New drone footage has been released that shows the incredible work taking place at Mayfield Park.
The much-praised new green space will be Manchester’s first city centre park to open in more than 100 years.
As part of the works, a section of the River Medlock has been uncovered after being buried beneath concrete for years.
Drone footage shows Mayfield Park taking shape. Credit: Daniel Williams at U+I
The birds’-eye drone view of Mayfield reveals a huge expanse of green space taking shape, with young trees lining the perimeter.
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Already visible too is the see-through slide that’s being built as part of the new Play Yard, which will whizz children over the water in a tunnel.
Wide footpaths and seating areas are also taking shape in the area.
Plans for Mayfield Play Yard – including its 18m slide across the Medlock. Credit: Supplied
When it opens this autumn, Mayfield Park will bring 6.5 acres of much-needed green space.
Earlier this year, plans for a huge play park were revealed, featuring that 18-metre over-water slide, six 10-metre tall towers, crawl tunnels, rope bridges, a 60-degree drop slide, racing slides, and a six-metre spiral slide.
The Mayfield Play Yard plans also include wheelchair accessible play equipment, like tunnels, slides and roundabouts.
It’s been designed collaboratively by regeneration specialist U+I on behalf of the Mayfield Partnership, landscape architects Studio Egret West (SEW) and Massey & Harris, an independent play equipment specialist based in Greater Manchester.
Councillor Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “Mayfield Park is going to be a major new green public space for Manchester.
“As a city which values our young people it’s perfect that it will include a play facility as fun and active as this as part of what it has to offer.
“We can’t wait to welcome Manchester people to this new attraction.”
Featured image: U+I
Feature
Manchester restaurant famed for ‘inflexible’ tasting menu completely flips the script
Georgina Pellant
Since its arrival in Manchester, Michelin-recommended new wave Thai BBQ favourite District has staked its reputation on two things: fantastically surreal, delicious food and an extremely inflexible tasting menu.
Until recently its diners have had two choices, opt for the ten-course tasting menu or spring for the twelve, and whilst everyone I’ve ever known to go has swooned in delight over the whole experience, there’s no denying it hardly makes for a cheap night out (or an easily organised one).
Deposits have always been required up front, and adaptions have famously never been made for a customer’s dislikes, or even religious needs. It’s for this reason, and this reason alone, that until last week I’d never made it over – despite wanting desperately to go.
Simply put, I’d just struggled to find anyone prepared to give up a whole evening (and a shed load of cash) to come with me. Amazing, I know, but thankfully, that’s all now changed.
Last year, the kitchen made headlines after getting embroiled in a ‘religious diet’ row with a Jewish customer who’d taken umbrage with its refund policy.
The whole affair culminated with District posting the entire altercation to its social media pages, alongside a caption stating it ‘will not be bullied or threatened into returning deposits’.
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During the row, the customer had asked, “why not shout loud on your homepage ‘We don’t cater for Jews’”. Still, they held firm.
A year on and it seems that external pressures may have caused that iron will to buckle, because for the first time ever the Michelin-acclaimed restaurant has moved to offer dishes individually.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
In a complete change of direction, diners can now pop in off the cuff to enjoy a few plates and a couple of drinks. Personally, I think it’s the best news ever, but then I would. It’ll be much easier to get my friends in now.
Suddenly one of the best restaurants in the city has become so much more accessible, and its timing couldn’t be better. After all, we’re all getting poorer, and whilst not everyone has £100 to spend on dinner, everyone deserves a taste of the magic happening in the kitchen here.
Whilst the restaurant maintains that diners can either curate their own District experience or simply pop in for a few dishes, on our visit it is very much a small plate, tapas-style service, with everything appearing on the table in front of us in quick succession.
Translucent stone bass (£9) floats alien-like in its dish with crispy purple yam antennae suspended above a shimmering nam jim, whilst a pinky-purple pigeon satay (£9) is rich and gamey, dressed with sweetcorn, pumpkin seeds and crisped turnip all unfolding on the plate like a flower in bloom.
Every dish here is a surprise, ranging from a beautifully fresh salad of peach, pear, ginger and shrimp floss, to chicken fat rice, which comes showered in a generous helping of crumbed crispy skin.
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Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
That rule extends into the desserts too. Homemade ‘tangfastic’ tamarind and chicken fat fudge sweets appear, suspended, on their own white marble platform like some sort of futuristic offering.
Elsewhere, a calamansi curd pavlova with sheeps yoghurt and passion fruit reinvents any preconceived notions I might have had about Thai food – or pavlova for that matter.
As Marina O’Loughiling wrote in her review of District for The Times last year, this is “Thai, but not as we know it”.
Speaking on the change of direction for the restaurant, owner Ben Humphries said: “We are passionate about creating the highest quality experience for our customers.
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“Our aim is to capture the essence of Thai flavours whilst maintaining the highest quality produce, suppliers and dishes.
“Changing our service style will give us creative freedom in the kitchen. We can develop dishes that don’t have to fit into a tasting menu format. We will also have the opportunity to offer daily changing special dishes.”
The new menu is available now with bookings being taken under ‘New Wave Thai’ on District’s bookings page here.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
Feature
Rozafa: the family-run Greek Cypriot restaurant that’s been a fixture for 15+ years
Georgina Pellant
Sometimes it feels like there’s so much emphasis put on restaurants that are new that we forget to appreciate the golden oldies that have been sitting under our noses for decades.
Family-run Greek Cypriot restaurant Rozafa is definitely a restaurant worth noticing, in fact, it’s an absolute must if you want a great Mediterranean scran in the city centre.
A hidden gem sitting in plain sight, this long-standing Manchester staple has been a fixture on the old Brasserie St Pierre patch for well over a decade.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
With a cracking early doors offer and a sun trap outdoor terrace it’s the perfect spot for a midweek city centre lunch – especially when the weather is this good.
Rozafa’s owners also have another site in Stockport which has been open even longer, but today we’re focusing on the Princess Street restaurant, which just so happens to be dangerously close to The Manc office.
Found just opposite the town hall, it always looks beautiful in the mid-morning sunshine – its white and blue terrace filled with dressed tables, waiting for hungry office workers to plonk themselves down and put them to good use.
Serving up huge mezze platters, stuffed vine leaves and whole shanks of lamb stifado, cooked slowly for hours until the meat just falls off the bone, Rozafa has been a go-to for foodies in the know for well over a decade,
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
The menu here is extensive, covering both Greek and Cypriot dishes with a host of colourful, heart-healthy options.
If you’re planing a visit, you can expect to find everything from mincemeat stuffed vine leaves and homemade keftedakia (meatballs), to charcoal-grilled Cypriot pork with melted halloumi and several different styles of saganaki.
Elsewhere, you’ll find the likes of grilled sardines and octopus on its fish menu, alongside some hearty favourites like moussaka and souvlaki.
Keen to give it a go, we went in: ordering a whole grilled seabass, hot pitta bread and tzatziki, a fresh Greek salad of feta, olive and tomato, steaming lamb stifado, calamari and loukaniko (Cypriot pork sausages) marinated in wine then grilled. And we still wanted to order more.
Read more:Zumuku Sushi, Ply pizza and ‘native beef’ steakhouse Tallow to open at New Century food hall
There’s so much on offer you’re definitely spoilt for choice. One visit probably just isn’t enough, if we’re being honest.
Daisy Jackson -
9th July 2022 
