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.
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.
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.
Being that Didsbury is such a doggy area, he said, “it works really well.”
Featured image – The Manc Eats
Eats
Local brewery J.W. Lees is helping bring back Manchester’s beloved Boddingtons beer
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester, it’s time to rejoice in the return of a cask king, as Boddingtons is coming back in a big way and local brewery J.W. Lees is helping spearhead the revival.
The famous ‘Cream of Manchester’ has slowly dripped away over the decades, being found in fewer places by the year, though some holdouts have remained.
Fortunately, those who are truly passionate about Boddingtons and their love for the delicious golden ale haven’t waned over the years, helping keep it alive on keg in the few Manc pubs still serving it.
But while it was the Keg that kept Boddingtons alive, now, thanks to the native brewers, beer brand and pub chain, the popular beer is being given a fresh start back in its native home of a cask. By’eck – it’s back…
They’re hoping to make sights like this a thing of the past.More of this, please.(Credit: The Manc Eats)
Teaming up with the global Budweiser Brewing Group (BBG), which will now oversee the resurrection of the modern-day ‘Boddies’, J.W. Lees will be bringing the cask ale back to the masses.
Just in time for cosy, autumnal nights in the pub, no less.
Planning to reintroduce it in their pubs across the region, before hopefully taking on the North West and beyond, they’re promising to make it “smoother, creamier, and brewed closer to home than ever before.”
It seems fitting that Lees (founded in 1828) should be entrusted with one of our oldest beers in Boddingtons, which dates back to 1778 and went on to become not just one of the biggest beer brands in the UK but also one of the first to be canned and mass-produced on the shelves across the country.
To toast the return and impending supremacy of Boddies, J.W. Lees Albert Square pub, Founder’s Hall – which replaced the old Duttons when it opened last year – is even hosting a party to celebrate its comeback, featuring some of the very first of the new pints to be poured to the public on 23 September.
This isn’t just a reboot; the new and improved Boddies brand comes with a new 4.0% ABV recipe, looking to join the lineup of premium British ales.
William Lees-Jones, Managing Director J.W. Lees, said: “When I joined JW Lees in 1994, Boddingtons was ‘The Cream of Manchester’ and we were in awe of their position in leading the cask beer revolution.
“We are planning to put Boddingtons back where it rightly deserves to be as one of the leading premium UK cask beers, particularly in our heartland of the North West.
“We also look forward to working with Budweiser Brewing Group with their portfolio of market-leading lagers and premium packaged beers in our pubs.”
Historic Manchester pub issues apology for ’embarrassing’ toilets and asks for support
Daisy Jackson
One of Manchester’s most iconic pubs, Mr Thomas’s Chop House, is finally undergoing a major upgrade after admitting its building has become an ’embarrassment’.
The historic Cross Street boozer has shared a public apology for the ‘deteriorating’ state of its stunning building.
Mr Thomas’s Chop House is now pleading for support from punters as it undergoes the weeks-long scheme of improvements.
Visitors will find a reduced menu while renovations are taking place.
The pub said that it’s aware that the Grade II-listed pub has been in need of improvement for a while, but explained these works have been hampered by leasing issues.
Mr Thomas’s Chop House explained that it’s been ‘existing on over 30 short-term lease extensions for 8 years while our landlords negotiated with the superior landlord’.
It’s left them unable to invest into the building – until now.
The pub will be adding brand-new toilets downstairs (they said the old ones were ‘an embarrassment’), as well as improving the kitchens and adding a new beer cellar.
In their statement, Mr Thomas’s Chop House said: “First of all, we owe you, our loyal customers, an apology.
Mr Thomas’s Chop House is undergoing a refurb
“Over the past few years bits of our stunning building have deteriorated. The toilets have become a bit of an embarrassment. We are sorry.
“The fact is, we (The Victorian Chop House Company) have been existing on over 30 short-term lease extensions for 8 years while our landlords negotiated with the superior landlord.
“As a result of this uncertainty we haven’t been able to invest into the fabric of the building.
“But now the wait is finally over. And together with our landlords we are finally beginning a scheme of renovations which will return Tom’s to the state it should be in!”
Work began last week and is expected to last for around three weeks.
They also wrote: “Things will be slightly different but we are so excited. Please help us stay afloat while we work to restore Tom’s.”
Georgina Pellant -
4th July 2023 
