Pieminister’s legendary pie bottomless brunch with free-flowing drinks is finally making a comeback from next week.
The popular pie restaurant chain – which has two sites here in Manchester city centre on Church Street in the Northern Quarter, and on Deansgate – is known and loved all across the UK for its thick and chunky pies.
And now finally, after countless calls from foodies, the chain‘s beloved bottomless brunch is set to return to our city from next week… and we are so absolutely here for it.
Pies dished up in any Pieminister restaurant are typically served on a bed of hot and creamy mashed potatoes, with the option to choose from several vegetable sides and accompaniments of crispy onions, cheddar cheese, and more, all before they are topped-off by being slathered in homemade gravy.
But, as part of the bottomless brunch offering kicking off on Saturday 13 April, you can add non-stop cocktails and pints to the party too.
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Pieminister’s popular pie bottomless brunch with free-flowing drinks is back / Credit: The Manc Group (via The Hoot Leeds)
Thankfully, whether you’re a meat lover, a veggie, vegan, flexitarian, or gluten free, there’s something to suit everyone on the returning bottomless brunch lineup, with a selection of all the best Pieminister pies from the menu to take your pick from.
There’s the ‘Mooless Moo’ jackfruit ‘steak’-like pie with craft ale and black pepper, the ever-popular ‘Kevin’ Chestnut mushroom, tomato, quinoa, baby onion, and red wine option, plus the ‘Wild Shroom’ or ‘Heidi’ pies for veggies, whilst meat eaters can tuck into the likes of the ‘Free Ranger’ chicken, ham, and leek pie, the ‘Fungi Chicken’, the classic British beef and ale pie ‘Moo’, the ‘Moolin Rouge’ with steak and bacon, the ‘Moo & Blue’ with beef and Cropwell Bishop stilton, or the ‘Kate and Sidney’.
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The Mooless Moo, Moo, and Free Ranger can all be made as gluten free pies as well for an additional 50p.
You’ll choose your pie, then opt for either the ‘pick of the brunch’ deal – which comes with any award-winning pie, one side, and gravy for £27 – or alternatively, you can opt for the ‘Mother of all brunches’ for £30, which includes pie, mash, minty mushy peas, cheddar cheese, crispy onions, and gravy.
The legendary deal returns to Manchester next weekend / Credit: Pieminister
And, of course, you’ll be able to grab two hours of unlimited drinks with both of these options.
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Prosecco, mimosas, draught pints, Aperol spritz, passion fruit martinis, espresso martinis, and select soft drinks are just some of the bottomless drinks you can sip on.
The Pieminister bottomless brunch will be available every Saturday (and bank holiday Sunday) from next Saturday 13 April 2024.
Bangkok Diners Club moves out of Ancoats just months after Michelin Guide win
Daisy Jackson
Bangkok Diners Club, the critically-acclaimed restaurant above the Edinburgh Castle pub, has closed its restaurant space.
The Thai restaurant was added to the Michelin Guide last October, not long after taking over the upstairs of the popular pub.
It also received a rave review in The Guardian from restaurant critic Grace Dent, who said it would be ‘one of Manchester’s hottest dining tickets’.
But now Bangkok Diners Club has decided its time in Ancoats is up, and has closed its beautiful restaurant space with immediate effect.
In an email sent to customers with reservations, they wrote that Bangkok Diners Club ‘sadly won’t be returning to Edinburgh Castle’.
Owners and husband-and-wife team Ben and Bo Humpheys aren’t leaving things there though, announcing plans to move into the Exhibition food hall on Peter Street.
Co-owner Ben Humphreys outside Bangkok Diners Club. Credit: The Manc GroupThe food earned them a place in the Michelin Guide. Credit: The Manc Group
They’ll be joining MoreJoy and pasta concept Anatra in the space, but bidding farewell to their own dedicated restaurant for now.
The email sent to customers reads: “We have just noticed that the system has allowed you to make a reservation during a time that we are closed. We apologise that this has happened.
“Ben and Bo are cooking at Exhibition during 2026 and Bangkok Diners Club sadly won’t be returning to Edinburgh Castle.
“Sincerest apologies for all the inconvenience caused.”
Doux Chaton debuts in Manchester: Vietnamese and French cuisine meets the North West
Danny Jones
Regardless of our rivalry, the Scousers have given us a lot: The Beatles, two Premier League football clubs for us to get regularly riled up against, even the Bold Street brand – and now it’s the turn of Doux Chaton, who just landed in Manchester.
Vietnamese food right in the heart of town, but like you’ve never had it before, Doux Chaton is the Southeast Asian spot with a European twist that’s already turning heads.
In fact, despite quietly opening on the main Deansgate strip over the festive period, there was already plenty of passion for this place down the Mersey, as this Liverpool-founded business has developed a foodie favourite following here in the North West.
Run by owners Jimmy and Jennifer Ly, whose parents Ko and Linda moved to the UK back in the 70s, this place might be regionally born and bred, but it’s still deeply rooted in the rich heritage of two ex-pats helping bring some seriously incredible flavours to our shores.
Walking past the old unit on the ground floor of Great Northern Warehouse – during a real ghost town period for the city centre this past Christmas – we saw a team hard at work putting together their first Manc venue.
This was at around 10/11pm from memory, as we saw a man on ladders finishing the hand-lettered sign by lamplight; this is all relevant because, before anything, it’s worth noting that this place from 9am until 9pm all week round.
Yes, as in every single day.
Since they’re still relative newcomers, we’re not entirely sure when they take any time (if, indeed, they do at all), but one thing we can already vouch for is that hard work can well and truly be tasted in the food and drink they put out.
Expanding their traditional Vietnamese menu in Merseyside, Doux Chaton Deansgate has seen them create a whole new selection of sweet treats, doubling not only as a neo-French patisserie but as a platform to showcase both traditional and modern bakes from their home country.
There is a long history of their national cuisine being deeply influenced by the classical culinary culture in France, but when we tell you their bahn mi sandwiches and clever take on a sausage ‘pho’roll were even tastier than their decadent croque monsieur croissant, you know you’re on to something special.
And then there are the bowls of broth and noodles themselves; we tried plenty of pho in and around Greater Manchester, with plenty purporting to be ‘authentic’ – and many of them are – but there can be a question about this first and second generation team.
Taking ‘Mama Hong’s treasured recipes from the streets of Hanoi and elevating them ever so slightly in certain spots, whilst still letting the flavours, textures and smells speak for themselves, it’s comfortably some of the best Viet scran we’ve had in these parts.
The cute little cat in a bowl logo almost feels like the most warm and fitting welcome you could hope for.
Service with a smile, simply fantastic food, a bloody GREAT cup of stylish drip coffee and a big chalkboard where you can even leave your own message, not to mention unrelenting opening hours – this could be our new go-to at any given time of day.
Emily Sergeant -
3rd April 2024 
