The new restaurants and bars opening in Manchester this month | March 2023
From vegan sushi with 'mock meat' to new ramen spots, a gorgeous bistro in Marple and the relocation of longstanding favourite Vnam, there's loads going on this month.
This March, once again we’ve got some absolutely cracking new restaurants and bars opening in Manchester to shout about.
From a new street food stall serving delicious Brazilian curries inside Manchester Arndale Market, to a relocation for longstanding favourite Vnam into the old VRev site, there’s lots to get excited about – as ever.
Add to that a new cocktail bar in Chorlton, the return of vegan sushi favourite CB Sushi to Ancoats General Store and a gorgeous-looking bistro over in Marple, and we’re sure your tummy will be rumbling in no time.
Keep reading to discover where to put on your list this month.
Vnam
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Image: Vnam
Image: Vnam
First established in 2010, Vnam claims to be Manchester’s first ever Vietnamese restaurant. It’s certainly made its mark on the city these past thirteen years, originally operating as a street food stall inside the Arndale market before opening a bricks and mortar site in Ancoats on Oldham Road.
Now, the restaurant is relocating into the heart of the Northern Quarter. This Sunday, it will open the doors to its new home – tranforming what was once VRev, Manchester’s original vegan junk food spot, into a haven of aromatic pho, summer rolls and spicy seared meats.
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5 March
97
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Brought to Chorlton’s bustling Beech Road by the team behind Tariff and Dale and The Lead Station, new cocktail bar 97 is offering up some absolutely quality drinks in a fun format – each displayed on Top Trumps cards.
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The drinks menu, crafted by Chorlton native Ellie Craddick, features plenty of homemade shrubs, tinctures and syrups. Made up of 25 drinks in total, discover a mixture of signature cocktails and classics with a 97 ‘spin’ such as a double-shaked whiskey sour that uses wild mushrooms for added funk.
Officially opening on 10 March, the new bar will also serve a list of exceptional wines and craft beers alongside light nibbles.
10 March
A Little Piece of Bahia
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
A Little Piece of Bahia is a new Brazilian street food stall in the Arndale market that is bringing authentic regional curries to the city centre for the very first time.
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We’re talking plantain curry, carne de sol, feijoada and bobo de camarao, acaraje and more, all made using high quality ingredients (its owners tell us that they never use water in their curries, only coconut milk).
A business with a rich family heritage, Little Piece of Bagia first began in 1989 and is now making its way to Manchester 34 years later.
Open now
CB Sushi
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Vegan sushi spot CB Sushi is popping up inside Ancoats General Store (AGS) once again this month, slinging out tiny Japanese-style Katso sandos and a variety of sushi rolls filled with ‘mock meat’.
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At AGS throughout March, here you’ll find a variety of colourful sushi rolls filled with the likes of hoisin ‘duck’, vegan ‘pork’, ‘beef’ and katsu ‘chicken’.
Packed with flavour, the CB Sushi hoisin ‘duck’ rolls are packed with pulled ‘duck’ meat, cucumber and spring onion, then topped with hoisin glaze and a delightful onion crunch.
A new pan-Asian eatery and bar is opening inside the Great Northern Warehouse at the end of this month, however those who are really keen can order an early taste via Deliveroo.
Serving up bao, dumplings and steaming bowls of ramen noodles alongside fun cocktails and a selection of craft beer, Suki Suki is already bringing bags of flavour to this quarter of the city – we can’t wait to see how the restaurant looks.
Live on Deliveroo now, restaurant opening end of March.
Fold Bistro
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Image: Supplied
Image: Supplied
Newly opened in Marple is Fold Bistro, a gorgeous little eatery and bottle shop serving up biodynamic wines and cocktails alongside some beautiful small plates.
Serving a menu of delicious British seasonal sharing plates, with multi-cultural influences and a touch of North West nostalgia running throughout, think Chip Shop Croquettes with monkfish and champagne curry sauce and Earl of Stonham Wagyu Tartare with IPA Pickles.
Developed by Executive Chef, Ryan Stafford, and Head Chef, Craig Sherrington, each dish on the menu uses responsibly sourced ingredients and local quality suppliers where possible.
2 March
Maki & Ramen
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Image: Maki and Ramen
Image: Maki and Ramen
For a long time, Manchester suffered a shortage of ramen shops. Not any more. Yes, we’ve just said goodbye to late night fusion spot CBRB *sigh* but we’ve still got some absolute bangers in town – not least Tokyo Ramen and New Wave Ramen.
Now, we’ve got another on its way. First opened in 2015 by Teddy Lee, a former chef who studied at a sushi academy in Tokyo, restaurant chain Maki and Ramen will open its doors to its first northern branch on New York Street this month.
That said, it’s not all ramen. As the name suggests, you’ll also find a lot of sushi here with maki being something of a speciality.
TBC
The Waltzing Matilda
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Image: The Waltzing Matilda
Image: The Waltzing Matilda
Not entirely new, but back after a period of closure, the popular wood-fired pizzeria on a canal boat The Waltzing Matilda will return this month after a refurbishment.
Dropping anchor at Tramway Wharf in Marple from 11 March, fans can once again find all of their Neapolitan pizza favourites alongside hot coffee and bakes. Sounds like a perfect stop off for a weekend walk, if you ask us.
Artisan chocolate cafe Knoops is opening in Manchester this month, bringing a huge range of chocolate milkshakes, iced chocolate, hot chocolates and mochas with it.
The London brand will open its first northern store later in Manchester city centre, taking over a vacant unit on the corner of Cross Street and South King Street close to the Town Hall.
Offering twenty different styles of hot chocolate and six styles of rich and creamy chocolate milkshakes, on the menu sweet tooths will find a huge range of different percentage chocolates to choose from.
TBC
Eat Like A Greek
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Good news for the people of Monton this month, who will soon welcome a new Greek eatery to their neighbourhood.
Having made a name for itself on the street food scene, Eat Like A Greek is set to bring its famous gyros to Monton alongside a range of mezze and loaded chips, opening inside the former Wok Brothers unit next to Blacksticks on the High Street.
TBC
Feature image – The Manc Eats / Vnam / The Manc Eats
Eats
Cosy pubs near the Manchester Christmas Markets where you can avoid the madness
Daisy Jackson
The Manchester Christmas Markets are in full flow for another year, and they are BUSY – so we’ve picked out the top pubs providing refuge from it all.
Once again, thousands of people are pouring into the city centre every weekend and evening to browse the massive range of food, drink and gifts being sold from the village of wooden huts that have appeared in town.
And there’s no denying that the markets do bring plenty of festive cheer to town, with toy town mugs in every hand and people munching on sausages as they walk.
But when the hustle and bustle and the cold all gets a bit much – and if you’re anything like us, one or two drinks at the Christmas Markets is plenty – you’ll be looking for respite.
And by respite, we mean a pub.
So here are the best pubs that are very near the Manchester Christmas Markets without actually being in the thick of it.
North Westward Ho, Chapel Walks
Beers at North Westward Ho. Credit: The Manc GroupNorth Westward Ho’s traditional interior. This pub is near the Market Street and King Street Christmas Markets
This stunning pub has been created by Pomona Island, the much-loved local craft brewery, and it’s handily located within staggering distance of the Albert Square, Market Street, Piccadilly Gardens AND King Street Christmas markets hubs.
Pomona Island has taken on a chunk of the former Chaophraya restaurant, turning the grand arch-windowed red-brick building into a pub serving their own craft beers – from the easy-drinking Factotum, to the excellent Phaedra pale ale.
And boy is it cosy – North Westward Ho feels like a proper Manchester pub that has been styled with dark wooden details, ornate tiling, wall sconces, oil paintings, dark green ceramic brick times, and loads of cosy corners.
It’s opened in a former bin store at Victoria StationThe Victoria Tap is one of the cosiest pubs near the Cathedral Gardens Christmas Markets
The Victoria Tap is a beer bar that’s completely transformed a corner of the station that was previously home to a bin store, and it’s a perfect place to pause between the Cathedral Gardens Christmas Markets and your train home.
You won’t miss your train either – on the wall inside the pub is a departures board that advises how many pints you can fit in before your train leaves.
Northern breweries on the taps at Victoria Tap include Brew York, Blackjack and Runaway, plus a good selection of European beers from the likes of kostritzer, Bitburger and Schremser.
Inside there are traditional parquet floors underfoot and a dark green bar running almost the whole length of the micropub.
This bar is at complete odds with its location – the sight of its cosy, calm interior at great odds to the madness of Market Street it sits behind.
Like an oasis in the desert, Cafe Beermoth is one of those pubs that provides serious Christmas Markets salvation when you need it most.
The Belgian-style beer cafe champions drinks from across the UK as well as further afield into Europe and America, though it has a strong bond with Manchester’s own Runaway Brewery.
It’s one of those places you can visit solo or with a massive group and still be welcomed with the same open arms.
You wouldn’t think that the place to escape the madness of the Manchester Christmas Markets would be the Manchester Arndale, aka the biggest shopping mall in town and one that is RAMMED with shoppers in December.
But wedged into a corner of the Arndale Market is Micro Bar, a teeny tiny pub with a good selection of German and Belgian beers on keg plus hundreds of bottles and cans in the fridges.
If you’re quick and lucky, you can get a seat overlooking High Street and feel extra smug that you’re on the quiet side of the glass.
Formerly known as The Pilcrow, this shed-like pub on Sadler’s Yard is now in the very trustworthy hands of Cloudwater Brewery.
The space itself was built by local people through a series of workshops, with members of the public creating everything from the tabletops to the lampshades.
There is, of course, Cloudwater beers, but also plenty of others to choose from, a menu of natural wines, and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails.
The pub is also stumbling distance from Cathedral Gardens – you can practically skate here from the Christmas Markets ice rink.
Disappear from St Ann’s Square – where you can barely move for gluhwein and tinsel – and down into the cave-like wine bar that is Corbieres.
Something of a Manchester institution, this brilliant bar has a jukebox loaded with great music, and a decent range of wines and beers.
It also does free pizza with any drink purchased, Tuesday to Friday 4.30pm to 7.30pm.
AND, as they’re advertising themselves as an escape from the markets, they’re even happy for you to bring the food you buy at the markets into the bar.
Any of the Chop Houses are guaranteed to be maximum cosy, with their Victorian interiors still largely in tact and menus full of massive stodgy food.
There are two that are both right near the King Street batch of Christmas Markets – Sam’s is beneath the previously mentioned North Westward Ho, while Albert’s is within that iconic tall skinny building on Cross Street.
At this time of year they’re extra festive thanks to soft white fairy lights and candles.
52 Cross St, M2 7AR
The Rat & Pigeon, Back Piccadilly
The Rat & Pigeon is a lovely cosy pub near the Manchester Christmas Markets
It will come as a surprise to precisely no one that the so-called ‘Winter Gardens’ at Piccadilly Gardens are possibly the most hectic spot of all in town.
Which is why we’d highly recommend slipping away to The Rat & Pigeon, where the Crown & Kettle team have transformed the former Mother Macs pub into a three-storey pub.
Each floor provides you with a different vibe, whether your evening involves a pint and a dartboard or a cocktail and a giant disco ball.
If you really want to get away from the crowds trudging the streets of the Manchester Christmas Markets, you need to get underneath the streets.
Welcome to The Gas Lamp, a subterranean, tiled-wall haven where local craft brewery Pomona Island dominates the taps and fridges (alongside plenty of other great pints).
It’s also a paradise for whiskey drinkers and is just a quick dart beyond the King Street markets.
50a Bridge Street, M3 3BW
Mulligans of Manchester, Southgate
Mulligans. Credit: The Manc GroupMulligans. Credit: The Manc GroupMulligans is one of Manchester’s top pubs and a good escape from the Christmas Markets
Is Mulligans a quiet pub? Absolutely not. But if you can get yourself a seat in one of its cosy corners or snugs, with a steady stream of Guinness in front of you, it’s one of those places you won’t want to tear yourself away from in a hurry.
This legendary Irish boozer just off Deansgate makes for a perfect escape in winter, where there’s live music seven days a week and top-quality Irish stout on the taps.
Last year they opened up a brand-new bar upstairs, but it’s still the cosy original pub downstairs that we try to cram into when the Manchester Christmas Markets are too much to bear.
V.Goode Pies – Michelin-recommended Manchester restaurant to launch new pie shop
Daisy Jackson
A new pie shop is set to open in Manchester this month – and it comes from the same team behind a Michelin-recommended restaurant.
Chefs Shaun Moffat (of Winsome fame) and Sam Grainger (Madre, Belzan, Doug’s and loads more) will be joining forces for V.Goode Pies.
The Oxford Road pie shop promises to serve ‘the kind of pies Manchester’s been waiting for’ that won’t cost the earth.
Shaun and Sam dreamed up the idea following the success of the pie offering at Winsome, which are a highlight of its proudly British menu.
Set to open on Oxford Road, you’ll find four core individual pies as well as breakfast pies.
There’ll be the option to have your pie served in a barm, Wigan kebab-style, or have it as it comes with a pot of gravy to dunk it in.
The pies at Winsome. Credit: The Manc GroupV.Goode Pies will open on Oxford Road in Manchester
As well as traditional fillings, V. Goode Pies will have more out-there bakes like a lasagne pie, where layers of pasta are packed into a pie crust.
You can also expect rotating specials and collaborations.
V.Goode Pies – or, to use its government name, Valerie Goode’s Pies – is inspired by co-founder Tom Fastiggi’s dinner lady grandmother and pie connoisseur.
V.Goode Pies will take over the old Loaf store on Oxford Road and is set to open on 18 November, with a pop-up also planned at Freight Island this winter.
The pie shop will be open Monday to Saturday, from 7am until they sell out.
Georgina Pellant -
2nd March 2023 
