A new bar inspired by Christian Louboutin’s infamous red-soled shoes is set to open in Selfridges, Manchester Trafford, this year.
Offering a spin on classic cocktails such as the Cosmopolitan alongside some bespoke creations, it will be located in the accessories hall on the lower level of the department store opposite the new Christian Louboutin boutique.
Running for a limited time only, Loubibar celebrates the arrival of the swanky boutique where the designer’s latest Spring collection of signature shoes and accessories are now on display.
At the cocktail bar, shoppers can enjoy bespoke cocktail creations including the Rouge Follies (a spin on the classic Cosmopolitan), the Loubifunk (mixing gin with aromatic notes of cherry and zesty limes) and the amusingly named Loubidoo (a ‘transportive’ cocktail laced with coconuts and lime).
Image: Supplied
Image: Supplied
The 360 bar itself is resplendent in Christian Louboutin’s signature red, with plush red stools and menus, and will serve bespoke red cocktails inspired by the French fashion house, which was first established in Paris over 30 years ago.
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First launching in 1992 with a collection for women, swiftly followed by a men’s collection a few years later, its signature red lacquered sole makes the shoes instantly recognisable wherever they go.
2014 welcomed Christian Louboutin Beauté, while in, 2022 the House launched a new category dedicated to Kids and Pets: The LoubiFamily.
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Favoured by the likes of the Kardashians and Cardi B, as well as Sarah Jessica Parker’s character Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City, they’ve long been considered an iconic symbol of style and quality craftsmanship.
With a prolific collection of shoes, leather goods and accessories, Christian Louboutin now counts more than 150 points of sales around the world.
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The new bar’s design incorporates the brand’s playful wit and charm, with the Loubibar itself topped with a lit sign that nods to the decor often seen in Parisian brasseries.
Seating is available around the bar as well as a number of booths all featuring textiles complimenting the adjacent Christian Louboutin boutique, the new cocktail bar is open for a limited time only.
Located in the accessories hall on the lower level, it celebrates the new Christian Louboutin boutique where the designer’s latest Spring collection of signature shoes and accessories are available.
Feature image – Supplied
Eats
New Manchester restaurant receives rave review as another is slammed as ‘torture’
Daisy Jackson
Pip, a new restaurant in Manchester, has received a rave national review this week – a review which slammed another restaurant in the same feature.
Food critic William Sitwell wrote in his review in The Telegraph that Pip is charming, refined, and fabulous.
“Bravo, Pip. Pip pip!” he wrote in the glowing write-up on the new restaurant, which stands at the foot of the new Treehouse Hotel and has the acclaimed Mary-Ellen McTague at its helm.
Sitwell’s Telegraph review particularly raved about dishes including Lancashire hot pot (‘fabulously good’), a wild garlic soup (‘a gorgeous thing’), and an apple trifle (‘a gift from heaven’).
But while it was all good for Pip, there were significantly less positive adjectives heaped on another restaurant in Manchester.
In fact, he said that Pip is ‘a great-value tonic’ for the ‘brash (and pricey) torture’ across town.
That restaurant was KAJI, formerly known as MUSU, which he said was ‘all tummies, bald heads, tattoos and heat’.
Sitwell said that while the service and sashimi are good at KAJI, the ‘place is afflicted by some overbearing cooking that cheapens the noble name of Japanese cuisine’.
He wrote: “Lamb chops fail the tender test and are properly wrecked sitting on a vulgar pond of sticky “tomato ponzu”. No beast should die to have that stuff squirted anywhere near it.
“And Kaji is a Japanese gaff without sake. Which is like opening a British pub in Tokyo and forgetting to put an ale on tap.”
Sharing the review, Pip wrote: “Thankyou @telegraph and @williamsitwell for the fantastic feature. We’re so proud of our team here.”
Milk Maids, Bolton – The family-run ice cream parlour on an award-winning farm
Daisy Jackson
Ice cream doesn’t come much fresher than those served at Milk Maids – in fact, you’ll be standing right on the family farm where the cows that produce the milk live, as you tuck into your scoop.
This unassuming dairy farm in Bolton has been in operation for decades, and in the same family for generations.
But it’s when sisters Fiona and Rebecca saw the full potential of all that award-winning milk being produced on their farm that Milk Maids was born.
This ice cream parlour on Dearden’s Farm in Over Hulton is now one of the hottest spots in Greater Manchester, especially when the weather is similarly hot.
Every month they release a whole batch of flavours, all made fresh daily (you can literally see Fiona legging it across the yard with buckets of milk to make fresh batches), with May specials including white chocolate and sea salt caramel, raspberry cookie, and passionfruit pavlova.
Milk Maids, Bolton – The family-run ice cream parlour on an award-winning farm
Cones can be filled with molten chocolate or pistachio creme before your ice cream is scooped and pressed into the cone.
Or you can have your chosen flavour whizzed up into a milkshake, served in a milk bun, or presented in an insulated take-home box for later.
We could wax lyrical about how good this ice cream is, but the queues really do speak for themselves, and you should go and get in it right now.
Georgina Pellant -
8th February 2023 
