One of Greater Manchester’s coolest new restaurants has quietly opened in recent months, and if you’re looking in the direction of Ancoats, turn around – we’re off to Stalybridge.
This often-overlooked town in Tameside has welcomed Cafe Continental, a charming little neighbourhood restaurant that feels like it’s been plucked from a pretty Parisian back street.
With its cafe curtains, red leather furniture and wood-panelled walls, it feels like the sort of local hangout that’s been here for decades.
But Cafe Continental is barely eight weeks old, and already firmly finding its feet as one of the region’s most exciting newcomers.
As with all good neighbourhood restaurants, the menu spans breakfast all the way through lunch and dinner and into cocktails, stopping off for an epic Sunday roast too.
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It’s also got one of the internet’s most viral sweet treats, a proper Paris hot chocolate, where you dollop thick cream into dainty cups of molten hot chocolate.
Inside Cafe Continental in Stalybridge. Credit: The Manc GroupThe Paris hot chocolate. Credit: The Manc GroupInside Cafe Continental in Stalybridge. Credit: The Manc Group
This place might have caught the attention of the social media food crowd, but it’s far from gimmicky.
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On its menu you’ll find classics that will stand the test of time, like giant tiger prawns with garlic butter, ribeye beef, flame-roasted chicken, croquettes and hand-dived scallops.
There’s a lunch menu that will stop you in your tracks – think seasonal soups with wedges of bouncy focaccia, spicy twice-fried chicken buns, and a steak sandwich with fries.
There’s also an excellent cacio e pepe pasta, served with an egg yolk on top that you can pop and twirl into the pasta.
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It’s co-owned and created by Ryan Robinson, who’s quick to point out that Cafe Continental isn’t the first restaurant worth travelling for in Stalybridge, which already has a deep-rooted independent food scene.
The fried chicken bun. Credit: The Manc GroupCacio e pepe pasta. Credit: The Manc Group
“We’ve already got some really good food establishments in the area,” he said, “With Gladstone and SK15 and Guiseppes, so the skeleton’s there with Stalybridge, you just need to have some meat on the bones, really.
“And obviously, like we’ve jumped in and hopefully that adds value to the area and then hopefully we see a few more drinking and dining establishments.
“There’s loads of space for development in Stalybridge, and it’s just gonna get better and better.”
Ryan says his inspiration comes from his travels to cities around Europe, and the sort of off-the-beaten-track, full-of-locals restaurants that are so often the most memorable part of a holiday.
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“No matter where you are, whether it’s France or Italy or Spain, there’s always that one restaurant you seem to find that’s set in the back streets, and it’s busy and it’s noisy and the food’s amazing, and you end up having such a good time on the off chance, that you just want to tell everyone about it.
Soup and focaccia at Cafe Continental. Credit: The Manc GroupCod bites and a chicken bun. Credit: The Manc Group
“You want to stay there all night, and that was kind of the inspiration for Cafe Continental.
“We just wanted to make a really buzzy local place.”
Ryan, who previously worked as a DJ and across the hospitality industry, has always had a big passion for food.
He’s teamed up with a good friend who is his head chef, and a couple of other friends as business partners, who just ‘believed in the idea and trusted it’.
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It seems to be paying off, with Cafe Continental already luring people out of the city centre to visit, and drawing in a decent returning local crowd.
Ryan finished by saying: “Support locally this Christmas – there’s a lot of great restaurants in Stalybridge and the surrounding areas that are working hard to bring people the best Christmas possible.
“So if everyone can support local, that would be amazing.”
Cafe Continental is open now at 5 Melbourne St, Stalybridge, SK15 2JE.
Legendary city centre boozer named one of the best beer gardens in the UK
Daisy Jackson
No phones, cheap pints, and bags of sunshine – that’s the USP of Sinclair’s Oyster Bar, and now it’s earned itself the title of being one of the UK’s best beer gardens.
This legendary local pub has placed in an impressive eighth place on a new list of the nation’s top outdoor watering holes, beating beachside boozers and countryside pubs.
Sinclair’s Oyster Bar is the only Greater Manchester pub to make the new list published by Big 7 Travel.
They celebrated it for its ‘old-school pub characteristics’, which is a pretty fair summary of this local legend.
As well as a strict no-phones policy, encouraging its inhabitants to keep devices in their pockets and have a chin wag over a Taddy Lager instead, the pub is also serving pints at some of town’s most old-school prices.
This is one of the few places in town where you can still get a pint for less than a fiver, with its humble selection of beers and stouts priced from £3.50.
It’s also cash-only, and housed in a fascinating building that dates back to the 18th century – though it didn’t always stand in its current location on Exchange Square.
The pub has actually been rebuilt twice – once in the 1970s, being raised up by five feet to match new street levels during the construction of the Arndale Centre; then again in 1996 after the IRA bomb.
The 3000-pound bomb that changed the face of Manchester left the little pub with only minimal damage, but left it (and its neighbour, the Old Wellington) in need of a new home.
Sinclair’s in Manchester has been named as having one of the best beer gardens in the UK
So these centuries-old buildings were popped up on stilts and moved 300m down the road, meticulously reassembled over 11 months like a giant LEGO set to form the new square beside Manchester Cathedral.
You can read more about Sinclair’s Oyster Bar’s fascinating history HERE.
As for the present day, the pub’s suntrap outside terrace is forever heaving on match days, when football fans from across the globe pack around its picnic tables.
Big 7 Travel wrote: “Known for its old-school pub characteristics, including being cash-only and a no-phones policy, this historic pub – whose origins date back to the early 18th-century – is well known for serving cheap and easy-drinking Sam Smith’s beer, making it the perfect spot to socialise with friends in the city.
“The beer garden is also a complete suntrap, so when the sun’s shining in Manchester, there are few better places to spend an afternoon than Sinclair’s.”
It has placed in the top 10 of the guide’s list of 30 beer gardens in the UK, which has also named a couple of spots in the Lake District and Peak District.
Lavish Gay Village restaurant MAYA has announced its closure after just two years
Daisy Jackson
MAYA, a restaurant that was delivering refined dining in the Gay Village in Manchester, has announced its closure after just two years in the city.
The luxury three-storey restaurant opened in 2024, transforming a former warehouse building on the corner of Chorlton Street and Canal Street.
MAYA made its way into the Michelin Guide just two weeks after opening – though subsequently dropped off the prestigious list.
But now it’s the end of the road for this ‘bold and ambitious project’, with owners confirming today that its final service will be this weekend.
They wrote that ‘this has not been an easy decision’ but the restaurant is faced with an ‘increasingly challenging backdrop’ that is making the outlook for an independent businesses like MAYA ‘increasingly difficult’.
Inside the ground-floor brasserie, diners had beautiful views down the iconic cobbled canalside street.
Then downstairs below ground level lay the main dining room, filled with luxury touches like blue velvet and brass, plus a huge central marble-topped bar.
There was even a ‘secret’ hidden lounge bar below the main dining room too, with a strict no-photos policy.
MAYA Manchester has announced it closureThe Canal Street restaurant opened in 2024
MAYA’s full statement reads: “After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to close MAYA Manchester, with our final service taking place this weekend.
“This has not been an easy decision. Over the past year, and especially in recent months, we have made strong and encouraging progress, but against an increasingly challenging backdrop for hospitality and small, independent brands.
“It has become clear that, looking ahead, the outlook for businesses like ours is increasingly difficult and not sustainable in its current form.
“Our immediate focus is on our team, and they have been kept updated throughout this process so they can consider their options and make necessary plans. Our focus now is on supporting the team through the coming days and ensuring everyone is paid properly. We want to thank every member of our team, past and present, who helped shape MAYA and contributed to its story.
“We would also like to thank our guests, collaborators, performers, DJs, suppliers and wider Manchester community who supported MAYA over the last two years. Whether you joined us for coffee, cocktails, celebrations, late nights or something in between, thank you for being part of it.
“MAYA has always been a bold and ambitious project. We have been proud to see it evolve, particularly in recent months, and we are proud of the moments, friendships and memories created within our walls.
“As we approach our final few days, we remain focused on giving our guests and community the experience they know us for. We hope many of you will join us before our final service, as we celebrate this chapter together.”
Daisy Jackson -
31st October 2024 
