some seasonal new dishes to the menu as the year progresses – promising it will introduce a doggy Christmas dinner and a Valentine’s Day menu in the coming months.
Staples of the new menu, available now at The Metropolitan pub in Didsbury, include roast dinner bones, Bark burgers and a fully-fledged roast dinner, as well as traditional British pub favourite, fish and chips.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
The menu also includes doggy drinks, with dog-friendly beer ‘bark brew’ and even a paw-star martini on offer.
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All the doggy food products included in the new menu are grain free and include freeze-dried raw ingredients, so no matter what your dog’s dietary requirements there should be something on the menu for even the fussiest pooch.
We headed down with The Manc superstar Vinny, a six-year-old Bulldog cross with allergies of his own.
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On arriving at The Metropolitan, Vinny received special treatment as staff filled up his very own water bowl from a dedicated doggy service section that has been created outside.
Dog water bowls are refreshed from a dedicated black barrel wearing a dog collar, whilst next door, dog menus and cosy blankets for colder can be found in the house kennel.
After a quick scan of the menu, we opted for a plate of fish and chips for Vinny and a bowl of treats – both brought to our outdoor table by friendly staff who went above and beyond to make sure Vinny was comfortable.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
We can confirm that the treats and meal were a hit, as he dug in with absolute gusto – spilling biscuits around the floor and he buried his nose in to get at the sweet potato chips and tasty morsels of silver fish.
The pub has always been dog friendly outside, but it has only recently begun to welcome dogs indoors too – a move that was initiated by new General Manager Sam Rawlinson.
Sam told The Manc that so far the new dog menus have been going down really well, and on average the pub is currently selling between four and five a week.
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Being that Didsbury is such a doggy area, he said, “it works really well.”
Featured image – The Manc Eats
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.
The massively underrated rooftop terrace in Manchester with great views and top cocktails
Daisy Jackson
Manchester city centre is generally STARVED of outdoor space, but we’ve found the perfect sun-soaked oasis where you can enjoy a bit of fresh air and a whole lot of great food and drinks.
Tucked up on the sixth floor of the award-winning boutique hotel King Street Townhouse, you’ll find a rooftop terrace with beautiful views of the city’s skyline.
As Manchester buzzes along beneath you, you can tuck in to everything from full charcuterie grazing boards to seasonal snacks and small plates, all served alongside an impressive wine and cocktail list.
This often-overlooked local spot is a firm favourite of those in the know, thanks to its sheltered location that basks in the sun all afternoon.
And although it’s in a prime city centre location, just a stone’s throw from Deansgate, St Peter’s Square and Market Street, it’s a luxurious escape from it all – as is the entire boutique hotel it’s part of.
Whether it’s a post-work social, a relaxed date night, or a cheeky afternoon cocktail, the King Street Townhouse Terrace is open to the public and available for walk-ins or bookings when it isn’t privately hired.
On the menu you can expect locally-sourced dishes like Pollen sourdough served with whipped butter, a meat or cheese grazing board loaded with British produce, and larger plates like a beef and bone marrow burger or a fried fish roll topped with crisps.
British charcuterie grazing boardSpritzes on the King Street Townhouse terrace
Pairing perfectly with a spritz or a beer are snacks like deep-fried Gordal olives, stuffed with fennel sausage, and a brioche garlic bread packed with cream cheese.
The hotel has a cocktail list that celebrates classic drinks and a few of their own signature concoctions, and it doesn’t feel much more luxurious than when you treat yourself to a glass of sky-high champagne with views like this.
The South Terrace can also be hired privately for leisure or corporate events, with tailored catering options including summer BBQs.
And you can ramp up your trip to this oasis by staying overnight in one of the boutique hotels’ rooms, or visiting the King Street Townhouse ESPA spa for a treatment.
Find out more about the terrace at King Street Townhouse HERE.
The terrace at King Street Townhouse hotelThe terrace at King Street Townhouse hotelDeep-fried olivesGarlic bread with creamed cheeseKing Street Townhouse hotel
Georgina Pellant -
4th July 2023 
