One of Manchester’s most legendary Indian restaurants, This and That Café, is giving away hundreds of portions of free curry and rice for a limited time only today.
As if these lot couldn’t get any better.
The iconic Manc curry house — best known for serving up unreal food at affordable prices and renowned across the North, in general, for it’s famous ‘rice and three’ deal — is a local institution and now they’re also giving away plate after plate of their delicious dishes.
Offering more than 250 portions of rice and servings of three curries from the incredible daily selection (they always slap) for absolutely nothing, this place is going to be even busier than usual.
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Pushing out plates from 4-5:30pm today (Thursday, 7 December) only, the not-so-hidden-gem is proving yet again why it’s a cult-favourite amongst so many Mancunians and tourists who travel into our city has so much to offer when it comes to Indian food and culture.
It might not be part of the world-famous Curry Mile but we can assure the line is going to be about a mile long and will probably stretch even further than that Chanel runway.
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ln case you’ve been living under a rock, NQ’s Thomas Street has been transformed into an A-list catwalk for Chanel’s ‘Metiers d’Art’ fashion show and it just so happens to be right around the corner from This and That. But make no mistake, this isn’t the first time they’ve handed out free food, having served up crucial meals to the homeless on countless occasions — including during the pandemic.
These legends don’t need a shoutout or extra publicity: the food speaks for itself and they would be doing plenty of business tonight regardless of this offer or the Chanel shenanigans.
All that being said, a free meal to those who need it at this time of year, be it someone sleeping rough or simply trying to save the pennies in a cost of living crisis, can really go a long way.
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There’s nothing more warming during these colder months than hot and spicy curry.
Catch you in the queue for some free This and That curry!
Lively Irish pub Nancy Spains set to open in Manchester for the first time
Daisy Jackson
An Irish bar famed for its live music is heading up to Manchester for the first time, and is promising £2.50 pints to lure us in.
Nancy Spains will be venturing out of London for the first time promising to bring the ‘ultimate traditional Irish pub experience’ to the Northern Quarter.
If you were to ask what the hottest trend in hospitality is right now the answer would, apparently, be Guinness. We’re drowning in the stuff.
This latest opening is more about Murphy’s, another Irish stout, than Guinness (they actually won’t serve Guinness at all) but the craic will be much the same.
Nancy Spains is actually set to open almost directly opposite the aforementioned Salmon of Knowledge, taking over the former Corner Boy unit on Stevenson Square in the heart of Manchester.
To celebrate its opening, the pub will be serving its first 5000 pints of Murphy’s for just £2.50, so that it can show off the atmosphere that’s established it as ‘one of London’s favourite pubs’.
They’re promising an array of Irish whiskeys behind the bar, live music performances, and a lively late-night setting.
Nancy Spains was set up by three brothers who travelled all over their home county of rural Kerry researching Irish pubs, before launching two venues down in London.
They want it to balance a traditional pub with the vibrancy of the city.
Peter O’Halloran, co-founder of Nancy Spains commented, “We’re so excited to be launching in Manchester, bringing Nancy Spains to the heart of the Northern Quarter.
“After the success of our two venues in London, it was only right to bring Nancy Spains’ infectious spirit and Irish pride to Manchester. Slainte!”
Nancy Spains will open its first Manchester pub on Saturday 15 March at 21 Hilton Street.
Lucky Mama’s – The Italian restaurant serving pasta in a dough bowl and ‘pregnant’ pizzas
Daisy Jackson
Lucky Mama’s is a local sensation, thanks to its slightly whacky but delicious Italian creations like pasta served in a bowl made of pizza dough and its latest offering, a ‘pregnant’ pizza.
What on Earth is a pregnant pizza, you ask? Firstly we should stress this is a nickname we’ve bestowed upon the dish, rather than Lucky Mama’s chosen branding.
But essentially it’s a helping of fresh pasta that’s folded into the bubble crust of the pizza, like a half-calzone.
Lucky Mama’s started life when founders Mamadou Dhiam and Gaby Santos set up a trailer in their backyard in Eccles in the depths of lockdown.
But thanks to a formidably loyal following that’s spread the word of Lucky Mama’s far and wide, it now has two pretty pink restaurants in Greater Manchester.
Back in 2022, they threw open the doors to their Chorlton restaurant, before returning back to home turf for spot number two in Monton in 2024.
The recipes are fresh and pretty authentically Italian up until the last step, when they throw a curveball by loading their pasta into unconventional vessels.
‘Pregnant’ pizzas at Lucky Mama’sTraditional Roman pizzasLucky Mama’s pink restaurant in Chorlton
Their pasta pizza bowls are what they’re best known for and they fly out of the kitchen – this is where pizza dough is placed around a metal bowl before being baked in an oven.
Then it’s piled high with freshly made pasta, with popular flavours like cacio e pepe, mushroom alfredo, and rasta pasta.
Pasta is available in a regular ceramic bowl too.
You’ll find Lucky Mama’s at 565 Barlow Moor Road in Chorlton; and 217 Monton Road in Eccles.
Danny Jones -
7th December 2023 
