Eats

The Salmon of Knowledge – An Irish pub has opened at MediaCity for the first time ever

Spice bags and Guinness galore.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 11th August 2025

For the first time in MediaCity’s history, there’s a new Irish boozer now open for business.

It’s a third site for The Salmon of Knowledge, which also operates busy pubs in the Northern Quarter and in Didsbury, making part of the infamous Didsbury Dozen pub crawl.

The new pub at MediaCity threw open its doors last week, serving legendary Irish fare like Guinness and spice bags (skin on fries, tossed in house seasoning with buttermilk chicken tenders, fried onions and sliced chillies).

The Salmon of Knowledge opened at the Salford hub over the weekend, with a packed schedule of traditional and contemporary live acts, as well as sporting events shown on the big screen.

It’s still operated and owned by the same team behind Dockyard, which previously stood on this site and was part of Salford Quays for 13 years.

Joe Foster, Managing Director of Northern Lights Group, is behind the original Dockyard and the brains behind the other Salmon locations.

He says the pub will have ‘the same local soul and community spirit lives on, just with a bit more Irish charm this time round’.

Stephen Kirk, Head of Asset Management at MediaCity said: “The Salmon of Knowledge is one of the many businesses joining us at MediaCity during our phase of growth and we’re particularly proud to be supporting homegrown talent, after their successful debut in the Northern Quarter.

“We are confident that the new opening will help us work towards our aim of bettering our spaces, not just for businesses, but also for our residents and visitors.”

Joe Foster, Managing Director of Northern Lights Group, the team behind The Salmon of Knowledge said:“We’ve felt the love in the Northern Quarter, and now it’s time to bring the magic to MediaCity.

“Salford’s got soul, and we can’t wait to add to the soundtrack with great tunes, great food and, of course, great Guinness.”

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Inside Soots, the tiny new pasta restaurant in the Northern Quarter

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Soots is now open in the Northern Quarter

There’s another success story coming out of Altrincham Market – pasta kitchen Soots has gone and opened its very own restaurant in the Northern Quarter.

Owners and co-founders Ellie Proudfoot and Ruth Duarte have taken the leap to their very own bricks and mortar site on Tib Street, where they can serve up their handmade fresh pasta in their own restaurant space.

Named after their cocker spaniel Soots, the restaurant opens officially tomorrow.

The pair had hoped that Altrincham Market would be a launchpad to them eventually opening their first restaurant – and it’s worked brilliantly.

Inside Soots, it’s a cosy space with amazing green arches along the walls and a huge window that opens out onto this iconic Northern Quarter street.

Soots will again have a fully plant-based menu, broken down into snacks, small plates, pasta and puddings.

Everything is plant-based
Everything is plant-based
Everything is plant-based
Everything is plant-based
The menu at Soots
The menu at Soots
Fresh, handmade pasta
Fresh, handmade pasta
Small plates
Small plates

Expect heritage tomatoes with stracciatella and basil oil, butternut squash and chilli arancini, and a beautiful dish of marinated beetroot.

As for the pasta, there’ll be rigatoni with browned butter and confit tomatoes, sundried tomato-filled girella, and a lovely basil pesto spaghetti (a firm favourite from their Altrincham Market days).

And it wouldn’t be a pasta kitchen without a tiramisu on the dessert menu, along with lemon and olive oil ice cream, and white chocolate mousse.

Soots Pasta has been the first solo venture for Ellie, who used to work as a private chef as well as at restaurants around the region.

She’s taken her background – which includes culinary school in France – to create this modern European menu that takes inspiration from Italy.

What’s not immediately obvious, on reading the menu or eating it, is that everything on the Soots Pasta menu is entirely vegan – and they have gluten-free pasta available on request.

Soots Pasta is on Tib Street and officially opens on Saturday 9 Augst.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

A mobile Manc cocktail bar is rolling into a thriving new Greater Mancheser neighbourhood

Danny Jones Danny Jones Mobile cocktail bar coming to Middlewood Locks Salford

Greater Manchester has plenty of up-and-coming areas both here in the city centre and out in the boroughs, and one of those – Middlewood Locks over in Salford – is about to be treated to its own mobile cocktail bar.

You’ve got to love a Manc-born and bred independent business.

The canalside New Makers Yards apartments on Middlewood Locks are some of the most desirable new homes and flats you’ll find on the outskirts of the city, but with their on-site Seven Brothers pub sadly closing earlier this year, it is lacking one key thing: somewhere to drink.

However, with Cocktail Cartel MCR rolling into town for National Rum Day, residents can get a taste of, hopefully, what’s more to come.

Cocktail Cartel is a brand new, completely independent mobile bar that’s already starting to take the events industry by storm.

Serving unique and innovative creations (including plenty involving Captain Jack’s go-to tipple), they’ll be slinging cocktails to the New Makers Yards natives along the stunning and ever-thriving Middlewood Locks this month.

Created by Katie and Erik, who have been working in Manchester’s hospitality scene for nearly 20 years combined, these two have a passion for supporting fellow local indies and bringing amazing drinks to the table wherever the opportunity presents itself.

From their ‘Grown Up Coke Float’, which has all the punch of a classic Long Island Iced Tea only with a scoop of toffee ice cream, chocolate sauce and sprinkles thrown in there, to a Pedro Pascal-inspired tequila numbers (yes, really), they have a lot of fun behind that bar.

Better still, most of their spirits are coming from local legends, Spirit of Manchester, and for this particular upcoming event, it wouldn’t be right to host National Rum Day in 0161’s second city without a gorgeous bit of Salford Rum.

Credit: Cocktail Cartel (via Facebook)

But it doesn’t stop at just cocktails; the Cartel will also be pouring pints from nearby Track Brewery among various other regional favourites.

Once again, they’ll be popping up at New Makers Yard on Saturday, 16 August from noon onwards, promising rum, cocktails, beer, wine, cider and softies – so let’s just hope we get plenty of sun for it.

Keep an eye on their socials for how you might be able to grab some freebies also…

If you visited the most recent edition of Middlewood Locks Fest, you know this place is buzzing when the weather hits just right and the drinks are flowing. See you there.

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Featured Images — Cocktail Cartel MCR/Karen Wright Photography (supplied)

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