If you love wine, and you love Manchester, and you’d quite like to do something with your afternoon that celebrates both of those things, can I put you onto the Manchester Wine Tours?
This genius little event sees small groups of people heading across the city on, essentially, an organised and very sophisticated bar crawl.
Imagine Carnage, but instead of drawing on a t-shirt and slamming neon green alcopops, you’re dressed up nicely and visiting some of Manchester’s top food and drink businesses.
Manchester Wine Tours is owned and operated by Kel Bishop, a local food and drink writer and wine teacher.
Each tour is different, taking in different bars, different wines, and different people.
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But as a general rule of thumb you can expect to meet up with Kel somewhere centrally, and follow her to around four different bars, sampling one or two wines in each.
You end up drinking roughly two-thirds of a bottle of wine, unless you get lucky with a small group like ours, where we definitely got a little more than that.
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And each tour factors in a few points of interest, in classic walking tour style and for even more of a Manchester flavour.
On the Manchester Wine Tour I joined, our route included a few of the city centre’s newest wine hotspots, starting at Kallos, the fantastic greek restaurant in Salford that’s striving to have the largest collection of greek wines in the UK.
Here we tucked into their divine, puffed-up flatbreads and dips, as well as tinned octopus, all paired with a crisp sparkling Domaine Karanika Brut Cuvee Speciale.
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Stop one on our Manchester Wine Tours – Kallos
Then it was on with the big coats for a walk back into the city centre to Sterling.
On a personal note, I’ve been working as a food and drink journalist in Manchester for a decade. I did not expect to have any surprises along the way.
But then Kel led us into the wine room at Sterling – not usually open to the public – and proved me wrong.
Tucked away from the main bar, surrounded by wooden shelves glinting with different wines, we sampled a dry Chenin a New Zealand Lethbridge Chardonnay, and all realised we had been judging Chardonnay far too harshly.
Inside Sterling
It’s at this stop that Kel really breaks down the art of wine tasting, and how to build your understanding of a wine from sight to smell to sip.
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Suitably warmed up, it was time for a dash across to Winsome, the new British restaurant that’s already been added to the Michelin guide, where we crammed around a centrepiece of wine bottle candles dripping in wax to discover the delights of the Greek Alkemi Xenomavro rose – my favourite wine from the night that I bought an extra bottle of to take home.
Each stop of the wine tour offers snacks as well as the wines, and for Winsome it was a delicate squash dish picked by the chef to compliment our drinks.
Manchester Wine Tours in Winsome
We also sampled a lethally good Terre de Zeus Xinomavro here – it was a good day for Greek wine.
By this point of the tour we’re like a slightly wobbly gaggle of baby birds, scurrying after Kel towards our final spot for the night – Beeswing.
The Kampus bar provided an Austrian Funkstille Zweigelt (ordered an extra glass of this, it was so good) and a The Good Luck Club Cabernet Sauvignon from the Barossa Valley, plus boards of charcuterie and cheese.
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My brain is like a sieve for wine facts (I’ve written up most of this by looking at the labels), but I guess that just means the Manchester Wine Tour will have a repeat customer.
Kel is an expert at reading the room and deftly tailors her tastings to suit each person’s wine experience. For some it’s just the pleasure of drinking a nice wine (here, have a top-up), for others it’s digging into the history and politics of the drink. Some just wanted to uncover a new bar or restaurant, playing tourist in their own city.
It felt as though all seven of us on our tour took something different away from the exact same experience – and is that not the beauty of good hospitality?
It’s all completely accessible, approachable and very, very fun.
First look inside Zadie’s, the glamorous new restaurant with views into the Etihad Stadium
Daisy Jackson
You don’t get an opening like this very often – Manchester’s newest opening, Zadie’s, has windows that look straight onto the pitch at the Etihad Stadium.
The glamorous new restaurant is promising Japanese-Italian dishes, theatrical cocktails, and late-night entertainment, right at the heart of the Etihad Campus.
Zadie’s will officially open at Medlock Square on Wednesday 23 September, bringing a new 258-cover restaurant and bar to the rapidly developing destination next to Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium.
The restaurant was first revealed earlier this year as the flagship venue at Medlock Square, with a team of heavyweight names from the hospitality world behind it.
Now, ahead of opening night, we’ve been given a first look at what diners can expect from Zadie’s – from the food and cocktails to the art-filled interiors.
Sat high above Medlock Square, Zadie’s has been designed as a glamorous, high-energy destination with panoramic views stretching towards the South Pennines as well as across the pitch far below.
Inside, deep and luxurious banquette seating surrounds a striking central bar, while the walls feature a collection of work from some of the UK’s emerging and breakthrough artists, curated with Manchester artist and curator Meg Saoirse Williams.
The beautiful central bar at Zadie’s in ManchesterThe view from Zadie’s into the Etihad StadiumSeats in the restaurant look right onto the pitch
At launch, the collection will feature work by Fern O’Carolan, Danny Davidson, Pat Flynn, Jamie Holman, Sondra Meszaros, Trackie McLeod, Magdalena Wysocka, Claudio Pogo, Shaun Peckham, James Tailor, Alistair Woods, Matthew Wood and Williams herself.
At the heart of Zadie’s is a menu inspired by the Japanese tradition of Itameshi – a style of cooking that brings Japanese ingredients and flavours together with Italian techniques and presentation.
Head chef Paulo Bianchi has worked with some of the biggest names in the hospitality industry, including Zuma, Alain Ducasse, and Lucky Cat, as well as at Les Grandes Alpes in Courchevel 1850.
His menu is designed to balance familiar luxury with more unexpected combinations, with dishes ranging from caviar, lobster, veal tonnato and Bluefin tuna to nashi pear, yuzu koshu and calamansi.
Among the highlights on the opening menu is burrata with nashi pear compote, basil oil and bubu arare, while the tortelloni cacio e pepe comes with white soy burro bianco, furikake and chives.
Inside Zadie’s in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
There’s also a Japanese-leaning take on the Italian classic veal tonnato, served with bonito dressing, garlic chives and toasted panko.
For something more substantial, diners can order roast lobster, available as either a half or whole lobster, with a choice of tomato ponzu or yuzu kosho.
And then there is Zadie’s signature beef sharer – a hefty 1.3kg British Wagyu tomahawk served with roast potatoes, sesame glaze, chives, mushroom ponzu and chimichurri sauces.
The drinks menu has been developed by award-winning Head of Bars Cressida Lawlor, with the same playful approach applied to the cocktails.
Expect a Purple Old Fashioned, made with Maker’s Mark bourbon washed with taro butter before being sweetened with ube and vanilla syrup and finished with bitters; a Pandan Grasshopper with pandan, coconut milk, and more; and the Champagne Problem, with plum wine, champagne, yuzu and jasmine cordial.
Zadie’s officially opens on Wednesday 23 September at 5pm.
New two-storey Latin BBQ restaurant, bar, and music venue Dahlia opens in the Northern Quarter
Lydia Mastrolonardo
The Northern Quarter has welcomed a huge two-storey Latin BBQ restaurant, bar and music venue, brought to you by the same team behind Manchester’s beloved Firehouse and Ramona – you just know it’s going to be good with names like that.
Taking over the site formerly home to Pie & Ale, Dahlia has a few different concepts under one roof, but don’t let that confuse you too much.
Up first is Barbacoa Cósmica, an open-fire grill kitchen, with cooking inspired by Latin America and the southern states of America. As the Northern Quarter’s first open fire grill kitchen, guests will have the unique experience of being able to watch the chefs in action, from their kitchen counter seats.
The concept is the product of years of travelling across Latin America, exploring regional recipes and techniques, then condensed down to allow us to take a road trip from San Diego to Jalisco, Mexico City to Oaxaca, all from the comfort of our seats.
Dahlia is also be home to Bar Más Bonita, translating to ‘most beautiful bar’, a lively Liquorita serving up all sorts of Latin American specialties – think vibrant, handcrafted cocktails and salted rims with tequila, mezcal, rum and Latin spirits.
In the evenings, the space will transform into Dahlia Stereo, an intimate two-storey music space powered by a bespoke Hatchett Sound system.
Every element of the venue has been carefully considered by sound engineers and acoustic specialists, including Jonny ‘Oppo’ of Neuron Audio, to ensure the best listening experience possible.
Dahlia in the Northern Quarter. Credit: The Manc Group
Jonny “Oppo” said: “We have been building and working with sound systems for years, but Manchester’s bars and restaurants have never had an installation at this level. Every detail of the room has been designed around how music should sound and feel. It is genuinely exciting for the city.”
In addition to this, the iconic Jonjo Williams of Maribou State and Rich Reason of Hit & Run, have carefully curated a music programme for September to give us a flavour of what’s to come, including sets from Gilles Peterson, Quantic, Gia Fu, DJ Die and Joey T.
With craft being central to the space, almost every element has been made by hand by the Dahlia team and its team of trusted independent artisans and specialist suppliers. From the artwork and upholstery, to the world class sound system and the team’s own bottled Latin spirits, it truly has all been carefully thought through.
To celebrate its launch, Dahlia is offering 50% off the food bill while the new team trains and gets up to speed on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays in September, before 9pm, when you book a table and follow @dahliastereo on instagram.
Daisy Jackson -
21st November 2025 
