Prawns, beef, salt and pepper tofu or chicken boxes are £7.50 served up generously with a side of chips.
Each option oozes with sticky goodness – try their Asian Tacos stuffed with beef, fresh salad, pickled slaw, toasted sesame, crispy shallots smacked between a soft toasted flatbread.
The local business is located inside the Arndale food market, as well as in the kitchens at Black Dog in the Northern Quarter.
The best Indian street food in Manchester – hands down.
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Vegan, veggie and sure to warm you from the inside out – Bundobust is one of Manchester’s prize restaurants.
There’s an express lunch menu of two dishes for £8.50, including the classic Bundo Chaat, a street snack of broken samosa pastry and puffed rice, peas, onion, pomegranate, and tomato in tamarind chutney.
The tarka dhal is one of the most warming, filling and hearty pots of food you’ll find outside your nan’s kitchen.
Found on the edge of Piccadilly Gardens, the interiors are simple but cool – a perfect place to impress for less on a first date.
Manchester’s best curry house is tucked down a little side street in the Northern Quarter.
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Delicious and very affordable, This n’ That will become everyone’s new favourite lunch place – if it isn’t already.
All the food is homemade and prepared using fresh whole spices with curry options changing daily.
Their menu works as follows – rice and three veg is £4.50, rice with one meat and two veg is £5 and rice with two meat and one veg is £6.
A fresh, homemade, bursting with flavour, steaming pot of curry almost spilling over – that could be your lunch every day.
Head to the Northern Quarter armed with a map – its location down an alley full of bins might throw you off, but once you find it, you’ll never forget it.
The Arndale food market will satisfy any craving you throw at it, no matter how niche.
In recent years the market has welcomed some of Manchester’s most exciting and talented chefs – so quality is a given.
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Our list promises affordability to and the Arndale food market deserves a place on this list.
Stalls including Wholesome Junkies (the vegan equivalent of dirty burger), Viet Shack, Piazza (pasta with burrata on top), Market Point and many more are class lunch spots and won’t put you out of pocket.
Whether it’s mid-shop, mid-hangover or just mid-day the Arndale market is sure to sort you out.
Finger licking chicken wings for 20 to 50 pence – a Bunny bargain.
The First Street restaurant is home to the ultimate hot wing challenge, just ask your server and see if you can handle the heat.
For those who can’t, not to worry a glass of milk is helpfully placed on the menu.
The menu boasts some juicy burgers and bar snacks such as Jalapeno Poppers – we were intrigued to – they’re crispy coated, fried jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese.
Get down and dirty with these unbeatable prices but wash your hands before you return to the office.
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Go Falafel
Deansgate, Piccadilly, Rusholme
Credit: Facebook (Go Falafel) We love the build-your-own aspect
The falafel lover’s failsafe when it comes to a decently priced wrap.
We love the build-your-own aspect to this popular lunch spot and who can’t appreciate a customised falafel wrap.
Or if falafel doesn’t float your boat, grab a vine leaf or some tabouleh and top it off with a fresh juice or smoothie.
Health is wealth and it comes cheap at Go Falafel.
Food & Drink
Developers share new look at Stockport’s newest indie neighbourhood at Weir Mill
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester has been given another peek at the new neighbourhood and hangout spot in Stockport, Weir Mill.
Situated on the banks of the River Mersey, which runs through the heart of the old Cheshire town, Stopfordians will be more than familiar with the old building, which sits in the shadow of the Hat Works Museum tower.
The familiar North Western red brick is set to remain a noticeable structure below the recognisable Victorian Viaduct, but beneath it is set to become the home of at least new independent businesses.
Now, developers Capital and Centric have shared further glimpses at what they’re hoping the mini-district will look like when finished…
We visited the site back in 2023 not long after work begun.They have big plans to make it a suburban destination.Credit: The Manc Group/Capital and Centric
As you can see, besides the new homes and other buildings popping up in and around SK, this particular development (which will hopefully replicate the success of similar canalside regenerations such as those in Manchester city centre’s New Islington Marina) spans a whopping 65,000 sq ft.
Revolving around a new village epicentre, of sorts – simply known as Weaver Square – will see an influx of at least 10 new bars, restaurants, cafés and more indie traders spilling out of Weir Mill’s soon-to-be transformed ground floor onto what they hope will be a bustling new terrace.
Come the summer, this could be a great suntrap spot, too.
Aiming to bring these varied, open, social spaces to life with both local businesses and residents in mind, they’re promising live music, street food pop-ups, parties and al fresco eats under the iconic arches.
Pictured below, the space will not only include the aforementioned riverside terrace but a central courtyard with a lush, green, plant-laden sunken courtyard in the middle, plus plenty of other nooks teeming with character.
After being greenlit by Stockport Council, the project itself has actually been moving forward since 2022, but it now appears like it’s starting to take real shape.
Credit: Supplied
Cllr Micheala Meikle, Stockport‘s cabinet member for economy, skills and regeneration, states: “Our UK-leading town centre regeneration is about more than building new homes, it’s about creating vibrant neighbourhoods and breathing new life into Stockport’s heritage, giving our historic buildings a future.”
“While the Grade-II listed former mill is being carefully restored for residents, the new public square will create opportunities for independent businesses to thrive and for people from across the borough to come and enjoy our buzzing town centre.
“It is incredibly exciting to see how our riverside will soon be opened up into an inviting outdoor space where local communities can come together over great food, live music, and creative events from day into night.”
Better still, with Stockport’s growing transport links as part of the Bee Network only set to be extended further in the coming years, Weir Mill will be a simple train/tram ride away soon enough.
Inside Portfolio, the UK’s first ‘champagne boutique’ and bar in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
A brand-new ‘champagne boutique’ is opening in Manchester this week, boasting more than 250 different champagnes to our city.
Portfolio will be a new bar and ‘immersive wine experience’, which will have one of the largest and most diverse champagne collections in the UK.
Mancs will be able to order champagne by the glass from just £12.50, along with plenty of accessible bottles.
To kick things off, Portfolio will open with a bar food offering that includes Welsh charcuterie, British cheeses and accoutrements, created by co-founder Julian Pizer, formerly of Another Hand and the Edinburgh Castle.
But later down the line, there’ll be a fun, relaxed tasting menu, ranging from a few bites to a full dining experience, obviously paired with the best champagne list in the country.
Inside Portfolio, you’ll be greeted by a striking champagne wall of 100 different bottles, plus a wall of photos from the team’s trips to Champagne in France.
Every drink will be served in exclusive Lehmann glassware imported from Reims, with more than 10 different glass styles and a strict no flutes policy.
There’ll be an open chef’s pass and sommelier station with bar seating, plus a working champagne cellar that will function as a private dining room and event space.
Portfolio champagne boutique opens in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Julian Pizer has created Portfolio with Cameron Foster, founder of Duex Six which specialises in providing exclusive grower champagnes to the UK.
They’ll be joined by Wayne Baxendale as food and beverage director, who has more than 30 years of global wine experience including from Michelin starred restaurants, and Nikolai Kuklenko as general manager, who previously held a role as Head Sommelier at Mana.
Portfolio will be a wine boutique packed with rare grower bottles and vintage prestige cuvées and hopes to ‘strip away the snobbery and make champagne accessible’.
As well as well known names, guests will be able to enjoy rare and highly sought-after cuvées, including Jacques Selosse, Ulysse Collin, Jérôme Prévost, Cédric Bouchard, Larmandier Bernier and Egly Ouriet.
There will also be vintage prestige cuvées from Cristal, Philipponnat, Pommery, Jacquesson, Pierre Peters and Bollinger, some dating back to the 1990s.
As Cameron Foster explains: “We want to strip back the snobbery of Champagne and make it a wine for everyone, whether that’s a quick glass after work, a special celebration, or discovering grower champagne for the first time.”
Portfolio will open on 9 December at 67 Bridge Street, Manchester, with the full restaurant experience launching in February 2026.
Dolly Busby -
19th November 2021 
