It’s been one heck of a long year, but December is finally here.
As England’s second national lockdown has now come to an end, and the country has returned to the three tiered regional system – with Greater Manchester under Tier 3 restrictions – there’s never been a more worthy time to treat yourself to a takeaway.
And what better way to do so than with a festive-themed feast too?
With everything from chippys and pizza parlours, to Indians, burger joints and health food kitchens, there’s plenty of beloved independent and Manchester-based eateries across the region that are #StillServingMCR on Deliveroo and embracing everything the festive season has to offer with some limited edition Christmas specials.
We’ve rounded up a few of the best to get stuck into this weekend.
BIRD is London’s original fried chicken and waffles joint.
Founded in Shoreditch in 2014, after having perfected the art of frying, BIRD has now brought its rave reviews and knock-out house recipes right here to Manchester.
As well as helping yourself to the main menu, if you’re after a Christmas treat, The Christmas Burger is a BIRD-style turkey escalope on a bed of roquette and mayonnaise, stacked with sage and onion stuffing, pigs in blankets and topped with cranberry sauce.
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If a festive burger feast sounds like it’s right up your street this weekend, BIRD is #StillServingMCR across Greater Manchester.
You can view menus and place your order via Deliveroo here.
Manchester’s cult-favourite “part time pizza parlour” Crazy Pedro’s truly is embracing the festive season with everything it’s got this year, having introduced the Lockdown 2.0: Nightmare Before Christmas pizza earlier last month, which features none other than pigs in blankets, pepperoni, fresh chillies and burrata.
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Need we say more?
If you fancy feasting on festive pizza this Christmas, Crazy Pedro’s is #StillServingMCR at a number of locations across Manchester.
You can view menus and place your order via Deliveroo here.
Fosters Fish and Chips – based at Anchors in West Didsbury – aims to “reclaim the nation’s favourite dish” and bring it into the 21st century, with an unmissable batter made from entirely-natural ingredients (and a very-secret something too).
There’s an impressive six ‘Christmas Specials’ to tuck into this month.
With everything from Battered Pigs in Blankets and Stuffing Balls, to the Battered Turkey Burger with Cranberry Gravy, Breaded Camembert and Deep Fried Christmas Pudding, you really can’t go wrong if you’re looking for a festive feast.
If you like the sounds of your classic chippy tea with a festive twist this weekend, Fosters Fish and Chips is #StillServingMCR at a number of locations in Greater Manchester.
You can view menus and place your order via Deliveroo here.
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KBK
Ancoats
KBK / Deliveroo
Renowned health food kitchen KBK has the perfect balance of keeping healthy and still tasting bloody great at the same time, and you can tuck into everything from wraps, kebabs and tacos, to salads and a selection of jam-packed box meals.
There’s also two Christmas specials on the menu – Pigs in Blankets, and the KBK Christmas Wrap.
So, if you fancy your food a little on the healthier side but no less festive this Christmas, then KBK is #StillServingMCR at a number of locations across Manchester.
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You can view menus and place your order via Deliveroo here.
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Rudy’s
Ancoats & Peter Street
Rudy’s / Deliveroo
How does a festive take on award-winning Neapolitan pizza sound?
Believing Neapolitan pizza to be the best in the world, Rudy’s dough is made fresh daily using Caputo 00 flour – which has been left to ferment for at least 24 hours – alongside the best quality ingredients imported twice a week from Naples, including San Marzano tomatoes grown on fields next to Mount Vesuvius, and Fior di Latte mozzarella.
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It’s the best of the best.
And there’s a Rudy’s Christmas Special too – a pumpkin cream base pizza, topped with bufala mozzarella, rosemary roasted potatoes, sage roasted brussel sprouts and diced pancetta – so, if your taste buds fancy a festive trip to Napoli this weekend, Rudy’s is #StillServingMCR at a number of locations across Manchester.
You can view menus and place your order via Deliveroo here.
Bundobust is well-known for its wide array of authentically-flavoured Indian street food.
As fresh and vibrant as on the streets that created them, Bundobust’s dishes are designed to be shared, and it’s recommend that you tuck into two/three per person.
The festive specials this year include Sprout Bhajis, the traditional Festive Curry making a return, and a new sweet addition to the menu in the form of the Mince Pie Paratha – a flaky flatbread filled with spiced dried fruit, citrus, and coconut.
Christmas Combo Meals are also available.
Has the traditional taste of India got your tongue tingling? Bundobust is #StillServingMCR across Manchester this Christmas.
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You can view menus and place your order via Deliveroo here.
The Chippy On Burton Road is a traditional chippy with a modern Manchester twist.
Not only is its cod and haddock MSC certified, but the sausages are made by award-winning butchers Axon of Didsbury, the pies are produced by award-winning Bowen of Chorley, and the eatery fries all its food using sunflower oil instead of palm oil – which is far lower in saturates and ethically sourced – and uses either compostable or recyclable packaging where possible.
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The menu is chocked full with festive specials too, featuring everything from turkey goujons and stuffing balls, to brie & cranberry parcels and a ‘Pig in a Duvet’.
It also stocks a wide range of soft drinks and alcohol that is made in Manchester.
Chippy tea with a splash of festive flavour sound like the one? The Chippy on Burton Road is #StillServingMCR at a number of locations across Greater Manchester.
You can view menus and place your order via Deliveroo here.
Wholesome Junkies is no doubt a beloved hotspot for foodies here in Manchester, and is known around the country for its 100% vegan junk food.
Yes, you heard that right – everything on the wide-ranging menu is plant based.
The festive offerings this year include the Festive Burger – a chargrilled 1/4 pounder with cheese, bacon rashers, crispy stuffing patty, charred sprouts, cranberry sauce, festive mayo and onion gravy in a toasted brioche bun – and the extra-special sides of Festive Fries and Festive Tots come loaded with festive salt, onion gravy, charred sprouts, festive mayo, cranberry chutney, crispy shallots and bacon bits too.
If it’s a plant based party you’re after this weekend, Wholesome Junkies is #StillServingMCR at a number of locations across Greater Manchester.
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You can view menus and place your order via Deliveroo here.
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Don Giovanni
Oxford Street
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is Manchester’s oldest independently-owned Italian restaurant and it has been proudly serving the city for over 36 years.
The classic, all-year-round menu sure is a thing of beauty in itself, but the festive offerings this year include Suprema di Pollo, Crostata di Salmone, and a range of other mouth-watering treats, with the standout by far being the Tacchino Arrosto – an Italian take on a roast turkey dinner, with potatoes, carrots and pigs in blankets, served with gravy and cranberry jam.
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If it’s an Italian take on Christmas you’re in the mood for this weekend, Don Giovanni is #StillServingMCR at a number of locations across Manchester.
You can view menus and place your order via Deliveroo here.
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That’s not all either.
If we’re going to give a shoutout to all the places with festive feasts on the menu this month, then we may as well save you some pennies too while we’re at it, so we’ve organised a £10 off Deliveroo discount code for our audience of loyal Mancunians.
New Deliveroo customers can get £10 off their first order – using the code “MANC10” – when spending over £15 at restaurants in Manchester.
The offer is valid from now until 6th December 2020.
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The Manc Group has partnered with Deliveroo to help local restaurants deliver during lockdown as part of our #StillServingMCR campaign.
Working alongside Deliveroo, The Manc will ensure all restaurants on the service will get the amplification they need across our social platforms. We’ll update our one million-strong audience on your latest updates and deals and we’ll create conversations with the masses about our favourite scran from your menus.
Basically, we will champion you, and we will go above and beyond to do it.
Tawny Stores – Inside the stunning canalside restaurant that’s Stockport’s loveliest addition
Daisy Jackson
There’s a tiny little opening on the outskirts of Stockport that’s so charming, with such delicious food, that we’re going to have to insist you all rearrange your plans to visit immediately.
This is Tawny Stores, a restaurant, cafe and deli where you can do everything from having a romantic candlelit dinner to scoffing a morning pastry to grabbing a loaf of bread to take home.
With a pretty canalside location, and windows that look out over the water, it’s already proving a fantastic addition to Greater Manchester.
Tawny Stores is in Marple Bridge, a picturesque village at the foot of the Peak District hills (which feels a million miles from Stockport, but the name on the wheelie bins doesn’t lie).
It may be a total pain in the arse to get to, especially with every-other train being cancelled, but getting stuck out here is far from being the end of the world.
From their tiny kitchen they cook an ever-changing menu that’s technical, but simple.
By the time you read this the menu will probably have changed again, but here we go anyway.
Rabbit pie at Tawny Stores in Marple Bridge. Credit: The Manc GroupA cheese toastie at Tawny Stores. Credit: The Manc GroupHomemade crisps and a glass of wine. Credit: The Manc GroupRoast squash and lentils at Tawny Stores in Marple Bridge. Credit: The Manc Group
We had a wild rabbit, cider and tarragon pie, with a crust that could win awards and a generous dollop of silky smooth mash.
There was a simple cheese and onion toastie, elevated by some top-quality bread and homemade chutney on the side.
A warming pile of lentils was then topped with roasted squash and a zingy and herby green sauce to zap it (and you) back to life.
And then there’s homemade focaccia, which you can order with olive oil or have it as a sandwich, where fillings are currently festive and include squash and stuffing, crispy sprouts and aioli, and pork Milanese and cranberry.
Inside Tawny Stores, Marple Bridge, Stockport. Credit: The Manc GroupTawny Stores in Marple Bridge. Credit: The Manc Group
Before you head out, take a moment to browse the shelves full of produce (and the display unit filled with homemade cakes).
You can grab a hot drink to walk down the canal and burn off some of that fuel, or do it in reverse and come in here to warm your cockles after a brisk winter stroll.
Either way, it’s one to visit – and soon.
You can follow them on Instagram HERE for their latest menus.
10 of the best new bars and restaurants to open in Greater Manchester in 2024
Daisy Jackson
Another year has ticked by and once again, Greater Manchester has proven itself as a global heavyweight when it comes to new bars and restaurants.
As the city expands ever-further, with new neighbourhoods springing up like daisies, there’s been a flurry of new openings across the city region.
From the small teams painstakingly hand-rolling pasta or laminating croissants to much larger ventures flinging out sunny brunch dishes or slabs of meat, there’s been something to excite just about every palate in 2024.
With so many new spots to check out, you’re bound to have missed a few – so we’ve pulled together our 10 favourites to add to your visit list in 2025.
Cacio e pepe pasta. Credit: The Manc GroupSoup and a steak sandwich. Credit: The Manc GroupThe Paris hot chocolate. Credit: The Manc Group
In smaller Greater Manchester towns, new openings don’t come along every day – which might be why Cafe Continental caused such a stir initially when it launched in Stalybridge.
But as the months have ticked on this neighbourhood restaurant has proved that it’s far from a flash in the pan.
It looks like it’s been plucked from a pretty Parisian back street and has a menu that will stand the test of time, from a cacio e pepe pasta with an egg yolk on top to spicy twice-fried chicken buns and steak sandwiches.
That’s alongside excellent cocktails and one of the internet’s most viral sweet treats, a proper Paris hot chocolate, where you dollop thick cream into dainty cups of molten hot chocolate.
Blacklock’s cocktail trolley which roams their new Manchester restaurants. Credit: The Manc GroupBlacklock’s all-in platter outside their new Manchester restaurant. Credit: The Manc Group
Easily up there with the biggest openings in 2025 is Blacklock, which ventured out of its native London for the first time this year and landed in a basement unit on Peter Street.
Here, it’s all about the meat-heavy menu of reasonably-priced British classics, affordable cocktails, and its legendary white chocolate cheesecake scooped straight from the dish and dolloped onto your plate.
Blacklock is a modern take on a traditional chop house and proudly offers ‘hearty fare and rowdy comfort’.
A menu highlight is their all-in platter, where chops are piled high on charcoal-grilled flatbread which soaks up the meat juices. Delicious.
Pasta and pizzetta dishes at Onda in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Surely one of the greatest success stories in recent years, Onda has gone from a humble kitchen within Exhibition food hall, to a resident at New Cross in Ancoats, to its very own shiny restaurant at Circle Square in the blink of an eye.
From this massive new space, you can watch a team of chefs carefully making fresh pasta in the open kitchen, and glimpse their now-viral tiramisu drawer in action.
Even six months down the line, it’s damn-near impossible to book a table here, with people still waiting months to sample their delicious pastas, including fan favourites like nduja and vodka sauce, cacio e pepe bucatini, and a selection of thick-crusted pizzettas.
The tiramisu might have sent their popularity sky-high, but the quality and prices here prove that it deserves every bit of success coming its way. This place is not a novelty.
Rudy’s, Prestwich and Altrincham
Rudy’s in Altrincham. Credit: The Manc GroupRudy’s Prestwich. Credit: The Manc GroupRudy’s opened two new restaurants in Greater Manchester this year
Some might think that Rudy’s is getting a little big for its boots, now with 29 restaurants across the UK – properly impressive growth considering they were just a tiny pizzeria in Ancoats less than a decade ago.
But these top-quality Neapolitan-style pizzas are the stuff of legend for good reason and are pulling in big crowds in every suburb they land in.
This year alone they’ve launched new restaurants in Altrincham and another in Prestwich, the latter of which has gone into a vacant bank building on the high street of the Greater Manchester suburb.
Will anything ever stop these guys in their tracks? Doubt it…
Medlock Canteen, Deansgate Square
Fresh baguettes stuffed with rotisserie chicken straight out of the oven. Credit: The Manc GroupInside Medlock Canteen. Credit: The Manc Group
Bottomless coffee, rotisserie chicken, epic sandwiches, schnitzels, and big brekkies, all served in a delightfully mid-century modern interior – we were excited for Medlock Canteen before the doors even opened.
Moving into the skyscraper neighbourhood of Deansgate Square, this place comes from the same team behind Madre (the Mexican restaurant at Kampus) and Belzan (one of Liverpool’s top restaurants).
It’s had a few rave national reviews and pulls in a steady crowd, thanks in part to its proximity to Club de Padel. Going straight from court to cocktails is a pretty dreamy Manchester evening.
They’ll even let you order a portion of whatever the staff dinner is that night for a tenner.
Companio, Northern Quarter
Companio Bakery in the Northern QuarterMaritozzi from Companio BakeryCredit: The Manc Group
It’s always been one of Manchester’s best bakeries, but its original location on the very edges of Ancoats sort of kept it a bit too out of the way.
So when Companio announced a new spot in the heart of the Northern Quarter, bringing its loaves and pastries that little bit closer, the city centre rejoiced.
On the menu you’ll find sandwiches in freshly-baked bread, maritozzi bursting at the seams with cream, delicious coffee, seasonal bakes and loads more, in a gorgeous new cafe on an NQ back street.
You can even pull up a seat right next to the bakery so you can sit and watch loaves being lovingly shaped and baked right in front of you – now that’s my kind of show.
Hive Stores, Altrincham
Hive Stores in Altrincham, Greater Manchester
It’s not every day that Greater Manchester gets a new business quite as beautiful as the bar at Hive Stores, which is filled with gorgeous antique furniture, a general store, and a cafe.
The business had previously operated as an antiques store from a ramshackle building out the back – but when this roadside space came up next door, they snapped it up and transformed it into a timeless, character-packed community cafe and bar.
You can pick up some eggs and have an espresso martini at the same time, tuck into a cheese board and a few glasses of wine, grab a Half Dozen Other pastry, or sit on the pavement with a spritz and people-watch.
It’s operated by Steven Sherratt and Gareth Wilkins and you’re guaranteed a warm welcome every time. A must-visit.
Dishes at Stow are seasonal and cooked over open fire. Credit: The Manc GroupStow in Manchester
This is the newest spot on the list, and if you’ve not already jumped on the bandwagon it’s one to add to your list for 2025.
What sets Stow apart from the rest is its innovative cooking style – no ovens, no conventional appliances, just fire and grill. Everything on the menu – even their bread and cake – is cooked over open fire.
They’ve totally transformed the space on Bridge Street too, which has at various points over the last few years been a futuristic coffee shop, a Thai BBQ restaurant, and a wine bar.
Stow is owned and operated by Matt Nellany and Jamie Pickles from Trof, who want to celebrate the ‘simplicity of great ingredients cooked over open fire with very little faff’.
Cheese and kimchi on toast at Caravan in Manchester
It would be quicker to list what Caravan doesn’t serve than what it does, but every single thing on their all-day menu is executed to the highest degree.
From brunches to sourdough pizzas, coffee to cocktails, grain bowls to brioche puddings, the menu harks from sunny New Zealand (as do its three co-founders).
Caravan is a wildly popular name down in London and finally landed here in Manchester in the summer, with a massive new 170-capacity restaurant and a full working roastery.
Menu highlights include jalapeño cornbread with chilli butter, Korean-style buttermilk fried chicken with kimchi pancakes, and, of course, fry-ups.
RamenShop, Northern Quarter
Ramenshop in the Northern Quarter. Credit: The Manc Group
Alright this one technically isn’t a new opening, rather a rebrand – but something about that shiny new sign above the door made us fall back in love with RamenShop (formerly Tokyo Ramen) all over again.
The team who run the show here – Janven, Marc and Mark – have actually been given partial ownership of the restaurant, which is a lovely bit of positive hospitality news for a change, isn’t it?
Their concise menu sees 12-hour chicken broth bases piled high with perfect noodles, proteins and jammy eggs, including their best-selling ‘fire’ ramen, topped with crunchy koji-fried chicken, and the classic shoyu that’s topped with torched pork belly.
Emily Sergeant -
4th December 2020 
