A quirky Alice in Wonderland-inspired tearoom in Manchester has been named amongst the ‘most Instagrammable’ cafes in the world.
Richmond Tearooms in Manchester’s Gay Village offers a trip down the rabbit hole with Mad Hatter tea parties hosted by local drag queens, regular burlesque shows and all-out inspired interiors that nod to Lewis Carroll’s iconic tale of a girl, a rabbit and his pocket watch.
From an enchanted forest area where you can dine under the twinkling lights in a woodland-themed room, to the orangery which is the most warming garden even on the rainiest of Manchester days, the tearooms have long been a fixture in Manchester city centre.
Image: Richmond Tearooms
Image: Richmond Tearooms
Initially housed on Richmond Street (hence the name), the tearooms relocated to its current home opposite Sackville Gardens in 2019 – allowing it to double in size and expand on its kitsch interiors with a flower arch at its entrance, melting clocks, a sashed canopy, black and red velvet furnishing and portraits of the King and Queen of hearts.
On the menu you’ll find classic English breakfasts alongside pancakes and avocado toast served until 12pm alongside a selection of Alice in Wonderland-themed afternoon teas starting from just £10.75 for two tea-infused sultana scones, clotted cream, Tiptree preserve, and a pot of loose leaf tea.
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Inspired by characters in Lewis Carroll’s novel, choices include Alice, Hatters, Tweedles and Queens-themed afternoon teas, with the most indulgent being the Wonderland champagne afternoon tea – combining crustless sandwiches and mini quiche with an assortment of homemade cakes, scones and loose leaf tea, plus a glass of luxury fizz for £38.90.
Image: Richmond Tearooms
Image: Richmond Tearooms
Elsewhere, find light bites like cheese and onion pie and Alice’s rarebit plus a selection of sandwiches and a two-page menu of different premium tea blends.
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There are also children’s afternoon teas on offer from £9.95, as well as a dedicated kids menu featuring the likes of fish and chips, omlette, sausage and beans and a selection of sandwiches.
Add to that a counter bursting with staple cakes like coffee and walnut, Boston cream, carrot, chocolate fudge and ‘lemon dream’, plus a solid cocktail menu, and it’s easy to see why Richmond Tearooms has been a fixture in Manchester city centre for so long now.
Praised for its ‘retro setting’ and ‘vintage China teacups’, according to global travel site Big 7 Travel it doesbn’t get more ‘quintessentially British’ than this.
Ranking at number 43 in the site’s annual list of the 50 Most Instagrammable Cafes in the World for 2023, the tearooms features alongside a rainforest garden of waterfalls in Chiang Mai and the famous hot air balloons of Cappadocia.
Feature image – Richmond Tearooms
Eats
Huge new Salford Quays restaurant slams ‘idiot’ who ran off with iPad in broad daylight
Daisy Jackson
A huge restaurant in Salford Quays has shared CCTV of a man taking an iPad and running away in broad daylight.
Unagi, which only opened its huge futuristic sushi and Asian restaurant last summer, shared a frustrated appeal online.
“As if January isn’t already tough enough!!!” they wrote in the Instagram post.
In the video clip they shared, the man is seen standing at a counter as though he’s waiting to be served.
But then he reaches across the counter, seizes an iPad and runs out the door with it under his arm.
Unagi has slammed him as an ‘idiot’ who has struck during what is famously a ‘VERY tough time for the hospitality industry’.
The popular Asian restaurant, which now has locations in Cheetham Hill, Altrincham, West Didsbury, Wilmslow and this beautiful spot in Salford Quays, said it was the ‘cherry on top’ of a challenging time.
Unagi in Salford Quays shared CCTV of this man stealing their iPad. Credit: foodunagi, Instagram
The iPad that was stolen is integral to the restaurant’s operations, controlling their booking systems.
In their post, Unagi Salford Quays wrote: “As if January isn’t already tough enough!!!
“As everyone knows January is a VERY tough time for the hospitality industry, then you get idiots like this who make it impossible. Cheers for that, happy new year to you too.
“We’re already facing enough challenges and you’ve really just put the cherry on the top!! Taking our IPad which controls all of our bookings system!!
“If anyone happens to have seen this guy around the Salford Quays area please give us a shout. But also any businesses in the SQ area, watch out!!!
Unagi in Salford Quays. Credit: The Manc Group
“On a lighter note, THANK YOU, to everyone who is out supporting the hospitality industry this January. Your support means so much to everyone!!”
Unagi has been flooded with support from customers and other operators, with one person writing: “Shocking, so sorry for you guys. We had a lovely lunch in there today.”
Someone else commented: “So sorry this happened. And your employees are such sweet people. Always serving everything with the utmost kindness.”
And fellow restaurant Gran T’s said: “What an absolutely loser, so sorry guys.”
There’s a non-alocholic pairing dinner coming to Manchester this Dry Jan
Thomas Melia
A one-night-only pairing of two dining out staples from the food and drink world is coming to Manchester next month, and it also happens to be non-alcoholic for anyone doing Dry January.
Taking place at the wonderful Maray over on Lincoln Square, each dish served throughout the night will be expertly paired with a non-alcoholic drink from zero-per cent experts, Lucky Saint.
This Middle Eastern eatery is always surprising its diners, last September they made their infamous roasts free for one day only, and this upcoming event is sure to be as exciting with its unique tastings.
Lucky Saint came to fruition after partnering with a historical brewery in Bavaria who’ve produced beer for over 400 years, creating a non alcoholic alternative which greeted UK drinkers in 2020.
Lucky Saint will be readily available and paired with every meal.Diners can expect some sensational food as always from Maray. Credit: Publicity Picture (Supplied)
Titled ‘The Official Beer Of Dry January’, supplying IPAs and lagers to a host of stockists, not only are their products fully non-alcoholic but they’re also entirely plant-based – meaning they’re the perfect tie-in with Veganuary.
If their website is anything to go by, diners are set to enjoy refreshments such as their unfiltered lager and a 0.5% ‘Hazy’ IPA which contains juicy tropical notes. Don’t mind if we do.
Although it’s hard to say what the food offerings may be, it’s guaranteed that anyone who attends is in for a treat as this site has even served famous faces like Dua Lipa back in 2022 while she was on tour.
Their vegan menu features some meat free feasts like a falafel sharer and a delicious oyster mushroom shwarma, it’s a well-loved restaurant.
Vegans are certainly catered for at this event as it’s not only the free-flowing drinks that contain no animal products, there will also be an entirely vegan menu on hand.
Maray have multiple locations but anyone who couldn’t get enough of the flavours the first time in Manchester can attend their Liverpool pairing dinner which is happening the very next day.
The Maray x Lucky Saint Dry January Pairing Dinner is coming to Manchester on Wednesday, 15 January from 7-9:30pm with tickets live HERE.
And if you’re looking for other places to enjoy a guilt-free drink in the city centre this month, we’ve got a few suggestions for you:
Doing #DryJan doesn't have to mean staying in or saying goodbye to the pub. 🍹
Georgina Pellant -
22nd March 2023 
