One of Manchester’s leading street food hubs has been named as one of the best in the UK, beating out some stiff competition.
Grub, housed just outside the city centre in the Green Quarter, was praised in the prestigious National Geographic list for its rotation of traders and for its beer garden space.
The guide covers venues across the UK, and includes establishments in London, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Bristol and Leicester, as well as our home city.
Grub started life as a pop-up way back in 2014, travelling around various brewery tap rooms including Blackjack, Runaway, and Alphabet Brewing Company.
Grub street food venue in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
It then found a semi-permanent home in the railway arches near Piccadilly, and in the warmer months, at Mayfield Depot on the site that’s now home to Escape to Freight Island’s outdoor space.
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It’s now located on Redbank in the Green Quarter, with two floors of indoor seating, three bars, events spaces and ‘Manchester’s best kept secret beer garden’.
Grub welcomes in a rotation of street food operators, and dedicates Sundays to plant-based food and drink.
National Geographic said: “Housed in a former textile warehouse, Grub is home to a craft beer bar, an independent cinema and an event space.
“At weekends, some of the city’s best street traders — including Oh Mei Dumpling and What’s Your Beef — serve up an incredible array of dishes in the beer garden.
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“Don’t miss Plant Powered Sundays, a weekly event with delicious vegan eats from the likes of Seitan’s Kebab and Bee Kind Bakery.”
Featured image: The Manc Group
Eats
Irish Festival Village returns to Manchester with live music, fry-up pizzas and loads of Guinness
Daisy Jackson
A huge Irish Festival Village has returned to Manchester city centre today to kick off the St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Over the coming 10 days, there’ll be live Irish music, street food, retail stalls and – of course – plenty of Guinness flowing.
The main event is now open at St Ann’s Square, where a gigantic marquee festooned in green, white and orange has been installed.
Inside here, the bar is being run by the O’Shea’s team, and the stage will host loads of live music and great craic.
Outside you’ll find Birchwood Pizza, who have got a menu of pizzas inspired by the Emerald Isle.
Pizzas include the What’s the Craic (a fry-up pizza with white pudding and Dubliner sausage) to The Black Stuff (black pudding, rosemary potato and streaky pudding).
The Irish Festival Village has opened as part of the wider Manchester Irish Festival celebrations across Greater Manchester.
The Irish Festival Village is back in ManchesterIrish pizzas at the Festival Village on St Ann’s SquareYou can shop Irish treats outside
There’ll also be a Saint Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday 16 March, which will weave its way from the Irish World Heritage Centre all the way onto Deansgate.
The parade will showcase and champion local groups and organisations such as GAA clubs, Irish dance classes, marching bands, and pipe bands, along with a strong representation of the 32 counties in Ireland.
And it handily winds up around King Street, just beside the Irish Festival Village.
The gathering spot will be open from Friday 7 March all the way through to St Patrick’s Day itself – find out more HERE.
There’s a bakery in Manchester where you can decorate your own adorable tiny bento cake
Daisy Jackson
We’ve found a wholesome activity that’ll suit even the most cack-handed of bakers – a workshop where you can decorate your own miniature bento cake.
This Manchester activity has shot to the top of our list of our favourite things to do locally, perfect for a hen do, a birthday, a mate date or a date date.
Bento cakes, or lunchbox cakes, have all the elaborate decorations of a full celebration cake but made miniature, for a treat that doesn’t have to be shared out to dozens of people.
From swirls of buttercream frosting to pretty piped love hearts to cursive writing atop your cake, there are loads of decorations you can add to your own creation.
At Vanilla Ice Cakes in Chorlton, you’ll sit under the expert eye of owner Fiza, a master baker who’s been in the game for more than a decade.
She’ll guide you (and sometimes step in to help you) as you fumble your way through decorating your own cake.
As you arrive for your workshop you’re presented with two adorable vanilla sponge cakes, a classic base for a proper Victoria sponge or a more elaborate celebration cake.
Other cakes at Vanilla Ice CakesYou can mix up your own buttercream icingMaster baker Fiza at work at the bento cake workshopThe bento cake workshop space in ManchesterOne of our creations at the bento cake workshop in Chorlton, Manchester
Each class includes hot drinks, plus a plate full of Vanilla Ice Cakes’ delicious brownie bites.
From here, you’re taught the basics of piping, building a buttercream ‘dam’ before spooning in a filling of choice – jam, Nutella or Lotus Biscoff.
After applying a crumb coat (Great British Bake Off fans will already be on the right page here), the real fun begins.
Fiza will help you to whip up a smooth buttercream in whichever colour you wish, before letting you run riot with a piping bag.
You’ll practice swirls, rosettes, hearts, and even writing in icing ahead of decorating your actual cake.
You can see how we got on below, then book your own spot HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
13th July 2022 
