Eats

Manchester’s most exclusive restaurant, serving omakase sushi to just four customers a week

And it's exceptional.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 22nd June 2024

At a time when sushi restaurants are opening in Manchester more often than I open my fridge, it’s becoming difficult to stand out from the crowd.

But boy oh boy have we found a newcomer that will change all of that, and a new favourite Japanese spot has entered the region.

Sushi Pod is quite possibly the most exclusive restaurant experience in the entire country, seating just four guests per week.

Those lucky few who manage to secure a table (and at the time of writing, you can still book in for dinner in the coming weeks) will be whisked through a whopping 20 courses in a full omakase experience.

Omakase loosely translates to ‘I’ll leave it up to you’ – you just pull up a seat and watch the chef work their magic on the finest quality seafood available.

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At Sushi Pod, tucked upstairs above the brilliant Grape to Grain wine bar on Bury New Road, you sit mere inches away from chef Artur Wacewicz.

You have a true front-row seat as he delicately slices tuna, deftly rolls sushi rice into nori sheets, and blow-torches sugar onto exotic fruit.

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Artur Wacewicz working his magic at a Sushi Pod omakase night
Artur Wacewicz working his magic at a Sushi Pod omakase night
Sushi Pod are serving above Grape to Grain in Prestwich, Greater Manchester
Sushi Pod are serving above Grape to Grain in Prestwich, Greater Manchester
Artur Wacewicz
Artur Wacewicz

Artur has teamed up with Grape to Grain founder Tom Sneesby for the Sushi Pod omakase nights – while one is plating up perfect bites of world-class fish, the other is topping up your glass with perfectly-paired wines from downstairs.

And while the experience truly is world-class, it’s not remotely stuffy or formal.

Can’t use chopsticks? Don’t even worry about it – Artur will make you up his special ‘baby chopsticks’, wrapping a napkin around one end so they basically turn into a giant pair of tweezers.

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Never eaten uni before (it’s literally the gonads of a sea urchin…)? Again, Artur will talk you through every ingredient, even happily whipping out his phone and flicking through his pictures to show you exactly what part of the animal you’re eating.

This is a man who has worked alongside the legendary Terry Huang, of former Umezushi fame, which was considered to be one of the best sushi restaurants not just in Manchester but in all of Europe.

Uni (sea urchin) at Sushi Pod
Uni (sea urchin) tamaki
Salmon nigiri at Sushi Pod
Salmon nigiri
Mackerel at Sushi Pod
Mackerel nigiri
The day's catch at Sushi Pod
The day’s catch
A small sample of the 20-course menu

Artur also works with Out of the Blue fishmongers in Chorlton, rising before the crack of dawn to make sure he has the freshest, best-quality seafood ingredients possible.

And because of this ‘what-have-you-got-today’ approach, the omakase menu from Sushi Pod changes all the time.

For our visit, we had (to name but a few) sweet scallops, bluefin tuna, mackerel, eel, different cuts of salmon, caviar, prawn, and so much more.

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The first dishes are presented as sashimi, with Artur simply slicing off pieces of fish and placing them in front of you beside a wedge of lime and a scoop of wasabi so that you can tweak each bite to your own tastes.

Then comes the nigiri portion, where expertly-prepared sushi rice spiked with vinegar is rolled up, dotted with wasabi or a soy sauce reduction or lime zest, then topped with different seafood ingredients.

Scallops at Sushi Pod
Scallops
The omakase wine flight menu from Grape to Grain for Sushi Pod
The omakase wine flight menu

And finally comes the tamaki section, when Artur literally hands each course over to you neatly tucked into sheets of nori – no plate.

To go alongside this wonderful sushi journey, there are a few different menus of wine or sake pairings, usually kicking off with a champagne before touring some of the world’s finest white wines.

And again, Tom is on hand to explain exactly what is in your glass and why it’s the perfect match, with no stuffy wine lingo chucked in.

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At £90 per person, it’s a darn sight more accessible than a lot of other Omakase menus in town, but with no compromise on quality.

You can book in for Sushi Pod’s Omakaze Night at Grape to Grain here – but be quick, this one’ll book up fast.

And if you DO miss out, you can always order yourself a grab-and-go sushi selection to collect from either Grape to Grain in Prestwich or Out of the Blue in Chorlton.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Popular Manchester restaurant bar to give out FREE sausage rolls to people called ‘Greg’

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Sausage roll

One of Manchester’s much-loved restaurant bars is doing a free sausage roll giveaway next week… but there’s a catch.

The catch being you have to have a certain name in particular.

It was only last week that popular high street chain Pret A Manger announced it would be slinging out free sandwiches to any Mancs with ‘Nic’ in their name over the late May bank holiday weekend, and now Tariff & Dale is getting it on the giveaway action, and it’s all to celebrate the iconic event that is National Sausage Roll Day.

In case you didn’t know – which is very likely, let’s be real – next Thursday (5 June) is the day dedicated to all things sausage roll.

So what better way to mark the occasion than with free portions of Tariff & Dale‘s legendary meaty treat?

The popular Northern Quarter restaurant bar is known for its creative comfort food, craft beers and cocktails, and laid-back industrial vibe, with one of the cult-classic dishes on its menu having always been the honey pork sausage roll – which just so happens to be a whopping 15-inches long, by the way.

Resembling something more of a pork wellington than a sausage roll, if you will, the dish is crispy, golden, and glazed with honey on top.

But to celebrate National Sausage Roll day, instead of parting with £9.50 for a portion or £48 for the full 15-inch thing, people with one specific name can actually get a slice for completely free of charge.

Tariff & Dale sausage roll
Tariff & Dale is giving away FREE sausage rolls to people with this name next week / Credit: Supplied

And that name is ‘Greg’, because if we’re honest, when it comes to sausage rolls, we all tend to think of Greggs.

So whether your surname is Gregory or Gregson, or you’re simply just called Greg, then all you need to do to claim your complimentary slice of sausage roll heaven is head on down to Tariff & Dale next Thursday 5 June from 12pm up until 9pm.

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Make sure you show your valid ID proving your name when you order at the bar, and get ready to stuff your face.

Failing that, anyone not called Greg will just have to pop into actual Greggs instead.

Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons

Eats

Plans to open a brand-new pub on the site of the Rovers Return

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson The Stables Tavern is coming to Manchester in June. Credit: Supplied

A brand-new pub is set to open in Manchester city centre net month, with treats in store like complimentary bowls of crisps, an outdoor terrace, and a games parlour.

The Stables Tavern is taking shape in the St John’s district, poetically on the same site that was once home to Coronation Street’s iconic Rovers Return pub.

They’re promising this will be a ‘historic tavern reimagined for today’s lover of a proper pint’.

The pub will come from Shiko Group, which is also behind Courts Club, where you can play tennis or basketball followed by court-side pints, and Side Street, a bar-restaurant-events space with a mid-Century interior.

Neighbouring the Bonded Warehouse, The Stables Tavern will join this rapidly blossoming new creative district, just across the yard from Caravan, The Trading Route and Aviva Studios.

Inside, punters will find multiple beer taps with local beers, served with complimentary bowls of crisps as well as a menu of pub snacks like handmade sausage rolls and local pies.

The pub will be split into three sections – an outside terrace, a main bar, and a parlour area at the back of the pub for live entertainment, old school games, and rounds of whiskey.

This might be a new district but it’s a historic area for the city – the same building was a busy watering hole back in the early 19th century for workers, merchants and visitors who made use of the nearby canals and cobbled streets.

It was then the home of the Rovers Return, back when this area was the home of Granada Studios.

Hayley Sammé, Marketing Director, said: “We’re so excited to bring The Stables Tavern back to St John’s. The area’s extensive historical backdrop and burgeoning hospitality scene provides the perfect landscape for a traditional British pub.

“It’s the perfect addition to the existing scene, and we hope it’s going to become a popular spot in our new creative district.”

The Stables Tavern will open at St John’s on Friday 6 June.

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Featured image: Supplied

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