Some big, familiar restaurant names have rocked up in Manchester in recent weeks, and will continue to do so into June.
But there’s plenty of homegrown talent popping up all over the region, including some old favourites moving up in the world.
Take Pollen, who have just moved into their enormous new site at Kampus, or pizza pedlars Corner Slice, who have paired up with Jimmy’s in Ancoats.
Then there’s a very familiar old name in the form of a new Blockbusters cocktail bar, and plenty more newcomers joining the fray.
Keep reading to see the new restaurants and bars opening in Manchester this June.
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Kitten Izakaya, Deansgate Sq
Image: Wikimedia Commons
When it opens on Deansgate Square this June, Kitten will feature modern Japanese fine-dining and contemporary cocktails in a swanky setting
Guests can dine with a front-row seat to the sushi chefs, glancing into the semi-open kitchen to see dishes grilled over one of the largest charcoal Robatayak grills in the city.
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Bringing modern Japanese fine-dining to the heart of the city, the menu will focus on high-end sushi, sashimi, and robata-grilled dishes, all served in an exceedingly glamorous setting boasting a 5-metre-high Bonsai treet, bamboo walls and elegant Venetian plastering.
Opens 17 June
Blockbuster NQ
Image: Supplied
Nothing says Y2K quite like spending your Friday night in a Blockbuster, which makes the arrival of this new Northern Quarter bar particularly timely.
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Paying homage to the glory days of video rental, the video shop-themed bar has gone the whole hog with cocktails like the ‘VHS Presso Martini’, ‘Alcopop-corn’ and the ‘PG&T’.
Split across two floors, its main floor is modelled on the classic Blockbuster store set up and even includes a ‘naughty films’ section hidden at the back.
DVD cases line the walls and there’s even a separate x-rated section dedicated to adult videos.
Downstairs, meanwhile, black walls, velvet chairs, and a sparkly stage for performances lend a cinematic feel to the bar’s entertainment space.
Open now
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Tim Hortons
Tim Hortons has opened on Market Street, bringing its best-selling donuts, breakfasts, and burgers to Manchester city centre for the first time.
Open until late, you can get your fix of Tim bits (made using the leftover dough taken from the donut holes) and those liquid gold French vanilla lattes on Market Street throughout the week.
Open now
Adelphi Lads Club
Image: supplied
Salford’s historic Adelphi Lads Club will reopen this month as a new bar and kitchen after over a decade of closure.
The 134-year-old building will be brought back to life by the teams behind Elnecot and Tokyo Ramen, who will bring a new BBQ food concept to the historic Salford site.
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Diners can expect to see similar themes running through the new bar and kitchen, with signature bold flavours, smoke and fire all playing a prominent part on the menu.
From the team behind crazy golfing aficionados Junkyard Golf comes Paradise Skate World – a new ‘intergalactic’ roller skating rink set to open on Deansgate this June.
With a cutting edge rink and huge bar serving ‘intergalactic cocktails’ alongside a selection of Japanese and Mexican bar snacks, it’s certainly something a little bit different.
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If you fancy sipping on space cocktails and skating off into the cosmos, well, then look no further.
Opening in June
Neon Tiger
A new Thai BBQ restaurant, Neon Tiger opens in Manchester this June in the former Grindsmith unit on Bridge Street.
It will pay homage to traditional charcoal cooking methods with a host of grilled skewer dishes and sharing plates, bringing street food-style barebque dining to the city.
Using traditional cooking processes of live fire and smoked meat, diners can expect to find the likes of house made lemongrass and turmeric smoked sausages, King oyster mushroom skewers, and coal-roasted aubergine on menu when Neon Tiger opens its doors later this month.
Manchester’s hip-hop-themed burger shop has returned to Stockport after an eight week hiatus, and we’re buzzing to have them back.
The dirty burger peddlers are back at The Drawing Room in Bramhall serving up a menu full of towering smashed patties, fried chicken, and loaded fries.
Dishes are named after hip-hop icons like Snoop Dogg and Childish Gambino, and are are available to order for delivery or collection only.
Read more:Manchester’s hip-hop-themed burger shop has returned to Stockport
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Open now
Pollen at Kampus
Image: The Manc Eats
Six years after its fledgling opening in a Piccadilly archway, Pollen is gearing up to open its second Manchester cafe.
The new cafe and kitchen at Kampus will serve a varied menu alongside pastries, cakes, speciality baked goods and its much-loved range of sourdough bread.
It will also boast a ‘glass gallery’ looking into the kitchen, meaning diners will be able to watch Pollen’s talented pastry chefs at work as they tuck into a seasonally-changing menu of breakfast, brunch and lunch dishes.
As well as offering diners a front-row seat to all the kitchen action, the new cafe will also be significantly bigger than the Ancoats site.
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It will open from Wednesday to Sunday, with plenty of seating both indoors and out, with an al fresco area overlooking the green foliage of the Kampus garden.
Opens 9 June
Corner Slice x Jimmy’s
Manchester’s original Detroit pizza slingers, Corner Slice, are officially making their move into the city centre with a new dine-in kitchen at Jimmy’s in Ancoats.
The hugely popular Failsworth pizzeria still retains its original location, adding a second string to its bow with a kitchen takeover at Cutting Room Square.
Known for its exquisitely fluffy deep pan pizzas, finished with marinara, traditional Italian toppings and a curly cheese crust, its already cornered the market in East Manchester – now its moving into town.
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Corner Slice will be in the kitchen at Jimmy’s all summer, serving up their Motor city-inspired rectangular pizzas. If you’ve not tried one yet, this is your cue to go.
Read more:Popular pizza ‘peddlers’ Corner Slice to take over Jimmy’s kitchen in Manchester
Opens 3 June
Box on the Docks
Box on the Docks returns to Salford Quays this month with flowing beers, freshly-baked bagels, and boozy ice cream.
Back for its third year in a row, MediaCity’s popular outdoor dining concept takes on a brand-new format for 2022.
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Working in partnership with Salford-based brewing company Seven Brothers, head down to discover a rotating residency of the region’s best established and emerging independent food and drink pop ups.
There’ll also been an exciting lineup of live music and events for all ages.
Stockport town centre’s first ramen spot sat above a coffee shop that we can’t get enough of
Danny Jones
If you’re a local Stockport resident or have even walked along the increasingly cultured cobbles of Underbank, chances are you’ve passed a place called Ōdiobā, but did you know that by night, its loft turns into a stylish listening bar that also serves some of the best ramen around?
Seriously: not only is it, to our knowledge, the only venue serving traditional ramen in Stockport town centre, but it’s some of the best we’ve had in years. Literally, YEARS.
Central Manchester has the benefit of being spoiled by numerous noodle masters – New Wave, Ramenshop (formerly known as Tokyo Ramen), Shogun, etc. – but we’d genuinely wager that this relative newcomer known simply as Uma is right up there with them.
In fact, it might currently be vying for the top spot itself.
We really try our best to shy away from the most ultimate of superlatives where we can, especially because we’re lucky enough to come across so many culinary gems and new restaurants all the time, but the more we’ve revisited this place, the more we’re convinced it’s utterly brilliant.
On a personal note, in a post-Cocktail Beer Ramen + Bun world, we feel like we’ve come very close to finding a new go-to that’s on a par with the late, great CBRB; perhaps we’ll never quite get there, or maybe we’re falling victim to the rose-tinted lens of nostalgia, but Uma is at least in the conversation.
Something we can say for sure is that they’ve gone with the tried and tested method of doing just a few things extremely over trying to cater to everyone.
Offering a small but stunning menu, with just three small plates and three options when it comes to ramen, each one is well-balanced and portioned, guaranteeing a filling bowl of ramen finished with great quality toppings.
You’re not left needing a single noodle more, nor do they cut you a single spring onion shy – but let’s be honest, this cuisine also leaves you craving more broth.
This might be a small thing, but we even like how the deep bowls come with built-in grooves/utensil holders for you to rest your spoons and chopsticks in. It’s only a little extra, we know, but it’s a nice touch, nevertheless.
Having now done a couple laps of the menu over the course of just a handful of visits, there are few taste bud journeys as satisfying as those gently-seasoned edamame beans, with the vibrant, lightly-acidic pickled daikon radishes and cucumber cutting through, before the savoury bomb of those mains.
And above all else, it’s the broth. My word… that broth.
Most impressively of all, perhaps, is that while we were expecting to enjoy the shoyu or red miso option the most, it’s the vegan ramen that we found to be the most flavourful.
The white miso and vegetable soup base is about as rich as you could hope for from any broth, as are the surprisingly satisfying slices of sweet soy tofu.
The smell of this freshly-charred chashu. Wow. The ideal thickness – great, minimal chew, too.Is Stockport town centre’s first ramen spot also one of the best in Greater Manchester right now? It might just be. (Credit: The Manc Eats)
Put simply, this particular bowl truly puts the Uma in umami.
It really is perfect as is, complemented by the shitake mushrooms, mustard greens, bamboo shoots and aromatic roasted sesame.
However, we honestly believe we have mastered a flawless order: choosing the vegan bowl and then adding pieces of chashu pork, a gooey ramen egg and maybe some chilli oil for good measure.
Try it for yourselves and tell us we’re anything other than absolutely bang on.
As for the space itself, you’ll struggle to find another spot as simultaneously casually aesthetic and atmospheric as the top floor of this building.
It’s well worth a visit to try the sophisticated selection of cocktails co-curated by founder Nam Tran – who first won over foodie fans with his conveniently self-titled Vietnamese venue in Ancoats, which sadly closed in 2024 – or sample his handmade hi-fi system alone, but the bonus of ramen takes the cake.
With DJ sets from the man himself as well as other selectors and artists, not to mention jazz nights and other live music during the week, it’s an effortlessly cool couple of floors that just so happens to serve some of our favourite food to the highest order.
Now, we will confess that we’ve only seen Ōdiobā in its ‘shadow self’ form, for lack of a better phrase, and are yet to sample the artisan café side of this business, but we assure you that it is a failure on our part and one we’ll be making up for as soon as possible.
Let’s just say, if the coffee is as good as the other liquids we’ve drunk here, be it the booze or the very last drop of broth from the bottom of the bowl, it’s probably some of the best in Stockport.
You can guarantee we’ll be coming back to this place time and time again whenever we visit the borough.
Music legend Billy Ocean pays a visit to Mama Flo’s in Stockport
Danny Jones
Cult Stockport foodie favourite Mama Flo’s has been visited by yet another shock famous face when music legend Billy Ocean ‘Suddenly’ popped into the takeaway this week.
What a lovely surprise for the local hero.
Mama Flo’s is not just a go-to eatery for many in the Great Moor neighbourhood; its glowing reviews and long-standing reputation have meant that it’s frequently patronised by out-of-town tourists as well as plenty of celebrities.
Florence Beryl Coke, now in her 70s, is no stranger to welcoming household names, but given the Caribbean royalty in question, she was clearly blown away when the ‘Love Really Hurts Without You’ singer came through the door.
Billy Ocean, 75 himself, played the O2 Apollo in June on his most recent headline tour, but the Trinidadian-born British soul and pop singer has still but up and down the country throughout the year.
We’re not too sure why he was up in Greater Manchester this week, but we’re glad he was.
Writing on Facebook, Flo wrote: “What a good night, tonight. Feeling so tired and having a break – then guess who walked in? The greatest Billy Ocean, and boy, we had a great night chatting away with his entourage. Thank you, Billy, for a splendid night.”
Following up with another grateful post on Friday morning, 14 November, she quoted the title of his most famous hit, before adding: “We love you, Billy Ocean. Thanks for the support last night and [thank you to] your team, love.”
Knowing how hard Flo works, having become famous for her incredible work ethic and regularly working overtime to serve the community, this will no doubt have felt like a well-earned reward after another long, hard day.
Kyle Walker is one of many footballers who’ve been.Couldn’t agree more.Credit: Mama Flo’s
She doesn’t just get one-time visitors either: regulars include The Stone Roses’ Ian Brown, nearby actor Will Mellor, and a plethora of regional soap stars.
In this case, Billy Ocean was just the latest celeb to get out of her dreams and into her shop – and yes, that may be a rather stretched pun, but it was worth it, nevertheless.
So, if you’ve still never been to one of the best food spots in Stockport, Mama Flo’s now has the certified Billy Ocean seal of approval to its name, as well as having featured on our very own Takeaway Champions a little while back. We can’t think of any better advert to go and try it for yourself.
Georgina Pellant -
5th June 2022 
