The Bolton Food and Drink Festival returns this August bank holidayas the internationally acclaimed event celebrates 18 years in the town.
The award-winning festival is the biggest of its kind in the North West, bringing together celebrity and regional chefs, cooking demos, live music, street entertainment, special events and over 200 market traders.
Running across the long weekend, festivities will kick off on Friday 25 August and run through until Monday 28 August with special events including Bottomless Brunch, comedy dining experiences and a one-time DJ set from TV personality Gok Wan.
Hosted across the town centre, foodies can roam freely as they explore two dedicated music stages, bars, food stalls and plenty more at the free-to-attend festival – from unique gifts to local artwork.
Here’s everything you can expect if you’re heading down over the August bank holiday.
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Food and drink
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: What’s Your Beef
Be the first to try out some scrumptious cuisine from around the world, with over 200 food traders across the town centre on the bank holiday serving everything from burgers and homemade Scotch eggs to Turkish shawarma, donuts, and smokey barbecued meats.
Discover markets, brilliant local food and drink, plus special ticketed events such as Bottomless Brunch, and theatrical dinners like the Fawlty Towers and Live and Let Live Dining Experiences.
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This year’s festival will also host lavish bottomless brunches across the weekend in celebration of its eighteenth year in the wonderful Albert Halls complex, featuring a delicious brunch and a wide range of drinks and boozy cocktails.
As for further street food traders to check out, keep your eyes peeled for dedicated roly poly traders Roly Poly Ltd, mezze from Greek Street Food, and Bolton favourite Istanbul’s Kitchen.
Chef demos
Image: Supplied
Image: Supplied
Kicking the weekend off with a bang is festival ambassador Michael Caines, who held two Michelin stars for 18 consecutive years. Fresh from Lympstone Manor, the much-loved celebrity chef ambassador launches the flagship festival on Friday morning. You’ll be able to catch him in a free cookery demo too.
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Starting the show on Saturday is a festival newbie and much-loved chef, stylist, DJ, author and presenter Gok Wan, taking a spin in the kitchen and showcasing some of his delicious Chinese cooking.
Sunday will welcome another new face to the festival when business owner, charity founder, author, food presenter and TV cook, Nisha Katona MBE joins Team Bolton for the first time, leading the way for a spectacular Sunday spread.
Mowgli Street Food’s Nisha will be showcasing her love of Indian cooking in a range of cookery demos bringing new simple recipes to Bolton and sharing her infectious passion for all things food.
As usual, Monday is headlined by festival icon James Martin, whose ever-popular cookery demos bring with them a love of cuisines from around the world and a lesson on how to recreate some tasty dishes.
MasterChef 2023 winner Chariya Khattiyot will also join as part of the festival’s regional chef demos, as will Gok Wan’s brother, Kwoklyn Wan, who is a chef on Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch and Amazon Prime series Man With A Wok.
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Music
Image: Supplied
Image: Supplied
More than 70 performers will descend on the two live stages, with a variety of music and entertainment from around the world, all completely free for festival visitors.
From Irish dancers, choirs, soul, funk, jazz, folk, Latin American, indie, rock, dance and pop, there is something for everybody to enjoy while you soak up the festival atmosphere.
Music lovers can revel in the delights of national artists as well as local performers including Tommy Govan, Mike Roberts, Danny Quin, Conor Peploe, Will Edgar, Holly Jenkinson and John Doyle.
With performers from nine to 80 years old, the festival welcomes all ages at the Festival Main Stage on Le Mans Crescent and the Acoustic Stage on Victoria Square.
Headlining on Friday and making their full band debut at the festival, will be Bolton’s own, The Shed Project plus special guests.
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The band, influenced by the Madchester sound of The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays, are joined by Marseille, The Jace Campbell Band and The Marbellas.
The fun continues on Saturday as highlights include loop-based, live music dance trio, Scratch Trio, performing popular classic dance anthems.
In addition, alongside the UK’s premier 1980s Electronica/New Wave tribute band, Electromantics are 5-piece band, Baiana Band, playing Brazilian jazz, pop, funk and soul.
Sunday is equally as entertaining with Stax of Soul, a nine-piece soul band born and bred in Greater Manchester, headlining as part of their 40th-anniversary tour.
If you missed the recent tour, then this one’s for you – joining them is Bolton-born Lou Nichols delivering a rocking set of Pink’s greatest hits.
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Entertaining Latin music lovers is Guacamaya Latin Band, with the best South American rhythms and most popular songs in Europe.
Last but not least and joining the lineup on Bank Holiday Monday is Bhangra Smash Up, a 3-piece, high-energy drumming band playing popular chart and dance music.
Closing the festivities are five-piece party band, The Shivers, covering your favourite party songs and guilty pleasures. The perfect way to celebrate the festival turning 18!
The live music stages are free to enter and no tickets are required. But you can quench your thirst at one of the bars while you sing along to your favourite tunes.
As if this wasn’t enough, there’s The Afterparty with Gok Wan & Co to tuck into in the Albert Halls Theatre on Saturday evening.
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A full seven hours of house and dance classics from not only Gok Wan himself but a feast of well-known guest DJs including Phats & Small, Sweet Female Attitude and Rio Fredrika.
Family entertainment
The second day of the annual Bolton Food and Drink Festival attracted hundreds of visitors to the town under beautiful blue skies. Picture by Paul Heyes, Saturday August 28, 2021. / Image: Supplied
Day one of the annual Bolton Food and Drink Festival. Picture by Paul Heyes, Friday August 26, 2022. / Image: Supplied
The family-friend festival encourages parents to bring the kids to try their hand at arts and crafts and join in with fun games, activities and magic tricks, or get their faces painted.
This year, organisers are bringing back the fantastic family zone on Le Mans Crescent, right at the heart of the Festival.
Elsewhere, you’ll find strolling, world-class street performers to keep the party going wherever you are around the town centre, not to mention lots of delicious food and live music.
Tickets
The main festival is free to attend, however, some special events such as the bottomless brunch, Gok Wan afterparty, Faulty Towers and Live and Let Live Dining Experiences do require tickets.
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The majority of the festival’s celebrity chef demos are also ticketed, with standard tickets priced from £15 and concessions available for senior citizens and children under 15.
About Bolton Food and Drink Festival
The North West’s biggest and best food festival, every year Bolton Food and Drink Festival draws thousands of foodies to the Greater Manchester town for a long weekend full of flavours. Last year’s festival welcomed over 450,000 visitors over the four day weekend.
Now in its eighteenth year, it runs every year on August bank holiday weekend across four days. In previous years, the festival has welcomed the likes of Hairy Biker Si King, Ainsley Harriot and festival favourite James Martin.
Featured image – Supplied
Food & Drink
The best BYOB restaurants in Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
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Besides the flood of January deals happening in Greater Manchester right now, another way of saving money this month whilst still treating yourself to a nice meal or two is BYOB restaurants.
Look, January can be tough, we all know that – you’re not quite over the festive lay-off, it’s cold, you’re often wet and you still skint from Christmas – so if you can find a way to eat out without spending a bomb then it can certainly help give you a little boost and something to look forward to during these dark days.
‘Bring your own booze’ gaffs feel a little bit like a thing of the past these days but some of our fondest foodie memories are going to a local curry house with a plastic bag of our favourite beers and not seeing our parents pull the usual face of fear when looking down at the bill.
That being said, you can still find a few here and there, so we’ve rounded up some BYOB restaurants in and around Manchester that we’ve tried first-hand or had vouched for by our fellow foodie friends.
First up on the list of the lovely Yara, a family-run Lebanese and Syrian restaurant with sites in Chorlton, Cheadle and over in Altrincham, where their original venue first opened back in 2008.
Fast forward to now and they’ve built somewhat of an empire not only here in Greater Manchester but with two more locations nearby in Cheshire (Alderley Edge and Stockton Heath) but they all have two things in common: fantastic food and a BYOB policy.
Best-known for dishes like their baba ganoush, stuffed vine leaves, mixed kebabs, tabbouleh, lahembajeen and more, we’re rather big fans of this stunning 15-year stalwart.
From one champion of Levantine cuisine to another, Zena Restaurant down the road in Didsbury has stood as a much-loved Middle Eastern for a few years now and it’s also another one of the last BYOB hold-outs.
Priding itself on keeping alive not only one of the tastiest but oldest and healthiest food cultures in the world, Zena brings together a menu pulling influences from Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Jordan and more without yanking too hard on the purse strings – especially when you can bring your booze.
You’ll find many of the same staples as Yara serves up along with other popular items such as bouraks, maklubieh, fattoush, as well as stunning regional desserts like zena halwa, muhalabieh and baklava.
3. Double Zero – Chorlton
Is it the best pizza in Manchester? The debate it still raging among the slice experts but it’s certainly in the conversation and the name has never been bigger now since they opened up a second site.
Launching at Spring Gardens back in March 2024, Double Zero is delighting foodies all the same just as we knew it would with their traditional and truly fantastic wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas.
This one does come with a caveat as we’re afraid it’s still only their OG site in Chorlton that does BYOB, but hey, it’s a lovely suburb well worth spending you’re free time in and just a short tram ride from the city centre.
4. Mughli Charcoal Pit – Curry Mile
Credit: The Manc Group
We’ll confess that our penultimate pick is a bit of an exclusive one as this technically only applies to students but we couldn’t do a BYOB restaurants round up for Manchester without mentioning the mighty Mughli Charcoal Pit.
Similar to Double Zero, this one is up there in the conversation when it comes to the best places on Wilmslow Road over in Rusholme, a.k.a ‘The Curry Mile’. We don’t even have a standout when it comes their food, just order whatever and you’ll be blown away no matter what you get.
Better yet, for those of you who are fortunate enough to still be at uni and making the most of them savings, you can get added discount as well as BYOB so long as you show a valid student ID. Lucky sods.
Last but not least is Cafe East, which only recently came on to our radar thanks to word of mouth but one that has seemingly been a go-to in OL1 for a hot minute, regardless of the BYOB bonus.
Opened back in 2021 by Oldham native Kamran Ghafoor, the Indian restaurant, breakfast and brunch spot sits proudly at the top of Yorkshire Street in the shadow of the Parish Church. Even the grand front door gives you a hint that this is much more than a local curry house.
Famed for its Ramadan buffets, authentic Punjabi food and even their breakfast and lunch offerings which cater to an even wider customer base throughout the week, it’s one of Oldham‘s culinary gems by all accounts and we intend to do some extensive research for ourselves very soon.
Honourable mention
One last nod…
Hawksmoor – Deansgate
We couldn’t look past Hawksmoor’s own BYOB offer that although limited is still worth shouting about.
Mondays at the stunning steak restaurant sat on the corner of Spinningfields and the main Deansgate strip are your opportunity to save on what would typically be a fairly substantial bill by bringing your own bottle of wine.
The ‘corkage’ is just a fiver and it’s a great way of being able to experience their incredible food without having worry too much about how much you’re spending one booze.
Award-winning pub from the team behind Mackie Mayor and Alty Market announces gutting closure
Danny Jones
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Sad news from down the road in Cheshire as The Nag’s Head over in Haughton has sadly announced it has closed this week.
The much-loved pub and bistro, adored by its Tarporley regulars and visiting Greater Manchester locals alike, not to mention acclaimed by reviewers who helped it garner multiple awards, confirmed the unfortunate news on Wednesday, 15 January.
Reopened back in 2022 following a slate of renovations, the impressive country-style pub is operated by the same creative culinary team, Tender Cow, who famously run Mackie Mayor, Altrincham Market and nearby Macclesfield Picturedrome.
However, despite each of their fantastic food halls flying high, The Nag’s Head has simply run out of road amidst the ongoing economic struggles facing so many businesses and, much to the “heartbreak” of its loyal customer base, they have now closed their doors for the final time.
Sharing a lengthy and emotional post explaining their reasons, the Nag wrote: “We’re sorry. We gave it our best shot but, sadly, we have to announce the closure of The Nag’s Head.
“We’ve spent the last 3 years since we bought the pub trying to craft it into a thriving, beautiful place with a proud national reputation at the heart of a local community.”
In addition to being selected for OpenTable’s Diners’ Choice and the Travellers’ Choice award by Tripadvisor; a nod from The Good Food Guide, as well as being named the ‘Food Hero of the Year’ for 2024 by Cheshire Life, they’ve earned accolades for everything from beer to their in-house bakery.
“Truth is the current economic woes fuelled by government policy are against us”, they continued.
Citing the previous Tory leadership as having dealt “cruel blows” on the entire hospitality sector and the new Labour administration for having then “unrepentantly beaten the nails into our coffin when we can least afford it”, there is a palpable sense of disappointment and frustration in the statement.
The same goes for those comments too, with many describing the closure as “gutting” and expressing their sorrow for the dedicated team, as well as their gratitude “for what you [they] done and tried”.
One person dubbed it “one of the best pubs going”; another added: “This is so so so sad! You’ve created such a brilliant business and the kids loved it too! Like all business owners, we are all crippled and sadly it no longer makes business sense to continue to struggle in this society.”
Addressing co-owner Jenny Thompson directly, a third said: Jen, I am so, so sorry. I know how hard it is. It’s terrible that creative people like you are forced into this by a government that just doesn’t care.
“I know what you are going through and it must be so difficult having your dreams crushed. At least you’ve tried with all your heart and it’s a brave decision, but you can’t work as hard as you do for little or no reward. People just don’t realise.”
Boasting a large produce-driven garden, it really was as idyllic as it gets.
Although many North West pubs, bars and restaurants have closed due to the strain being put on the industry as a whole, not everyone goes into as much detail as MBEs Jenny and her partner, Nick Johnson, who laid bare the stark reality of what is seeing many contemporaries shut up shop.
“National insurance hikes for employers, further increases in the minimum wage – totalling 37% over the last 3 years, the reduction of business rates relief – up by 35%.
“Add to that inherited interest rates – 300% up, utility costs – 300% up, cost of ingredients 200% up – you don’t have to be a maths genius to work it out”, they explained.
They also recognised that people are understandably prioritising the essentials over luxuries like eating out given the ongoing cost of living crisis, reiterating, “How can anyone possibly grow and invest as the government expects (as we have done continually for the last decade) in this climate?”
The duo signed off by thanking their loyal customer base for the years of patronage and all of The Nag’s Head staff have they have been “forced to let go” now they have officially closed for all their support on “this journey cut short.”
“Alty Market, Mackie Mayor and Picturedome live on and if you miss us, you can find our soul and our spirit there. For now, it’s goodbye from the Nag’s Head.” We sincerely hope this isn’t forever and wish everyone who helped make this beloved boozer and bistro as brilliant as it was all the best.
Georgina Pellant -
3rd August 2023 
