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.
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BIRD
Salford
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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.
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Crazy Pedro’s
Northern Quarter
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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.
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Fosters Fish and Chips
Didsbury
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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.
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Bundobust
Northern Quarter
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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.
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The Chippy on Burton Road
West Didsbury
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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.
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Wholesome Junkies
Ancoats
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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.
The very best ice cream and frozen yoghurt places around Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
We know it’s not often sunny out in these parts to enjoy the proper summery joy of lapping up lots of ice cream, but there are still bloody wonderful places to get it here in Greater Manchester – and we know some of the best.
Of course, it always hits different when the sun does come out.
It doesn’t matter if you prefer it chock-full of chocolate chips and coffee, mouth-frothingly fruity sweet, you’re in your pistachio phase or cannot get past the raspberry ripple, there are plenty of places to get whatever you’re after.
Be it Manchester city centre or beyond, we do ice cream pretty darn well for a place that basically rains for two-thirds of the year.
15 top ice cream, soft serve and fro-yo places around Manchester
In no particular order, by the way, because we already hate playing favourites and all those serve our infinitely sweet tooth are created equal.
1. Grandpa Greene’s – Oldham
First up, there are few other fitting enough places to start than the Diggle Lock’s legendary Grandpa Greene’s, which serves not just some of the best desserts we’ve EVER had but stunning, homemade ice-cream that we here at The Manc have even helped make in the past.
In fact, this place has been such a hit in the area that they’ve gone on to open their own bistro and, unsurprisingly, it’s proved just as impressive and popular.
2. Midnight Brownie Club – Ashton-under-Lyne
Heading over to Tameside now, Midnight Brownie Club is one to indulge at any time if you ask us, especially if you treat yourself to one of their sumptuous sundaes, which you can top with everything from kunafa, Lotus Biscoff crumble, raspberry ripple and more.
You can go wrong with those fudgey little chocolate squares, of course, and they obviously do lots of different stuff besides just ice cream and their namesake brownies, so our own recommendation is that you give it a try sooner rather than later.
From Oldham over to the borough of Bolton, and native favourite, Milk Maids, whose award-winning dairy farming expertise has seen them garner an iconic status among locals, and it’s no wonder.
We’ve been on to this place in Over Hulton for ages, but now they’re approaching a decade of serving their oh-so-sweet scoops, we can’t pretend to take even the remotest bit of credit. Their reputation precedes them and is about as long-standing as their lines.
4. Hello Oriental – Oxford Road Corridor
This one might come as a surprise, but if you’re in the market for some really good soft serve, subterranean pan-Asian food hall Hello Oriental just so happens to have it on offer.
Available in tubs or even served on top of a cute little animal-shaped waffle cone hybrids (there’s even a little chocolate surprise inside), they’re not just smooth and silky, they’re also adorable.
In at number four is arguably the ice cream and dessert parlour with the very best name in Manchester, and that’s Big Licks, which recently relocated from Liverpool Road over in Castlefield to Printworks. Now positioned in a much more central location, it’s no surprise that the spot has seen an increase in queuing.
You’ll find pretty much every combo you could ask for here; they also do some pretty banging burgers if you fancy eating both tea and afters here. We’re big fans of their ice cream sandwiches, as well.
As a native Stopfordian myself, my grandma only ever called dessert a ‘sweet’ or ‘pudding’, regardless of what it was, but regardless of what you call it around your way/in your family, we have a Stopfordian ice cream spot that you need to visit.
Macari’s Gelateria opened up over in Heaton Moor back in 2023, and it’s quickly grown a passionate cult following – ourselves included. From their punchy and/or fruity flavours, to the super soft texture that their perfectly flaky wafers just about hold up to, it’s pretty perfect. Remember the name.
Credit: The Manc Group
7. Lazy Sundae – Manchester Arndale
We’re past the halfway mark now, and if you’re not already feeling a bit sluggish after this sugary feast for your eyes, you almost certainly will after looking at the super indulgent Lazy Sundae, who do everything from bubble tea and creative Korean desserts to standard ice cream cones.
But make no mistake, there’s nothing plain or basic about this place: it’s remained one of the best places for ice cream in Manchester, and while we may have said goodbye to their OG spot in NQ back in January 2025, the Arndale parlour now serves as the perfect flagship location.
Sticking with the city centre and whipping our way back to NQ (pun very much intended), we’ve got the brilliant Black Milk up next, who we confess most regularly visit for a proper good milkshake, but they do shine when it comes to pretty much anything sugary, to be honest.
Ice cream-wise, you can’t go wrong with their cookies and cream sundae, and their special St. Patrick’s Guinness gelato is still one of the most unique desserts we’ve ever had. Speaking of gelato…
Heading out to Trafford now, and the ever-growing foodie scene in Sale, their increasingly well-known Gelato Creamery® store has been making waves for some time now, and by waves, we mean perfectly swirled scoops of ice cream’s somewhat healthier but still just as tasty Italian cousin.
They have a more central pod at Jacuna Kitchen over in Ardwick on the outskirts of the city centre, but really do recommend visiting their shop on School Road for a lesson on what proper good gelato should taste like.
Another Stopfordian stop on this ice cream tour comes in the form of All Things Nice, who couldn’t be more appropriately named if they tried – both when it comes to the scran and the service.
Over in the hilly village of Marple, this lovely little cafe on Market Street is known for all manner of bakes, brunch plates, pastries, and a fair few sweet treats, including their ice cream, which is just about as delicious as everything else on the menu. No surprise here.
Credit: The Manc
11. Wazuzhi – Chinatown
Here’s another one that might surprise people: yes, the affordable Manchester city centre favourite and Chinatown staple formerly known as Wasabi isn’t just great at the savoury side of things; they also have some lovely desserts, too.
Specifically, they do ‘shaved ice’ cups, which come in a variety of flavours, many of which are super fruity and fresh, but we do heartily reccommend coming for the sushi first and this for afters.
Since we’re mixing things up a bit, now it’s time to throw some ‘fro-yo’ into the conversation, and if you haven’t tried MAST over on King Street West – that little backstreet just off Deansgate and around the corner from Crazy Pedros – you’re really to correct that oversight.
There’s something about this one that feels like a proper treat whilst also balancing that sugar content, thanks to the healthier ice cream alternative, as you still get that fix from toppings like Smarties, crushed Oreos, classic candy lovehearts and tonnes more. Pretty as a picture.
13. Frurt – Various
Sticking with the frozen yoghurt theme, it’d be foolish to overlook the kings of the local game, as this may be a franchise, but it started right here back in 2010 with husband-and-wife team, Syed and Shaza Hassan, and they’ve only got bigger and better, still offering healthy, dairy and gluten-free cups.
You can find them in the following locations: the city centre (a pair of them), Stockport, Sale, on Bury New Road, Bolton, Oldham, not to mention soon the Trafford Centre and beyond Greater Manchester.
The penultimate blood sugar pincher is the famous Get Baked, which barely even turned the key to unlock the doors before they had a crowd waiting outside the shop window of their first permanent Manchester location.
Whether you’re three for big cookies, the famous Matilda-inspired ‘Bertha’ cake or their free-flowing soft-serve that is easier to drink than water – we know we have a problem, we’re working on it – you won’t be disappointed, no matter how long you wait.
Credit: The Manc
15. Baby Mayhem – Ancoats
Last but certainly not least of the latest newcomers to the Manc dessert scene, and while it may not be strictly just an ice cream parlour, it is one of the best places for anyone who is powerless to resist their cravings for things fresh, cold, filled, fried and covered in sugar.
Baby Mayhem is where ice cream and doughnuts collide in one superior pudding. How does a ‘donut ice cream sandwich’ sound? Incredible? We thought so… It’s popped in the old Lazy Tony’s Lasagneria site and is already following in its footsteps of filling locals’ bellies to the max.
That should just about do you for now, and if this list wasn’t sickly enough, don’t you worry…
You best believe we’ll be going around all around Greater Manchester in search of more ice cream and the best places that do it whenever the sun is out.
So, just keep your eyes peeled for when we inevitably update this one, because there’s always room for one more scoop.
Well, speaking of…
Honourable mention
Take issue with this if you want, but any place that offers a free ice cream sandwich on your birthday deserves to be on the list if you ask us, so here’s our nod to the wonderful Nell’s.
Available in dulce de leche, cherry pie, cookie dough and, of course, that birthday cake flavour – not to mention various one-off specials through the year – nothing quite compares to a slice and one of these sweet little frozen sandos.
Starting off life as a little coffee trike back in 2021, and now based inside a bright-yellow shipping container in Levenshulme‘s Cringle Park, Grounded MCR CIC is a social enterprise that does more than just make you a brew.
Set up with the idea of creating a welcoming space for the whole community to gather, with a key focus on sustainability, Grounded serves up specialty coffee, lots of other hot and cold drinks, and yummy homemade food – much of which is grown by hand, on and around the container.
This is Grounded MCR / Credit: The Manc Group
Coffee beans sourced from a local roaster that pays farmers properly, tasty bakes on offer from a handful of local makers – including bread from the incredible Stockport-based charity, Pure Innovations – and dozens of free community events organised throughout the year are just a few of the reasons why Grounded goes above and beyond your typical cafe.
Sustainability – and affordability, especially amid the ongoing cost of living crisis – are two huge driving factors for Grounded, especially through their partnership with FareShare Greater Manchester and utilising the ‘Too Good To Go’ scheme.
By delivering and using surplus food that would’ve otherwise gone to waste, Grounded is able to keep their prices low whilst still creating some delicious scran.
The Levenshulme community cafe crafting coffee for a great cause / Credit: The Manc Group
Their ‘FareShare Fridays’ are hosted each week, where that morning’s delivery is dedicated to one specific dish and served up for just £1.
To top it all off, Grounded also works with vulnerable adults in honing their barista and hospitality skills, and is also in partnership with ‘Women in Probation’ too to ensure their impact goes further than just what comes in a cup or on a plate.
”We’ve worked hard to create a space that feels safe and welcoming for all,” Grounded declares in a statement on it’s website – and we think they’ve succeeded.
Emily Sergeant -
4th December 2020 
