Eats

‘Manchester’s best lunch deal’ that’s only available for two hours a day

And yes, you will have to queue.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 13th February 2026

There’s a cafe in the centre of Manchester that’s had queues all the way down the street thanks to its incredible value lunch deal.

Although it’s been in Spring Gardens for two years now, Meridian has remained one of Manchester’s best-kept secrets online, thanks to its decision to stay totally off social media until recently.

That hasn’t stopped the queues though, and they’re all here for the same thing – a loaded £5.80 lunch box.

Tucked away just off Market Street, Meridian is an unassuming cafe operated by founder Dan.

It’s much more than a coffee shop, with a menu of Asian fusion dishes served in the cafe, as well as for grab-and-go lunches.

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The lunch boxes start from just £5.80, which gets you a box absolutely packed to the brim with delicious Chinese and South East Asian items.

You start off with a base of either egg rice fried, chips, or noodles; then lash on a sauce like Malaysian curry, Thai sweet chilli, or satay.

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Meridian in Manchester
Meridian in Manchester
The Meridian lunch boxes in Manchester
The Meridian lunch boxes in Manchester

As for the toppings, there’s a massive list including popcorn salt n chilli chicken, Japanese gyozas, roasted pork ribs, tofu bites, and crispy spicy beef.

Meridian’s success has skyrocketed recently thanks to a couple of viral TikTok videos (including our recent episode of Takeaway Champions).

And the demand for its lunch boxes is driven even higher by the fact you can only get your hands on them for two hours a day.

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Meridian serves takeaway lunches between 12pm and 2pm, Monday to Friday, and they’re some seriously comforting bowls.

You can watch our full episode of Takeaway Champions here:

@the.manc

This is @Meridian Cafe, serving up loaded lunch boxes from just £5.80; pick your base, sauce and topping, and for an extra quid, you can get three toppings (trust us, it’s worth it). 👌 #manchester #lunch #manchesterfood #asianfood #placestoeatinmanchester

♬ original sound – The Manc

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Plans officially submitted for ‘vibrant’ new food hall in Wythenshawe

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Are you feeling hungry? Good, because a new food hall is on the horizon.

That’s right – plans to transform Wythenshawe Civic have taken another exciting leap forward this week, as Manchester City Council and placemaker Muse have submitted a planning application to bring a brand-new food hall to the town.

Set to be housed within the three units next to the former Peacocks store – which has now been demolished – the new food hall will become a ‘vibrant’ destination for independent and local food vendors to attract people with ‘delicious and diverse’ offerings.

Developers also hope the new food hall will keep the suburban Manchester town’s centre ‘bustling’ throughout the day and into the evening.

The announcement that the new food hall is in the works comes as part of the already-announced plans for Wythenshawe Civic – with work to soon begin on everything from the public realm, and outside space, to the vacant office space above the existing Iceland-store, which will also be transformed into modern new workspace to support local start-ups and bring new jobs into the town centre.

Developers also recently submitted three separate applications to create 422 new affordable homes for social rent across three locations in the town centre.

“Listening to local people over the last year and more, we know that Wythenshawe residents want more from their town centre – more things to do, opportunities to spend time in Civic and night time attractions that give the area a lift and attract visitors,” commented Cllr Bev Craig, who is the Leader of Manchester City Council.

“This is the drive behind the Culture Hub. A place for local people with an interest in the arts to take part in creative activities, see a show or enjoy the cinema space – right in the heart of their community.

“This is another exciting chapter in the transformation of Wythenshawe Town Centre.”

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Joel Chandler, who is the Senior Development Manager at Muse, added that developers are ‘moving at pace’ with plans to give the town centre the ‘regeneration it deserves’.

“The food hall will be a hive for a range of local outlets and will provide new spaces for the community to spend time in and give the town’s nighttime economy a major boost.”

Featured Image – Supplied

Eats

Inside Great Northern Market, the huge new food hall at Manchester Airport T2

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Inside Great Northern Market, the huge new food hall at Manchester Airport T2

There’s a brand-new food hall in Manchester, and you won’t believe where this beauty is… it’s only at Manchester Airport (!).

The food hall craze has travelled all the way to Terminal 2, bringing a whole host of kitchens for you to enjoy before your flight.

You can tuck in to everything from full breakfasts and brunches (with the obligatory 7am pint, because time isn’t real in an airport), to burgers and street food.

Essentially, you can travel around the world before you’ve even boarded the plane. 

It’s all part of the terminal’s wider £1.3bn transformation, which now includes a first-of-its-kind market hall-style food and drink offering, with six kitchens around a central dining area, plus a Gooey kiosk and a takeaway hatch.

Behind the scenes, Great Northern Market is powered by a community of Northern talent. All menus have been crafted by Manchester-born executive chef Amy Tomkinson.

Here are all the new traders who have moved in to the Great Northern Market.

Gooey

Gooey at Great Northern Market
Gooey at Great Northern Market

This one surely needs no introduction – Gooey is one of Manchester’s top (and most popular) bakeries, famed for its chunky cookies, fluffy doughnuts, and cinnamon buns.

It’s the first thing you’ll see as you enter the Great Northern Market, a pretty tiled kiosk with its signature neon sign overhead.

As well as fresh bakes and their limited-edition specials, this is the spot to grab a pre-flight coffee too.

La Casita

La Casita at Great Northern Market

This Mexican street food spot has been created with the help of Madre’s Sam Grainger, and is serving a menu of burritos, loaded nachos, and salads.

A highlight is the beef birria nachos – authentic Mexican corn tacos loaded up with refried beans, pink pickled onions, guacamole, cheese sauce, salsa norteña and jalapeños. 

Nashville Hot House

Nashville Hot House

There’s another local name involved with Nashville Hot House – Yard & Coop have brought their fried chicken prowess to Manchester Airport.

At the Great Northern Market, you’ll find classic buttermilk chicken burgers, a spicy little K-pop thigh burger, and chicken tenders.

There’s also salt and pepper loaded fries and absolutely loads of different dips.

Napoli Street Pizza

There’s been a real lack of pre-holiday pizza at Manchester Airport until now.

Napoli Street Pizza makes its Neapolitan pizzas using a a 55% hydration method, and a biga dough that is fermented and used to create the dough daily.

There are loads of different flavours to choose from, like a hot honey and pepperoni, plus flatbreads, Caesar salads, and more.

Kouzina

Kouzina is importing flatbreads from Greece for the most authentic possible souvlaki experience, like a lamb kofta souvlaki with chopped tomatoes, pink pickled onions, cucumber, zhoug, tahini, garlic mayo, and coriander.

You can also order big salads here, mezze platters, halloumi fries, and flatbreads with dips.

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You’ll feel like your in Santorini before you’ve even stepped on the plane (… okay, that might be a stretch).

Black Iron Grill

Smash burgers and skin-on fries are up for grabs at this next Great Northern Market trader, Black Iron Grill.

These burgers are served in glazed brioche buns, with melt-in-your-mouth beef patties topped with a number of different options.

You can also order a side of mac and cheese or some filthy fries loaded with crispy bacon bits, crispy shallots, and garlic mayonnaise.

Palms Cafe

That pre-flight pint just got FANCY

Last but not least – and definitely not something we thought we’d ever see in Manchester Airport – is Palms Cafe.

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They’re whipping up big bowls of ramen, and other noodle dishes, with toppings like satay chicken, sweet chilli king prawn, crispy tofu, pulled Korean beef, crispy fried chicken, and miso roasted sweet potato.

Noodles include hearty ramens, katsu curries, Pad Thai, and sides like prawn crackers.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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