With everyone seemingly getting pinged to isolate by track and trace right now, it’s hard to keep on top of who’s open and who’s been forced to close again.
That said, we can pretty much assure you that all of these venues are raring to go this week and well worth a visit.
Notably, it seems like fried chicken is having a bit of a moment again – not that it ever went out of fashion (we all love good fried chicken, let’s be honest).
Chorlton welcomes a new spot called ZaxxFried opposite Morrison’s – run by a chap who’s reportedly spent his whole life watching his dad perfect the trade in Liverpool.
And in town, city centre favourite Kong’s Chicken Shop continues the hype from its new home on the waterside at KAMPUS (more on that later).
ADVERTISEMENT
MIF’s Festival Square has arrived in Cathedral Gardens with a huge roster of street food treats / Video: Eat Well MCR
Elsewhere, in non-chicken related news, down at Cathedral Gardens Manchester International Festival is now in full swing, with a host of street food traders in tow.
Working in partnership with Eat Well MCR, some of the region’s finest chefs are appearing here over the next fortnight – with the likes of Eddie Shepherd, Lorcán Kan (Things Palace / formerly WTLGI) and Joseph Otway (Higher Ground) all popping up with various delights.
ADVERTISEMENT
There’s also a new vegan spot to be discovered here, too.
Keep reading to discover more on that, as well as our other top picks for the week, below.
10p from every brew sold at Kim’s Kitchen goes to Venture Arts, a local charity helping people with learning disabilities reach their full potential through visual arts and culture / Image: Kim’s Kitchen
Proper Curry Goat at a real Hulme institution
Formerly known as Kim By The Sea, the newly revamped and rebranded Kim’s Kitchen is a must – whether you’re from Hulme or not.
ADVERTISEMENT
A real love letter to its residents and neighbouring community, the food here is a mix of pub grub, proper northern dishes and more exotic global flavours like curry goat which reflect the area’s cultural diversity.
Look up to spot the artistic soundproofing on its ceiling, designed to resemble a birds-eye view of the old Hulme Crescents, and stay for the event programming – which draws in local artists from neighbouring arts hub NIAMOS for a mix of musical and spoken word entertainment.
Kim’s Kitchen is open now. Find it at 49 Old Birley St, Hulme, M15 5RF.
One of the treats on offer from new spot Stellar vegan, available at MIF’s Festival Square / Image: Eatmcr
A new vegan pop-up at MIF’s Festival Square
Plant-based chef Dan Hope (of Firebird Hope) and Laura Oates are popping up at MIF with a new vegan offering called Stellar.
Founded by fellow chef Jason Andrew Wood, the new plant-based pop-up will be on Cathedral Gardens serving barbacoa sandwiches, falafel and mushroom burgers for just £8 – plus yuba sandos and fried tofu burgers.
ADVERTISEMENT
Find Stellar Vegan at MIF’s Festival Square on Cathedral Gardens until July 18.
New opening The Firehouse will feature a ‘wall of wine’ and wood-fired small plates / Image: Ramona
Detroit pizza in a former Warehouse depot
The team behind Detroit pizza spot Ramona is currently on track to complete the renovation of a former warehouse depot next door.
They’ll be moving their famed slices into the new unit this Thursday, ahead of planned second opening The Firehouse later this month – which will focus on wood-fired small plates and wild spirits like mezcal and cachaça.
The MOT station opens this Thursday 8 July – bookings being taken now via Ramona.
Kong’s ultimate chicken sandwich is served on a potato brioche with chipotle slaw, Kong’s chunky burger sauce, iceberg, pickles and a game-changing layer of crispy chicken skin crackling / Image: The Manc Eats
The fittest chicken sandwiches to grace the streets of Manchester
These hench chicken sandwiches from Kong’s Chicken Shop are the brainchild of CBRB bar manager Tom Potts and include an extra game-changing layer of fried chicken skin, or chicken ‘crackling’.
ADVERTISEMENT
Using chicken thigh for the ultimate sandwich, this is brined for three hours, rolled in a secret spice mix then double-dredged for a crispier texture.
Kong’s also does wings, available dry or wet, and tater tots – all perfect to help keep you going as you work your way through the craft beers, natural wines and cocktails available at KAMPUS as part of Common’s (A Kind Of) Summer Beer Thing.
Find Kong’s Chicken Shop at KAMPUS as part of (A Kind Of) Summer Beer Thing until 1st August.
Deansgate bar Simmons closes just over a year after opening
Danny Jones
London-born bar brand Simmons has closed their Manchester site just over a year after opening their first Northern location.
They’ve lasted roughly 15 months on one of our busiest nightlife strips.
Opening on Deansgate back in October 2024, Simmons Manchester wasn’t just their first foray here up in this half of the country but their only other venue outside of the capital.
An otherwise well-established and popular chain down south, they have a total of 15 different bars in central London, but things clearly haven’t quite taken off as planned here in Manchester.
Placing a poster in the unit’s shopfront besides the likes of Be At One, Yours, The Moon Under The Water Spoons and the Deansgate branch of Slug and Lettuce, as you can see, the fellow franchise founded over a decade ago said: “After much consideration, we’ve made the difficult decision to close our doors.
“It’s never easy to say goodbye”, they add, “We’re incredibly proud of what the team built here and so grateful to them, as well as everyone who joined us over the past year.
“We’ve had some unforgettable nights. We love Manchester, and we hope to be back under the right conditions.”
They go on to thank everyone for being “part of the journey”, but for now, it looks like the room has closed effective immediately.
Simmons started back in 2012 when founder Nick Campbell opened the first bar below his flat in Kings Cross, and their presence has grown hugely since then. The closing sign was spotted and shared on social media earlier this week.
Offering everything from stylish cocktails to New York-style pizza, live music and even private karaoke booths, the place had plenty going on.
With rising business rates, energy bills and more dovetailing with the continuing cost of living crisis that is still hampering both hospitality and the nightime economy, they are just one of many to unfortunately close their doors of late.
For instance, it was only earlier this month that we saw multiple well-known names shut up shop here in the city centre or elsewhere in Greater Manchester, including another long-standing late-night favourite, Revolution.
It’s a shame for any business to close, and we certainly hope they’ll return someday with a model that can be sustained in the current climate.
Inside Butter Bird – Ancoats’ hottest new neighbourhood rotisserie with a menu dedicated to butter
Clementine Hall
A new restaurant has opened its doors in Ancoats serving up two of life’s greatest pleasures.
Those two things being chicken and butter. And coincidentally, they go very well together.
Introducing Butter Bird, a new neighbourhood rotisserie restaurant that has taken over the old Counter House site on Blossom Street.
If you’ve been living under a rock or you have a healthy relationship with social media, then you won’t know that rotisserie chicken is very much ‘in’ for 2026.
Images: The Manc Eats
So of course, just like anything, Ancoats is first to hop on that trendy bandwagon.
When simple things are done properly then they’re very satisfying indeed, and that’s exactly what Butter Bird have achieved.
Built around classic spit cooking and time honoured technique, with an impressive Rotisol Millenium rotisserie oven at the heart of the space, the chickens are seasoned and brined in house, then slowly rotated over open heat so the meat self bastes as it cooks.
Images: The Manc Eats
The result? Moreish, crisp, golden skin, succulent meat and deep flavour.
If that doesn’t sound enticing enough, they’ve also got a section of their menu dedicated entirely to their house butters.
Flavoured, complex butters designed to compliment your bird in however you desire.
My personal favourite was the moroccan-spiced Chermoula, but the tarragon with wildflower and mustard was also stellar.
Images: The Manc Eats
Drinks wise they’ve got a great selection of Crémant, chosen to cut through the chicken fat, as well as fun cocktails and decent wines.
Obviously you’ll need some sides to go with your bird which you can order as a quarter or half, and they’ve got everything from rotisserie potatoes which you can douse in chicken gravy to a Caesar salad stuffed with enough croutons it’s probably not classed as a salad anymore.
Butter Bird opens to the public on Thursday 29 January, with a launch offer offering 50% off rotisserie chicken when booked in advance for the first two weeks.
Georgina Pellant -
5th July 2021 
