Get ready, diners and drinkers, because another exciting food hall is coming to Manchester city centre very soon.
Greater Manchester is well and truly in its food hall era, it seems, with the likes of Mackie Mayor, Alty Market, Society, Kargo, Stockport’s Produce Hall, The Egyptian Rooms in Oldham, New Century Hall and many more that we could reel off.
We’re not complaining by the way: being able to go to a place where you can sample various different cuisines and pretty much any drink of choice is ideal for keeping things interesting – plus, it always helped appease big groups where not everyone wants to eat the same thing.
With that in mind, prepare to welcome Manchester’s latest food hall, which is being developed by a man who knows all about the industry alongside Vita Group, whose local presence continues to grow.
Being spearheaded by Jake Atkinson, the former operations manager of the widely popular Mackie Mayor, Altrincham Market and Macclesfield’s Picturedrome – all of which serve as the blueprint for a successful food hall – his new venture will be called House of Social.
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Set to host five kitchens tucked between statement arched windows and spread across two levels, Jake and co. have spent a year building a brand new collective of operators, with some much-loved regional food and drink brands bringing new ideas to the table.
The House of Social food hall will open just a few yards away from fellow cultural hotspot HOME Theatre on First Street, itself an ever-flourishing Manchester district, not to mention just a few minutes walk from both Oxford Road and Deansgate-Castlefield stations.
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Hoping to serve as both a prime destination for a great night out, somewhere to grab breakfast on the go, enjoy a quick bite on your dinner or waste hours chatting rubbish with your friends over a few drinks, House of Social aims to be a place for all seasons and occasions.
You can get a close look at the early CGI mock-ups of how it’s going to look here:
Credit: CGIs (supplied via Vita Group)
As mentioned, the project is in collaboration with Vita, who are developing another brand new university accommodation block within which the food hall will sit, meaning that students will also be able to dive into Manchester’s diverse food and drink scene of the city quite literally on their doorstep.
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The five independent kitchens at House of Social will be revealed in the upcoming months. Locals and visitors alike can expect a variety of vendors serving pizza to dumplings, all from growing businesses excited to get stuck even further into Manchester’s thriving hospitality scene.
Atkinson said of plans: “It’s such an untapped location, we’ve got this beautiful building with loads of natural light from soaring arched windows and also some gorgeous interior details with that curving staircase – it’s going to have so much character.
“We’ve tried to match that with the traders we’re working with – we’ve got some big names and some big personalities coming along – they’re creating menus which work in a food hall setting but with so much more attention to detail than anything I’ve seen before in this space.”
Credit: Supplied
Jake went on to add: “The offerings will really complement each other but I also think the traders are going to gel well too. I just can’t wait to get started.”
Set to open Summer 2025, House of Social really can’t come soon enough; we’re all dreaming of sun-soaked days with a belly full of scran and booze. Bliss.
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Speaking of food halls, another city centre favourite of ours is doing something very fun for us Mancs this Valentine’s Day…
A tasty festival celebrating all things tacos is taking place in Manchester next month
Emily Sergeant
Manchester is celebrating the start of May with tacos, tacos, and even more tacos, so make sure you’re hungry.
To coincide with both the early May bank holiday weekend, and of course the annual Mexican celebration Cinco De Mayo, Manchester‘s biggest street food and events space GRUB will be hosting its very-own festival dedicated to all things tacos.
The Green Quarter-based social hub will be bringing hungry Mancs two days of ‘tacos, tacos, and more tacos’ from midday onwards.
Five of the city’s very best street food traders, including El Piloto Tacos and Enchilady, will be cooking for you all weekend long, bringing their own authentic take on the humble taco, plus a feast of other specials to go alongside.
The massively-popular Nina’s Taco Truck, and Pez Tacos will also be pulling up at GRUB across the two days, so there’ll be plenty of choice.
And of course, we all need a sweet treat to finish things off, so GRUB favourite Munchie Mummy’s Kitchen will also be on site serving up a wide range of plant-based bakes to suit all tastes and dietary requirements.
To wash it all down, what would Cinco De Mayo be without a margarita?
A tasty tacos festival is taking place in Manchester next month / Credit: GRUB
For anyone that books a table in advance for GRUB’s Taco Fest, there’ll be buy one get one free on margaritas from the special pop-up margarita bar.
You can also expect craft beer, cocktails, special sodas and oft drinks, and great tunes blasting out across the beer garden, so now all we need to do is hope the Mexican-style sunshine graces Manchester with its presence.
Taco Fest will be taking place from 12-8pm on Sunday 4 May, and 12-6pm on Cinco De Mayo itself, Monday 5 May – which is also bank holiday Monday.
GRUB’s themed food fairs are always busy, so big groups are advised to book in advance here.
Featured Image – GRUB
Eats
Mystery golden egg to be hidden in Manchester and you win a £1.5k coffee prize bundle if you find it
Emily Sergeant
A mystery golden egg is being hidden in a secret location in Manchester, and you can win a £1.5k coffee bundle if you find it.
Speciality coffee roaster and popular cafe brand 200 Degrees has announced an ‘egg-citing’ Easter giveaway in a bid to celebrate the anticipated launch of its all-new spring menu, and it’s giving Manchester locals the chance to win an ultimate prize bundle full of some seriously-coveted coffee accessories.
A golden egg will be stashed in a key city location, and the first person to solve the clue and find it will win the premium prize worth hunting for.
Taking place next Tuesday (15 April) from midday, the Easter bunny will be tucked away somewhere in the city centre with an basket full of goodies, and also guarding the ultimate coffee lover’s prize.
A mystery golden egg with a £1.5k coffee prize bundle is being hidden in Manchester / Credit: Mylo Kaye | Victoria Shes (via Unsplash)
A Sage Bambino coffee machine, 1kg of 200 Degrees’ best-selling Brazilian Love Affair Beans, free coffee syrups and speciality oat milk, and even free coffee for a year from its shops, are just some of the prizes you could win in the bundle.
Even if you aren’t lucky enough to find the golden egg though, don’t worry, you won’t miss out, as anyone who joins the hunt and makes it to the giveaway location will receive a voucher code for a free drink from the new 200 Degrees spring menu, which is redeemable in-store.
200 Degrees’ own-recipe Salted Caramel Oat Iced Twist returns to the menu once again by popular demand, alongside a duo of other fruity chilled drinks perfect for the warmer days we’re having right now, and then when it comes to food, you’ll soon be able to tuck into the limited edition chicken tikka wrap and finish it off with something like the new raspberry and bergamot cake.
The new spring menu will be available from all 200 Degrees stores, including Manchester’s on Mosley Street, on the same day as the coffee bundle giveaway (15 April).
Keep an eye on 200 Degrees’ social channels on the day as they’ll be dropping cryptic clues to help you track down the golden egg in Manchester, and if you’re the first to crack the location, find the egg, and give the secret code word – which is revealed on its socials – then you’ll be able to claim the prize.
Don’t forget to check the website too, as secret codes will be hid across there, and if you spot one, you’ll unlock some exclusive discounts to enjoy over the Easter weekend.
Danny Jones -
5th February 2025 
