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.
The first new tenant of the old Debenhams department store on Market Street has been confirmed
Danny Jones
The first new resident of the Rylands Building on Market Street in central Manchester has been revealed, and it’s a foodie one.
Set to be the maiden opening inside the old Debenhams department store, which closed after more than three decades back in 2021, Rylands’ debut won’t be for another year or so, but it will soon welcome Mancs with an increasingly popular food hall operator making its way up north.
Simply called Market Place, the ever-growing brand is fast becoming a well-established name, with four venues in the capital already and a fifth coming soon.
Rylands will be their first location outside of London, and with 1,300 sqm of space at their disposal, Market Place Manchester is set to make a significant splash on the high street.
A look at Market Place Peckham.A rough idea of what the Manchester branch could look like.
Developers managed to green-light plans for the Grade II-listed building last November, sharing the first details and glimpses of their vision for the instantly recognisable city centre spot, including a whole new rooftop terrace.
Currently earmarked for a late 2026 launch, the former department store (previously Paulden’s) consisted of seven floors but is now set for a four-storey extension that promises to be a massive and varied retail, leisure and business destination that makes the most of the expansive structure.
Not to be confused with the famous John Rylands Library – a much older, more gothic, historic and hallowed hall over on Deansgate – this task of ‘revitalising a Manchester icon’, to quote property firm AM ALPHA, is a huge undertaking.
In charge of the redevelopment since 2023, the group have been outlining a pretty complete overhaul, with plans to convert the upper floors into premium office space, and the creation of a retail arcade at ground level, on which Market Place Manchester will sit.
This particular Manc corner was a bustling food, drink and shopping complex for the longest time, but has been derelict and covered up by boards for what feels like forever, with urban explorers even roaming the large, abandoned building.
Credit: Supplied
Now, though, the new long-term 15-year lease agreement will see the latest food hall kick off a new era for Rylands, delivering socially focused venues and the range of flavourful, vibrant choices of scran that Market Place have become known for.
With sites in St Paul’s, Vauxhall, Peckham, Harrow and soon Baker Street – as well as their eventual Manchester outpost, of course – the chain is getting bigger and better, meaning its arrival in the North West is an exciting one.
AM ALPHA manager Paul Hodgkiss said in an official statement: “Manchester is a city with a vibrant cultural scene – the perfect environment for forward-thinking concepts like Market Place Food Hall…
“The early commitment to Rylands is no coincidence: it reflects the strength of our strategic and forward-looking approach to development. We are not just creating high-quality space – we are setting new standards for urban mixed-use concepts. Interest from further prospective tenants is strong.”
It was only last week that Greater Manchester’s latest market hall, Campfield Studios, said hello to the general public and with House of Social also opening this summer, among several other similar projects, soon you won’t be able to move for more social hospitality scenes like this:
Hotel Chocolat to open viral chocolate Velvetiser Cafe in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Hotel Chocolat is set to open a Velvetiser Cafe in Manchester city centre, and it’ll be absolute paradise for chocolate lovers.
The popular chocolate shop, which has stores across the UK selling delicious chocolate bars, boxes and more, is now preparing to branch out in town.
Hotel Chocolat then hit a new level of fame with its Velvetiser, an invention that creates velvety smooth hot drinks at the touch of a button.
They’ve been so popular, Hotel Chocolat is now opening Velvetiser Cafes across the UK – and Manchester is up next.
If it follows in the footsteps of the Meadowhall cafe in Sheffield, visitors will be able to customise their perfect hot chocolate from thousands of combinations.
There are 18 flavours, different milks, and a whole variety of toppings available.
Then you drink can be served hot, over ice, or as a choc shake.
Colourful hoardings for the Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser Cafe have now appeared on Cross Street, just next door to the new Joe & The Juice.
A planning application has also been lodged with Manchester City Council.
Daisy Jackson -
6th July 2024 
