It’s no secret that we haven’t been travelling abroad much this year – and it’s no secret as to why that is, either.
The good old summer holiday has taken a bit of a beating, but we are still just as ready for a break and a change of scenery as ever, if not more so (OK, definitely more so) this year.
But there are thankfully a few options available for us to leave the worries behind for a bit.
1) Buy a tent, and brave the great outdoors, along with weather that’s about as unpredictable as ‘them in charge’.
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2) Book an apartment out of town somewhere, running the risk of rule changes while you’re away – potentially ending up room-bound in an unfamiliar town or city (there are only so many times you can check the mini-fridge after all).
3) Save yourself the travel and find somewhere local – where the destination is so beautiful and comfortable that you won’t have any need to leave until it’s time to make the short journey home.
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We went with option 3, and booked into the Stock Exchange Hotel, which threw its grand doors open to the public last year.
The hotel occupies the former Manchester Stock Exchange on Norfolk Street (between King St and Market St) just a minute’s walk away from the madness of Manchester’s main shopping district.
Stepping into the high-ceiling reception hall feels like walking into another world.
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There are neat references to the building’s history throughout the hotel – which has been lovingly restored to a magnificent standard with original marble, brass and exquisite woodwork. The hotel is part of the Relais & Châteaux portfolio and has 40 rooms, including two signature suites and a stunning 3,500 square foot penthouse.
We were warmly welcomed by the concierge, who had a short checklist to run through during check-in to ensure that we understood the new Covid-secure practices; it was professional, friendly and reassuring.
Once that was done, we were shown up to our room and given a mini history lesson along the way from the very attentive Aiden. He pointed out historic documents and old menus, whilst telling us (among other facts) that the Stock Exchange was built in the early 1900’s in what was then the 9th most populous city in the world.
Our room was grand but super-comfortable. Every inch had been thought through and just screamed luxury. The huge bed dominated the room, and hidden at the foot was a pop-up TV, which also rotated(!) – giving us the choice between lazing in bed, or using the remote to spin it round and sit on the sofa.
By far the highlight though, was the bathroom.
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It was just incredible: white marble throughout, with stylish black and gold fittings. This, coupled with underfloor heating and a bath so big it borders on obscene, really drives home the super-luxe feeling.
Once we had fiddled with all the settings, spun the telly round a few times and warmed our feet on the bathroom floor, we headed down to the Bull and Bear restaurant which boasts having chef Tom Kerridge at the helm.
We headed down slightly earlier than our reservation to grab a drink at the bar and take in the extraordinary voice of Yemi Bolatiwa as part of The Soul Carousel for the recently launched Soul Sundays and it was just perfect, the most gorgeous Sunday afternoon vibe. But the best was yet to come.
We were seated right in front of the open kitchen at one of the huge booth tables – giving us plenty of space, but not feeling like it was forced. The vibe in the dining room was great, and watching a well-tuned kitchen work away is always a pleasure.
I dined at the Bull & Bear when it first opened, and I feel like it has really evolved since then. The big wall-mounted TVs are still on for evening service but display digital works of art (instead of news/sport) to complement the decor – much less intrusive than I remember from my first visit, and a really smart addition.
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The Sunday set menu changes weekly but the staples I imagine stay the same. The offering was varied and interesting but everything you would want from a Sunday roast.
To start, I went for Potted Cornish Crab with Smoked Paprika Butter and Cucumber Chutney, while “he” opted for a Ham & Chicken Terrine, served with a slab of toasted sourdough and “Puckalilli” – a zingy, smooth twist on of the nation’s most underrated condiments. We followed with Rotisserie-cooked Dovecote Top Rump, Roast Potatoes and Horseradish Cream, and Roast Pork Belly with Apple Sauce and Roast Potatoes.
You can tell the quality of the produce with every bite – nothing is compromised here – and while the starters were delicious, it was the roasts that were the real winner.
We decided to order pretty much all the sides too, because y’know – it’s the weekend, and the whole meal was just an utter joy to eat. Shout out to the B&B chips with the Gerkin Ketchup; an absolute revelation and the most perfect accompaniment to the already delectable roast beef and pork belly.
What really made the experience was the service. The staff were all so lovely and seemed to really enjoy what they were doing, often they would pop over to check in and have a little chat, with nothing feeling at all forced.
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Our evening was made all-the-more special by sommelier Raff, who along with being thoroughly knowledgeable and very charming, allowed us to try a 1971 dessert wine served through a Coravin pourer: A real, rare treat. His passion for wine was palpable and clearly showed – we got the feeling he would be equally excitable upon finding any guest with similar interests.
Bull & Bear Restaurant
After our enthusiasm with the sides, you might assume dessert was off the cards – but no. The Beef Suet Sticky Toffee Pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream was heavenly – rich and flavoursome without being cloying, and the Colston Bassett Eccles Cakes with Chutney are an absolute masterpiece. Little bites of shortcrust pastry packed with delicious stewed currants – alongside the perfect amount of creamy blue cheese and chutney.
The roast is priced at 2 Courses £34.50 or 3 Courses £39 and even though it may seem at the steeper end of the pricing scale, it’s well worth it. The whole meal was faultless – and with live music in the background and wonderful service, I can’t think of a better way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon.
Being right in the heart of the city is a real treat – we were close to some of our favourite bars, so felt obliged to nip out and support them by buying some post-dinner drinks. Having to be “home” by 10pm was almost a benefit as well, giving us the perfect reason to retire to our comfortable and cosy room and be up for a breakfast (which was just as impressive as our evening meal).
We went a little lighter this time round – Manchester-smoked salmon and eggs, served atop sourdough from Pollen bakery in Ancoats, and Staffordshire Oat Cakes with rotisserie bacon and cheese. Both were a triumph, and complimented by a couple of beautifully-presented and delicious coffees.
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If you want to really treat yourself like we did, The Stock Exchange have added a Soul Sunday package to their list of “Exclusive Experiences”, which includes a 3 course meal from the set menu as well as overnight accommodation (with a complimentary room upgrade, subject to availability) and a hearty breakfast in The Bull & Bear to get your Monday off to a flying start too.
I urge you to leave your Covid worries behind and support local by staying local, check out all that Stock Exchange and Bull & Bear have to offer here and I can assure you, you will love every second as we did.
Eats
Stockport bar that took a chance on Underbanks announces shock closure
Daisy Jackson
A bar owner who was called ‘mad’ for opening his business at The Underbanks in Stockport has announced he’s closing down for good.
The Cracked Actor was launched by actor Joe Patten back in 2019, long before the Underbanks was considered one of the coolest districts in Greater Manchester.
Joe said he ‘saw the beauty in those bricks’ and took a chance on the unit on Little Underbank, transforming it into a Victorian-inspired blues bar.
And although other operators told him he was ‘mad for opening anything on that street’, Joe proved everyone wrong, and The Cracked Actor became a real Stockport favourite.
Sadly, he has now announced that The Cracked Actor will be closing its doors in just a few weeks’ time.
Joe said that he wants the business to ‘go out at its height’, stressing that ‘it’s not a sad note we are closing The Cracked Actor – it’s more of a thank you for getting me all I had dreamed of’.
He wants to focus his attention on other projects, like The Banshee and Holy Diver.
His full statement reads: “So Stockport, its taken a long old time to make this decision. But some things have to end on a high. And boy its been a whirlwind.
“The Cracked Actor was my first bar in Stockport and has always weathered the storm. Sadly, these days I have a lot going on. And some things take away from the attention I can pay to my little bar. I want to call time on The Cracked Actor and go out at its height. It’s odd as I have always defended this bar against everything it came up against in this climate. I thought I would always pass this bar down to my kids.
“But it feels the right time to call time. This bar got me on the map and its opened the doors to soo much more that came afterwards. We now have The Bansbee and Holy Diver and exciting opportunities are always pulling me away from where I started.
“I want to focus on whats next and make sure what I’m doing has my full attention. So it’s not a sad note we are closing The Cracked Actor, it’s more of a thank you for getting me all I had dreamed of the day it opened.
“When I opened the bar 7 years ago every bar owner called me mad for opening anything on that street. Now its booming with bars that have come after wards. Some times you just gotta see the beauty in those bricks.
“I want to pay a massive thank you to my fiance Amy, whome without this bar would have closed 4 years ago. She took to it and saw how much it meant to me. And her Aiden and Oliver bought it back from a slump. Shes bought it back to all its glory and made it better than I ever could have,working endless hours.
“I want to thank all my customers many of of them who have been coming since day one Gary. TeJ & Gary, Boby Dylan, Simon and Ash, to name a few.
“We will be open for the next Two weeks to have a massive send of. And our final day to public will be Saturday 11th July. With a private send of on 12th.”
‘Rooted in India, made in Manchester’ – Punjabee Deli has big designs on the local food scene
Danny Jones
Launching a few months ago, this recently opened Indian deli, cafe, eatery and hangout concept is still in its infancy, but the brains behind this are not the new kids on the block here in Manchester: welcome to Punjabee.
Founded by Sapna Kumar, a familiar face on market stalls across Greater Manchester and across the North West, not to mention the owner of the well-known dessert brandVanilli’s, she’s one of the biggest characters you’ll ever meet.
And, you know what? Sometimes you have to be. This second-generation Indian-Mancunian is a would-be mother to many, as she considers lots of her loyal customers part of her extended family.
And now it’s time to put herself first for once. As she puts it, she’s no longer content just serving up everything for everyone else on a platter for free. Now she’s “ready to spice things up.”
No stranger to a soundbyte or a pithy tagline of her own – after all, she’s been working in this business for well over a decade now – the food speaks for itself, and as well for the vision of this place as she does.
Quite literally putting the bee in Punjabi (you’ve got to admire pun-game like that), this local-born mum of three and extremely dedicated indie trader is as much tied to her Manc soul as she is to herIndian heritage, and she’s all about bringing a ‘home to the plate’ approach.
Remember that scene in Ratatouille where the food critic eats that simple dish, and it takes him right back to his childhood and that feeling of being back in your kitchen/living room? That’s precisely the feeling she’s going for. In fact, we’d argue she’s already achieving it.
Many of her relatively small but equally hard-working crew are not only young people looking to get experience, but also existing hospitality staff who were left out of a job due to the ongoing cost of living crisis and obstacles facing the entirefood and drink sector.
But in the matter of just a few weeks, they’ve been trained up to help make authentic butter chicken, daals and pasandas that people take home for a truly hearty tea, samosas, pakoras, bhajis, Punjabi pasties, all of which are gradually drawing in more and more regulars each week, and so much more.
The mixed Indian snack selection alone is great value for money, and their stuffed lunch wrap for just a fiver is one of the best deals you’ll find anywhere in town on your dinner hour.
In fact, all the well-packed portions aren’t just well-presented in pristine air-tight packaging; they’re also super filling and satisfying, from the wide variety of homemade curries to the fruity lassis canned in-house. Everything is made in the prep kitchen around the corner, before being fridged next door.
You can tell how much experience this outfit has when it comes to catering and scaling up operations, as Sapna is also the baker behind Vanilli’s spin-off,Cake Bar Co., which she started during the pandemic on top of her other projects simply out of boredom.
The girl seemingly doesn’t sit still for even a second, at least not when she’s running these entrepreneurial arms, anyway.
Credit: The Manc Group
Her plans for thedeli and currently daytime-only eatery serve as yet more proof; the team are looking to deck out the space even further, with a bigger cabinet of wooden shelves to turn their already charming deli corner into an even fuller shop.
And then there’s a larger room downstairs of what used to be an old hairdresser’s: she’s keeping coy on that front for now, but let’s just say there’s a great bit of space to work with.
One thing we really appreciate is her acknowledging that going out for a meal, a drink, or even just a coffee is more expensive than ever.
With that in mind, she’s taken her mum’s sage advice and is keeping prices as low as possible, with the likes of the cheap bites at noon, chai for just £1 or totally FREE from 11:30am-2:30pm – an offer that is already starting to draw in steady crowds of meeting up even for a chinwag.
The stylish and colourful nook with bench-seating, cushions, coffee tables, decorated shelving and traditional jaali-style windows that simultaneously transports you elsewhere while making you feel like you’ve been invited into her front room for a brew and a bite to eat.
Let’s be honest, there are few better feelings than that kind of welcome.
Speaking to The Manc, she can never resist a good bit of wordplay, telling us: “We’re putting the chai [tea], back in community” – of which, like everything else, is all made completely in-house, by the way.
Whilst trying to restore that sense of kindness and compassion that she fears might be slowly slipping away, she also says she’s not scared of mixing up the market anymore, both literally and figuratively.
Once a mainstay of the Ancoats Makers’ Market among many others, not to mention the vendor we know to boast two stalls at Stockport’s monthlyFoodie Friday event, she started with a love for baking and made it into a successful passion project.
Now she’s turned making small little pots of curry for her peers on artisan stalls and farmers’ markets into her next venture, and she no longer feels like she’s here to compete: “I am the competition”, she says, “and I’m ready to stir the pot.”
You’d be forgiven for getting slight Heisenberg vibes for a second there, but trust, if you pop intoPunjabee and meet this vibrant, funny and extremely driven woman in person, you’ll see for yourself that she’s all about positivity, moving forward and maximising good vibes.
She’s even looking into karaoke and supper clubs, as well as extending the opening hours on Friday evenings, on top of already being open seven days a week.
Whether you’re stopping by for a cup of chai or taking out, you won’t be disappointed.
She still remembers playing ‘kerby’ out on the streets of Manchester and people gathering to eat their favourite scran, the sense of occasion people felt when paying a trip to the old Italian-style patisserie that they eventually took over.
Something that really stuck with us was this overarching idea that “through food we come together”, and she’s absolutely right.
We can’t wait to see how this place grows over the next year, and we sincerely recommend you come along to Radium Street and give it a try.
Lastly, we’ll sign off by telling you one final thing: translated into English, Sapna means ‘dream’, and this lady sure is thinking big.
The Manc -
29th October 2020 
