Eats

Manchester pasta restaurant’s tiramisu drawer goes viral and attracts actual Florence Pugh

Florence Pugh loves a tiramisu.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 11th September 2023

A pasta restaurant in Manchester has gone and caught the eye of none other than Florence Pugh, aka bona fide Hollywood royalty.

In a stunning turn of events, the Academy Award-nominated actor shared footage of Onda’s dessert offering, and now it’s gone wildly viral.

Florence described the pasta bar’s pudding as ‘literally my heaven’.

It echoes that time Lizzo came to Manchester and discovered the joys of Gooey’s breakfasts,

It’s a pretty spectacular sweet treat – a drawer stuffed with tiramisu, which is generously scooped out and slopped onto plates.

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The presentation of the dessert-in-a-drawer has clearly captured the public’s imagination, with more than 6.4 million of us watching the clip on Instagram alone.

Onda, meaning ‘wave’ in Italian, comes from the brains behind Gooey and Michelin-trained chef Sam Astley Dean.

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It’s one of Manchester’s hottest new restaurants and started life in the Exhibition food hall on Peter Street, before more recently shifting over to The New Cross on the edges of Ancoats and the Northern Quarter.

Beyond the now-famous tiramisu drawer, Onda has built a solid reputation for its freshly handmade pasta, which is rolled right in front of diners.

You’ll find gnocchi, lasagna, fettuccine, and its exceptional carbonara, served with a fresh egg yolk perched on top.

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Onda’s video shows a huge refrigerated drawer stuffed to bursting with tiramisu.

They wrote: “We’ve got a tiramisu drawer so we can scoop to order when it’s busy in service. People seem pretty keen on having one in their bedside table, we’re looking into it.”

One person commented: “This but it’s every drawer in the filing cabinet in my office.”

Another asked Onda: “How much does it cost to get 20 minutes alone with the tiramisu drawer?”

Someone else wrote: “I’ve looked all over my kitchen and I cannot find the tiramisu drawer.”

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And someone joked: “Bottom drawer is old batteries and chargers. Top drawer is tiramisu.”

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Featured image: Onda Pasta Bar

Eats

You can now go on a wine tour around Manchester city centre

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Manchester Wine Tours

We’ve had pub crawls, lockdown gin tin walks – and now there’s an organised wine tour you can do around Manchester.

A new series of events, simply titled Manchester Wine Tours, will whisk guests around town sampling some of the city’s very best bars and pubs.

The leisurely three-hour tours will showcase the best places to buy and drink wine around our city, with plenty of plonk to drink on the way round.

Launched by local food and drink writer and WSET-qualified wine expert Kelly Bishop, the Manchester Wine Tours will feature Manchester bars, restaurants, pubs and wine shops specially chosen by Kelly.

She’ll be picking places with an interesting range of bottles, and that are true local favourites.

These ‘posh pub crawls’ will give people the chance to try something new, learn a little about wine, and discover a new favourite boozer.

And Kelly is promising to keep them accessible to everyone from total wine beginners to long-term enthusiasts.

Each tour will cost £75 per person and will include a guided tour around Manchester city centre, six small glasses of wine and a series of wine-matched snacks at four different places.

Along the way, Kelly will also be on hand to point out local points of interest and things you might not already know about the city.

Kelly Bishop will lead the wine tours around Manchester. Credit: Debbie Ellis
Kelly Bishop will lead the wine tours around Manchester. Credit: Debbie Ellis
Each Manchester Wine Tour will feature different bars and include snacks
Each Manchester Wine Tour will feature different bars and include snacks. Credit: Debbie Ellis
Manchester Wine Tours will launch in October. Credit: Debbie Ellis
Manchester Wine Tours will launch in October. Credit: Debbie Ellis

On this wine tasting ‘with legs’, guests will have the opportunity to learn about wine in a relaxed, fun, sociable and informal way. 

Kelly Bishop said: “I started Manchester Wine Tours to celebrate the incredible wine offering in Manchester. Manchester is known for great restaurants and bars selling nationally celebrated craft beer and cocktails, but there is a really impressive wine scene here too.

“I’m passionate about wine and am really excited to share my knowledge and enthusiasm with locals and tourists alike.

“I want to show people that although this might be classed as a ‘high-end activity’ with really good quality wine and matching snacks, wine tasting definitely doesn’t have to be snobby or stuffy. I want it to appeal to anyone over 18 who is interested in wine and introduce them to some of my favourite wine spots in Manchester.”

Tours will start in October 2023 with the first events on Sunday 22 and Sunday 29 October (3pm-6pm). From November onwards, tours will be every Wednesday evening (7pm-10pm) and Sunday afternoon (3pm-6pm).

There will also be four special Christmas tours on 10, 13, 17 and 20 December. These are £100pp and will feature extra special wines and festive snacks. 

Find the full list of dates and more information at Manchester Wine Tours.

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Featured image:

Eats

Manchester City’s Matheus Nunes rolls back the years and goes to work at Flat Baker in Ancoats

Danny Jones Danny Jones Matheus Nunes works at Manchester bakery Flat Baker

Manchester City star Matheus Nunes has already impressed many during his short time at the Etihad so far, but he impressed a few more this weekend not with his skills on the pitch but in the kitchen after moonlighting at a popular Manchester bakery, The Flat Baker in Ancoats.

The recent Man City signing might only have the one assist to his name during his time as a Blue thus far, but he’s served up more than a baker’s dozen to local Manc residents thanks to a quick shift as a pastry chef this past weekend.

However, it was by no means his first time in the kitchen, as Nunes revealed that he used to work in a bakery during the earlier days of his footballing career.

Getting put to work on one of The Flat Baker‘s bestsellers, their unbelievably addictive pastel de natas — trust us, they’re utterly sinful these things — the bakery’s owners Débora and her husband, also called Matheus, got the City star back up to speed. You can see the full video here:

Matheus Nunes surprised a fair few locals after popping up at this beloved Manc bakery.

That being said, as you can see, the 25-year-old midfielder was a bit of a dab hand after a few goes at it; the fact he not only had prior experience but also shares the same heritage as the bakery’s founders no doubt helped.

Born in Brazil but raised in Portugal — two places where these unmistakable sweet treats are most famous — Nunes explained how he, his mother and English step-father moved to Europe for “a better life” and to help his chances of becoming a footballer.

The former Wolves player went on to explain how he “failed a lot in school” and eventually his mum gave him a choice: “give up football or school, in order to start working”.

Starting out in his godfather’s bakery, he went on to spend a fair bit of time making bread and pastries and even appeared in a similar video back in Portugal after signing for Sporting Lisbon.

matheus nunes used to work in a bakery
Credit: Sporting TV (via YouTube)

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Naturally, the trio did eventually touch on football a little bit, with Nunes discussing what it’s like to play under Pep Guardiola and how nice it’s been to arrive at a club where there are plenty of Portuguese-speaking players like Ederson, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva and others.

Débora also joked about how he has fared getting used to ‘Rainchester’ and he was polite enough to smile it off and simply reiterated that playing for City was oppurtunity he culdn’t pass up.

So, if things don’t work out in the Premier League, he can always swap the sky blue shirt of city for a lovely chef’s apron and help out over at The Flat Baker.

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

Featured Image — Manchester City/Sporting Club de Portugal (via YouTube)

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