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
Electrik Bar in Chorlton is giving away 100 FREE frankfurters to celebrate their latest kitchen collab
Danny Jones
We all love a freebie, so we thought we’d spread the good word of the scran lords by letting you know that Electrik over in Chorlton is giving away 100 free frankfurters to celebrate their newest menu takeover.
The popular neighbourhood bar and kitchen on Wilbraham Road in the South Manchester suburb has had a couple of different foodie collaborations over the past couple of years, with local residents Paramogeddon and Four Side Vegan Pizza being the most recent, but now they’re doing hot dogs.
Welcoming their latest vendors Tisch Und Teller, Electrik will be giving away a total of 100 free frankfurters to the first century of people there this evening.
Bringing a taste of Berlin, Bavaria, Frankfurt and more (with a Manc twist, of course) to the popular pub for the Thursday launch party, all you need to do is order a drink upon arrival to get your hands on a free frankfurter sandwiched between a lovely fluffy roll.
Who doesn’t love a hot dog? Especially when they’re giving them away.
As for Tisch Und Teller (TuT), they’ve been serving up German-inspired favourites from the likes of The Shakespeare in Manchester city centre and Nip and Tipple in Whalley Range since September last year, including some very impressive brunches and Sunday roasts.
But the brand just keeps gaining more traction and now they’re setting up shop in Electrik, we’re sure the word will continue to spread – and fast.
Better still, as advertised on the promo poster, not only will TuT now be serving up their delicious food from Electrik every Thursday-Sunday for the foreseeable but the launch party will also live music by local legend and DJing veteran, Abigail Ward of Ghost Assembly.
Free food, pints and top tunes – what more could you ask for on a random weeknight?
The offer will be available from 6pm tonight and, once again, you have to be among the first 100 people to buy a pint to be eligible for a free frankfurter.
Manchester’s new Instagrammable coffee shop is giving away FREE drinks tomorrow
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s newest Instagrammable coffee shops is giving away free drinks tomorrow ahead of the bank holiday weekend.
With another long weekend right around the corner, and much of Greater Manchester and the UK fortunately looking set to bask in the springtime heat, popular coffee chain, Blank Street – which is one of Manchester city centre’s newest residents, with two sites in Piccadilly Gardens, and on the corner of King Street and Cross Street – has decided it wants to help the country “beat the 3pm slump”.
Ahead of the upcoming bank holiday weekend, the chain is inviting Mancs to “meet for matcha” tomorrow afternoon (Friday 3 May).
The exciting freebie offer is all said to be “inspired by data” that shows that almost half of office workers aren’t taking a break from their desks during the day, even despite research showing that this can boost productivity.
Hundreds of iced matcha lattes will be served up at Blank Street‘s Manchester branch on the corner of King Street and Cross Street between 3pm and 4pm tomorrow.
Manchester’s new Instagrammable coffee shop is giving away free drinks tomorrow / Credit: Blank Street
For anyone “ice cold pick-me-up ahead of the long weekend”, but keen not to tip their employers off, the coffee shop chain has created an online tool to allow workers to discreetly add a matcha moment to their diary.
The brand-new online tool will apparently help to “distract calendar snoopers” by creating a cleverly-named meeting and adding it automatically to Outlook, Google, or Apple calendars – with potential meeting titles that include plenty of corporate jargon to “provide the perfect alibi”.
So, all matcha fans need to do tomorrow afternoon is show the Blank Street team at their chosen branch a meeting in their calendar, and in return, they’ll receive a free small iced matcha latte of their choice from the chain’s delicious spring menu.
Blank Street’s popular matcha offering includes the Classic Matcha, the viral Blueberry Matcha, the silky-smooth White Chocolate Matcha, and the brand-new sumptuous Golden Matcha, so there’s something to “inspire every matcha lover to take a little time out”.
As matcha allows a slow release of caffeine, Blank Street says it’s the “perfect drink” to keep energy levels up throughout the afternoon when you’re stuck at your desk on a Friday.
Daisy Jackson -
25th January 2024 
