Manchester’s first wunderbar has taken to the street with the opening of its brand new outdoor terrace.
Now that ‘Step Two’ in the government’s roadmap to lifting England’s current national lockdown has commenced – which crucially allowed hospitality businesses to reopen for outdoor service only – Manchester’s iconic bier palace, Albert’s Schloss, has unveiled a glorious Alpine-inspired outdoor terrace in the heart of the city centre – Schloss Straße.
Inspired by Alpine summers and al fresco dining of continental Europe, Schloss Straße is a 100-cover, partially-heated terrace situated on Peter Street directly outside the venue.
There’ll be a summer-themed drinks menu, biers and Alpine cook haus delights.
For drinks, Schloss Straße will serve a range of Bavarian tap biers, Fresh Unpasteurised Pilsner Urquell, plus Schloss’ very own Manchester Rein, highballs, spritz and Sommer cocktails – including Strawberry Spritz, Pear Old Fashioned, Chinotto White Negroni and Alpina Colada.
‘Gülden Hour’ boozing will take place every Monday to Friday 4-7pm, with highballs and spritz for £5, Kozel for £4, and bottles of prosecco for only £20.
Albert’s Schloss
The acclaimed cook haus will serve a range of Alpine-inspired delights, from small plates including meatballs and cambozola, garlic bread and hummus and flatbread, to classics like fish fritz and pan-fried Schnitzel.
The Cook Haus will also be serving up a rotating sandwich of the week, a Cook Haus special, and a selection of classic burgers and wursts.
As night falls, Schloss Straße will welcome live entertainment, DJs and promenaders.
Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, some of Manchester’s finest DJ’s will be on the Straße decks, including Jonjo Williams, Hattie Pearson and DJ Paulette, and this weekend will see the return of the infamous ‘Sunday Service’ with a selection of Sunday roasts available throughout the day and DJ Paulette DJ’ing in the afternoon to keep your weekend hanging on as long as possible.
Albert’s Schloss
Advanced booking is required, with drinks bookings available all day from 12-9:45pm and food bookings available from 12-9:15pm up until Sunday 16th May.
After this date, outdoor tables will operate on a first-come-first-served basis.
Mother and daughter-run bakery selling nostalgic cakes issues plea for support
Daisy Jackson
A Bury bakery run by a mother and daughter has shared a heartfelt message asking for support as running costs continue to skyrocket.
Little Blonde Bakes in Unsworth has enjoyed great success with its colourful occasion cakes and its nostalgic puddings and desserts.
We’re talking old-school cake with sprinkles and custard, thick slabs of banana bread, and pancake stacks with Nutella and strawberries.
They’re also all over the latest sweet trends, like pistachio kunafa strawberries and even a Dubai chocolate-inspired cookie pie.
But despite putting in such graft and creating such beautiful bakes, Little Blonde Bakes has said it’s falling on tough times.
The family-operated bakery, fronted by mother and daughter Jayne and Fran Harrison, said that it’s struggling to balance the rising costs of ingredients, national insurance, rates, and taxes, as well as a fickle Instagram algorithm that sometimes leaves them with only a few likes on a photo.
In their heartfelt statement, they added that events like the huge concerts that have come to Greater Manchester this summer, the hot weather, and the school holidays are having a negative effect on the small local business.
They wrote: “It feels like we our putting ourselves out there by sharing this & feels a little scary. but we need your help and support to keep going.
Little Blonde Bakes sells treats like old school cake and custard
“We’ve been doing this for 10 years now, and although it may seem like we are doing well, behind the scenes we are now trading and working to pay the bills. This goes for lots of small, local & independent businesses. They need us!”
The post from Little Blonde Bakes continued: “So if your local, or want to visit us, please do, we strive to always use the best ingredients and put so much love into our baking.
“If your not local, we have a full postal menu each week online which delivers anywhere in the uk.
“If you can’t do any of that (i know the cost of living crisis is also affecting a lot of people and families) then please, turn on our notifications, like & share & comment on our posts where you can, or even leave a review. Any support means the world.
“We really want to be able to continue doing what we love, with our amazing team, but the future looks a little scary without the amazing support of our customers. We love you all.”
You can pay Little Blonde Bakes a visit at 62 Sunny Bank Road, Unsworth, BL9 8HJ and follow them on Instagram @littleblondebakes.
Palms Bakery opens beautiful little coffee shop in Manchester shipping container village
Daisy Jackson
Viral bakery Palms Bakery has opened its own coffee shop over in the shipping container village that is Pollard Yard.
The bakery rocketed to fame with its colourful shag cakes, where spikes of icing are used to make psychedelic baked show-stoppers.
Since then, founder Rachel Samuels has expanded to all sorts of playful retro-inspired bakes and set up shop at Pollard Yard alongside a whole host of other Manchester independent businesses.
Previously, the Palm Bakery masterpieces were only really been accessible when you ordered an entire cake.
But now she’s taken on an extra unit at Pollard Yard and launched Palms Coffee, a sunny little spot that’s keeping her neighbours well-caffeinated and well-fed.
Blueberry matcha at Palms CoffeeThe sunny terracePalms Bakery cakes and cookies are on the menuPalms Bakery cakes and cookies are on the menuPalms Coffee is open at Pollard YardPalms Bakery now does sandwiches at Palms Coffee
It means you can now tuck into bite-size, individual helpings of Rachel’s amazing bakes.
There are pretty, nostalgic cupcakes (sprinkles and glace cherries a must), gooey chocolate chip cookies, and miniature banana bread loafs too.
Customers can sit on the terrace surrounded by plants, tucking into flavoured matchas and iced coffees (best-sellers include maple cinnamon, pistachio, and blueberry).
It seems to have become the go-to lunch spot for those working in Pollard Yard and surrounds, but there’s enough here to tempt anyone out from nearby Ancoats too.
Think sandwiches made with house-made focaccia, filled with mortadella and mozzarella, and a whole menu of toasties, like Reubens, kimchi cheese, and Caprese.
Palms Coffee is open now at Pollard Yard near Holt Town tram stop.
Emily Sergeant -
21st April 2021 
