There’s a van on Oxford Road serving up coffee INSIDE donuts, and we’re officially obsessed with the whole idea.
Called Vanoffee, it’s been a fixture up in Altrincham for a while already but has just landed here in Manchester city centre – parking up near the Manchester Metropolitan University campus for the first time last week.
Stationed outside All Saints Park, whilst you’ll find a host of hot drinks and other sweet treats on offer here the main draw is the team’s signature coffee in a donut, also known as a doughnoffee.
Giving serious affogato vibes, we’re talking plump, sugar-covered donuts that are hollowed out and covered in your choice of iscoff or Nutella, then filled with freshly-brewed espresso and hot, steamed milk.
Finally, the doughnoffee is topped off with a generous squirt of whipped cream, some chocolate sprinkles and a straw (yes, a straw) to slurp up all that sweet, creamy Biscoff-flavoured coffee goodness.
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Image: The Manc Ea
Image: The Manc Eats
Elsewhere on the menu, you’ll find three different luxury hot chocolates in white, milk and dark, classic coffees like espresso and americano, alongside the likes of matcha lattes with vanilla, turmeric lattes with black pepper and cinnamon-style chai lattes.
Add to that cold drinks like iced coffee, peach, passionfruit and green iced teas, and cakes ranging from cookies and brownies to packets of crisps, and it’s a perfect little lunchtime stop off for an afternoon pick me up.
Founded by April-Rose Kennedy, the business has now come full circle – returning to the place where it all began with its first city centre site outside Manchester Metropolitan University.
Commenting on the new opening, Kennedy said: “At the beginning of the year, I set a goal to get my van into Manchester city centre. Anyone who knows me, knows how hard this was to keep a secret.
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“After a lengthy application process and council hearing, I am excited to announce I have secured a street trading spot on Oxford rd outside All Saints Park next to Man Met Uni.
“I can’t believe I have come full circle to where my brand was founded on Oxford road.”
Featured image – The Manc Eats
Eats
Family behind Salvi’s launch new concept, weeks after iconic restaurant closure
Daisy Jackson
Just weeks after the closure of its iconic, 16-year-old Italian restaurant in the Corn Exchange, the family behind Salvi’s have revealed a brand-new concept.
And this time, the reins are being handed over to the next generation.
Salvi’s founder Maurizio Cecco has helped to shape Amò, but it’s all the brainchild of his daughter, Sienna.
Sienna will run the business out of a unit up on Deansgate Mews, serving fresh pasta dishes, pizza sandwiches, tubs of tiramisu, and two-for-£10 spritzes.
The deli aspect of the original Salvi’s has been carried over to Amò too – you’ll find shelves almost to the ceiling filled with Italian pasta, wine, olive oils, pistachio spreads, and more.
Sienna has grown up in restaurants, with her parents launching Salvi’s when she was just two years old.
She said she wants the space to be a livelier, fresher version of the Italian restaurant that has been so loved by Mancs for so many years.
Sienna outside AmòFresh pasta dishesInside Amò by Salvi’sTheir viral frozen crema di caffeLemon granitaInside Amò by Salvi’sTiramisu pots
Amò, which is Neapolitan slang for ‘my love’, will have loads of fresh Italian dishes, including arancini, gnocchi, and hearty pasta plates.
At lunchtimes, guests can order from a £10 lunch menu, with dishes changing daily depending on the best produce the kitchen can get – it could be a pizza sandwich with proscuitto and tomato, a spicy pasta, or a gnocchi bake, always served with your choice of soft drink.
With its position on Deansgate Mews, Amò basks in the sunshine at lunchtimes.
And while it’s definitely a different concept to the original Salvi’s, Amò looks set to carry the family’s Italian food legacy into its next generation.
Award-winning Didsbury bakery La Chouquette reveals incredible new site
Daisy Jackson
La Chouquette is one of Greater Manchester’s top bakeries – an award-winner, with queues down the street every weekend for its authentic French pastries and loaves.
And now they’re ready for a new chapter, revealing a major expansion today.
Owners Catrina and Flo have painstakingly expanded the bakery into the unit next door, creating what feels like a true French bakery.
And in the midst of this huge renovation project, they’ve welcomed a tiny new baby boy – quite the summer for the couple.
Catrina and Flo launched La Chouquette in lockdown, and in a time where people could only get their hospitality fix from takeaways, immediately became one of the most popular spots in the region.
Their success has been so great, you’ll still consistently find queues down the street every weekend, for their top sellers like their authentic almond croissants.
Then in October 2024, they grew the business and launched Piqniq, a new deli in Didsbury village, serving freshly-baked baguette sandwiches, breakfast butties, toasties, tiramisu pots and their legendary pastries.
The new-look La Chouquette features beautiful details like mosaic floors, rich blue walls, wooden shelves, and brass light fixtures.
La Chouquette’s best-selling almond croissantsInside the stunning new La Chouquette in DidbsuryNew savoury bakesThe chausson aux pommesThe counter stuffed with artisan French bakesChocolate chip cookies and cinnamon buns
The huge new counter displays more pastries and breads than ever before, like a hearty chausson aux pommes filled with apples that will be perfect for autumn, plus seasonal treats like a rhubarb creme brulee pastry, and homemade quiche.
Speaking at the grand relaunch today, Catrina said: “The layout has changed, it looks so much more chic, it looks like a traditional French bakery. We’re really excited about it.”
As for what’s on the counter, Flo reassured fans that their beloved almond and pistachio croissants remain, but with some new savoury editions, like a truffle croque monsieur made with croissant dough.
La Choquette has reopened today, and will be open seven days a week from 7am until 5pm.
Georgina Pellant -
28th April 2023 
