A steakhouse in Manchester has revealed plans to run a £15 deal during the rail and tube strikes in a bid to keep pulling people in.
Hawksmoor restaurant on Deansgate, which is widely considered to be one of the best steakhouses in the city, usually sells its 300g rump steak for £26 each with dripping fries priced at £5.75 on top.
However, during the ongoing strikes the restaurant has revealed it will be running a special deal where diners can enjoy the two together for £15.
Bosses have admitted the deal is so good, the restaurant won’t make any money – but say that it is more about keeping their restaurants (and hard-working teams) busy.
The new deal, dubbed ‘Move Your Rump’, will run from Thursday 20 to Monday 31 July and on every rail or tube strike day ‘for the foreseeable future’ between the hours of 12 and 6 pm.
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Revealing the new deal on Instagram, the business wrote: “A special rail strike announcement. It probably hasn’t escaped your notice that transport strikes aren’t great for restaurants, any more than they’re great for you. Sure, people have the right to strike and fight for more money, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t hard.
“Fortunately, Hawksmoor is doing OK, but this obviously impacts you and our teams. So, what to do about it? Well, we’ve decided to grab the cow by the horns and offer £15 steak & frites*, kicking off the offer from Thursday 20th until the end of July and then every rail/tube strike day for the foreseeable future.
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Image: Hawksmoor
Image: The Manc Eats
“A good reason to ‘move your rump’ and come have a good time with us. We won’t make any money out of it, but it should help to keep our restaurants – and our hard-working teams – busy, and hopefully gives you a reason to come into town and make a day of it.
“And, if you can’t come to Hawksmoor, consider nipping for lunch somewhere else. The hospitality industry has lost about £3bn since the strikes began and businesses are closing at an increasingly fast rate. A bit of fun for you, a welcome bit of business for them.
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*Available at our London, Manchester, Liverpool & Edinburgh Hawksmoor restaurants by booking on our website and quoting “Strike Steak” in the notes. Monday – Saturday, at lunchtime & early evenings, 12-6pm – opening hours vary slightly by restaurant, please check our website for details.”
The cosy Peak District pub serving a pick’n’mix sausage and mash menu
Daisy Jackson
There’s a Peak District pub that’s turned one of Britain’s most beloved comfort foods into a full-on pick’n’mix.
Tucked away in the postcard-perfect village of Castleton, Ye Olde Nags Head is serving up a fully customisable menu of sausage and mash dishes.
We’re talking near-endless combinations of proper pub grub.
You start by choosing your sausages from a daily rotating selection (not a sentence you hear every day, but we’re into it).
Expect classics like Cumberland alongside more adventurous options like venison and mustard, or even wild boar and orange, plus a veggie sausage daily.
Then it’s onto the mash – you can go for flavours like cheese and onion, wholegrain mustard, or even black pudding mash.
Classic cumberland, mustard mash, and mushroom sauceVeggie sausage with cheese and onion mash and classic gravyTucking in
To finish? A choice of rich, hearty gravies and sauces to bring it all together, whether that’s a classic onion gravy, a peppercorn sauce, or a creamy wild mushroom sauce.
And if that wasn’t enough, you can even upgrade your bangers and mash pick’n’mix by having it all served inside a giant Yorkshire pudding.
Ye Olde Nags Head is a historic 17th-century pub, with a roaring fire in every room and cosy bedrooms upstairs.
Inside Ye Olde Nags Head pub in the Peak DistrictYe Olde Nags Head pub is near Mam Tor
It’s one of those flagstone-floored, beamed-ceilinged, mismatched-furniture type pubs that welcomes everyone in every state, whether you’re caked in mud from a hike or popping in on a coach tour.
Another of the pub’s specialties is the Derbyshire Breakfast, a hearty plate of sausage, smoked bacon, black pudding, free range egg, grilled tomatoes, field mushrooms, baked beans and fried bread.
The pub also offers takeaway breakfast butties, so you can use it for both a pre-hike stop and a post-hike pint.
Given it’s just minutes from the ever-popular Mam Tor hike, this is one pub you’ll definitely want to add to your next Peak District day out itinerary.
The hillside farm in the Peak District making its own ice cream
Daisy Jackson
Did you know there’s a 300-year-old farm in the Peak District serving up some of the freshest ice cream you’ll ever taste? And yes, you can meet the cows that made it while you’re there.
Welcome to Hope Valley Ice Cream, a family-run gem where things are kept refreshingly simple: happy cows, proper farming, and seriously good ice cream.
Set in the heart of the Peak District countryside, this place is about as wholesome as it gets.
The ice cream is made on-site in the farmhouse, literally just metres from where the dairy herd are out grazing.
You can watch the animals, wander around the farm, and then tuck into a scoop or three perched on a milk pail stool, or a picnic bench (or even a decorative tractor).
Hope Valley Ice Cream has some amazing seasonal ice creams, like lemon curd, elderflower, and blackberry, alongside all the classics and a rather delicious tiramisu.
You can grab a cone, sit down with a coffee (again, made with milk from the nearby cows), or go all in with a freshly-made waffle if you’re feeling fancy.
Takeaway tubs from Hope Valley Ice CreamYou can get a mini pail of ice creamMeet the newborn calves at Hope Valley Ice CreamTuck into your ice cream on a milk pail stoolHope Valley Ice Cream
And if you’re the type who really loves ice cream? You can actually order a full pail of it, with four huge scoops plus whipped cream and sauce.
The farm itself is run by the Marsden family, who’ve been working this land for generations. It shows in everything – they’ve created a place that feels genuinely welcoming, not just another tourist stop.
Beyond the ice cream, you’ve got plenty of reasons to stick around. There are calves (including the newest tiny arrivals), plus donkeys and pigs to say hello to.
Whether you’re heading out on a hike or just fancy a drive into the Peaks, this is one pitstop that’s absolutely worth it – and honestly, it’s worth the trip on its own.
Georgina Pellant -
19th July 2023 
