May, the month of innumerable Bank Holidays, is upon us at last – and we have some cracking new restaurants and bars for you to check out in your free time.
From a suntrap ice cream parlour and Dutch pancake house, to waterside beer gardens, a Malibu beach club, there might only be a whisper of summer in the air right now but the Manchester hospitality gods are already starting to deliver.
Add a new sushi and tonkotsu ramen spot, a boozy pasta restaurant and a Hong Kong-style restaurant in Chinatown serving spam and noodles on its breakfast fry-up, and we think you’ll agree there’s a lot to look forward to.
Keep reading to see which new Manchester restaurants and bars to put on your list this month.
Sweet!
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Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
This new ice cream parlour and dessert shop comes from the Northern Quarter bar bosses behind Hula Tiki, The Fitzgerald and The Quarter House,
Housed on Stevenson Square, inside you’ll find an array of locally made ice creams from a farm on the Ribble Valley in flavours like Vimto, mint choc chip, salted caramel, bubblegum, raspberry ripple and chocolate.
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Arriving at a suntrap corner of the square just in time for the summer, Sweet! offers cones and tubs, milkshakes and slushies.
Open now
Papa Dutch
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Newly opened on Altrincham’s Goose Green is family-run traditional Dutch pancake businesss Papa Dutch.
New to the neighbourhood, it’s said to be a favourite of Manchester United’s Erik Ten Haag and his wife Bianca ever since the duo were treated to freebies whilst cycling past last year.
On the menu, you’ll find traditional Dutch min pancakes topped with the likes of chocolate and fruit, plus sugary sweet stroopwafels and other lovely treats.
First opened by chef founder Teddy Lee in 2015, May sees Scottish-born sushi and noodle restaurant Maki and Ramen open its doors in Manchester.
Set to open just off Piccadilly Gardens on York Street later this month, it will be the chain’s first north west site.
Diners can expect to find various tonkotsu-based ramens, an array of nigiri and maki rolls, and large sushi sharing platters on the menu, plus the likes of gyoza, teriyaki, pumpkin croquettes and karaage chicken.
TBC
Malibu Beach Club
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Image: Supplied
Image: Geograph
Coconut rum brand Malibu is launching a pop-up beach club at the Great Northern Warehouse this May, bringing palm trees and colorful deck chairs to the square in time for summer.
Promising frozé cocktails, bottomless brunch,es and all the Malibu you can muster, Malibu will team up with retro gaming bar Pong & Puck in a two-pronged takeover running from 5 May to 30 September.
Expect live DJs playing breezy summer tunes on the heated and covered terrace and buzzing bottomless brunches on weekends featuring 90 minutes of frozé cocktails, selected house cocktails and more.
5 May
Dragon Oriental
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Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
This new eatery in Manchester’s Chinatown hasn’t been open long, but it’s already become popular amongst the city’s Hong Kong community.
Serving up favourites like roasted meats and … , the thing that really caught our eye when browsing the laminated menu outside was a full Hong Kong fry up complete with spam, noodles and …
Rumour has it they’re considering changing the menu to something more Anglicised to draw in an English crowd, so I’d get down quickly if you want to sample the current offering.
Nonna’s might have been at Deansgate Square since October last year, but it’s recently been elevated from boozy pasta pop-up to permanent restaurant. With that in mind, we felt it deserved another mention.
For those who’ve not been, Nonna’s has become famous for its boozy ‘Nonna Hadid’ Rigatoni Alla Vodka alongside other alochol-infused pasta dishes.
Sporting a new menu for the summer, head down to sample the likes of truffled short rib ragu pappardelle, lobster carbonara, and a sharer of lasagne spirali designed for two.
Oh and if you’re feeling adventurous, there’s also a fried chicken ‘pizza’ topped with marinara, mozzarella and pesto using buttermilk chicken its a base.
Runaway’s new waterside taproom sees the brewery up sticks from its Dantzic Street home in Manchester city centre over to the flourishing suburbs of Stockport.
With a beer garden overlooking the river Mersey, the new taproom’s central Stockport location promises super fresh pints on tap and cask, plus a bottle shop with bottles to take home and wood-fired pizza courtesy of Honest Crust.
Soak up some rays in the courtyard garden and enjoy.
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Open now
Red Light
Image: Supplied
Image: The Manc Group
Set to open on Little David Street at Kampus this month is new queer cocktail bar Red Light, which will be serving dirty martinis under dim lights.
The brainchild of Deana Ferguson, an adopted Manc originally hailing from Belfast, the inclusive, queer space will serve a menu of refined cocktails, natural wines and locally-brewed ales.
Soundtracked by disco beats, the laid-back lounge will feature an imposing bar set against a red-brick backdrop, queer art and low-lit, intimate corners for lovers and friends to sequester themselves in.
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TBC
Three Little Words garden terrace
Image: Supplied
Image: Supplied
This month sees the team behind Three Little Words launch their outdoor canalside bar and terrace at Kampus.
Serving up delicious spirits, spritzes and cocktails all made up from their portfolio of multi-award-winning spirits from The Spirit of Manchester Distillery, everything on offer is created by their team right in the heart of the city.
Open now
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Madre
Image: Madre
Image: Madre
This new taco joint will bring the spirit of Mexico City to Manchester when it opens at Kampus this May.
With a menu made up of mouth-watering tacos, wood-grilled seafood and steaks, plus fresh oysters and ceviche straight from a huge ice counter, and a drinks list celebrating agave, this is a new opening you don’t want to miss.
Evolving from a lunch spot to a buzzing bar with Mexican party vibes as the sun goes down, expect a destination that celebrates Mexico City’s cuisine, culture and personality in equal measure.
TBC
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Bohemian Arts Club
Chic and intimate cocktail bar Bohemian Arts Club will open on Lower Hillgate, Stockport this month.
With an entrance hidden on the cobbled street of Coopers Brow, the new bar takes inspiration from speakeasies owners Tom and Katie Ogden have visited across the globe.
The second site for much-loved Hazel Grove brand Bohemian, expect a stylish and bohemian space with beautiful surroundings.
TBC
Featured image – Maki & Ramen
Eats
Stockport bar that took a chance on Underbanks announces shock closure
Daisy Jackson
A bar owner who was called ‘mad’ for opening his business at The Underbanks in Stockport has announced he’s closing down for good.
The Cracked Actor was launched by actor Joe Patten back in 2019, long before the Underbanks was considered one of the coolest districts in Greater Manchester.
Joe said he ‘saw the beauty in those bricks’ and took a chance on the unit on Little Underbank, transforming it into a Victorian-inspired blues bar.
And although other operators told him he was ‘mad for opening anything on that street’, Joe proved everyone wrong, and The Cracked Actor became a real Stockport favourite.
Sadly, he has now announced that The Cracked Actor will be closing its doors in just a few weeks’ time.
Joe said that he wants the business to ‘go out at its height’, stressing that ‘it’s not a sad note we are closing The Cracked Actor – it’s more of a thank you for getting me all I had dreamed of’.
He wants to focus his attention on other projects, like The Banshee and Holy Diver.
His full statement reads: “So Stockport, its taken a long old time to make this decision. But some things have to end on a high. And boy its been a whirlwind.
“The Cracked Actor was my first bar in Stockport and has always weathered the storm. Sadly, these days I have a lot going on. And some things take away from the attention I can pay to my little bar. I want to call time on The Cracked Actor and go out at its height. It’s odd as I have always defended this bar against everything it came up against in this climate. I thought I would always pass this bar down to my kids.
“But it feels the right time to call time. This bar got me on the map and its opened the doors to soo much more that came afterwards. We now have The Bansbee and Holy Diver and exciting opportunities are always pulling me away from where I started.
“I want to focus on whats next and make sure what I’m doing has my full attention. So it’s not a sad note we are closing The Cracked Actor, it’s more of a thank you for getting me all I had dreamed of the day it opened.
“When I opened the bar 7 years ago every bar owner called me mad for opening anything on that street. Now its booming with bars that have come after wards. Some times you just gotta see the beauty in those bricks.
“I want to pay a massive thank you to my fiance Amy, whome without this bar would have closed 4 years ago. She took to it and saw how much it meant to me. And her Aiden and Oliver bought it back from a slump. Shes bought it back to all its glory and made it better than I ever could have,working endless hours.
“I want to thank all my customers many of of them who have been coming since day one Gary. TeJ & Gary, Boby Dylan, Simon and Ash, to name a few.
“We will be open for the next Two weeks to have a massive send of. And our final day to public will be Saturday 11th July. With a private send of on 12th.”
‘Rooted in India, made in Manchester’ – Punjabee Deli has big designs on the local food scene
Danny Jones
Launching a few months ago, this recently opened Indian deli, cafe, eatery and hangout concept is still in its infancy, but the brains behind this are not the new kids on the block here in Manchester: welcome to Punjabee.
Founded by Sapna Kumar, a familiar face on market stalls across Greater Manchester and across the North West, not to mention the owner of the well-known dessert brandVanilli’s, she’s one of the biggest characters you’ll ever meet.
And, you know what? Sometimes you have to be. This second-generation Indian-Mancunian is a would-be mother to many, as she considers lots of her loyal customers part of her extended family.
And now it’s time to put herself first for once. As she puts it, she’s no longer content just serving up everything for everyone else on a platter for free. Now she’s “ready to spice things up.”
No stranger to a soundbyte or a pithy tagline of her own – after all, she’s been working in this business for well over a decade now – the food speaks for itself, and as well for the vision of this place as she does.
Quite literally putting the bee in Punjabi (you’ve got to admire pun-game like that), this local-born mum of three and extremely dedicated indie trader is as much tied to her Manc soul as she is to herIndian heritage, and she’s all about bringing a ‘home to the plate’ approach.
Remember that scene in Ratatouille where the food critic eats that simple dish, and it takes him right back to his childhood and that feeling of being back in your kitchen/living room? That’s precisely the feeling she’s going for. In fact, we’d argue she’s already achieving it.
Many of her relatively small but equally hard-working crew are not only young people looking to get experience, but also existing hospitality staff who were left out of a job due to the ongoing cost of living crisis and obstacles facing the entirefood and drink sector.
But in the matter of just a few weeks, they’ve been trained up to help make authentic butter chicken, daals and pasandas that people take home for a truly hearty tea, samosas, pakoras, bhajis, Punjabi pasties, all of which are gradually drawing in more and more regulars each week, and so much more.
The mixed Indian snack selection alone is great value for money, and their stuffed lunch wrap for just a fiver is one of the best deals you’ll find anywhere in town on your dinner hour.
In fact, all the well-packed portions aren’t just well-presented in pristine air-tight packaging; they’re also super filling and satisfying, from the wide variety of homemade curries to the fruity lassis canned in-house. Everything is made in the prep kitchen around the corner, before being fridged next door.
You can tell how much experience this outfit has when it comes to catering and scaling up operations, as Sapna is also the baker behind Vanilli’s spin-off,Cake Bar Co., which she started during the pandemic on top of her other projects simply out of boredom.
The girl seemingly doesn’t sit still for even a second, at least not when she’s running these entrepreneurial arms, anyway.
Credit: The Manc Group
Her plans for thedeli and currently daytime-only eatery serve as yet more proof; the team are looking to deck out the space even further, with a bigger cabinet of wooden shelves to turn their already charming deli corner into an even fuller shop.
And then there’s a larger room downstairs of what used to be an old hairdresser’s: she’s keeping coy on that front for now, but let’s just say there’s a great bit of space to work with.
One thing we really appreciate is her acknowledging that going out for a meal, a drink, or even just a coffee is more expensive than ever.
With that in mind, she’s taken her mum’s sage advice and is keeping prices as low as possible, with the likes of the cheap bites at noon, chai for just £1 or totally FREE from 11:30am-2:30pm – an offer that is already starting to draw in steady crowds of meeting up even for a chinwag.
The stylish and colourful nook with bench-seating, cushions, coffee tables, decorated shelving and traditional jaali-style windows that simultaneously transports you elsewhere while making you feel like you’ve been invited into her front room for a brew and a bite to eat.
Let’s be honest, there are few better feelings than that kind of welcome.
Speaking to The Manc, she can never resist a good bit of wordplay, telling us: “We’re putting the chai [tea], back in community” – of which, like everything else, is all made completely in-house, by the way.
Whilst trying to restore that sense of kindness and compassion that she fears might be slowly slipping away, she also says she’s not scared of mixing up the market anymore, both literally and figuratively.
Once a mainstay of the Ancoats Makers’ Market among many others, not to mention the vendor we know to boast two stalls at Stockport’s monthlyFoodie Friday event, she started with a love for baking and made it into a successful passion project.
Now she’s turned making small little pots of curry for her peers on artisan stalls and farmers’ markets into her next venture, and she no longer feels like she’s here to compete: “I am the competition”, she says, “and I’m ready to stir the pot.”
You’d be forgiven for getting slight Heisenberg vibes for a second there, but trust, if you pop intoPunjabee and meet this vibrant, funny and extremely driven woman in person, you’ll see for yourself that she’s all about positivity, moving forward and maximising good vibes.
She’s even looking into karaoke and supper clubs, as well as extending the opening hours on Friday evenings, on top of already being open seven days a week.
Whether you’re stopping by for a cup of chai or taking out, you won’t be disappointed.
She still remembers playing ‘kerby’ out on the streets of Manchester and people gathering to eat their favourite scran, the sense of occasion people felt when paying a trip to the old Italian-style patisserie that they eventually took over.
Something that really stuck with us was this overarching idea that “through food we come together”, and she’s absolutely right.
We can’t wait to see how this place grows over the next year, and we sincerely recommend you come along to Radium Street and give it a try.
Lastly, we’ll sign off by telling you one final thing: translated into English, Sapna means ‘dream’, and this lady sure is thinking big.
Georgina Pellant -
28th April 2023 
