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WooTea – the Chinatown gem serving one of the world’s most popular drinks, and molten lava cakes

The Manc - 14th December 2021

Regulars around Chinatown will already be familiar with WooTea, a local cafe that serves one of the world’s most popular drinks.

WooTea, on George Street, makes some of Manchester’s best bubble teas, loaded with their own homemade boba.

Bubble tea is a Taiwanese drink that has taken the world by storm, with endless combinations of beautiful, colourful drinks and flavours to choose from.

WooTea’s fluffy lava cakes and bubble teas. Credit: The Manc Group

WooTea makes all of its own tapioca pearls (or boba), which are a key ingredient in many of its teas.

They’re added to drinks like a hot matcha milk bubble tea, and traditional milk bubble teas.

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But boba also stars in WooTea’s desserts, especially their lava cakes.

Colourful bubble teas in WooTea’s cafe in Chinatown. Credit: The Manc Group

Their fluffy cakes are loaded with cream and tapioca pearls, for a mouth-watering treat.

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If you’re not into boba, you can also order drinks like a strawberry latte (made with fresh strawberries and milk foam) and a refreshing watermelon oolong tea.

Read more: Top chef in ‘disbelief’ after his pub is named one of the best in the UK

More health-conscious people could grab a tropical mango and papaya milk tea, which has no added sugar but bags of flavour.

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Whatever you order, you’re in for a treat.

You’ll find WooTea on George Street, not far from Chinatown’s iconic arch, and on Deliveroo.

Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

A tiny new train station pub has opened at Manchester Oxford Road

Daisy Jackson The Oxford Road Tap pub is now open in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group

The Oxford Road Tap pub is now open in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group

A tiny craft beer pub has opened at Manchester Oxford Road, making all those inevitable train cancellations a little sweeter.

The new boozer comes from the same team behind some of the UK’s best train station pubs, who already have bars at Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria.

The Oxford Road Tap has plenty of charming nods to its proximity to the great British rail network.

There’s the big red National Rail sign that they’ve restored and turned into a beer tap, an arch over the bar that mimics the shape of the station, and even a departures board so you can work out how many more pints you can squeeze in.

You’ll find plenty of British craft beers behind the bar as well as a great selection of European lagers, plus spirits and wines.

The bar from Bloomsbury Leisure Holdings Limited has taken over the former cycle hub at Manchester Oxford Road.

The small building is directly opposite the entrance to the busy train station on the southern side of the city centre.

The Oxford Road Tap pub is now open in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group

The Oxford Road Tap pub is now open in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group

This will be the third site for the pub group in Manchester.

They already operate the Piccadilly Tap, that two-storey beer bar on Piccadilly Approach with a heated rooftop space and outdoor patio.

The team are also responsible for the more recently-opened Victoria Tap, which took over the former bin store at Manchester Victoria.

That particular pub has a heated beer garden constructed just inches away from where the trams tootle past and has a departures board where time is measured by pints (got 10 mins til your train leaves? That’s one pint, sir!)

The Oxford Road Tap is open now.

Very exciting times ahead.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Enormous Manchester venue set to open (again) after brief rebrand

Daisy Jackson SakkuSamba may be about to reopen in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group

SakkuSamba may be about to reopen in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group

A huge, glamorous restaurant and bar space looks set to reopen just months after it closed down and attempted to rebrand.

SakkuSamba announced back in June that it was closing for a short while to undergo a refurbishment.

That news came after two years hosting all-you-can-eat sushi dinners and star-studded parties in Spinningfields, like an afterparty with Ne-Yo following his show at the AO Arena.

They wrote at the time: “Exciting News! We will be closing our doors on June 2nd for an exciting refurbishment and upgrade. We’re sorry to be closing for a little while, but stay tuned for updates over the next couple of weeks as we begin this transition!

“We can’t wait to show you what’s coming next soon!”

But then SakkuSamba never reopened and the space instead became Raft, essentially Manchester’s most boujie buffet.

Raft had a huge dining room upstairs, a hidden club room, a ‘toilet disco’, 360-degree DJ booths, and a ‘coastal boozer’ on the ground floor.

The restaurant when it was previously SakkuSamba. Credit: The Manc Group

Vs when it was Raft. Credit: The Manc Group — The restaurant when it was previously SakkuSamba. Credit: The Manc Group

Raft was only open for three months when it was suddenly bolted shut, with a forteiture notice in the window that was apparently linked to a ‘historic dispute’.

And now, in an unexpected twist in events, SakkuSamba has shared that it’s coming back to Manchester.

Keeping up okay? Let’s continue.

In the first post since announcing the temporary closure and refurbishment of both of its restaurants (in Manchester and in Bradford), SakkuSamba wrote: “SakkuSamba 2025. Manchester keep your eyes peeled, major announcement coming soon.”

If it follows the same format it took previously, that means a fusion of Brazilian and Japanese cuisine together in a swanky all-you-can-eat setting.

And hopefully it’ll last longer than poor Raft did…

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Featured image: The Manc Group