Eats

Quirky pub on train station platform reopens with free booze after major renovation

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 2nd June 2022

One of Manchester’s quirkiest pubs has reopened after a major renovation project – and it’s celebrating with free drinks.

The Trackside, which stands on the beloved East Lancashire Railway, will also reopen with a new menu.

The award-winning pub was recently named Bury Area Pub of the Year, thanks to its selection of real ales and ciders.

Its makeover has seen it given a fresh, modern look inside, and an upgraded beer garden on the railway platform itself.

East Lancashire Railway – Trackside bar.

The Trackside’s new menu will feature local staples like a beef burger stuffed with Bury black pudding, steak and dark ale pie, beer battered haddock and chips, and Lancashire hot pot.

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To mark its new look, the award-winning boozer is offering free drinks next week, including prosecco, house wine, Odin ale or house lager.

The first 50 people who pass through the door on Monday 6 June, Tuesday 7 June, Monday 13 June and Tuesday 14 June, will be given one free drink – before diving into the selection of wines, cocktails, prosecco, champagne, and (of course) beers on offer.

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  • East Lancashire Railway – Trackside bar.

Dan Prince, manager of The Trackside, says: “We’re still offering old favourites including our award winning real ales and ciders but introducing some exciting new drinks and launching our long awaited food menu, ideal for an evening meal or a family get together.

“The pub has a great vibe, perfect for friends to meet and catch up, and allowing families to have a full day out on the ELR line and finish the day off having food and drinks with the kids.”

Read more: First look: inside Pollen’s new garden side cafe at Kampus

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Mike Kelly, Chairman of the ELR, adds: “Those seeking a unique experience have the opportunity to enjoy our high quality menu and wide selection of drinks, with a real heritage railway in view, watching iconic steam locomotives pull in and leave the station and even hop on one when they’re ready to leave.”

The Trackside will be open 12pm-10pm Monday-Tuesday, 10am-11pm Wednesday-Saturday, and 10am-10pm on Sundays.

For more information visit: eastlancsrailway.org.uk/plan-your-day-out/the-trackside.

Featured image: Supplied

Eats

Inside Popeyes as fried chicken restaurant opens its first Manchester drive-thru

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

Popeyes is ready to open its first-ever Greater Manchester drive-thru restaurant, where you can pick up its legendary Louisiana-style fried chicken and shakes.

To celebrate its launch, Popeyes will be giving away free chicken sandwiches for a year to the first people in the queue – and when it launched at Piccadilly Gardens, someone waited outside for 16 hours.

People really love this chicken…

In the blink of an eye, the colourful orange and blue building has taken shape on Bury New Road, where hungry diners can pick up meals in the drive-thru or order ahead for curbside collection.

Customers dining in can order through a QR code or touch-screens, before sitting down at one of the many orange booths to tuck into trays piled high with sandwiches, tenders, mac and cheese, and more.

There are 72 indoors plus an outside dining area, dual-ordering lanes, and designated bays for pre-orders.

Popeyes is famed for its viral ‘shatter crunch’-coated fried chicken, its Southern US biscuits and gravy, and its brekkie menu where British classics are given a New Orleans twist.

Inside Greater Manchester's new Popeyes drive-thru
Inside Greater Manchester's new Popeyes drive-thru
Inside Greater Manchester's new Popeyes drive-thru
Inside Greater Manchester’s new Popeyes drive-thru

The doors and lanes to the new chicken shop will officially open on Friday 26 April at 11am.

The first three people queueing both on foot and in cars will win free chicken sandwiches for a year, and the first 25 in both queues will get a free chicken sandwich and exclusive merch.

This new Popeyes marks the brand’s 11th opening in 2024, and 47th since launching in the UK in 2021.

You’ll find it at 288-292 unit Bury New Rd, M7 2YJ, right next to the McDonald’s and Tim Horton’s on the border of Prestwich.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

Eats

Skof, Manchester’s most hotly-anticipated restaurant, confirms opening date and menu prices

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Tom Barnes with the team outside Skof, a new restaurant opening in Manchester in May. Credit: Supplied

A restaurant with a serious Michelin pedigree is set to open in Manchester very soon, as chef Tom Barnes readies to launch Skof and gives a glimpse into its menu.

Tom’s impressive CV includes time spent at L’Enclume, the three-Michelin star Lake District restaurant widely considered one of the best in the world, and he’ll bring that same farm-to-table ethos to the city centre with his debut restaurant.

Skof will be taking over a historic building in the NOMA neighbourhood, right by Manchester Victoria, with an official opening date now locked in.

Skof is set to launch on Wednesday 29 May, with bookings going live today and tables available all the way through to 14 September (and likely to fill up fast).

Tom Barnes has also teased what’s to come on his menu, with two different tasting menus available.

Skof will have a 12-course tasting menu priced at £120, and a 15-course menu for £165 – plus a £50, four-course lunch offering.

The restaurant will be owned and operated by Tom but falls under Simon Rogan’s UMBEL Restaurants group, and he’ll be weaving in new suppliers as well as using daily deliveries of produce grown specifically for him from Simon Rogan’s Our Farm in the Cartmel Valley.

He’ll be using small-scale suppliers such as Cinderwood Market Garden in Nantwich and Lake District Farmers to fill his exciting menu of home-grown dishes.

The first set of menus will include dishes like roasted Sladesdown duck, peach leaf, Ibis celeriac, and wholemeal bread; Berkswell cheese sable biscuit, crushed broad beans, whipped roe, and bronze fennel; and a lightly set custard, served with Hen-of-the-Woods mushrooms, truffle, and mushroom dashi.

Tom Barnes with the team outside Skof, a new restaurant opening in Manchester in May which has confirmed its launch date and menu prices. Credit: Supplied
Tom Barnes with the team outside Skof, a new restaurant opening in Manchester in May which has confirmed its launch date and menu prices. Credit: Supplied

There’ll be a lot of thought that goes in to the drinks pairings too, working with restaurant manager Sean Oakford and assistant restaurant manager Max Lawrence (both ex-L’Enclume), on a range of drinks options to include alcohol-free or mixed-alcohol pairings, or matching wines to go with the menu.

Tom has also collaborated with Manchester brewery, Track to create Sidney, a light and refreshing beer intended as an alternative to kick off the meal.

Tom Barnes said: “It’s been a long time coming, so I’m excited to be able to finally release our reservations. I can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on and to return some of the incredible hospitality I’ve received from the people of Manchester.

“With Skof, my purpose is to create an incredible experience that focuses on great quality ingredients but above all, puts a smile on peoples faces.”

Skof will open in Manchester’s NOMA district on Wednesday 29 May.

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Featured image: Supplied

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