This week, the team behind Gooey has launched its new pasta concept Onda inside Manchester’s newest bar and food hall Exhibition.
Onda pasta bar – translating to ‘wave’ from the Italian – sees the team collaborate with Michelin-trained chef Sam Astley Dean to cook up some gorgeous fresh pasta dishes over on Peter Street, taking over what was formerly Caroline Martin’s Sao Paulo Bistro unit.
Serving up a core menu of pasta small plates from £6 alongside starters of arancini, mixed vegetable fritti, and proper crunchy garlic bread with parsley butter, you’ll also find some giant family-style sharers on the menu here – not least, a huge plate of lumache alla vodka.
Putting a spin on the viral TikTok pasta trend (and the classic Italian recipe that precedes it), the dish combines organic tomato with ‘nduja and parmesan to create the ultimate cheesy crowd-pleaser.
Elsewhere, you’ll find a second giant sharer dish of gnocchi gratinati combining spinach, mozzarella and pangrattato, plus some seriously plump raviolo stuffed with scallop, crab and fennel atop a rich seafood bisque.
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Spaghetti Carbonara at Onda. / Image; The Manc Eats
Raviolo with scallop, crab and fennel at Onda. / Image: The Manc Eats
Pasta small plate must-tries include the spaghetti casrbonara with pecorino, pancetta and a whole egg yolk that you mixed into your pasta at the table yourself, the aforementioned ravioli, and a pici cacio e pepe that nods to one of chef Sam Astley-Dean’s earliest Rise pizza creations.
Starters of note, meanwhile, include a mouthwatering saffron risotto short rib arancini atop lemon aioli, and the most indulgent Caesar salad we’ve encountered in some time – we’re talking whole leaves of baby gem drenched in sauce and wearing a veritable wig of parmesan on top.
Add to that dreamy slices of tiramisu and a plan to make their own gelato in house very soon (a fior di latte mainstay will always be on, so we’re told, plus blood orange and rhubarb flavours to start with), and it’s fair to say that – between the big flavours and the affordability – Onda is well worth a look in.
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Speaking on the new menu, chef Sam Astley-Dean told The Manc as we watched him hand-roll his pasta: “Our whole menu rests on flour and water, like our focaccia, our bread and all our pastas, and the only way to get good at it is to just do it over and over and get the feel.
“It’s very therapeutic, it’s good, like, it’s the only way to get to know something. “
Asked what his favourite dish is, he jokes: “I don’t actually like pasta” before going on to enthusiastically list almost every pasta plate on Onda’s menu.
He gushed: “It’s probably the lumache, but the vongole is like, that’s a bit of me that, like shellfish, chilli, garlic.
“I genuinely love it all, every single dish, it’s all our favourite pastas. The cacio e pepe, pesto with anything, the cavatelli’s great, erm, the vongole, the shellfish raviolo, the pappardelle, oh no the carbonara, I love the carbonara.”
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Mixed vegetable fritti at Onda. / Image: The Manc Eats
Garlic bread with parsley butter. / Image: The Manc Eats
“Honestly all of them, every single one of them, like, we want it to be super approachable, that’s why we’ve not banged on about ingredients too much. It’s for everyone, if you’re in with your mates or a date or your family.
“I want to bring my daughter and my dog, but I’d also like to come on a date night with my wife, so it’s got that vibe of it’s affordable. Yes, it’s got good ingredients but we’re not being preachy about it, it’s just good food.”
The menu features classic pasta dishes alongside innovative specials. Onda will also serve a ten layered fresh pasta lasagne on Sundays, available in two flavours: classic ragu and bianca.
Open now inside Exhibition, food at Onda is served seven days a week until 9pm in the evening with the bar open later for more drinks.
Featured image – The Manc Eats
Eats
A groundbreaking new multi-use entertainment and leisure venue is coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
A new multi-purpose food, drink, entertainment and leisure destination is coming to Manchester city centre and the Salford border this autumn, and you won’t find many places that roll so much into one spot.
Mancs, get ready to welcome ‘Tangerine’.
Conceived by an impressive collective of local creatives, indies and those with plenty of experience catering to the Northern masses, Tangerine is promising everything from multiple resident kitchens, a live music hall, an arthouse stage, a specialist martini bar and more.
Better yet, after a year in the making and quietly chipping away at the striking space, it opens later this month, so you don’t have to wait long to try it for yourselves.
Located on New Bailey Street, just on the edge of Spinningfields and Salford Central, this groundbreaking new venue features two main platforms (utilising the integrated charm of the historic railway arches), each boasting its own selection of attractions.
While platform one will offer a bakery, coffee roastery, wine store and bottle ship, the ‘Canteen Club’ and even a florist, number two will contain the music hall, arthouse stage and the stylish ‘Grand Departures’ bar – serving seven espresso martini alone – Tangerine will deliver a seamless day to night transition.
Arguably, however, the centrepiece is the ‘Cantina Collective’. The food and drink hall promises seven in-house kitchens, showcasing a variety of cuisines.
The opening line-up already confirmed includes Vanda: a family-run Parisian-inspired Ukrainian bakery; Mexican taqueria, PANTERA, burger joint Juicy, as well as Yo Dutchie (a unique fusion of Dutch-Japanese food) and a new Korean/ramen concept from local sushi favourites, Unagi.
Our stomachs are already grumbling just thinking about it.
CGI renders of the completed space. (Credit: Supplied)
Designed not only by the brains behind Northern Quarter’s beloved Mala hidden garden but WANT STUDIOS, who will be ensuring local artists, independents, and traders will be regularly spotlighted, the site will boast a capacity of well over 300 people.
Artyom Dmitrijev, owner of Tangerine and Mala, said in a statement: “Over a year in the making, we’ve used all our experience in design, interiors, architecture and hospitality to create our dream project. A place for all the independents to come together and thrive.”
Andy Windsor, Director of WANT STUDIOS, added: “Tangerine unites the city’s independent kitchens, bar tenders, bakeries and entertainment specialists. It is a unique showcase of what we do in the city. This is a new space for creativity, food, and culture, and we’re proud to be part of it.”
Debuting to the public with a big Halloween weekender on the evening of Friday, 31 October, with another launch event the following Saturday, you can sign up for exclusive early access for free, which could see you score a few freebies to boot.
Featured Images — Press shots (supplied)/Tangerine MCR (via Instagram)
Eats
Bottomless curry deal returns to popular Manchester Indian restaurant Zouk
Danny Jones
One of the best-loved Indians in Manchester has relaunched its bottomless curry offering and is chucking in free rice and naans to boot.
Zouk over on Chester Street has brought back its endless curry, rice and naan deal to ease the last of those January blues.
Every night this week, you’ll be able to tuck into a full buffet of the tea bar and grill’s award-winning, authentic curries, showcasing dishes from all over the Indian subcontinent.
Costing just £20 a head, you can feast until your heart’s content on some of the very best curries in the city – no exaggeration.
What does ‘bottomless curry’ night at Zouk look like?
The bottomless curry deal at Zouk first ran this year back in January, but it’s now back for National Curry Week (6-12 October 2025), and we can’t wait to stuff ourselves silly yet again.
Every single day, there’ll be four different curries to choose from, always including two meat options, a vegetarian curry and a vegan dish.
What exactly can you get on Zouk’s bottomless offer?
As mentioned, each booking also includes unlimited rice and naan to go with your curry of choice.
Tables are for 90 minutes per booking, giving guests plenty of time to take on the increasingly popular bottomless curry challenge.
Question is, do you have the stomach for it?
With an ever-rotating selection of curries inspired by various distinct regions and speciality cuisines, you’re not short on variety either. You can see Zouk‘s current bottomless curry menu in full below:
Monday
Chicken Karahi – A speciality from the Northwest region of Pakistan. Tender pieces of chicken cooking in a sizzling wok over hot flames with tomatoes, crushed peppercorns, cumin, ginger and garlic.
Lamb and Potatoes – Tender chunks of lamb cooked with new potatoes, yoghurt, tomatoes and garlic.
Mutter Paneer (V) – Indian Paneer cheese with new potatoes, yoghurt, tomatoes and garlic.
Chole Masala (VG) – From Delhi to Punjab, this authentic channa masala is a tasty street food classic.
Tuesday
Tamater Kadei Murgh – A delicious chicken and tomato curry cooked with mild spices. Perfect with rice or bread
Lamb Do Pyaaza – Medium-spiced North Indian speciality: tender pieces of lamb slowly cooked with lavish amounts of caramelised onions in a spicy masala
Tarka Dall (V) – Channa and mung lentils cooked in a spicy sauce
Gobi Mutter (VG) – Spicy cauliflower sautéed in a rich tomato masala with peas
Wednesday
Chicken Do Payaza – Spiced North Indian chicken dish with tomatoes and caramelised onions
Lamb & Bindi – Tender pieces of lamb cooked in a spicy masala with ‘lady fingers’ (okra)
Chole Masala (V) – Authentic channa masala is a tasty street food classic
Mili Juli Sabzi (VG) – Fresh vegetables fused together with herbs and spices
Over the halfway hump, room for more? (Credit: The Manc Eats)
Thursday
Chicken Tikka Masala – A simple classic chicken tikka masala. Chicken pieces marinated in yoghurt tossed inside a balti of garlic and ginger.
Lamb Rogan Josh – A speciality from Jammu and Kashmir, with chillies and juicy tomatoes.
Dall Makhani (V) – Black lentils in a smooth and creamy sauce.
Palak Aloo (VG) – Spinach leaf and fenugreek cooked with new potatoes and coriander.
Friday
Chicken Handi – Punjabi-style chicken curry slowly cooked over burning flames with tomatoes, onions, garlic and Zouk’s special garam masala.
Lamb Jalfrezi – Lamb pieces cooked with capsicum, onions and tomatoes in a thick spicy sauce.
Bengan do Pyaza (V) – A medium-spiced North Indian dish of aubergine cooked with tomatoes, spices and lavish amounts of onions.
Bindi Do Pyaza (VG) – A medium-spiced North Indian dish of Okra cooked with tomatoes, spices and lavish amounts of onions.
And now we’re stuffed…
If you’re looking for somewhere to get bottomless curry in Manchester, this is the place for you. (Credit: The Manc)
Zouk has become one of Manchester’s leading restaurants since it opened in 2009, even drawing in famous fans like Rihanna, Drake, Manchester United stars and, of course, many a Mancs each and every day – because there’s never a bad time for a curry.
Available all throughout this week, you can make the most of this incredible bottomless curry deal like we do every year and trust us, Manchester: it genuinely NEVER disappoints.
You can find more information – including all terms and conditions – on the website and book your visit HERE, or over the phone on 0161 2331 090.
Georgina Pellant -
30th March 2023 
