There’s a brand new pub right in the heart of the Northern Quarter, as The Lamb of Tartary officially opens its doors.
The stunning space has completely transformed the former Cottonopolis site on Newton Street into a bright and airy restaurant.
The Lamb of Tartary comes from the same team behind the Edinburgh Castle pub in Ancoats, which was recently named one of the best gastropubs in the country. So yeah – safe hands.
Executive chef Shaun Moffat (also an award-winner after being named Chef of the Year at the MFDF Awards), will be in charge of the menu, where he’s created a mouth-watering list of seasonal British dishes.
And they’ll be celebrating their launch today by giving away free pints of Heineken to the first 100 people through the door after 5pm.
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The Grade II-listed building itself looks almost unrecognisable from its previous form.
It’s now filled with ornate panelling and leafy green plants, with a beautiful terracotta-painted ceiling, faux windows with linen curtains breaking up the huge space, and quartz-patterned booths.
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The Lamb of Tartary has taken its name from an old tale, where people believed that lambs grew on trees and came from cotton plants, and is a nod back to Manchester’s history with the cotton trade.
As for the food, there’ll be small plates including Atlantic prawn cocktail with melba toast, burrata with pumpkin and green sauce, Otterburn Farm pork available as bacon collar and loin chops, and Cornish lobster with hollandaise.
The Lamb of Tartary is also going to have a tempting brunch menu, with dishes including bacon chop with fried egg and chips, wild mushrooms and lake’s fried egg on toast, and English muffin topped with potato rosti, fried egg, cheese and tomato jam, available from 12pm until 3pm.
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The brand-new pub, restaurant and bar will have 24 different beers on tap, like local breweries Manchester Union Lager, Buxton Brewery, and Mobberley Brewhouse.
Drinks will include the pub’s take on classic cocktails, like a Gimlet, Old Fashioned, and Sidecar, plus fan favourites like an Espresso Martini with chocolate and orange, and a Paloma with grapefruit and rosemary soda.
A range of hot drinks, soft drinks and a lower-alcohol drinks will be perfect for brunch too, like a Bloody Mary, a Garibaldi, and The Lamb’s Spritz.
Director of The Lamb, Nick Muir commented: “We’re excited to finally be able to welcome the public into The Lamb of Tartary next week.
“The venue has had a complete makeover, transforming it into a light and airy space perfect for enjoying a pint with friends or a meal with loved ones.
“After seeing such success at Edinburgh Castle, we are looking forward to creating something more accessible and casual to those who visit whilst still championing local produce and suppliers we’ve spent the last year or so building up.
“If you are looking for your new local in the Northern Quarter, then The Lamb of Tartary is certainly it!”
The Lamb of Tartary officially opens its doors in Manchester’s Northern Quarter on Friday 1 March – you can book a table here.
Its kitchen and bar will be open from Wednesday to Sunday from 12pm, with the bar open from 3pm on Mondays and Tuesdays too.
Local BID board launch new ‘Visit Alty’ app ahead of Taste of Altrincham 2026
Danny Jones
One of Trafford’s resident BID (Business Improvement District) board have officially launched their brand-new ‘Visit Alty’ app for the market town ahead of this year’s A Taste of Altrincham festival.
Set to be a dedicated one-stop where residents can find out what’s going on in and around the area, the platform is already available on the likes of the Apple App Store and Google Play for Android phones.
As A Taste of Alty returns for 2026, this is just the second instalment in the total 10-day food and drink party – with a big opening weekend celebration starting this Friday, 27 February – the latest innovation by Altrincham BID is hoping to keep residents more up to date on their village than ever.
Sponsored by native law firm Myerson Solicitors and supported by various local businesses, the sophomore edition of the now annual festivities serves as the ideal staging event for the fledgling Visit Altrincham app.
Running until Sunday, 8 March, A Taste of Altrincham is even bigger this time around. (Credit: Press shot)
With a full programme events kicking off this weekend, the app itself is ideal for keeping track of everything going.
In addition to workshops, live demos by regional chefs, supper clubs, wine tastings, the latest ‘Ultimate Pudding Competition’ and lots of other special events, it can be hard to keep track of everything.
That why, like any good festival, the app has a full map and guide featuring all the key info.
Beyond just the event itself, the app itself is aimed at supporting local independents and more by helping to increase their exposure, sign-post daytrippers to the old Cheshire holdout’s best bits, and push more and more people to one of the borough’s blossoming suburb in general.
Teaming up with a number of popular locations in and around the town centre, it’s a real come one, come all affair – just as things should be.
Residents and visitors alike can also found physical printed copies of the full Taste of Alty ’26 programme nearby at the likes of Altrincham Library, the Bee Network Interchange, as well as OYEZ Arts at the Town Hall.
Created with digital town hub partners, Loqiva, co-founder Marcus Chidgey said in a statement: “We’re pleased to be partnering with Altrincham BID to support Altrincham’s continued growth.
“With a strong independent business scene, an award-winning Market and excellent transport connections to Manchester, the Visit Altrincham app offers a new way for people to discover and explore the town.”
As for the local BID department, Alty’s director Mandy White added: “If you haven’t downloaded the Visit Altrincham app yet, now is the perfect time. It’s a simple way to find out what’s on, discover local businesses and unlock exclusive offers, especially during A Taste of Altrincham.
“The app helps people get more from their visit while supporting our independent businesses and high street brands.”
The Visit Altrincham app is FREE to download right now – you can find it HERE.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (supplied via Altrincham BID)
Eats
Six by Nico to close popular Manchester location as it ‘evolves’ into something new
Emily Sergeant
Unique restaurant concept Six by Nico has announced that it’ll be closing one of its most popular locations in Manchester.
Six by Nico is famed for its six-course tasting menu inspired by a different theme, destination, or concept that changes every six weeks – with the brand now having around 15 restaurants based in across 12 cities in the UK.
Launching in Manchester in Spring Gardens back in 2019, Six by Nico has gone from strength to strength ever since, opening a second site off Deansgate in 2023.
But despite this success, both nationwide and in Manchester, Six by Nico has sadly announced this week that its popular Spring Gardens site would be closing down as it is and ‘evolving into something entirely new for the city’.
Owner Nico Simeone took to Instagram last night to share the news of Spring Gardens’ impending closure, and explained what the future holds for the site.
“As Six by Nico approaches its tenth year, I look to reimagine one of our most successful restaurant locations, Six by Nico Springs Gardens, into something entirely new for the city,” Nico said in his Instagram statement.
“This hasn’t been a small decision. Spring Gardens has been one of our strongest and most loved restaurants. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built there, the team behind it and the loyalty Manchester has shown us over the years.
“Six by Nico will always stand for immersive storytelling, six-course journeys and transporting guests somewhere new. That continues, and we’re investing further into Manchester through our Deansgate location and beyond.”
Six by Nico is closing its popular Manchester location as it ‘evolves’ into something new / Credit: The Manc Group
The founder also then went on to say that he’s realised there’s another side of his cooking that he hasn’t shared, and it’s one that he feels is ‘more stripped back’ and ‘personal’.
“That’s where Lennox begins,” Nico continued.
Giving an insight into what the future holds for the Spring Gardens restaurant, the statement adds: “Spring Gardens won’t disappear. It will evolve. A new restaurant brand is being built in that space from the ground up. A different energy. A different style. A different way of cooking.”
The announcement that Six by Nico would be closing its concept at the Spring Gardens site has amassed dozens of comments on social media.
Anyone ‘curious’ to to know ‘what Lennox really is and what it will become’ is encouraged to sign up online at www.lennoxrestaurant.co.uk, and follow the journey on Instagram at @lennoxrestaurant.
Daisy Jackson -
1st March 2024 
