As transformation works continue at the future £3.5m Central Bay site, the new food and drink neighbourhood has revealed a major update to its ever-growing offering – a new waterfront bar and microbrewery to be launched by Salford brewing legends SEVEN BRO7HERS BREWING CO.
Named 11 Central after the family’s seven brothers and four sisters, the bar will offer visitors a mix of drink, food, live music, bar games and waterside views from the striking 2,000 square foot terrace, as well as gin making classes available to book this summer.
Staying true to the siblings’ ethos and inspired by their father’s home brewing, 11 Central by SEVEN BRO7HERS will serve authentic artisan beer, expertly brewed just a few miles away in Salford where they grew up and where some of the family still lives.
With a state-of-the-art microbrewery on site, customers are also set to enjoy limited edition beers made just metres away from the bar – available exclusively at Central Bay.
The huge new bar will face the waterfront. / Image: Kargo Mkt
Image: Seven Brothers Beer
Extending the menu to gin lovers, the SISTERS DISTILLERY will have a key role behind the bar with its full range of award-winning flavoured gins available plus an assortment of artisan tonics to pair with.
The SISTERS DISTILLERY will also host distilling sessions at 11 Central for gin enthusiasts who want to learn the craft of making unique gins from the experts themselves. Ideal for those looking for an exciting date night or groups of friends looking for a fun activity, the classes will be available to book via the SIS4ERS website in the coming months.
11 Central will run events in partnership with Central Bay, including family-friendly day time activities during the school holidays, live music nights, and it will also offer food within the bar area.
Building upon the hugely popular SEVEN BRO7HERS bar offering which has become a well-known and loved part of the Salford and Manchester social scene, the new site will also boast games like pool and shuffle tables as well as a wider beer offering to cater to all tastes.
Earmarked for a summer 2023 launch and with 25,000 square feet of exciting culinary experiences, Central Bay will be one of the biggest independent food and drink operations in the North and a first for Salford.
It will house four new independent restaurants, 20 kitchens, pop-up events, indie markets, live music performances, and recreation space for children, with more announcements set to be made in the coming months.
Palestinian favourite Baity will be arriving at Kargo Mkt this summer, after closing its Didsbury site. / Image: Kargo Mkt
Ad Maiora will also be moving into Kargo in August. / Image: Kargo Mkt
Blend Family, the operator behind the British Street Food Awards 2022 – ‘Food Hall of the Year, Cutlery Works’, in Sheffield and The GPO in Liverpool, has been brought on board to run and develop the food hall, which will be known as Kargo.
They will also oversee the street vendor elements of Central Bay, branded Kargo Mkt – aligning with the area’s rich history, with Central Bay named after the original stretch of dock which was once a thriving loading bay during the industrial revolution.
Food traders confirmed to arrive at Kargo Mkt so far include sandwich dealers Ad Maiora, Korean bimbimbap trader Bab K, Tang’s Hot Pot, Palestinian favourite Baity, Manchester burger lads What’s Your Beef, Monton pizzeria Leopard Pie and many more.
Keith McAvoy, CEO of SEVEN BRO7HERS BREWING CO, said: “It’s an exciting time for us as we take our bar offering to a new level and create a diverse, theatre-led experience. To date we have had great success in the beerhouse space, 11 Central gives us the opportunity to build an entertainment hub for the quays – the chance to work on a brand-new concept.
“This project is close to our hearts, as it’s our third site in Salford down the road from where all the family grew up. There is the added satisfaction knowing that our grandfathers were part of the Salford Docks community, being dock workers and our parents were born and raised a stone’s throw away from where the bar is situated. It just feels right to be working here bringing something new and exciting to the area. To be able to play a major role in what will be an incredible destination in Salford.”
Stephen Wild, Managing Director for MediaCity, added: “Central Bay is a major project for us, and we are putting everything we can into it, to give the local and wider Greater Manchester community a leading food and drink destination just a walk or short tram ride away.
“Having the 11 Central team on board is an absolute pleasure; we’ve watched them grow exponentially since setting up their first brewery down the road, to now having two different bars on MediaCity grounds. 11 Central at Central Bay will make a huge positive impact on MediaCity and our current and future residents – making it the place to work, live and visit.”
The ‘ultimate’ free-to-attend sandwich festival is coming to Manchester city centre
Danny Jones
An event dubbed ‘the world’s greatest sandwich festival’ is coming to central Manchester, and if there’s one thing you need to know about us, it’s that we love things between bread.
Consider us already there.
Following a hugely successful showcase at Camden Town Brewery down in the capital, the butty bonanza known as ‘Sarnie Party’ is making its way from down in London all the way up to Manchester for the very first time.
Better still, it’s coming to the beloved city centre neighbourhood and ever-growing hospitality district that is Kampus next month, and it’s completely FREE entry.
Sarnie Party is the lovechild of seasoned festival curator Molly Hutchinson and Allie Behr of Hot Sauce Society, who have decided to bring together their passions and expertise once again in another ode to the most versatile and almost universally eaten foodstuff: sandwiches.
Promising “big energy, good vibes and full bellies”, it’s already supported by some of the most recognisable brands you’ll find in Britain, including Heinz, Deliveroo, Kraken rum and more.
All of the above will be featuring at the inaugural Manc sandwich festival in some fashion, but most excitingly, some of Greater Manchester’s best and most beloved sarnie artisans will be taking part.
In addition to the usual suspects like Bada Bing and Rack, Pollen, Madre, and OSMA will also be serving up sandwich specials, as well as Liverpool favourite Derek’s, and The Big Deal’s ‘Bodega’ from Norwich.
Each vendor will be building a unique, never-before-seen (or eaten) sandwich for the 2025 festival, looking to best impress the locals.
And you best believe we know a good butty around here…
Guests can also expect more food and drink specials from existing on-site Kampus businesses, plus an outdoor bar with cocktails from Kraken and Tito’s Vodka, as well as a selection of ice-cold beers.
While admission to Kampus costs nothing, these indie traders are, of course, hoping to cover their costs, so sandwiches will be able to be purchased via tokens.
A single token will cost you £8, or you can buy a three-token Sarnie Party bundle for just £22; let’s be honest, you’re not going to stop at just one, are you?
More importantly, it’s worth reminding you that the stocks won’t last forever, and once these creations are gone, they’re gone, so you’d better make quick work of this scran-fest.
Local radio station, Reform, will also be serving as the resident DJs and entertainers for the day, meaning you’ll have plenty of time and reason to try and burn off all those carby calories – before inevitably consuming more, of course.
Credit: Supplied
Speaking ahead of the festival, Kampus’ general manager, Harriet Downey, said: “We’re looking forward to bringing Sarnie Party to Manchester and hosting so many sandwich lovers in our garden neighbourhood.
“We’re lucky to have some of the best independent food and drink brands in the city here at Kampus, and it’s exciting to have them joined by so many other great operators to celebrate all things sandwich!”
As for the organisers themselves, they have a simple mantra for you to follow: “Come hungry. Leave happy.” Love that.
Spread across a full weekend, Sarnie Party MCR takes place on 12-13 September, with day one getting underway from 4-10pm, and Sunday running from 11am-9pm. We’ll see you there.
And if this doesn’t quite satisfy your food and drink festival cravings, then you’ll be glad to hear that there’s another event dedicated entirely to pina coladas happening here in town, also.
Magnificent new food hall House of Social opens in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
A whopping great new food hall is opening its doors in Manchester this month – House of Social is officially ready to launch.
This much-anticipated new opening will be a hub for some of the UK’s top food and drink traders, including homegrown talent and lust-after operators from other cities.
With five traders inside, House of Social has taken over a huge space on the ground floor of a new Vita Group student accommodation building.
The venue itself is a modern giant, wrapped around a central bar and huge colour-changing light fixtures.
Spread across two floors, plus an outdoor terrace area, there’s space for hundreds of diners at once across cosy booths, large group tables, and window seats overlooking the First Street neighbourhood.
There are five fantastic traders operating inside House of Social – check them out below.
Mughli
Mughli has moved into House of Social Mughli’s lamb sausage roll with bone marrow gravy
This Curry Mile icon is finally heading to the city centre for the first time in its three-decades-long reign, serving up its popular Punjabi curries as well as contemporary small plates.
Menu highlights include an Indian sausage roll, where the meat is a lamb seekh kebab, and the pot alongside is filled with a bone marrow gravy – think birria taco, but a curry house pastry.
There’s also a giant helping of butter chicken, gently smoked and spiced and made with tandoor chicken; and street snacks like a plate of stracciatella dotted with beetroot, chutneys, and crispy scraps.
Dough Religion
Subs and slices from Dough ReligionA trio of sides at House of Social
These slow-fermented, in-house, New York-style pizza slices are going to be a popular choice at House of Social – but that’s not all that’s on the menu.
Dough Religion is also making gigantic subs, packed with fillings like a fried chicken Caesar, or house beef and pork meatballs.
And there are puddings too, like fat swirls of cinnamon roll thick with frosting, and the ‘Burnt Yorker’, a cheesecake hybrid from somewhere between the Basque region and New York City.
OK Taqueria
OK Taqueria’s tacosThe birria taco from OK Taqueria
Taco paradise has touched down at House of Social with this brand-new California-inspired Mexican food concept.
There’s a rotating menu of tacos, including crispy pork belly al pastor, Tinga chicken thigh, a Baja fish taco.
But for god sake, don’t skip the beef shin birria, served with a pot of consomme gravy for dipping. It’s a stunner.
Burger & Beyond
Burger & Beyond in House of SocialHouse of Social
This is the first time London favourite Burger & Beyond has left the capital, and of course, it’s Manchester who gets it first.
These guys serve up exceptional buns, like a fried chicken hot honey burger, classic cheeseburgers, and a signature dish of the bacon butter burger, topped with crispy pancetta, burnt butter mayo and onion.
There’s also signature tots drizzled in ranch sauce, hot sauce and bacon bits.
Choi Wan
Prawn toast crumpets from Choi WanA full House of Social spread
Prawn toast crumpets! PRAWN TOAST CRUMPETS!! That, and more, are on the menu at Choi Wan, a Chinese street food spot in House of Social.
Charlie Yu has brought his famous satay here, all served with half rice and half chips (an old faithful), then there’s also a half chicken rotisserie served with salt and pepper chips, and kimchi slaw.
And for dessert, it’s Mr Whippy, in various formats.
House of Social will open on Coleman Street on 19 August.
Georgina Pellant -
27th July 2023 
