You can get mulled wine Christmas cocktail trees at this Manchester winter village
Whilst we're no stranger to a cocktail tree, these ones at Mala's winter village are extra special - served with real, living firs for that extra festive touch
There’s a winter village in Manchester selling mulled wine Christmas cocktail trees and we are just a little bit obsessed.
Hidden away off the beaten track in the Northern Quarter, if you look for a big green door you should stumble across Mala’s magical alpine village.
The secret garden on Lever Street has been transformed into a winter wonderland for the festive season, complete with ski cabins, heated Alpine chalets and a giant barn – plus not one but two charming outdoor garden spaces.
Image: The Manc Group
Now, as we roll into December, the team has upped its bar offering – which already includes steins, hot chocolates and a range of cocktails including margaritas – to offer these amazing mulled wine Christmas cocktail trees throughout the season.
Priced at £6.50 per glass or £24 for a tree of four, they come out on real evergreen firs jazzed up with baubles and pine cones. It doesn’t really get more Christmassy than that.
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And that’s not all. As well as the brilliant mulled wine Christmas cocktail trees, Mala is also serving up a Berry 75 cocktail tree – priced at £29, or £8 for a single glass.
The Berry 75 cocktail tree at Mala – priced at £29, or £8 for a single glass / Image: Mala / Memphis Medium
The Berry 75 is a twist on the classic French 75 cocktail, a combination of gin, lemon juice, sugar and fizz – but this one has added raspberry to give it that red, Christmassy hue.
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Food-wise, there are plans to offer a cheese fondue at some point next month, but right now you can still get your hands on some top-notch local scran as Mala has partnered with a host of local eateries.
By scanning a QR code on your table (or in your heated chalet), you’ll be able to access the menus of surrounding eateries like Ply, Chakalaka, House of Habesha, Salt and Pepper and more – with each venue bringing its food in for you directly.
On-site, you’ll also find Crumbled – serving up pots of indulgent crumbles from their hatch next to the bar. With toppings like biscoff, chocolate sauce, rose custard and more, it’s a proper indulgent sweet treat.
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There’s no need to book either, rather you can simply walk in – and the mulled wine Christmas cocktail trees will be served throughout December.
Mala’s opening hours are from 12.30 to 9 pm every day.
Free Glastonbury-themed festivals with pizza, tequila, and big screens to take place in Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Glastonbury weekend is upon us, and to celebrate the UK’s biggest music festival in all its glory, Nell’s is hosting its own festivals instead.
Hundreds of thousands of people will be making the trek to the fields of Worthy Farm next weekend, as Glastonbury 2025 headliners Olivia Rodrigo, Neil Young, and The 1975 bring the tunes, alongside a list of other talented names too big to even begin starting to reel off – as is always the case with Glastonbury, there’s something for everyone.
But for those of us not lucky enough to have bagged tickets to what is undeniably the biggest event in the British music calendar, not to worry, as Nell’s is where it’s at here in Greater Manchester.
The beloved New York-style pizza specialists – which now has four sites across the region – is turning two of its most popular restaurants into festival hubs next weekend, bringing all the spirit of Glastonbury to Kampus and Altrincham.
Manchester‘s thriving canalside neighbourhood Kampus will become home to the aptly-named Kampus Fest, while over in the Trafford town of Altrincham, Alty Fest will be in full force.
Nell’s is hosting its own FREE Glastonbury-themed festivals at Kampus and in Altrincham / Credit: Supplied
At Kampus, the gardens will be transformed into a city centre festival site for a free three-day party featuring big screens live streaming the full Glastonbury festival throughout, plus a pop-up market, face painting and hair tinsel stations, an outdoor tequila and margarita bar, happy hours, and of course, lots and lots of Nell’s pizza.
Altrincham is bringing you much of the same – the same big screens, the same tasty pizza slices, and the same happy hours, only over two days instead of three.
Family fun is also at the heart of both Kampus Fest and Alty Fest, so you can expect lots of crafting workshops and bunting making, accessory customisation stations, as well as all-day colouring sessions by Born to be Wild Child and Søstrene Grene.
Kampus Fest will take over the gardens at Kampus from Friday 27 – Sunday 29 June, while Alty Fest will take place at Nell’s Altrincham on both Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 June.
Both are FREE to attend, so get yourselves down there quick.
Featured Image – Supplied
Eats
Viral Manchester bakery The Flat Baker to open its very first cafe
Daisy Jackson
Hugely popular Manchester bakery The Flat Baker has announced plans to open its very first cafe.
The Brazilian-French bakery has become legendary in the city for its flaky croissants and pistachio-based treats.
For the last few years, it’s been operating out of a hatch in Ancoats, with queues often snaking down Radium Street from early in the morning on weekends.
And now The Flat Baker has announced an exciting next chapter in their journey in Manchester – their very first bakery and cafe.
The team will be taking over a unit on the same street, which will have space to house their baking operations as well as a sitting area to serve brunch and hot food.
They’ve announced that they’ll be retaining their much-loved hatch but expanding to a second site in the heart of Ancoats.
They hope this will drastically reduce any waiting and queue times and allow even more people to sample these incredible bakes.
In a statement shared on Instagram, they wrote: “We have been keeping a secret from you. This corner of Ancoats will never be the same, because it will be our new bakery, cafe and brunch!
“We have been dreaming of it for years – we almost closed a deal with another two locations in the past few years, but it didn’t work out.
“We were about to leave the plan of the new shop aside, we were very frustrated of how things were not working the way we planned it to…
“But everything happens for a reason! Who knew the building next door was just waiting for us…
“The two-storey building has just the right space for our baking operations, plus a sitting area and a space to serve brunch and hot food.
“Don’t worry, we won’t let our tiny hatch go, we will keep both locations. This will allow us a faster service, avoid the waiting times and long queues.
“For now we just want to share this great achievement. Growing a small business when you see many other places shutting is such a challenge. But if you never stop dreaming and work hard for it, the sky is the limit! We can’t wait for the next chapter to come. Matt and Deb x”
The Flat Baker Cafe is expected to open in Ancoats this summer.
Georgina Pellant -
25th November 2021 
