Eats

New ‘Trapbox’ restaurant in Manchester will serve waffles, chicken and seafood

202 Kitchen launched in the Midlands earlier this year and is set to cut the ribbon for its second branch on Bridge Street, Manchester on Friday 21 August.

The Manc The Manc - 7th August 2020

A brand new ‘trapbox’ bar and restaurant concept, 202 Kitchen, has announced it will open in Manchester later this month.

202 Kitchen launched in the Midlands earlier this year and is set to cut the ribbon for its second branch on Bridge Street on Friday 21 August.

Sporting a bright pink backdrop, the venue will focus on serving ‘trapbox’-style cuisine – including mac’n’cheese, waffles, fried chicken, burgers, and grilled seafood dishes all tucked inside a box.

Trapbox has become an increasingly popular cooking trend in 2020, having bubbled up through social media and gaining national attention on the BBC’s Million Pound Menu show.

Alongside their trapbox grub, 202 Kitchen is also promising an extensive cocktail and drinks menu featuring a long list of wines, beers and spirits. 

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All food and drink will be served in an enclosed space under cover whilst adhering to COVID-secure guidelines, creating a ‘comfortable and safe environment for guests to socialise responsibly.’

202 Kitchen will officially open on Bridge Street, Manchester, on Friday 21 August. 

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For more information you can visit their official website here.

The restaurant is currently taking bookings ahead of their official launch later in the month.

Follow 202 Kitchen on Instagram.

Check out The Manc Eats for all the latest updates on great grub around the city.

Eats

‘Craic Den?’ – New Irish bar to open on Albert Square this week

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson 'Craic Den?' - New Irish bar to open on Albert Square this week

A new Irish bar is set to open in Manchester this week (yessir, another one), and its owners have been on the hunt for its new name.

Tokyo Industries has announced plans to reopen the Red’s True BBQ site, right off Albert Square, as a new Irish bar.

They’re promising it will have an ‘Irish American feel’ and will be serving food like all-day Ulster breakfasts as well as roast dinners with Guinness gravy.

Aaron Mellor, CEO of Tokyo Industries, has shared a call-out for name suggestions for the new bar, with the shortlist so far including names like ‘The Craic Den’ and ‘House of Guinness’.

Red’s True BBQ was famed for its slow-cooked meat, and outrageous specials like its doughnut burger, but shut down in Manchester in 2023.

It had previously been rescued by Tokyo Industries, which also operates other venues in town like Gorilla and Deaf Institute, Impossible, and Factory 251.

The site itself is in a magnificent Grade II-listed building on the corner of Albert Square, facing out onto the Town Hall (and soon, the Manchester Christmas Markets).

A new Instagram account shows the space slowly being transformed into an Irish bar, with green leather and Guinness logos slowly taking over the space.

It also suggests that, sadly, The Craic Den hasn’t made the cut as the new name – instead it’s set to open as Dirty O’Sullivan MCR.

Aaron Mellor shared last week: “Deciding on names for venues is always so hard – we’ve come up with about 300 names & suffering choice fatigue…

“It’s a new Irish bar with an Irish American feel set in the Reds True Barbecue site on Albert Square, Manchester.

“Amazing food – Great live entertainment – The finest Guinness – The coolest cocktails – All day Ulster Breakfasts – Guinness Gravey Sunday Roasts Mmm.

“Favorites So: Dirty O’Sullivans, Reds True Irish, Luck of the Irish, The Dublin Docker, The Hare & Harp, The Craic Den, The Perfect Pint, The StoreHouse, House Of Guinness, Murphy’s Law, Oscar Wildes.”

Dirty O’Sullivan is set to open on Lloyd Street at Albert Square this week.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Mulligans are making butties with the team behind some of the best sandwiches in Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones Bada Bing Mulligans special Guinness crossover collab sandwich

We feel like we say this almost every time they set up one of these crossovers, but Bada Bing might have just hit it out of the park with their latest collaboration, as they’re teaming up with beloved Irish bar Mulligans to create what could be the sandwich of the century.

In case you’re wondering where we’ll be when this butty becomes available, we’ll be in the legendary Manchester pub, clutching at least three of these while asking the live band to play The Sopranos theme tune in full Celtic reel fashion.

Yes, two of our very favourite places in the city centre are teaming up not just for a one-off special, the Deansgate boozer – widely considered one of the best Irish bars (if not THE best) in Manchester – is actually going to be supplying the crucial ingredient in their limited-time menu item.

Teasing the collab earlier this week, the Bada Bing boys roped in Mulligans owner, Pádraig Brady, to play his role in the announcement that quickly went viral.

@badabingsandwichdeli What is going on here then? 👀 #badabing #sopranos #sandwich #food #manchester ♬ original sound – Bada Bing

Our interest was piqued immediately.

Now, in case you weren’t already salivating at the mere thought of it, wait until you hear what concoction they have come up with.

Simply titled ‘Split the B’ (nice), the Bada Bing x Mulligans special edition sandwich features Mulligans’ Guinness-braised short rib, crispy spuds, greens, pickled cabbage and crispy onions. Oh. My. Word…

With punters’ favourite ‘Mullies’ pouring in more than 13,000 pints of the black stuff every single week, it won’t surprise you to learn that those lines have to be cleaned and maintained almost constantly.

It also goes without saying that wasting even a single drop of that liquid gold is a tragedy, so they had the ingenious of using that surplus stout to create a limited supply of slow-roasted, Guinness-flavoured beef fit to grace any authentic Irish stew.

Slap that meat between bread, and what do you get? Perhaps one of the greatest culinary creations we Manchester foodies have ever seen.

Speaking on the collab, Pádraig said: “At Mulligans, we take pride in every pint of Guinness we pour, so when the chance came up to team up with Bada Bing and create something special for Mancs to enjoy beyond the pub, it just made sense. Quality recognises quality.”

“We’ve always admired Mulligans for how they do things – with no shortcuts”, says Sam Gormally, co-founder of Bada Bing.”

He went on to add: “This collab celebrates everything we both love about Manchester hospitality – craft, quality and a bit of heart. It’s a proper Manc sandwich, made with a proper pint.”

In case it wasn’t already blatantly obvious, we cannot wait to try this thing, and since it’s only being served for a few days, we intend to eat as many as possible.

The ‘Split the B’ Mulligans x Bada Bing Guinness Sandwich will be available exclusively at Bada Bing, 125 Oldham St in the Northern Quarter from Thursday, 6 November – and once they’re gone, they’re GONE.

bada bing mulligans butty
bada bing guinness special
mulligans bada bing crossover
does mulligans do food?
One of the best sandwich shops in Manchester just drummed up their best collab yet (Credit: Mulligans/Bada Bing)

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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