A new bar, called The Trading Route, is set to open next month, from the minds behind three of Greater Manchester’s best-loved and most established food and drink names.
The Northern Quarter’s long-standing bar and brunch spot Trof, plus local brewery Manchester Union, and Monton’s village wine shop Wandering Palate, are all collaborating on this very exciting new venture.
Inside The Trading Route, there’ll be cold beer and hot rotisserie chicken, plus a luxury larder of expertly-sourced goods.
Set to open in November at Goods Yard Street, just a few doors down from Caravan, it’ll be a 150-capacity space that’s open from dawn until dusk.
The Trading Route will act as a lagerhouse for Manchester Union, taking inspiration from the great beer halls of central Europe but serving local brews from their Ardwick-based brewery.
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Pints will be poured with a full and frothy head, and served in custom-made Tübinger glasses. They want this to be known as The Home of The Foam.
There’ll also be a purpose-built rotisserie serving crisp whole- and half-chicken, as well as porchetta, carved fresh from the oven to order and served with pickles and dips.
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The menu has been crafted by the Trof team – a Manchester institution – and will also showcase freshly-baked focaccia as well as small plates like slow-roasted potatoes served with chicken fat mayo, salsa verde, and pecorino), salads, and house-made sweets.
The Trading Route comes from Manchester Union, Trof, and Wandering Palate. Credit: SuppliedThe Trading Route is heading to Goods Yard Street. Credit; Supplied
Then heading across from Monton, Wandering Palate will look after the pantry portion of The Trading Route – expect some of the most sought-after cheeses and sundries you can pick up on the way home.
Jamie Scahill from Manchester Union said: “The Trading Route is an unofficial tap room for us, and it feels like this has been a long time coming.
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“Working with our friends at Trof and Wandering Palate has been great, with our offerings and expertise perfectly complementing one another. We can’t wait for people to come down to experience our very own lagerhouse over a few pints this November.”
Matt Nellany from Trof added: “We’ve focused on bringing everything that people love about Trof to an exciting space in a new neighbourhood.
The Trading Route comes from Manchester Union, Trof, and Wandering Palate. Credit: Supplied
“The kitchen team have been perfecting a menu ideally suited to our purpose-made rotisserie ovens – think crispy chicken, slow-cooked porchetta, and some killer vegan options too, all designed to be shared.
“It’s going to be that perfect spot whether you’re grabbing breakfast, stopping in for lunch, or settling in for a proper evening session.”
And Will Evans from Wandering Palate said: “It’s brilliant to be bringing our wines, cheeses, and deli favourites to a new audience in the city centre. We’ve curated a selection of goods that we’re really proud of, and, of course, we’ll be there to help people discover something special to take home. It’s an exciting space, and we can’t wait for everyone to experience it.”
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To celebrate its launch, The Trading Route will throw a day-long complimentary party, with free lager and chicken to the first mailing list subscribers who sign up HERE.
Forget pub crawls – you can now go on a guided cheese crawl around Manchester
Thomas Melia
Manchester is a foodie’s paradise and with so many options at hand why not break it down into individual food groups – starting with the dairy crowd pleaser, cheese.
Long gone are the draining pub crawls of the past, it’s time to make way for the new pioneer in the world of adventurous crawling, ‘The Manchester Cheese Crawl’.
There’s always lots of food and drink options flowing throughout our bubbly city spanning all cuisines and cultures so it comes as no surprise that the latest way to experience Manchester is via cheese, a staple of many citizens’ diets.
On the tour, there will be insider knowledge on-hand as you wander the streets and sample the creamy delights, assisting you with any dying queso queries and pecorino ponders that you need to get off your chest.
There’ll be plenty of familiar independents on the Manchester Cheese Crawl, including Northern Soul’s impressive grilled cheese sandwiches as well as more traditional cheese samples.
How could this experience get any better I hear you ask, how about a free glass of fizz to accompany those already impressive cheese selections? Yes please!
Guests can expect to sample some of Manchester’s dairy delights while being directed by some of Manchester’s top cheese connoisseurs that are the real big cheese.
Groups who take the tour aren’t just treated to food and drink, they also receive free entertainment from their food guides who are prepared to make you chuckle with their incredible humour.
The Manchester Cheese Crawl will feature plenty of bites for curd nerdsA selection of dairy heaven displayed on a wonderful variety cheese board.Credit: Unsplash
Previous visitors have commented on their experience while taking the tour sharing the names their groups received with highlights such as ‘Shaken not curd’ and ‘Three blind mice’.
They really are serious about their cheeses, another previous visitor who went on the tour revealed their guide even had a name that perfectly fit the occasion, ‘Mel the babybel’.
It’s sure to be a fantastic day with games and activities planned for all as you walk between the shops landmarked on the cheese-filled route.
Everyone on the tour also gets a small taste of the high life as they are treated to a Lancashire cheese handmade by a local star and celebrity.
Starting at the Richard Cobden Statue and finishing on the always vibrant Tib Street, a quick google search reveals this walk isn’t too strenuous taking only 12 minutes but with many cheeses to get your whiskers on it will probably take around an estimated two hours to tackle.
Running this Saturday 16 November and planned to continue until November 2025 and beyond, you’d be emmental to miss out on this cheesy adventure.
If all this cheese talk has left you dreaming about your next foodie fix, tickets for ‘The Manchester Cheese Crawl’ are on sale and available here.
Featured Image: Unsplash
Eats
Ornella’s – The tiny Denton restaurant vying to be named one of the best in Greater Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Ornella’s is one of those brilliant Greater Manchester restaurants that’s doing a totally roaring trade without rabbiting on about it too much.
From its tiny spot in the middle of Denton, this cosy Italian has got its head down and focused on cooking, and cooking really, really well.
The results speak for themselves. You will quite literally wait months to get a table here.
In fact if you’re thinking of making a reservation, you pretty much have two options – wait until next June, or eat lunch (as we did) at 11.30am on a Wednesday. Did the early hour stop me drinking a large Aperol Spritz though? Of course not.
Ornella’s will always be worth the patience it takes to get your bum on a seat.
It all started as a lockdown project for Ornella Cancila, where customers would come and collect carefully-made Sicilian dishes from a bench outside her home.
And now it’s grown to be one of those local spots that Tameside residents are proud of, and everyone else in Greater Manchester is jealous of.
Inside Ornella’s Italian restaurant in Denton. Credit: The Manc GroupInside Ornella’s Italian restaurant in Denton. Credit: The Manc Group
I’ve encountered a lot of people who have been to Ornella’s, and haven’t yet heard a single bad word said about it.
Inside, there are just a couple of rows of tables in front of a deli counter displaying top-quality meats and other deli items.
Let’s get stuck into that main restaurant menu though, which is way more comprehensive than you’d expect for such a small space.
An arancini that looks exactly like Donald Trump. Credit: The Manc GroupInside another Ornella’s arancini. Credit: The Manc Group
There are a couple of different arancini on the menu, one of which looks exactly like Donald Trump – a rotund orange fried ball topped with a bright white wig of parmesan.
That one is stuffed with caramelised onion and saffron (unlike the real deal), while another comes with nduja and mozzarella with a hot honey drizzle.
A clear menu highlight is the pistachio carbonara with crispy guanciale pieces that burst in little salty mouthfuls against the rich and creamy pasta sauce.
There’s also a beef short rib that releases its grip on the bone with a gentle prod from a fork, falling into a pool of creamy parmesan gnocchi. It tastes exactly like how it feels to step into a warm house after being pelted by rain all day, or pulling on a pair of socks that have been warmed on a radiator. Pure comfort.
The pistachio carbonara from Ornella’s Kitchen. Credit: The Manc GroupPistachio gelato in a Sicilian brioche bun. Credit: The Manc Group
Truffle fans can’t go wrong with Ornella’s creamy truffle mafalde, covered in generous shavings of truffle and pecorino.
Ornella is generous with all of her cheese portions, actually – the sourdough garlic bread also arrives blanketed in the stuff.
I kick my feet under the table and actually giggle after taking a bite of the oven-baked conchiglioni shells, which are filled with pumpkin cream, sharp cheddar, pork sausage and a sourdough crumb. It flits from sweet to salt with every chew.
And then for desserts, you’ll find proper Italian pistachio gelato, served in a soft Sicilian brioche bun, and a Biscoff and white chocolate cheesecake that had me and my mate jousting with our forks for the last bite like really sh*t knights.
Ornella’s might not be a big space, but it’s destined for big things. Just good luck getting that reservation…
Daisy Jackson -
16th October 2024 
