We all love a good roast, and if you’re anything like us you’re perpetually on the hunt for ‘the best’ out there (your mum’s aside, of course).
Well, one restaurant and bar in Manchester has just been crowned the UK’s best to get a Sunday roast – and if you haven’t been, we strongly recommend putting it on your list.
Ducie Street Warehouse in Manchester city centre has just been awarded the gong of the best roast dinner in the country by Rate Good Roasts, an annual list that pits dinners up and down the country against each other in a never-ending search for the best of the best.
The Manchester restaurant, which has its own dedicated cauliflower cheese menu as part of its roast dinner offer, came in joint first place with The Hawthorn at Howarth.
Now in its fifth year, the Rate Good Roasts list also ranked Manchester eateries 10 Tib Lane, The Refuge, Kong’s Kitchen and Ate Days A Week amongst the best roast dinners of 2022.
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Image: Rate Good Roasts
Image: Ducie Street Warehouse
“Every roast is reviewed against ten categories that make up a special Sunday lunch,” the team at Rate Good Roasts explained.
“We score each of these out of ten to work out the score and rankings. The categories are meat, vegetables, sides, venue, drinks, value, potatoes, gravy, service and, of course, Yorkshire puddings.”
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The ‘Sunday with Sides’ roast at Ducie Street Warehouse includes options like dry-aged local shorthorn beef sirloin, rosemary roasted leg of lamb and roast turkey breast with stuffing and a pig-in-blanket, as well as a regularly changing vegan roast served with all the trimmings and a vegan Yorkshire pudding.
All plated roasts are served with ‘proper’ roast potatoes, a giant Yorkshire pudding, seasonal vegetables and gravy, with more sides available to order from £1.50.
Additional sides include extra Yorkshires and gravy, Tuscan pork stuffing, maple roasted parsnips, Honey roasted rainbow heirloom carrots, lemon and garlic tenderstem broccoli gratin, and macaroni cheese.
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As for cauliflower cheese sides, there are a total of seven different options available topped with everything from frazzles to truffle.
Scott Monroe of Ducie Street Warehouse told theManchester Evening News: “It was a bit of a surprise to get ranked first but, in the same breath, we’re not surprised because the quality of our roasts are just so good.”
“I’ve been here since the inception of the Sunday roast menu and I’ve been able to watch it grow from a concept into this absolute machine. We’re very happy to get this kind of recognition.”
Feature image – DSW
Eats
Irish Festival Village returns to Manchester with live music, fry-up pizzas and loads of Guinness
Daisy Jackson
A huge Irish Festival Village has returned to Manchester city centre today to kick off the St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Over the coming 10 days, there’ll be live Irish music, street food, retail stalls and – of course – plenty of Guinness flowing.
The main event is now open at St Ann’s Square, where a gigantic marquee festooned in green, white and orange has been installed.
Inside here, the bar is being run by the O’Shea’s team, and the stage will host loads of live music and great craic.
Outside you’ll find Birchwood Pizza, who have got a menu of pizzas inspired by the Emerald Isle.
Pizzas include the What’s the Craic (a fry-up pizza with white pudding and Dubliner sausage) to The Black Stuff (black pudding, rosemary potato and streaky pudding).
The Irish Festival Village has opened as part of the wider Manchester Irish Festival celebrations across Greater Manchester.
The Irish Festival Village is back in ManchesterIrish pizzas at the Festival Village on St Ann’s SquareYou can shop Irish treats outside
There’ll also be a Saint Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday 16 March, which will weave its way from the Irish World Heritage Centre all the way onto Deansgate.
The parade will showcase and champion local groups and organisations such as GAA clubs, Irish dance classes, marching bands, and pipe bands, along with a strong representation of the 32 counties in Ireland.
And it handily winds up around King Street, just beside the Irish Festival Village.
The gathering spot will be open from Friday 7 March all the way through to St Patrick’s Day itself – find out more HERE.
There’s a bakery in Manchester where you can decorate your own adorable tiny bento cake
Daisy Jackson
We’ve found a wholesome activity that’ll suit even the most cack-handed of bakers – a workshop where you can decorate your own miniature bento cake.
This Manchester activity has shot to the top of our list of our favourite things to do locally, perfect for a hen do, a birthday, a mate date or a date date.
Bento cakes, or lunchbox cakes, have all the elaborate decorations of a full celebration cake but made miniature, for a treat that doesn’t have to be shared out to dozens of people.
From swirls of buttercream frosting to pretty piped love hearts to cursive writing atop your cake, there are loads of decorations you can add to your own creation.
At Vanilla Ice Cakes in Chorlton, you’ll sit under the expert eye of owner Fiza, a master baker who’s been in the game for more than a decade.
She’ll guide you (and sometimes step in to help you) as you fumble your way through decorating your own cake.
As you arrive for your workshop you’re presented with two adorable vanilla sponge cakes, a classic base for a proper Victoria sponge or a more elaborate celebration cake.
Other cakes at Vanilla Ice CakesYou can mix up your own buttercream icingMaster baker Fiza at work at the bento cake workshopThe bento cake workshop space in ManchesterOne of our creations at the bento cake workshop in Chorlton, Manchester
Each class includes hot drinks, plus a plate full of Vanilla Ice Cakes’ delicious brownie bites.
From here, you’re taught the basics of piping, building a buttercream ‘dam’ before spooning in a filling of choice – jam, Nutella or Lotus Biscoff.
After applying a crumb coat (Great British Bake Off fans will already be on the right page here), the real fun begins.
Fiza will help you to whip up a smooth buttercream in whichever colour you wish, before letting you run riot with a piping bag.
You’ll practice swirls, rosettes, hearts, and even writing in icing ahead of decorating your actual cake.
You can see how we got on below, then book your own spot HERE.
Georgina Pellant -
2nd January 2023 
