Eats

The new restaurant and bars opening in Manchester this month | May 2023

From beach clubs and new beer gardens, to a new sushi and ramen spot, there's lots to look forward to in May.

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 28th April 2023

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.

Open now

Maki and Ramen

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Image: Maki and Ramen
Image: Maki and Ramen

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.

Open now

Read more: Urban explorer roams around Market Street’s abandoned Debenhams

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Nonna’s Pasta

Image: Nonna’s
Image: Nonna’s

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.

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Open now

Runaway Brewery Taproom

Image: Runaway Brewery
Image: Runaway Brewery

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

Glamorous new Salford restaurant speaks out as controversial resident parrot is rehomed

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Glamorous new Salford restaurant speaks out as controversial resident parrot is rehomed

A new riverside restaurant and shisha lounge has addressed the live parrot that was living in the middle of the restaurant.

Gardens Lounge in Salford opened last week, bringing Mediterranean dining to the banks of the River Irwell, just across the water from Manchester city centre.

But among those admiring the stylish decor were many issuing an outcry over Rio, a beautiful blue macaw displayed in a glass box at the heart of the restaurant.

A loud online campaign, Free Rio, was launched this week, including a petition that’s gained more than 10,000 signatures, which described his conditions as ‘suffering’.

The petition said: “Rio is a highly intelligent, wild animal who is being kept in wholly inadequate conditions. He is being used as a prop and décor to attract customers,  this is not an appropriate or acceptable use of a living, sentient being.

“His current conditions cause us serious concern: His cage is entirely unsuitable for a macaw of his size and needs. He has no room to fly. He has nowhere to hide or retreat from the loud music and flashing lights he is subjected to for hours on en

“Macaws are highly social animals who mate for life and live in large family groups, Rio has no mate, no companionship, and no ability to express any natural behaviour whatsoever.

“This is not a life. This is suffering.”

The restaurant has since been working closely with those campaigners – Protect the Wild and Vegan Manchester – and has made the decision to rehome Rio the parrot, saying that the bird has always been ‘a much-loved member of the Garden Lounge’s family’.

Gardens said that the parrot’s welfare has always been ‘of the utmost importance’ and stressed that his living conditions have been fully assessed and approved by the RSPCA.

In their full statement, Gardens said: “The welfare of Rio has always been of the utmost importance to everyone at Garden’s Lounge Manchester.

“Throughout his time with us, his health, wellbeing and environment have been thoroughly monitored and fully assessed and approved by the RSPCA.

The cage that housed Rio the parrot visible from the front door of the Salford restaurant
The cage that housed Rio the parrot visible from the front door of the Salford restaurant
Gardens Lounge in Salford is open now
Gardens Lounge in Salford is open now

“Following extensive discussions and careful consideration, including conversations with members of the Manchester community whose views we greatly respect, we have made the decision to relocate Rio to a sanctuary environment, where he will have the opportunity to fly freely while continuing to receive specialist care and attention.

“Rio has been, and always will be, a much-loved member of the Garden’s Lounge family, and this decision has been made with his best interests at heart.

“We are proud of the love and care he has received over the years and are grateful to everyone who has shown him such affection and support.

“We look forward to welcoming everyone back to Garden’s Lounge Manchester soon and thank our customers, friends and the wider community for their continued support.”

Gardens is officially open now.

Read more

Featured image: Supplied

Eats

The tiny van parked beneath a tram stop that’s quietly making some of the best coffee in town

Danny Jones Danny Jones Elliott's coffee van Manchester Cornbrook tram stop

In a city as big and bustling as Manchester, let alone all the other great on-the-go food and drink spots across the ten boroughs, it can be hard to know where to start – that’s why Elliott’s coffee van is cleverly grabbing people on their way in and out of town to sample his stuff.

With brilliant blends, bakes and other kinds of brews up for grabs, it’s becoming a regular stop for us.

Finding a good cafe in transit can often be somewhat of a challenge, especially when you want to support independent businesses wherever possible.

If you’re happy to settle with one of the big brands that you’ll find at most major stations, grand, but if you want a proper good grind, perfect temperature, not to mention great service from a friendly face, then come and see Elliot.

cornbrook coffee van manchester
assembly coffee pastries
elliots mcr
Credit: The Manc Eats

Having recently celebrated more than a year since he first posted up outside the admittedly ‘no man’s land’-ish Metrolink station, this busy little bee has brought a welcome dose of energy and colour to this particular Bee Network interchange.

While Cornbrook doesn’t feel as lonely and forgotten as, say, Pomona, just one stop along, it’s long felt ever so slightly too out of the way, lonely, and a bit grey.

Thankfully, these days (at least if you time it right), when you go around the corner and head towards the archways bordering Castlefield and the edge of Trafford, you’ll now hear tunes coming down the road, and instead of simply smelling petrol or dank water, you’re hit with a whiff of freshly roasted beans.

We get the same warm feeling when we arrive here as when we see neighbouring Libby’s canal boat cafe floating just outside The Wharf.

It’s also worth noting that Elliot doesn’t just buy any old grounds: he’s a passionate barista who has such a love for the good stuff that he decided to buy a little Piaggio Ape 50 three-wheeler van and turn it into a mobile cafe, serving speciality coffee from around Greater Manchester and loading it all up himself.

Spotlighting everyone from Kobean and Assembly to wholesalers like Carter – not to mention fresh pastries and sweet treats from beloved Stockport bakery, Sticky Fingers – this lovely lad is indie through and through.

elliots coffee gift cards
As well as loyalty, he even does gift cards.
elliotsmcr instagram
When we say everything is freshly pressed, we mean it…

Having gone full-time last August after starting in June 2025, we’re chuffed to bits to see it going so well for him, especially seeing him slog through the Manc weather come rain or shine, even giving us our fix during the colder months in that often rather dark Cornbrook corner.

What’s more, he’s also got some solid tunes on rotation, whether you need an extra early morning pick-me-up on your commute besides the caffeine, or just want that added boost later in the day.

Elliot serves with a smile and is always happy to have a little chinwag; better still, while he’s getting bigger and longer lines nowadays, the queue always moves quicker than you think it will.

For anyone looking to pay him a visit, his opening hours are 7am-1pm every day bar Mondays (six days a week is still no joke), and you get him for an extra hour until 2pm on Saturdays.

Read more:

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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