Over on Oxford Road, Manchester curry house Zouk is creating a very special curry that takes an entire day to prepare.
A traditional dish, taken straight from the Indian subcontinent, Zouk’s lamb nihari is somewhat of a rarity.
It is not often seen on restaurant menus in the UK, due to the fact it takes so long to put together – and, according to brothers Tayub and Mudassar Amjad, their restaurant is the only place in Manchester you can get your hands on the highly sought-after dish.
Image: The Manc Eats
A special slow-cooked curry that originates from Lahore in Pakistan, its base alone takes six hours to put together using lamb bones – all before chefs start piling in chunks of premium lamb fillet, which are slow-cooked until soft, tender and simply falling apart in a thick and spicy sauce.
Always served with a spice tray of six ‘fixings’, alongside your curry you’ll typically find sliced fresh green chillies, fresh ginger, Zouk’s garam masala, fried onions, lemon wedges and fresh coriander – although, as it’s customary to personalise your fixings, you’re welcome to request alternatives.
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Image: The Manc Eats
This dish has a special place in Zouk’s founders’ hearts, being one of the first curries to have been put onto the restaurant’s menu when they opened their first site in Bradford.
Sixteen years later, it’s still there, and the stock is prepared pretty much daily – a testament to both its quality and popularity amongst diners.
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First founded in Bradford in 2006, Zouk has made its name combining street food found in the markets of Lahore with more traditional dishes from the Indian subcontinent.
Found where the edge of the city centre meets Manchester’s University district, this long standing curry house might still be a bit of a mooch from Rusholme’s legendary curry mile – but it’s very much up there with Manchester’s best.
Image: The Manc Eats
The lamb nihari is a classic example of the more traditional elements of the restaurant’s menu, whilst elsewhere you’ll find a grill and roast section and a sizeable ‘small plates’ menu that takes things in a more contemporary direction.
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Here, you can enjoy that same slow-cooked lamb nihari, pulled and stuffed into a freshly cooked naan bread with fresh lime and yoghurt, alongside the likes of Lahore wagyu sliders, butter chicken bao, prawn and pomegranate tacos and crispy okra chips.
The restaurant is also a popular choice for shisha, and has a gorgeous covered and heated outdoor terrace where you can drink, smoke and dine to your heart’s content.
To find out more and book a table, visit Zouk’s website here.
Eats
‘Do not let Britain’s independent businesses disappear on your watch’ – Manchester bakery makes heartbreaking plea to Andy Burnham
Clementine Hall
A beloved Manchester bakery has issued an open letter to Andy Burnham ahead of the Budget begging him for help.
Barbakan Deli in Chorlton is basically an institution at this point.
The legendary bakery and delicatessen has been serving the community for 62 years, famed for its freshly-baked loaves of bread, its handmade sandwiches, and its pastries and cakes inspired by bakes from across Europe.
Posting on Instagram last night on Thursday 18 September, Frankie Dyer the director of Barbakan, issued an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Images: The Manc Group
It read: “Dear Mr Burnham, As an independent business owner in the hospitality sector, I am begging you to please read this.
“Really read it. And seriously consider what businesses like mine are telling you before the upcoming Budget.”
It continued: “In just the last two years, we have self-funded new bakery machinery, new catering kitchens, essential repairs and renovations and opened a second retail site, creating another six local jobs. We have won more than ten national awards for the quality of what we do.
“We have invested. We have grown. We have employed more people. We have worked harder than ever. In short, Prime Minister, we are doing everything you keep asking British businesses to do.
“And our bank balance is finished. That is the reality.”
The letter finished by Dyer inviting Andy Burnham to come visit the bakery and pleading for a ‘fighting chance’ to save the business: “We need action. We need meaningful reductions in the tax burden placed on employers.
“We need Employer National Insurance looked at urgently. We need a business-rates system which allows independent high-street businesses to survive. We need VAT reform for hospitality. We need Corporation Tax to reward businesses which reinvest, employ and grow.
“And we need proper grants and incentives that help established independent businesses invest and expand — not schemes with endless criteria which most ordinary businesses can never access. We need you to do something.
“And we need more than one token gesture in the Budget. A band-aid for a bullet wound. So I am asking you, Prime Minister, to come back to Manchester and see it for yourself. Pop an apron on and stand behind our counter.
Images: The Manc Group
“Come into our bakery in the middle of the night and meet the people making Manchester’s bread while most of the city is asleep. Look at our payroll, our energy bills, our rates, our supplier increases.
“Look at what leaves our bank account every single week simply for the privilege of keeping 50 people employed and our doors open. You said you wanted a government that understood the regions. You now have an opportunity to prove it.
“Independent businesses across this country are not asking for a handout. We are asking for a fighting chance. I sincerely hope your next Budget gives us one”.
Drinks prices revealed as Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub opens inside T2
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… Manchester Airport’s first-ever JD Wetherspoon pub has officially opened its doors inside Terminal 2.
The 300-seater pub – which welcomed its first customers earlier this week – is named The Belle Vue after Manchester’s historic showground.
Throughout the pub, you’ll spot design features that nod to the city’s sporting heritage – including vintage event posters and memorabilia, a ‘locker wall’ hosting trophies and other sporting exhibits, and a cricket-themed design in the carpets and bar panels.
Creating around 150 jobs in the process, The Belle Vue is the final planned new eatery to open in the airport’s redeveloped Terminal 2, marking one of the final steps in the super-terminal’s decade-long, £1.5bn transformation.
Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub has opened inside Terminal 2 / Credit: Supplied
According to the MEN, pints are priced from £6.20 for Carling and Coors lager, £6.45 for Budweiser, £6.60 for Guinness, and £6.70 for Poretti and 1664 Biere.
Prosecco is £9.20 for 175ml glass and £37.10 for the full bottle, while spirts and mixers are £6.80 for singles and £10.20 for doubles.
There’s also the classic Wetherspoons tea and coffee machines, where you can refill as many times as you like for just £3.60.
“It’s a proud moment to see the final new retail unit opening in our new-look Terminal 2,” commented Richard Jackson, who is the Retail Director at Manchester Airport.
“To be rounding off this 10-year programme by adding such an iconic name as Wetherspoon to the terminal is particularly special and we know that it will prove extremely popular with passengers. We think they’ll love the nods to Manchester’s heritage in the décor and design – and of course the name.”
Georgina Pellant -
31st March 2022 
