A new resident is set to join the Corn Exchange neighbourhood this summer: An authentic Indian restaurant called Deli House Cafe.
The owners – the Lamba family – have already enjoyed huge success in the east with their cafe-meets-restaurant concept; and have now chosen Manchester as the site for their first UK-based venue.
Aiming to ‘redefine’ contemporary Indian cooking, Deli House Cafe will be serving a range of South Asian dishes with a twist.
These include the ‘not my Burger’ – which contains homemade beef kebabs served on a hand-made tandoori naan with salad and chips – and the Mysore Pak cheesecake.
An extensive list of wines, beers, spirits and cocktails will also be on the menu; many of which have been sourced from India to perfectly complement the cuisine.
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Plans for the restaurant have been three years in the making – with the Lambas appointing experts in Indian food and sourcing interior dressing from the country (which was reupholstered in Manchester to marry the two areas’ cultures).
Delhi House Café’s Sherry Lamba said: “Opening a restaurant during and after a global pandemic is no mean feat and we’re proud of our team for working so diligently to ensure the site can open in time with an amazing menu and setting in place. We have stayed strong and stand strong with the city.
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“Our family’s Indian identity, roots and heritage is at the heart of our menu and every dish tells a story inspired by a different part of the country.
“We can’t wait to welcome guests to our restaurant and for them to be to sample our great, authentic food.”
Deli House Cafe will open later this summer with COVID-19 safety measures in place, including enhanced cleaning procedures, sanitised menus and social distancing.
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Customers will soon be able to book a table via the restaurant’s website.
Huge beer festival responds after attendees label it ‘Manchester Wonka experience’
Daisy Jackson
A massive beer and cider festival that took place in Manchester last weekend has addressed fall-out on social media after some attendees slammed it as the ‘weirdest most dysfunctional festival ever‘.
People have said that the International Brewing and Cider Festival had a ‘strange atmosphere’ due to there being ‘no one there’, had a limited selection of drinks, and was generally ‘a bloody awful evening’.
Some people have even gone so far as to compare it to the now-infamous Wonka Experience.
But the festival has now hit back at these harsh reviews online, saying that there were more than 400 different types of beer and cider available, with around 800 attendees over the weekend.
In a statement, they apologised for a ‘less than perfect experience’.
The International Brewing and Cider Festival – a not-for-profit trade organisation – stressed that ‘early teething troubles’ were ironed out as the event progressed through its four sessions.
As well as inviting breweries from around the world to serve up beers under one roof in one of Manchester’s coolest venues, the beer festival had 19 food and drink traders, and a programme of live music and DJs.
Despite only receiving a couple of actual complaints directly, the festival has been hit with criticism on social media.
Visitors to the beer festival at Depot Mayfield had shared photos of a mostly-empty venue at points over the weekend, with many saying it was ‘freezing’ inside.
One person wrote: “I went with a mate and we left after an hour. The venue was so freezing that the beer itself was too cold to enjoy.”
Someone else said: “This was by a country mile the worst event (not just beer event) I’ve ever attended. Truly horrific.”
A detailed tale of the experience on Reddit, which said the International Brewing and Cider Festival was a ‘contender for Manchester’s Wonka experience’.
They said that they were ‘greeted by an extremely rude person’ and then struggled to order a beer, with several beers on the list unavailable and ended up with ‘a plastic cup of foam’.
The person said: “It was still early at this point so I expected it to get a bit busy but it never did combined with some depressing music and freezing cold temperatures the atmosphere was strange.”
Someone else said on X: “It was a massive scam. Willy Wonka type scam. No one there. Beers not great. It absolutely was not worth £40. The keg bar was closed, the cask bar closed at 8:30, the only decent beer available was from the few independent brewers who had decided to stick around (half had left). No atmosphere as no one there. Just awful.”
Another person said: “I don’t think I’ve been to a worse organised event. The term ‘Couldn’t organise a pi55 up in a brewery’ was made for this festival.
“Mid session there were less than 100 people. The signs on the cask and keg were too small to read at any distance. People pouring on the bar had no knowledge of any of the beers & no info in the app.
“For the entry fee of £20 to drink out of plastic, beer costing ‘town prices’, & some of the brewers had packed up and left hours before the end, left me feeling like I’d been ripped off.”
A spokesperson for the International Brewing & Cider Festival said: “We are very sorry that some people had a less than perfect experience – this was our first Festival and when you start something new, there will be learnings.
“We are a not-for-profit trade organisation representing the value chain, supplying the brewing and beverage industry.
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“As the organiser of the oldest international brewing and cider awards in the world, we held the Awards in Manchester this year and wanted to bring the entries from around the world to the public in the city.
“We adapted throughout the two days, ironing out some early teething troubles to deliver a better model as the event progressed.”
But now that Indy Man Beer Con has announced it won’t be returning for 2024, there’s definitely room in Manchester for a new beer festival.
Let’s it comes back to the city again and next time, is a roaring success.
Double Zero opens beautiful first pizzeria in Manchester city centre
Daisy Jackson
Our prayers have been answered – Double Zero is officially ready to open its very first pizzeria in Manchester city centre.
Arguably the best pizzas in the entire region (and they have some stiff competition) are now available right in the heart of the city.
Double Zero has taken over a unit on Spring Gardens that was previously home to Lattsam.
The pizzeria is beautiful – sunny yellow and white tiles, retro Campari posters everywhere, simple wooden furniture, lots of plants, and (the star of the show) a huge tiled pizza oven.
With this new 80-cover site, they also have space for a bar area, a new feature for the venue.
Over in their original site in Chorlton, which opened almost a decade a go, the business has always operated a BYO policy.
But now diners will be able to order delicious cocktails like classic spritzes, negronis, espresso martinis, and Italian wines.
It goes alongside their huge menu of signature Neapolitan pizzas, with toppings like a truffle mushroom cream base with Italian ham and artichoke; a Miele Sizzler loaded with hot honey, ‘nduja, pepperoni, and chorizo; and the Partenopea, featuring a whole burrata as well as heirloom tomatoes and parma ham.
Double Zero is ready to open its first pizzeria in Manchester city centre
Double Zero ferments their dough for at least 48 hours, before hand-stretching the pizza bases and blasting them in the wood-fired oven for just 90 seconds.
The result is a perfectly floppy base with plump, chewy crusts, ready to be doused in their legendary homemade chilli oil (go steady, it’s spicy).
Double Zero will officially open its doors on Spring Gardens tomorrow, Thursday 28 March.