There’s a new bottomless brunch in Manchester with Middle Eastern-inspired small plates, and if you love a good Saturday afternoon out on the town then you absolutely need to put it on your list.
Hosted at former Michelin-recommended King Street restaurant Habas, for £38 per person diners can enjoy a ‘tipsy tapas’ with 90 minutes of non-stop cocktails, wine, beer, and a mouthwatering selection of punchy small plates.
Drink choices include the likes of fruit punch, Aperol and apricot spritzes, prosecco and bellinis, plus glasses of house lager and red, white and rose wine.
As for the food, you’re completely spoilt for choice with a selection of dishes that pulls out some of the restaurant’s dish highlights – spanning starters, mains and puddings.
Choices available with the bottomless brunch include the likes of harissa-roasted sweet potato, steaming chicken tagine, the most perfect crisp lamb pomme anna, garlic flatbreads and roasted cauliflower.
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Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Elsewhere, you’ll find mini Merguez sausages, salmon arancini, seared mackerel fillets, Israeli chopped salad, batata harra, Syrian lentils, Zalouk aubergine and Habas’s own Middle Eastern rice.
As for sweets to finish, think traditional honey and pistachio-drenched baklava, miniature donuts oozing with raspberry jam with a dollop of homemade vanilla custard on the side, zingy pineapple carpaccio, a Medjool date and orange cake, and beautiful cubes of Turkish delight.
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The third city centre restaurant from Simon Shaw (also chef-owner of El Gato Negro and Canto), Habas was added to the Michelin guide in 2021.
At the time, inspectors described it as follows: “Habas comes from the same owners as Canto and El Gato Negro and occupies what was once the wine cellars of the magnificent former Manchester Club building.
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Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
“Arrive early for a cocktail in the bar before moving into the fun, slightly retro style dining room.
“Small sharing plates take their influences mainly from the Middle East but there are also hints of the Mediterranean to be seen.
“Must-haves include the homemade pita bread, stuffed filo cigars and vegetable dishes.”
Habas and its sister restaurant Canto have both since been removed from the Michelin Guide but Shaw’s original Manchester restaurant El Gato Negro continues to be featured as a Bib Gourmand recommendation.
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 -
5th June 2023 
