Times are tough right now, which means that we’re all looking for a bargain more than ever.
Our trusty supermarket meal deals have been hiked up, and one high street coffee shop has even had the audacity to price up half a ham sandwich at £2. Outrageous. So, we figured, it was time to hunt down some new cheap lunch options.
For fans of sushi, we’ve got an absolute gem. In Manchester’s Chinatown, there’s a specialist sushi restaurant where you can get quality lunchtime plates for just £1.50 a pop.
Formerly known as Wasabi, it has been a fixture in the city for as long as we can remember. At least a decade, probably more.
Currently in the process of rebranding to Wazuzhi, it has one of the most affordable lunch deals in town – with generous portions of maki, nigiri, and uramaki all available from its conveyor belt for £2 or less.
ADVERTISEMENT
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Available Monday to Friday between the hours of 12-3pm at both the Chinatown and Printworks restaurants, simply arrive at the desk and say you want the lunch deal, then wait to be seated.
Once you’re at the sushi carousel, you’re at liberty to pick up as many dishes as you like. Each contain typically, 2-4 pieces of sushi each, with grey plates priced at £1.50 each and orange plates at £2.
ADVERTISEMENT
Wasabi, soy sauce, pickled ginger and togarashi are all included free of charge, although we did have to ask our server – it’s not all just laid out for you on the table.
Choices are vast, with an almost overwhelming number of options rolling past at eye level on the seemingly never-ending sushi carousel.
ADVERTISEMENT
For £1.50 you can enjoy octopus, cuttlefish, spicy tuna, tamago, prawn and salmon nigiri, spicy tuna and tuna and sweetcorn gunkan, and a huge array of maki stuffed with the likes of chicken, salmon crabstick, California una, smoked salmon and soft cheese, asparagus, daikon and cucumber.
At that price, you can also tuck into big portions of edamame beans, and inari tofu pockets, whilst for £2 you can enjoy the likes of prawn tempura maki, mackerel saba nigiri, duck katsu maki, breaded prawn nigiri, salmon avocado maki, arctic clam nigiri, seared salmon nigiri and wakama gunkan.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
It’s worth noting that after 3pm the prices do go up – with grey plates increasing to £2 and orange plates to £2.50.
We snuck in at 2.50pm, though, and managed to get everything at the cheaper price, so don’t be too worried if you’re running up against that 3pm deadline.
There’s no need to book, simply walk in – and if you fancy an extra treat on your way out, there’s a dedicated dessert room upstairs to explore too.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
Eats
Family behind Salvi’s launch new concept, weeks after iconic restaurant closure
Daisy Jackson
Just weeks after the closure of its iconic, 16-year-old Italian restaurant in the Corn Exchange, the family behind Salvi’s have revealed a brand-new concept.
And this time, the reins are being handed over to the next generation.
Salvi’s founder Maurizio Cecco has helped to shape Amò, but it’s all the brainchild of his daughter, Sienna.
Sienna will run the business out of a unit up on Deansgate Mews, serving fresh pasta dishes, pizza sandwiches, tubs of tiramisu, and two-for-£10 spritzes.
The deli aspect of the original Salvi’s has been carried over to Amò too – you’ll find shelves almost to the ceiling filled with Italian pasta, wine, olive oils, pistachio spreads, and more.
Sienna has grown up in restaurants, with her parents launching Salvi’s when she was just two years old.
She said she wants the space to be a livelier, fresher version of the Italian restaurant that has been so loved by Mancs for so many years.
Sienna outside AmòFresh pasta dishesInside Amò by Salvi’sTheir viral frozen crema di caffeLemon granitaInside Amò by Salvi’sTiramisu pots
Amò, which is Neapolitan slang for ‘my love’, will have loads of fresh Italian dishes, including arancini, gnocchi, and hearty pasta plates.
At lunchtimes, guests can order from a £10 lunch menu, with dishes changing daily depending on the best produce the kitchen can get – it could be a pizza sandwich with proscuitto and tomato, a spicy pasta, or a gnocchi bake, always served with your choice of soft drink.
With its position on Deansgate Mews, Amò basks in the sunshine at lunchtimes.
And while it’s definitely a different concept to the original Salvi’s, Amò looks set to carry the family’s Italian food legacy into its next generation.
Award-winning Didsbury bakery La Chouquette reveals incredible new site
Daisy Jackson
La Chouquette is one of Greater Manchester’s top bakeries – an award-winner, with queues down the street every weekend for its authentic French pastries and loaves.
And now they’re ready for a new chapter, revealing a major expansion today.
Owners Catrina and Flo have painstakingly expanded the bakery into the unit next door, creating what feels like a true French bakery.
And in the midst of this huge renovation project, they’ve welcomed a tiny new baby boy – quite the summer for the couple.
Catrina and Flo launched La Chouquette in lockdown, and in a time where people could only get their hospitality fix from takeaways, immediately became one of the most popular spots in the region.
Their success has been so great, you’ll still consistently find queues down the street every weekend, for their top sellers like their authentic almond croissants.
Then in October 2024, they grew the business and launched Piqniq, a new deli in Didsbury village, serving freshly-baked baguette sandwiches, breakfast butties, toasties, tiramisu pots and their legendary pastries.
The new-look La Chouquette features beautiful details like mosaic floors, rich blue walls, wooden shelves, and brass light fixtures.
La Chouquette’s best-selling almond croissantsInside the stunning new La Chouquette in DidbsuryNew savoury bakesThe chausson aux pommesThe counter stuffed with artisan French bakesChocolate chip cookies and cinnamon buns
The huge new counter displays more pastries and breads than ever before, like a hearty chausson aux pommes filled with apples that will be perfect for autumn, plus seasonal treats like a rhubarb creme brulee pastry, and homemade quiche.
Speaking at the grand relaunch today, Catrina said: “The layout has changed, it looks so much more chic, it looks like a traditional French bakery. We’re really excited about it.”
As for what’s on the counter, Flo reassured fans that their beloved almond and pistachio croissants remain, but with some new savoury editions, like a truffle croque monsieur made with croissant dough.
La Choquette has reopened today, and will be open seven days a week from 7am until 5pm.
Georgina Pellant -
12th October 2022 
