Eats

A brand new two-level food hall is coming to Manchester city centre

It's being headed up by the former operations manager of Mackie Mayor.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 5th February 2025

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.

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.

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.

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.

Speaking of food halls, another city centre favourite of ours is doing something very fun for us Mancs this Valentine’s Day…

Society is offering Mancs a chance to win free dinner and drinks if they share their best breakup texts

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — CGIs (supplied via Vita Group)

Eats

Manchester restaurant to give out FREE katsu curries to people called ‘Kat’ or ‘Sue’

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

In what is a small stroke of genius, a restaurant chain has decided to give out free katsu curries to anyone called ‘Kat’ or ‘Sue’.

Throughout September, award-winning restaurant chain Banana Tree – which has a Greater Manchester site down at Salford Quays – is shining the spotlight on its popular katsu creations, and as a clever way of celebrating National Katsu Day on 27 September has announced a pretty unique giveaway. 

That’s right – the restaurant will be serving up katsu dishes to people called Kat, Sue, and every delicious variation of the names in between.

Anyone named Kat, Katie, Katherine, Sue, Suzy, Susan, Suzanne – or close enough to qualify, the list goes on – can head to their local Banana Tree restaurant, and all they’ll need to do is show proof of name and they can enjoy a free katsu dish of their choice, worth up to £16.75.

The chain’s kastu lineup includes three star dishes.

First there’s the much-loved Katsu Curry, as well as the all-new Katsu Burger, which is made from either a crispy chicken or veggie fillet, spicy mayo, puffed noodle crunch, and a drizzle of Katsu sauce tucked into a soft Shokupan bun with a side of salt n pepper chilli chips. 

Then there’s also the intriguing newcomer, the Katsu Carbonara – which is described as being a daring East-meets-West mash-up and ‘unapologetically’ Banana Tree.

Banana Tree is giving away 1000 free katsu curries to celebrate its launch in Salford
Banana Tree is giving away free katsu curries to people called ‘Kat’ or ‘Sue’ / Credit: Banana Tree

With each of these dishes usually priced around the £16 mark, the giveaway isn’t just a way of marking National Katsu Day, but it’s also a way to sample the some of the restaurant’s biggest crowd-pleasers entirely free of charge.

To avoid any confusion on who makes the cut, Banana Tree will reveal the full qualifying list of name variations on Instagram soon, so keep your eyes peeled.

“Our Katsu range is one of our proudest creations, so National Katsu Day felt like the perfect moment to have some fun with our fans,” a Banana Tree spokesperson said ahead of the giveaway.

Read more:

The free katsu offer is available for four days only from Monday 22 to Thursday 25 September, and you just need to head to the Banana Tree website to sign up to the Big Flavour Club here.

Featured Image – Banana Tree

Eats

Bar Shrimp announces opening date as Higher Ground team gear up for new project

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Bar Shrimp announces opening date as Higher Ground team gear up for new project

Bar Shrimp, a new seafood and cocktail bar in Manchester from the team behind Higher Ground, has officially got itself an opening date.

The hotly-anticipated newcomer will be serving cocktails, beers, and British seafood and snacks from its spot on New York Street.

As well as confirming an October launch date, the team have also shared a glimpse of the menu Mancs can expect from next month.

Bar Shrimp will be offering an Oyster Happy Hour every weekday, as well as caviar with house-cut crisps, devilled eggs, and Sussex smokie fritters.

Expect shellfish over ice, Cornish crab cocktail, bar snack classics and even beef burgers.

It comes from the same team behind Higher Ground and Flawd, headed up again by hospitality dream team Joseph Otway, Daniel Craig Martin and Richard Cossins.

And they’ve partnered with Stockport-based MasterSounds, to install a state-of-the-art custom-designed sound system with music director Lukas Stankunas curating the music programming on a weekly basis.

They say the venue will be a ‘dynamic space where the music and energy evolves throughout the evening’.

Team behind award-winning Higher Ground to open new seafood bar, Bar Shrimp, in Manchester
The team behind award-winning Higher Ground are opening a new seafood bar, Bar Shrimp, in Manchester

Inside, it’ll be decorated with plush-red banquettes, floor-to-ceiling drapes, and table service throughout.

Matt Pazos, Bruntwood SciTech Retail Commercial Manager, said of the announcement: “Bar Shrimp promises to be another big success for the team and we can’t wait to welcome them to Faulkner House.

“This exciting new concept, bringing together the team’s exceptional knowledge and experience of food and hospitality combined with their passion for music, will further complement the thriving community in this part of Manchester city centre.”

Walk-ins will be welcomed for drinks but reservations are encouraged for dining.

Reservations for Bar Shrimp have gone live today ahead of its official launch on Wednesday 22 October – sign up HERE.

Read more

Featured image: The Manc Group

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