400 wines, huge charcuterie boards, and a self-service wine machine – it’s pretty easy to see why Salut can comfortably declare itself the finest wine shop in all of Manchester.
This brilliant independent business is part shop, part event space, and part bar, and is about to hit its 10th birthday.
True to form at Salut, there’ll be special events to celebrate its milestone anniversary – but at Salut, every day can be a celebration.
In the summer, you can sit outside on the terrace and pavement seats in the sunshine, while in winter the bar turns cosy and glitters with twinkling lights.
Standing on a corner of Cooper Street and Fountain Street, just off St Peter’s Square, the beautiful two-storey wine bar is a firm local favourite.
Inside, customers are greeted with a giant wall of wine, with more than 400 different bottles to choose from, from modern natural wines to luxury classics, as well as beers, spirits and softs.
You can pull up a chair and enjoy a glass of wine from the Salut team’s ever-changing by-the-glass wine menu, but the jewel in its crown really is the self-service wine machine.
These tasting wine dispensers preserve and serve wine, and you can help yourself to a tasting measure, or a whole glass.
Mix-and-match sharing boards at Salut in ManchesterMix-and-match sharing boards at Salut in ManchesterThe self-service tasting wine machines. Credit: The Manc Group
You can head up to the bar and pre-charge a Salut wine card, then simply swipe, pick your own wine, and get to drinking.
The wines stocked in the machines are always changing, with the team regularly introducing vintages and unique wines so that people can taste something different without committing to a whole bottle.
Between the machine and the by-the-glass menu, that’s more than 50 wines you can order by the glass.
It’s heaven for wine enthusiasts, curious drinkers, and those of us who are just a bit indecisive.
Then as for what to eat, Salut puts together huge cheese and charcuterie sharing boards, along with loads of snacks and small plates.
You can mix and match your own board with meat items like peppered pastrami, air-dried beef bresaola, Alpine speck, chorizo, and Serrano ham, plus cheeses like Nicky Nook blue, Alpencheddar, and Dewlay extra mature cheddar
The bar also hosts wine tastings in its private room upstairsOutside Salut wine bar in ManchesterYou can pour your own wine at the tasting machines
All that’s on top of a full menu of crisps, plus other snacks like hummus, spicy n’duja sausage, and mushroom pate.
Boards are made with produce from local suppliers, like Companio focaccia and The Crafty Cheese Man cheeses, as well as the finest imported deli meats and cheeses.
Salut is a big fan of a special event, with wine tastings running year-round, like their upcoming Salut Over The Years evening in celebration of the bar’s 10th birthday.
It was all started by co-founders and husband-and-wife team Sara and Jon, who wanted to create a bar they wanted to drink in – somewhere Mancs could have a relaxed glass of wine in the city centre.
They set out to build an independent wine bar and shop with a laid-back European feel, describing Salut as ‘a no-nonsense, Mancunian attitude to drinking wine’.
The pair said: “When we first saw the Enomatic machines we felt that these could help us to create that environment – they are fun to use, you can taste wines you wouldn’t normally try without breaking the bank and you don’t have to trip over your tongue trying to pronounce Gewürtztraminer if you’d rather not, because you can just help yourself to some.
“We really just feel that wine is really nice stuff and something that everyone should be able to enjoy.
“The dictionary definition of salut is ‘used to express friendly feelings towards one’s companions before drinking’ – there’s not much that’s better than that feeling and it’s why we’re called Salut.”
If you’ve not visited before, get this one on your bucket list, and pop into Salut for a glass, a bottle, a board, and a gorgeous evening.
Magnificent new food hall House of Social opens in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
A whopping great new food hall is opening its doors in Manchester this month – House of Social is officially ready to launch.
This much-anticipated new opening will be a hub for some of the UK’s top food and drink traders, including homegrown talent and lust-after operators from other cities.
With five traders inside, House of Social has taken over a huge space on the ground floor of a new Vita Group student accommodation building.
The venue itself is a modern giant, wrapped around a central bar and huge colour-changing light fixtures.
Spread across two floors, plus an outdoor terrace area, there’s space for hundreds of diners at once across cosy booths, large group tables, and window seats overlooking the First Street neighbourhood.
There are five fantastic traders operating inside House of Social – check them out below.
Mughli
Mughli has moved into House of Social Mughli’s lamb sausage roll with bone marrow gravy
This Curry Mile icon is finally heading to the city centre for the first time in its three-decades-long reign, serving up its popular Punjabi curries as well as contemporary small plates.
Menu highlights include an Indian sausage roll, where the meat is a lamb seekh kebab, and the pot alongside is filled with a bone marrow gravy – think birria taco, but a curry house pastry.
There’s also a giant helping of butter chicken, gently smoked and spiced and made with tandoor chicken; and street snacks like a plate of stracciatella dotted with beetroot, chutneys, and crispy scraps.
Dough Religion
Subs and slices from Dough ReligionA trio of sides at House of Social
These slow-fermented, in-house, New York-style pizza slices are going to be a popular choice at House of Social – but that’s not all that’s on the menu.
Dough Religion is also making gigantic subs, packed with fillings like a fried chicken Caesar, or house beef and pork meatballs.
And there are puddings too, like fat swirls of cinnamon roll thick with frosting, and the ‘Burnt Yorker’, a cheesecake hybrid from somewhere between the Basque region and New York City.
OK Taqueria
OK Taqueria’s tacosThe birria taco from OK Taqueria
Taco paradise has touched down at House of Social with this brand-new California-inspired Mexican food concept.
There’s a rotating menu of tacos, including crispy pork belly al pastor, Tinga chicken thigh, a Baja fish taco.
But for god sake, don’t skip the beef shin birria, served with a pot of consomme gravy for dipping. It’s a stunner.
Burger & Beyond
Burger & Beyond in House of SocialHouse of Social
This is the first time London favourite Burger & Beyond has left the capital, and of course, it’s Manchester who gets it first.
These guys serve up exceptional buns, like a fried chicken hot honey burger, classic cheeseburgers, and a signature dish of the bacon butter burger, topped with crispy pancetta, burnt butter mayo and onion.
There’s also signature tots drizzled in ranch sauce, hot sauce and bacon bits.
Choi Wan
Prawn toast crumpets from Choi WanA full House of Social spread
Prawn toast crumpets! PRAWN TOAST CRUMPETS!! That, and more, are on the menu at Choi Wan, a Chinese street food spot in House of Social.
Charlie Yu has brought his famous satay here, all served with half rice and half chips (an old faithful), then there’s also a half chicken rotisserie served with salt and pepper chips, and kimchi slaw.
And for dessert, it’s Mr Whippy, in various formats.
House of Social will open on Coleman Street on 19 August.
The UK’s only Pina Colada Festival is coming to a town near Manchester this weekend
Emily Sergeant
If you like piña coladas, then there’s only one place you’ll want to be this weekend.
Northwich town centre, over in Cheshire just an hour away from Manchester, is getting a taste of the tropics once again this summer as the popular The Pina Colada Festival returns, and organisers are promising it’ll be the biggest celebration to date.
The festival was first established back in 2021 after a local resident discovered that Rupert Holmes, the man behind the iconic hit ‘Escape (The Pina Colada Song)’, was born in Northwich in 1947.
A social media post suggesting a celebration went viral… and just like that, The Pina Colada Festival was born and is now in its fifth year.
The UK’s only Pina Colada Festival is coming to a town near Manchester this weekend / Credit: Marcelo Verfe (via Unsplash) | Supplied
Taking place this Saturday (16 August), this family-friendly free festival is a Caribbean fusion of street performances, street food, live music, and of course, piña coladas – both alcoholic and non-alcoholic – as far as the eyes can see.
Food and drink will be available across the town centre from Northwich’s bars, cafes and restaurants, all of which put on special events and stalls for the occasion, giving visitors the perfect opportunity to enjoy a bite to eat or refreshments while soaking up the sun.
And this year will see the introduction of a giant urban beach at the top of Witton Street too, alongside a surfing simulator, a free photobooth, and lots more.
The family-friendly festival will be taking over the Cheshire town this weekend / Credit: Supplied
The Samba Parade is back too, and visitors can expect ‘rhythm, colour, and unstoppable energy’ from a variety of dancers, including butterfly performers and vibrant rainbow dress dancers, creating a street spectacle to remember.
There’ll be a whole host of family-friendly activities happening across the town centre too, including free pineapple-themed kids crafts, glitter face painting, and pineapple-themed mini-golf.
Daisy Jackson -
6th July 2024 
