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Northern Quarter pub Lamb of Tartary has suddenly closed after only six months

It had JUST rebranded, too.

Daisy Jackson - 3rd September 2024

The Lamb of Tartary, a smart new British pub in the heart of Manchester, has suddenly closed only six months after opening.

The beautiful pub came from the same team behind the successful Edinburgh Castle over in Ancoats.

It took over the former Cottonopolis site on the corner of Newton Street and Dale Street and transformed it into a restaurant space filled with ornate panelling and leafy green plants.

The team decorated the huge dining hall with a beautiful terracotta-painted ceiling, faux windows with linen curtains, and quartz-patterned booths. It was, by all accounts, a looker.

Then just weeks ago, the Lamb of Tartary rebranded itself as L.o.T.

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Along with its rebrand came a new menu filled with small plates and other dishes inspired by the Silk Road.

It also overhauled its brunch offering and Sunday feast menu and launched a new cocktail menu.

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It’s been only a few weeks of this new offering but it appears that Lamb of Tartary has called it a day.

Its Instagram page has been deleted and website has gone dark.

The Manc has reached out to the Lamb of Tartary for comment.

The Lamb of Tartary in Manchester has closed. Credit: The Manc Group

The Lamb of Tartary in Manchester has closed. Credit: The Manc Group

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Greggs confirms Festive Bakes return date as it unveils 2025 Christmas menu

Greggs has unveiled its Christmas menu for 2025, and that means the Festive Bake is back again in all its glory.

The UK’s most-popular high street bakery chain has officially revealed its festive food and drink offering for the 2025 season, and there’s a few brand-new goodies joining the lineup this year, along with the return of some undeniable fan favourites.

And of course, nothing spells Christmas at Greggs quite like the Festive Bake, right?

The chain’s classic crumb-coated pastry filled with chicken, sage and onion stuffing, and sweetcure bacon in a creamy sage and cranberry sauce goes down an absolute treat each year, and is a serious fan-favourite, so it’s no surprise it’s made a comeback for 2025.

Thankfully for plant-based foodies, the Vegan Festive Bake has also made a comeback, but this year under a slightly different name – the Vegan Lattice (Festive Edition).

Greggs has unveiled its Christmas menu for 2025 / Credit: Greggs

Greggs has unveiled its Christmas menu for 2025 / Credit: Greggs

Despite the new name, the flavours have stayed the same, as the Vegan Festive Lattice is puff pastry filled with savoury-flavour Quorn mycoprotein pieces, sage and onion stuffing balls, and vegan bacon, finished with a mouth-watering cranberry and red onion sauce.

Another returning Greggs festive favourite this year is the Christmas Lunch Baguette, which is a freshly-baked baguette ‘jam-packed full of festive flavours’, alongside last year’s newest addition, the Festive Flatbread – which is filled with sage and onion-style chicken, sweetcure bacon, mayo and cranberry and red onion relish.

When it comes to sweet treats, Greggs really does take some beating, as the lineup is full of tasty cakes, muffins, biscuits, and more.

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Some of the stand-out newbies this year include the Gingerbread Muffin, and the Christmas Mini Caramel Shortbreads, while returning for more is the indulgent Chocolate & Hazelnut Flavour Doughnut, the Christmas tree and start-shaped biscuits, and of course, the classic Sweet Mince Pies.

The festive drinks lineup this year includes the popular Mint mochas and hot chocolates, and the Salted Caramel Latte.

Gingerbread returns for 2025 too, and you can get Gingerbread Lattes both hot and iced, as well as a Gingerbread Flat White.

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All drinks are topped with whipped cream, and come with a range of festive sauces and toppings.

The 2025 Greggs Christmas menu will be available to tuck into across the UK from 6 November and will run right up until the new year.

Featured Image – Greggs

Eats

Mongrel – New taproom and pizzeria set to move into the former Street Urchin site

Daisy Jackson Mongrel is a new pizzeria and taproom set to move into the old Street Urchin site in Ancoats

Mongrel is a new pizzeria and taproom set to move into the old Street Urchin site in Ancoats

A brand new taproom, coffee shop and pizzeria concept has announced plans to move into Ancoats.

Mongrel will come from the same team behind Crust, a much-raved-about pizza joint that operated off a Stockport industrial estate until earlier this year.

They’ve now confirmed they have their sights set on the city centre, specially the magnificent corner unit that was previously home to the beloved Street Urchin.

Street Urchin suddenly closed earlier this year after co-founder and head chef Kevin suffered a heart attack, leaving them ‘unable to continue as a business’.

Rachel Choudhary, Kevin’s partner and co-founder of the neighbourhood restaurant, wrote at the time that they were ‘heartbroken’ to close the business.

Street Urchin was quietly one of the top restaurants in Ancoats and operated in a market diner fashion, creatively cooking the best catch of the day for an ever-changing menu that honoured each season.

Thankfully, this key corner unit won’t be quiet for much longer, with another local operator now lined up to move in.

Inside Street Urchin before its closure — Inside Street Urchin before its closure – the site will now become a pizzeria called Mongrel. Credit: The Manc Group

Mongrel has so far shared that it’s set to be a ‘coffee shop, pizza place and taproom, all under one roof’.

Upon closing Crust in Stockport they confirmed this will be ‘a huge step up from the Crüst you know and love’.

They posted on Instagram: “Thanks to everyone who’s popped down over the last year. We’re eternally grateful for the support from our fantastic customers, and will look back on this period with huge gratitude.

“It’s with great sadness that we announce our departure from Stockport. We know this will come as a disappointment to our Crüst family – we haven’t made this decision lightly.

“We have been looking for a new premesis in Stockport for a while, however after multiple applications going nowhere, we have finally found a new home in Manchester City Center!

“Our new home will be a huge step up from the Crüst you know and love… We can’t to reveal what’s to come!

Mongrel is set to open its taproom and pizzeria on Great Ancoats Street, in the former Street Urchin site, in November.

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Featured image: Google Maps