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.
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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.
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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.
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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
Brand-new sandwich shop with Michelin credentials ALREADY forced to close
Daisy Jackson
A brand-new sandwich shop in Oldham founded by a Michelin-trained chef has had to close its doors already… because it’s simply too popular.
Fjord launched over the weekend, headed up by chef Kieran O’Reilly, with a fine-dining-inspired take on the humble butty. That means sandwiches with up to 20 elements inside.
But the sandwich bar above a barbershop has had to unexpectedly close after just a day of operations, telling followers ‘this isn’t sustainable’.
Fjord’s opening day on Saturday was so popular, they completely sold out within 90 minutes.
The new restaurant said it was having to turn people away from its Lees location, saying it ‘doesn’t sit right’ with them to do so.
And so Kieran and his team have decided to close the sandwich. bar and kitchen for the time being, so that they can reevaluate their operations.
“We’d rather pause briefly now than compromise on quality later,” they wrote in a statement.
“We need a little time to rework our production, increase our capacity, strengthen our supply chain and make sure we can deliver the quality and experience that Fjord stands for, without people queuing endlessly or missing out.”
Saddleworth’s new sandwich bar and kitchen with Michelin credentialsKieran O’Reilly (right) has launched Fjord in Lees
Over the next couple of days, Fjord will be meeting with their investors to stock up on more stand mixers, and more produce, so that they can scale the business to meet the incredible demand from locals.
In their full statement, they wrote: “Over the last few days, the support for Fjord has completely exceeded anything we could have imagined. From local customers to food bloggers, content creators and everyone who’s made the journey to see what we’re about, thank you.
“Today was our official launch, and the response has been overwhelming. We sold through what we expected to be a week’s worth of ingredients in a single day. The feedback on our sandwiches has been incredible, and seeing so many people enjoy what we’ve created has been a proud moment for the whole team.
“The only downside … We’ve had to turn people away. That doesn’t sit right with us. So we’re going to be closing for the next two days.
“Not because anything is wrong, but because everything has gone right.
“We need a little time to rework our production, increase our capacity, strengthen our supply chain and make sure we can deliver the quality and experience that Fjord stands for, without people queuing endlessly or missing out.
“This isn’t a step backwards; it’s a step towards building something sustainable, consistent and worthy of the support you’ve shown us.
“We’d rather pause briefly now than compromise on quality later.
“Thank you for your patience, your support and for believing in what we’re building. We’ll be back very soon, better prepared, fully stocked and ready to welcome even more of you through the door.
“This is only the beginning. All food options, booking and concepts reworked, all announced over the next days. Wednesday morning 9am.”
Manchester champagne bar launches new £155 menu of ‘exceptional’ single-bite dishes
Daisy Jackson
The UK’s first dedicated champagne boutique, Portfolio, is finally ready to launch its restaurant experience – and it’s like nothing Manchester has seen before.
The luxury champagne bar on Bridge Street has unveiled a new restaurant concept built entirely around ‘the perfect bite’, with diners able to enjoy up to 18 single-mouthful dishes for £155 per person (or 14 dishes for £135pp).
At lunchtimes, Portfolio will offer a 10 course menu for £75pp, with an optional wine pairing.
The intimate nine-table restaurant is the latest venture from acclaimed chef Julian Pizer, formerly of Another Hand and Edinburgh Castle, who says he wanted to focus on the one bite guests remember long after a meal has finished.
Rather than serving traditional tasting menu courses, every dish is designed to be eaten in a single mouthful, paired with some of the world’s finest and rarest champagnes and wines.
Diners are encouraged to tackle each course in one go – no matter how tempting it might be to savour it a little longer.
As co-founder Pizer explains: “I’ve always been drawn to the most memorable part of any meal – that single perfect bite, the one you remember long after the meal.
Beef fat hash, beef tartare, horseradish and Bloody Mary gel, served on top of champagne corks Carrot tart, gooseberry, fresh curds in thin crispy pastryhiso leaf taco with spring shoots, citrus vinaigrette, blackcurrant wood
“This menu is built around that idea: big flavour, perfect balance, all in one mouthful, designed to sit seamlessly alongside great Champagne.”
Highlights include a chicken and oyster tempura skewer topped with sour cream and chives, a carrot tart packed with gooseberries and fresh curds, and a beef-fat hash crowned with beef tartare and Bloody Mary gel, dramatically served on champagne corks.
One standout dish is a decadent lobster roll enriched with pork fat, where crispy brioche provides the perfect contrast to sweet Cornish lobster, cucumber, celery and apple.
Elsewhere, a refreshing shiso leaf taco with spring shoots and citrus vinaigrette offers a palate-cleansing break before richer dishes including Chinese-style pork belly with white kimchi, and a duck course featuring breast, confit meatball and duck neck sausage.
Some of the paired wines with the Portfolio lunch menu in ManchesterInside Portfolio ManchesterSome of the paired wines with the Portfolio lunch menu in Manchester
Dessert arrives in the form of a kiwi marshmallow-style treat with blackberry, mint and a dusting of icing sugar.
The drinks are no afterthought either. Portfolio houses more than 250 champagnes from over 70 producers, and diners can add carefully matched champagne pairings to either the 14-course (£135) or 18-course (£155) menu.
With only 24 covers available at any one time, the experience is intentionally relaxed. There’s just a single sitting each service, meaning guests can linger over their food and fizz for as long as they like.
For those not ready to commit to 18 bites in one sitting, Portfolio’s bar remains open six days a week, offering a more casual snack menu alongside its extensive champagne list.
Pizer describes the concept as his chance to experiment freely and, above all, ‘make food fun again’.
Georgina Pellant -
12th October 2022 
