Eats

New disco-inspired cocktail bar promising ‘Manchester’s biggest happy hour’ to open this autumn

A guaranteed good time even if you don't remember it...

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 27th September 2024

A new bar is set to open on Deansgate soon, promising an intoxicating combination of ‘cocktails, dreams and disco’.

This is Simmons, a wildly successful name from down in London, and it’s finally making its way up north to Manchester.

You can’t miss the location – they’ve slapped a gigantic mirror, daubed with neon pink writing, outside the site where the bar is being built.

Now the capital’s go-to party palace, Simmons will bring the ‘biggest happy hour’ in Manchester to Deansgate when it opens its 400-capacity venue.

That means two-for-one cocktails, £2.50 spirit and mixers (or £5 doubles), £3 beer and wine, and £12 bottles of wine, plus cocktail teapots for £15.

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The Simmons happy hour runs until 9pm Sunday to Friday, while on Saturdays it’s two-for-one cocktails and £15 teapots until 9pm.

The brand is famed for its kitsch, colourful interiors, with hot pink neon lights, bold wallpapers, and always a disco ball.

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There are already 22 locations across London but this will be the first Simmons bar to open outside the capital.

An existing Simmons bar in London before it heads to Manchester. Credit: Simmons
An existing Simmons bar in London before it heads to Manchester. Credit: Simmons

On their website, Simmons says: “Hi my name’s Simmons, I’m well known for being the best bar group in London (and probably the world).

“I’m a late night cocktail bar offering you the perfect place for after work drinks or a cheeky dance, people like me because I look real good and sell nice drinks.

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“People say I am sexy and good looking but I just shrug it off and don’t let my ego get too big, no one likes a show off.

“I am located in lots of different places across London, I can be hired out for private parties and I have a notoriously eclectic musical taste; ranging from hip-hop, to disco, to funk, to 80’s, to 90’s to classic party bangers!

Simmons happy hour deals in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Simmons happy hour deals in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Inside another London Simmons. Credit: Simmons
Inside another London Simmons. Credit: Simmons

“Come check me out, sip on a cocktail in a teacup and play on my SEGA Megadrive.”

Owner Nick Campbell said: “Manchester leads the way when it comes to nightlife, and we’re excited to be able to be a part of it.

“We are keen to launch as we mean to go on, with a series of high-energy parties, including our famous free bar, which is first come, first served.”

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Sneak peeks of the work taking place in Manchester show that the former Botanist site will be transformed with Deansgate’s biggest dance floor, surrounded by raised stages for dancing.

If you head down to Deansgate and scan the QR code outside the bar (or, you know, just click this link) you can secure your spot on the list for their free bar launch parties.

Yeah, we said free bar.

Simmons will open on 24 October on Deansgate in Manchester city centre.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Acclaimed restaurant staffed by prison inmates announces sad closure

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson The Clink restaurant in Styal is closing

The Clink, an acclaimed restaurant where the food is prepared and served by prison inmates, has announced its devastating closure.

The charity behind the restaurant, which is attached to HMP Styal, has confirmed that it will close for good on 31 July 2025.

The Clink is famed for the training and experience it provides inmates, helping them to get a head start into the hospitality industry when their sentence ends.

It’s also achieved plenty of acclaim as a restaurant in its own right, consistently being rated as the best restaurant in Wilmslow and voted Cheshire Restaurant of the Year in 2024.

Over the years, hundreds of students have earned qualifications including City & Guilds NVQs in Food and Beverage Service, Professional Cookery and Food Hygiene.

The Clink restaurant in Styal is closing
The Clink restaurant in Styal is closing
The Clink restaurant in Styal is closing

But The Clink has now announced that it will be closing this summer due to ‘a number of factors’, including costs and participant numbers.

Donna-Marie Edmonds, Chief Executive of The Clink Charity, said: “The decision not to renew our contract at HMP Styal has been made with an incredibly heavy heart.

“The Clink Charity’s mission is to reduce re-offending and we have been doing this at Styal, producing outstanding results for over a decade.

“Although the restaurant will officially close this summer, our partnership at Styal will be remembered not only for its landmark training outcomes, but as a beacon of hope, where women have sought refuge and rehabilitation.”

As one of those students put it: “If it wasn’t for my journey at The Clink, I wouldn’t be where I am now.”

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Deansgate’s new mini brunch triangle attracting big queues – and rightly so

Danny Jones Danny Jones New Manchester brunch spot triangle Deansgate

Manchester is absolutely bursting at the seams with brilliant brunch spots, and don’t even get just started on trying to pick from all 10 boroughs as a whole, it’s impossible.

However, over the past year or so, we suddenly realised that somewhat of a city centre trio of brunch spots serving unreal breakfasts, midday delights and early afternoon scran has emerged.

A new Manc brunch triangle, if you will.

While some have been there longer than others, all three of these places within aren’t just within spitting distance of each other but are enjoying a real wave of success at the moment – and it’s no surprise why: they’re all utterly incredible.

Three brilliant city centre brunch spots for you to try

1. Bruncho

First up on the list is the aptly named Bruncho, which opened just last summer, and despite announcing itself to the Manchester hospitality scene rather quietly at the time, it’s starting to pick up some serious pace now.

Specialising in unreal breakfasts and Mediterranean exports like menemen, Turkish eggs, their own spins of spicy favourite shakshuka, as well as plenty of dessert-forward plates with colour palettes as full as the plates themselves.

It goes without saying that you can obviously get a proper good ‘Bruncho Full English‘, but we’d encourage you to branch out and, who knows, maybe have a brekkie that features ice cream? In fact, it’s sentences like that which make it our Thomas’ favourite way to start the day – albeit ideally a lie-in.

2. Alex’s Bakery

Now, another very strong candidate which has been around on the Manc brunch scene much longer than the other two on this list is local success story, Alex’s Bakery, though we’ll admit we’d mainly visited this place for the unreal brownies, cupcakes and other assorted sweet treats until recently.

However, in addition to the popularity of their lunch deal (a panini, cupcake and drink), they’ve really stepped up their wider brunch offerings of late, going from what was once just a Manchester Artisan Market back in 2014 to branching out into everything good you can put on toast and tonnes more.

It may not garner the often ridiculously long queues of other places, but that’s because this place has a steady flow of regulars all week long who’ve steadily fallen in love with it over many years. They’re tres leches cakes alone are well worth the visit.

3. Acai And The Tribe

Last but not least, the acai craze is undoubtedly one of the biggest foodie trends around right now, as proven by the lines that gather outside this Great Northern venue at least once virtually every weekend – but Acai And The Tribe has actually been on the hype for ages.

That being said, after moving from Arndale Market to Deansgate Mews back in 2022 and now along the main strip in recent months, their popularity has skyrocketed. If you’re looking for a health brunch open packed with vibrance, vitamins and plenty of other very nice toppings, this is the one for you.

We’ll warn you, finding the right window to visit is essentially if you don’t want to wait around for ages these days, but both Clem and Daphne still greatly approve, so it’s it gets the seal of approval from us.

So, while we could recommend you a whole load of fantastic places in around Manchester city centre, we’ve been particularly charmed by this mini Manc brunch triangle around Deansgate.

Best of all, it’s just always great to see local businesses thriving, isn’t it? Especially when it comes to people lining the streets and sending it viral just for a chance to taste their offerings.

Modern breakfast and brunch are things that can be either perfect in their simplicity or surprising in their creativity; either way, we’re glad there are plenty of examples of that here in Manchester.

Trust us, we take this stuff very seriously…

The top 25 places for the best breakfast and brunch in Manchester

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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