The Uk’s largest Italian food festival is coming back to Manchester’s Cathedral Gardens for its sixth year in the city, it has been confirmed.
The free-to-attend Festa Italiana will return to Manchester city centre on the August bank holiday weekend, with its main festival hub located at Cathedral Gardens opposite Victoria train station.
Taking place from 25 to 27 August 2023, the weekend will champion the very best in authentic Italian food, drink, music, and performance, with a host of different street food traders, an artisan market village, chef-led cooking demonstrations and loads more coming down for the weekend.
Promising a varied programme for 2023, this year’s festival will feature workshops, demonstrations, signings and banquets from celebrity chefs and award-winning authors as it continues to evolve.
Image: Festa Italiana
Image: Festa Italiana
A passion project dreamt up by Salvi’s owner Maurizio Cecco with the intention of bringing the Italian community of Manchester together as one, Festa Italiana takes in the very best in authentic food, drink, music, and performance.
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The Festa is steeped in tradition, drawing massive inspiration from the incredible festivals in Italy, but also slinging a whole lotta Manc charm into the mix to create a cultural concoction that sets it apart from any other event of its type, anywhere in the world.
The Salvi’s team will be joined at the Festa by some of Manchester’s best Italian street-food vendors and restaurateurs, as well as live musicians and performers on party supply duties.
Chefs confirmed to appear at the festival so far include Gennaro Contaldo, UK brand ambassador for Parmigiano Reggiano, (Saturday Kitchen, Two Greedy Italians, Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast), Giancarlo Caldesi (Return to Tuscany, Saturday Kitchen, Sunday Brunch), Great British Bake Off 2021 winner Giuseppe Dell’Anno, Masterchef UK 2021 quarter-finalist and ICG Cooking Competition Award winner Sofia Gallo, and Salvi’s owner Maurizio Cecco.
The festival will also introduce a new element this year, as it welcomes Birrificio Angelo Poretti to Manchester to host the ‘ultimate ticketed dining experience’ at its Poretti Grande Tavola.
Festival goers can pull up a chair and enjoy classic Italian food from Salvi’s and enjoy an authentic Italian lager from Poretti’s Piazza.
Poretti will also have its own dining area at this year’s Festa Italiana where guests can enjoy a delicious sit-down meal with a menu that has been curated to pair perfectly with Poretti.
With more details set to be announced closer to the time, for now, if you’d like to find out more about Manchester’s Festa Italian visit its website here.
Featured image – Festa Italiana
Eats
First look inside Social Osteria, Stockport’s buzzy new Italian restaurant
Lydia Mastrolonardo
That’s right Stopfordians – we’re gaining yet another brand new addition to our town’s blooming food and drink scene, as Social Osteria opens its doors at Weir Mill.
It’s safe to say we’re in good hands, with the geniuses behind The Social Trattoria, named best Trattoria at the Italian Awards UK 2025, being the ones to bring this new taste of Italy to South Manchester.
Just because we are no longer experiencing the weather to match an Italian summer, doesn’t mean we can’t continue eating like we’re there.
Social Osteria can now be found overlooking the River Mersey, as a beautiful 2,000 sq ft space within the buzzing new canalside development, fully equipped with the classic exposed red brickwork, vaulted ceilings and even the restored original kiln.
As you approach the restaurant, you are greeted by a sunken courtyard and riverside seating, making for the perfect alfresco dining spot, when the warmer weather finally rolls back around.
With the meaning of Osteria being an Italian tavern, for locals to gather and enjoy each other’s company, good wine and honest, flavourful food – the team have stayed true to the name. You can expect dim, ambient lighting, an open kitchen, fresh small plates, flavourful 48-hour pizzas, and traditional pasta.
Vibrant dishes at Social Osteria in Stockport. Credit: The Manc Group
This glamorous new restaurant is promising a spectacular menu, from cacio e pepe butter beans to guanciale topped pizzas and their very own slow-cooked beef shin and pork shoulder paccheri ragu, you know we’re in the right place.
With Italian food running in the family, the team’s cooking practices are rooted in traditional methods, passed down through the generations and then presented to us, with the freshest of ingredients.
It suits Capital&Centric, who’ve taken the same approach to Weir Mill itself – embracing the character of the historic mill whilst transforming it into a vibrant community, for generations to come.
Inside Social Osteria at Weir Mill. Credit: The Manc Group
Set below Stockport’s iconic viaduct, the £60m neighbourhood is now home to 253 apartments alongside bustling cafés, wine bars and stunning restaurants akin to Social Osteria, accompanied by plenty of outdoor seating, green spaces, and riverside viewpoints.
Where Osteria Social now calls home is part of Stockport’s £1 billion Town Centre West masterplan, adding to the town’s growing reputation as one of the best locations to live in the UK.
Social Osteria will officially open Thursday 22 October, at Weir Mill. Be sure to book your tables early as we fear this one might get a little booked up.
Traitors star and comedian Joe Lycett is putting cash behind the bar at two Manchester pubs
Daisy Jackson
Comedian Joe Lycett is putting money behind the bar at two Manchester pubs this week, as he continues to encourage people to get out and support their local boozers.
The TV favourite – who is also currently one of the stars on The Traitors – announced the news as he bid farewell to his fictional TV pub The Lycett Arms.
On the show, he said: “There are 45,000 pubs in the UK – go and give them some love.”
Joe Lycett then proceeded to list 30 brilliant pubs up and down the country, including two in Manchester, and announced that the drinks are on him this week.
He told audiences: “[This] Friday I’ll be putting a little bit of money behind the bar in all the pubs you’ve just seen. I hope you can have a drink on me.”
The pubs he picked out in Manchester are the iconic old boozer The Peveril of the Peak, and the excellent pub and comedy venue The Old Monkey.
The Peveril of the Peak on Great Bridgewater Street is a real icon in the city centre, with its green tiled exterior and its cosy interiors.
Until recently, it was run by legendary local landlady Nancy Swanick, who died in July at the age of 96.
The Peveril of the Peak pub in ManchesterInside The Pev
Commenting on Joe Lycett’s post about his pub offer, they wrote: “You are all more than welcome at The Pev. Give me a shout and I will sort you out with a pie, Joe.”
The Old Monkey, meanwhile, is famed for its comedy nights run by Trapdoor Comedy Club, and for its open mic sessions, as well as award-winning beers.
The Portland Street pub has also very kindly agreed to match Joe Lycett’s donation, which means double the budget for pints for Mancs.
Georgina Pellant -
16th May 2023 
