A bottomless brunch with over 200 board games is coming to Manchester this month as street food and beer favourite Grub unveils its New Year’s Eve plans.
The venue has revealed it will be teaming up with Dungeons & Flagons to see out the last afternoon of the year with 90 minutes of endless booze and board games.
With non-stop glasses of fizz, mimosas, house pints and house wine, plus all your board game favourites from Monopoly to Scrabble, to Cluedo and Cards Against Humanity, it’s set to be a raucous and fun-filled affair.
That’s not all on the games front, either, as organisers have said there’ll be extra party games taking place too to help brunchers see 2022 out in style.
Image: Dungeons & Flagons
Image: GRUB
Food wise, brunchers can expect to dig into an array of different street food from Grub’s regularly-changing roster of brilliant vendors
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Taking place on 31 December from 1pm to 5pm, it’s being billed as Manchester’s first-ever bottomless board game brunch.
However, the event is accessible to everyone and its organisers state that guests can come alone or with a group of pals.
Bottomless board game brunch tickets are priced at £22.50 each and include entry, access to the board games for 4 hours, and 90 minutes of bottomless drinks. Guests can choose to start their bottomless at either 1.30pm or 3.30pm.
Alternatively, those who are keen for board games but don’t want to go bottomless can also get involved by purchasing a standard ticket for £2.50, which includes entry and access to the board games for four hours.
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Image: Dungeons & Flagons
Image: Dungeons & Flagons
Dungeons & Flagons are an independent tabletop gaming events company who are passionate about introducing board gaming to as many people as possible at their fun, friendly and interactive events.
Hosts will be on hand to help with games, so whatever your level of experience is you don’t need to let a lack of understanding of the rules get in the way of a good time.
Speaking on the upcoming event, Jules Bailey, Director and Owner of GRUB, said: “We’ve loved working with Dungeons & Flagons to bring Manchester’s most friendly board game meet-up to GRUB this year.We’re so excited to give everyone a fun way to see out the last afternoon of 2022.”
Family behind Salvi’s launch new concept, weeks after iconic restaurant closure
Daisy Jackson
Just weeks after the closure of its iconic, 16-year-old Italian restaurant in the Corn Exchange, the family behind Salvi’s have revealed a brand-new concept.
And this time, the reins are being handed over to the next generation.
Salvi’s founder Maurizio Cecco has helped to shape Amò, but it’s all the brainchild of his daughter, Sienna.
Sienna will run the business out of a unit up on Deansgate Mews, serving fresh pasta dishes, pizza sandwiches, tubs of tiramisu, and two-for-£10 spritzes.
The deli aspect of the original Salvi’s has been carried over to Amò too – you’ll find shelves almost to the ceiling filled with Italian pasta, wine, olive oils, pistachio spreads, and more.
Sienna has grown up in restaurants, with her parents launching Salvi’s when she was just two years old.
She said she wants the space to be a livelier, fresher version of the Italian restaurant that has been so loved by Mancs for so many years.
Sienna outside AmòFresh pasta dishesInside Amò by Salvi’sTheir viral frozen crema di caffeLemon granitaInside Amò by Salvi’sTiramisu pots
Amò, which is Neapolitan slang for ‘my love’, will have loads of fresh Italian dishes, including arancini, gnocchi, and hearty pasta plates.
At lunchtimes, guests can order from a £10 lunch menu, with dishes changing daily depending on the best produce the kitchen can get – it could be a pizza sandwich with proscuitto and tomato, a spicy pasta, or a gnocchi bake, always served with your choice of soft drink.
With its position on Deansgate Mews, Amò basks in the sunshine at lunchtimes.
And while it’s definitely a different concept to the original Salvi’s, Amò looks set to carry the family’s Italian food legacy into its next generation.
Award-winning Didsbury bakery La Chouquette reveals incredible new site
Daisy Jackson
La Chouquette is one of Greater Manchester’s top bakeries – an award-winner, with queues down the street every weekend for its authentic French pastries and loaves.
And now they’re ready for a new chapter, revealing a major expansion today.
Owners Catrina and Flo have painstakingly expanded the bakery into the unit next door, creating what feels like a true French bakery.
And in the midst of this huge renovation project, they’ve welcomed a tiny new baby boy – quite the summer for the couple.
Catrina and Flo launched La Chouquette in lockdown, and in a time where people could only get their hospitality fix from takeaways, immediately became one of the most popular spots in the region.
Their success has been so great, you’ll still consistently find queues down the street every weekend, for their top sellers like their authentic almond croissants.
Then in October 2024, they grew the business and launched Piqniq, a new deli in Didsbury village, serving freshly-baked baguette sandwiches, breakfast butties, toasties, tiramisu pots and their legendary pastries.
The new-look La Chouquette features beautiful details like mosaic floors, rich blue walls, wooden shelves, and brass light fixtures.
La Chouquette’s best-selling almond croissantsInside the stunning new La Chouquette in DidbsuryNew savoury bakesThe chausson aux pommesThe counter stuffed with artisan French bakesChocolate chip cookies and cinnamon buns
The huge new counter displays more pastries and breads than ever before, like a hearty chausson aux pommes filled with apples that will be perfect for autumn, plus seasonal treats like a rhubarb creme brulee pastry, and homemade quiche.
Speaking at the grand relaunch today, Catrina said: “The layout has changed, it looks so much more chic, it looks like a traditional French bakery. We’re really excited about it.”
As for what’s on the counter, Flo reassured fans that their beloved almond and pistachio croissants remain, but with some new savoury editions, like a truffle croque monsieur made with croissant dough.
La Choquette has reopened today, and will be open seven days a week from 7am until 5pm.
Georgina Pellant -
19th December 2022 
