There’s a restaurant in Manchester serving a ‘Chinese kebab’ stuffed with salt and pepper chips and chicken, and it sounds like the best thing ever.
The latest offering from local foodie success story Salt & Pepper, these mouthwatering kebabs see the team stuffing freshly baked pitta bread with their signature salt and pepper fillings.
Choices include lightly battered salt and pepper chicken, tofu, calamari, and prawns, with the restaurant’s famous salt and pepper fries also available to be included INSIDE the wrap on request.
Topped off with additional slices of house-pickled cucumber, fresh chilli and a generous sprinkling of sesame seeds, it is a must-try for anyone who loves their street food.
Image: Salt and Pepper
Image: Salt and Pepper
According to the team, the bread is baked close by in Manchester and can be filled with any of its salt and pepper flavours – meaning, if you really want to go all out, you could also request one stuffed with their spicy hash browns for the ultimate naughty carb fest.
Available seven days a week at the Northern Quarter eatery, which describes itself as ‘a merging of the east and west’, the kebabs have already become a huge hit with customers since their launch at the end of 2022.
Of course, it’s not the only tempting thing on offer – with long-time favourites such as Salt & Pepper’s loaded fries and sticky toppings also continuing to be as popular as ever.
Image: Salt & Pepper
Image: Salt & Pepper
Add to that a whopping ten sauces, including a hot house made curry sauce that has been in the owner’s family ever since their grandad opened his own Chinese takeaway in the 1960s, and it’s easy to see why Salt & Pepper continues to be one of the Northern Quarter’s most popular eateries.
The modern Chinese street food stall-turned restaurant, which specialises in everything salt and pepper, regularly draws huge queues at lunchtime.
First opened in 2019 inside the Arndale Market, the team opened its first restaurant on High Street in the Northern Quarter last year after being forced to relocate due to a lack of extraction in the shopping centre.
It’s now housed across the road in a large glass-fronted building with casual seating, open from 12-8pm daily.
Featured image – Salt & Pepper
Eats
Historic Manchester pub issues apology for ’embarrassing’ toilets and asks for support
Daisy Jackson
One of Manchester’s most iconic pubs, Mr Thomas’s Chop House, is finally undergoing a major upgrade after admitting its building has become an ’embarrassment’.
The historic Cross Street boozer has shared a public apology for the ‘deteriorating’ state of its stunning building.
Mr Thomas’s Chop House is now pleading for support from punters as it undergoes the weeks-long scheme of improvements.
Visitors will find a reduced menu while renovations are taking place.
The pub said that it’s aware that the Grade II-listed pub has been in need of improvement for a while, but explained these works have been hampered by leasing issues.
Mr Thomas’s Chop House explained that it’s been ‘existing on over 30 short-term lease extensions for 8 years while our landlords negotiated with the superior landlord’.
It’s left them unable to invest into the building – until now.
The pub will be adding brand-new toilets downstairs (they said the old ones were ‘an embarrassment’), as well as improving the kitchens and adding a new beer cellar.
In their statement, Mr Thomas’s Chop House said: “First of all, we owe you, our loyal customers, an apology.
Mr Thomas’s Chop House is undergoing a refurb
“Over the past few years bits of our stunning building have deteriorated. The toilets have become a bit of an embarrassment. We are sorry.
“The fact is, we (The Victorian Chop House Company) have been existing on over 30 short-term lease extensions for 8 years while our landlords negotiated with the superior landlord.
“As a result of this uncertainty we haven’t been able to invest into the fabric of the building.
“But now the wait is finally over. And together with our landlords we are finally beginning a scheme of renovations which will return Tom’s to the state it should be in!”
Work began last week and is expected to last for around three weeks.
They also wrote: “Things will be slightly different but we are so excited. Please help us stay afloat while we work to restore Tom’s.”
The brilliant Persian cafe in disguise as a greasy spoon that’s just had a star turn on TV
Daisy Jackson
A family-run, often-overlooked restaurant in Chorlton had a star turn on TV last night, when The Hotel Inspector paid a visit to the Chorlton Metro Cafe.
From the outside, this place looks very much like your run-of-the-mill greasy spoon, and it sort of is, with fry-ups and breakfast sandwiches up for grabs.
But beyond that, this is the spot to come for an authentic, hearty, home-cooked Persian food.
And it’s this strange dual identity that has caught the attention of Channel 5 this year, and given the business a full episode of The Hotel Inspector.
Alex Polizzi and her crew headed to Chorlton earlier this year to assist husband and wife Majid and Zahra in a rebrand to become The Persian Stop (the sign still hasn’t changed, but bear with them here).
During the episode, The Hotel Inspector tackled everything from a menu overhaul to a spruce-up of the restaurant’s frontage, and ran a cost evaluation, hoping to help Majid and Zahra to increase custom.
A full spread of the new Persian dishesMajid at Chorlton Metro Cafe with his new pancake dishFantastic pancakes at Chorlton Metro Cafe
And there were other familiar faces involved too – Channel 5 called on social media experts The Manc (oh wait, that’s us!) to help Majid understand the power of social media.
The couple moved to the UK from Iran more than 20 years ago, and Majid ran a successful construction business – until the financial crisis of 2008.
The pair then poured their life savings into the Metro Cafe, a greasy spoon just across the road from Chorlton tram stop.
Behind the scenes of The Hotel Inspector
They kept the full builder’s breakfasts and mugs of tea, but added a new string of Persian stews and fragrant rice dishes to the menu.
Now, with the help of The Hotel Inspector, the menu puts these ancient dishes front and centre.
Expect slices of syrupy baklava for only £2.80, and traditional stews like khoresh bademjan (slow-cooked aubergines with split peas and lamb) and khoresh fesenjan (saffron, ground walnut and pomegranate chicken).
This is a small business, run by a fantastic local couple, and one of those hidden gems that deserves to be a little less hidden.
Georgina Pellant -
11th April 2023 
