Everybody knows The Font. It’s been part of the fabric of Manchester’s bar scene for more than 20 years, famed for its insanely affordable cocktails.
All these years on, you can still get a cocktail here for £1 – admittedly, only during Happy Hour, though even outside that deal you’re only looking at £3 a drink.
When the New Wakefield Street venue first opened in 2000, its niche wasn’t much of a niche at all – it was a cheap watering hole with colourful walls where students would grab a vodka and coke before heading on to the clubs.
But over the years, and with the input of all the faces who’ve worked behind the bar since, its identity evolved into something clearer.
The Font has been loved by generations of students – and beyond – for its cocktail menu, full of candy floss garnishes, sweet toppings, and ice cream cones.
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Its creative menu currently includes jelly shots topped with edible photos of Andy Burnham, a honey-inspired cocktail made with cereal flavoured milk, and a ‘Unicorn Juice’ topped with a twisted edible unicorn horn.
Current specials at The Font. Credit: The Manc Group
The Font is unusual in many ways, one of which is the amount of time it’s hung on in Manchester for while other bars – including its long-lost neighbour Sound Control – crumbled.
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Dan Rinaldi, general manager, has worked here for 15 years and remembers a very different city.
“The bar scene in Manchester was loads smaller,” he says. “The Northern Quarter was maybe just Common, Trof had literally just opened, and maybe Odd? The Ancoats of now didn’t exist. The scene was so limited in some ways.”
So what exactly has given The Font the legs to keep going, even in the tumultuous times the hospitality industry has faced in recent years?
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It’s a combination of authenticity, value, fun, and family atmosphere, Dan says.
Credit: The Manc Group
“It’s all fun, it’s all about fun, we’re definitely not a serious place.
“We encourage everyone to feel at home here, you can do what you want, come as you are and join in, as long as you’re not causing hassle for anyone else. It’s a safe place.
“One thing we’re very proud of is that if you meet anyone who’s been a student in Manchester any time in the last 20 years, they’ll know us. Everyone knows The Font.
“It’s the perfect starting point to people’s night out, and we get to see everyone at the start of their night when they’re all excited and get them ready to go. That’s our favourite thing.”
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Another remarkable thing about The Font is that their cocktails have only gone up £1 in the 22 years they’ve been open – something Dan admits is ‘difficult’ to maintain.
He says: “We got really nervous when we put our prices up 50p a few years ago and we were really worried, but most people were like ‘What? That’s still so cheap don’t worry about it’.
“In the current climate we still want to be the place where you can get good value, and we still feel like we can do that well enough, especially with happy hours.”
He continues: “The cocktails, and that’s really what everyone knows us for, were only actually introduced about four or five years after we opened, and the idea came from the staff basically. They decided they wanted to make some cocktails and give it a go, and it all evolved from there.
“Our owner is very good at letting whoever is working here come up with ideas and push them forward – he’s an owner that gives us the chance to express our ideas and influence, and what we pick up from other bars and cities.
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“We can really express ourselves through what we sell and what we do and how we decorate the place and even the music that gets played.”
Part of the magic of The Font is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously – and for those who are new to cocktails, it’s the most fun possible introduction.
Looking back on the history of The Font and its many, many years in the city, Dan has a few fond memories.
The artwork left over from Eurocultured festival new The Font. Credit: The Manc Group
He says: “Way back there used to be a street festival on new Wakefield street called Eurocultured, it ran for quite a few years.
“The street was closed and there was a big stage under the arches near Gorilla, and we’d have bands and DJs on in here, a lot of the artwork on the street is left from the last one of those. It was chaos on the street and chaos in here and it was just so fun.
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“One of our proudest moments was our recovery from Covid – we had outside seating for the first time and it was packed, straight away, and it felt so good to come back from that.
“And all our staff were brilliant and stuck with us through furlough and all that and they all came back, all of them. We managed to keep everyone together which is crazy. It was a very proud moment.”
In the coming weeks, The Font will welcome the next generation of freshers and students, all getting their cocktail crash course.
You can bet they’ll never forget this place.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
Eats
The Manchester restaurant serving up the ‘world’s hottest curry’ for just a few days
Danny Jones
City centre favourite Zouk is serving up ‘the world’s hottest curry’ again to celebrate National Chilli Day next week.
The popular tea bar and grill located on Chester Street just off Oxford Road is slap bang in the middle of student central and has hordes of patrons lining up day in, day out, to taste their incredible Indian and Pakistani cuisine.
Now, to celebrate every spicy-food lover’s favourite day, Zouk is putting on special, limited-time-only menu to cater to all you heat freaks and speaking collectively on The Manc‘s behalf (several of us having tried it), it’s no joke.
The World’s Hottest Curry will be available for five days from Monday 24 to Friday 28 February, with a challenge on Thursday 27 February with prizes to anyone who can finish the fiery karahi.
The dishes
When it came to coming up with the world’s hottest curry, Zouk didn’t have to look far for inspiration, they simply picked the world’s hottest chilli: the Carolina Reaper Chilli.
Combining the 1,569,000 Scoville scorcher of a chilli with their much-loved and already spicy chicken karahi and vegetable karahi recipes, they knew they were on a winner. You might have to sign a waiver to eat it but that’s all part of the fun, right?
Typically prepared in a wok and cooked over hot flames with tomatoes, ginger, garlic, peppercorns and cumin to create the sauce base, the karahi originates from the Northwest region of Pakistan and has a great flavour. Depending on how brave you’re feeling, you can have it as a kebab or a full curry.
Credit: Supplied
That being said, this version does contain dried Carolina Reapers so you might not taste much beyond the heat of the sun after a few seconds. While the chilli is deemed suitable for human consumption, even Zouk’s chefs have admitted to struggling with the dish. Gulp. So, what can you win?
The challenge and prizes
Us Brits love a good curry and we already know that plenty of you won’t be able to resist the urge to take on the Reaper Challenge simply out of pride, so we might as well just tell you what you’ll have to eat in order to win the prizes.
Here’s what’s up for grabs:
Finish the full Carolina Reaper Curry (either chicken or veg) in one sitting (max eating time 30 minutes and no helping from companions), Zouk will give you the meal for free.
PLUS, a £50 Zouk Gift Card so you can come back at a later date to try their full menu (including some less omg-spicy options).
You’ll also get a Zouk Ice Cream Sunday to help cool off afterwards. Trust us, you’ll need it.
Issuing a statement for National Chilli Day and the Reaper Challenge, owner Tayub Amjad said: “Our food is usually more about flavour than heat but it’s National Chilli Day, and we know our customers love this challenge.
“For those who complete the challenge, you still have chance to come back and dine on us at a future date, so you will still get to experience the real Zouk too.”
What you thinking, Manchester? Are you up for taking on the world’s hottest curry?
Prestwich pizzeria Dokes announces closure as neighbourhood goes through big changes
Daisy Jackson
One of Prestwich’s best-loved independent restaurants has announced the end of its current chapter, saying that it’s become too difficult to operate with tighter and tighter margins.
Dokes, a pizzeria that also served arguably the town’s best roast dinner, has said that it’s going to ‘have to call it a day’ after three years in the proudly independent neighbourhood.
The news comes just months after Rudy’s opened its first Prestwich restaurant just across the road from Dokes, though that of course may just be a coincidence…
The restaurant comes from the same team behind Elnecot in Ancoats, and opened in 2022, promising delicious pizzas made with (wherever possible) British ingredients.
In a statement issued today, chef and owner Michael Clay said that ‘it’s just not been possible for us to make the money required for the size of team needed to run as a pizza restaurant’.
He wrote: “We are a small restaurant and the margins that were there pre-Covid are not achievable anymore at this scale and only getting tighter month on month.”
He then teased that they would be keeping the Bury New Road site on, with plans to reopen as a new concept.
Prestwich has been growing in popularity in recent years, with a blossoming food and drink scene and healthily increasing house prices.
It’s on the precipice of a £100m overhaul too, which will see the Longfield Centre transformed and new facilities built near the tram stop, including a community hub, a new village square, a market hall, flexible retail and leisure spaces, landscaped outdoor and green spaces, a new travel hub off Fairfax Road and around 200 homes.
It’s always been a village packed with local small businesses until this year, when both Rudy’s and Gail’s opened up – prompting this heartfelt statement from another local indie.
Dokes’ full statement reads: “After nearly 3 years of trying our hardest, unfortunately we’re going to have to call it a day.
“Having originally taken on the premises in between the two lockdowns (remember them?!), we’ve been extremely proud of what we have achieved under sometimes unbelievably difficult circumstances. Our staff have been the cornerstone of this and we would like to thank them for all of their hard work. The feedback we have received over the past couple of years on their food, service and hospitality has been absolutely incredible and we are extremely grateful for the hard work they have put in and the commitment they have shown.
“We feel like we have created a product that you have absolutely loved and a space that you have enjoyed coming to and we now really feel like a part of the Prestwich community – and for that we can’t thank you enough! You came for the pizzas and stayed for the roasts and it’s been a lot of fun.
“Try as we might though, it’s just not been possible for us to make the money required for the size of team needed to run as a pizza restaurant. We are a small restaurant and the margins that were there pre-Covid are not achievable anymore at this scale and only getting tighter month on month.
“So it is with a heavy heart that we are closing the door on this chapter BUT…we aren’t going to be leaving you completely…
“We have plans for the place which we will be updating you about very soon so please watch this space for more details. We hope you’re going to love it.
“As Dokes, Sunday 9th March will be our final service so please come down over the next couple of weeks, grab a pizza or a roast and say hello. It would be lovely to see you all. Bookings are open and the cellar is stocked so lets fill the little place up and go out with a bang!
Daisy Jackson -
8th September 2022 
