It’s no great secret that modern-day Ancoats has a pretty strong restaurant scene. Local legends, rave national reviews, and even a Michelin star have all found their home on these streets.
But now there’s a new accolade for the area, with The Edinburgh Castle pub catching the eye of the Top 50 Gastropubs list.
The Blossom Street pub and restaurant, snapped up by the same team behind Cottonopolis in 2019, had been in a sorry state of neglect before.
But under their steer The Edinburgh Castle has been turned into a beautiful British pub in the heart of Ancoats, all dark green walls, polished wood, brass candlesticks and an occasional taxidermy duck.
While downstairs is more of a classic boozer, upstairs is a smart bistro restaurant space – and it’s now a restaurant space that’s been named the 24th best gastropub in the UK.
Executive chef Shaun Moffatt and his team have created a menu full of comforting plates that will do an even better job of soothing a bad day than a phone call to your mum.
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Oysters with leek and cider, and golden beetroot with goat’s curd at the Edinburgh Castle pub in AncoatsA spelt risotto with egg yolk and parmesan
For starters, there are dishes like battered cod cheeks – fish with substance encased in a light, crisp batter, and served on a homemade chunky tartare sauce.
Huge cuts of British meat are treated right, like a gigantic pork chop served in slices swimming in jus, with the bone still standing on the plate like a porky radio tower.
A spelt risotto comes on a pretty patterned china plate with a wig of grated parmesan on top and a jewel-yellow egg yolk in the centre ripe for the popping.
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When it comes to puds, you’d be a fool to skip over the Madeleines. Freshly baked, you can order a dozen or a half. The shell-shaped cakes are light as a pillow, with crispy edges, showered in icing sugar and ready to be dunked in a pot of cream.
There’s not really a dud on the menu (there can’t be, once you reach the hallowed halls of the Top 50 Gastropubs) and The Edinburgh Castle pub is proving that Ancoats probably can do it all.
Puddings at The Edinburgh Castle pub in Ancoats, including freshly-baked madeleines. Credit: the Manc GroupThe Edinburgh Castle pub in Ancoats has been named one of the best gastropubs in the UK. Credit: The Manc GroupInside The Edinburgh Castle pub in Ancoats
Popular Manchester restaurant bar to give out FREE sausage rolls to people called ‘Greg’
Emily Sergeant
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 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.
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
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.
Daisy Jackson -
25th January 2024 
