Tony Soprano once told a friend trapped in a desperate situation: “You gotta get your arms around this thing.”Bada Bing Sandwich Deli is offering similar advice to its customers.
Manchester’s new city centre snack bar – inspired by mafia TV series The Sopranos – is serving ‘hoagies’ so big they come with eating instructions: Two hands recommended.
Partners Sam and Meg had often wondered about setting up their own cafe, and during one lockdown evening spent watching David Chase’s seminal show, the pair found themselves feasting their eyes on the plates of food that were so often piled high in the foreground on screen.
It was all the motivation they needed.
Together, Sam and Meg made it their mission to bring proper Italian-American sandwiches to Manchester for the first time – recreating the kind of ingredient-packed, eye-popping hoagies that wouldn’t look out of place in Satriale’s (the mob deli where Tony is often found chewing over a problem with his food).
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They officially launched their cafe in February and called it ‘Bada Bing’ – an ode to the venue that brings in business for the New Jersey mafia in The Sopranos.
Of course, there are a few crucial differences. Manchester’s Bing is an alley kitchen serving sandwiches – not a bar and strip club off a highway exit.
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Currently, Sam and Meg do all the prep and cooking themselves – whipping up recipes in a dark kitchen (with bread freshly-baked each morning) and passing orders out of a window.
However, there are already plans to move to Ancoats and share a space with another Italian-American-themed takeaway ‘Fat Tony’s Lasagne’ later this year.
Bada Bing co-owner Sam told The Manc: “Me and Meg were sat there one night watching The Sopranos and I said: ‘You know what, why don’t we just do it? Set up our own shop and call it the Bada Bing’?
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“It was a bit of a laugh at first, but then it turned out to be a great idea in the end!”
Within a matter of weeks, the pair were serving hungry customers out of a hatch round the back of B Lounge.
“We do get a lot of Sopranos fans coming down, but we also get people who are just looking for a good sandwich in Manchester,” Sam explains.
“I can’t think of many places that offer a sandwich like we do.
“Obviously, you’ve got the big chains but I’ve always been disappointed by them.”
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In time, Sam and Meg are hoping to have their very own shopfront with “pictures behind the counter” and “meat hanging from the roof” – just like in their beloved TV show.
But until then, they’re keeping The Sopranos theme alive through their menu.
Tony Soprano was often seen tucking into sandwiches at Satriale’s during the series / Image: YouTube
The headliner sandwich is The Bing (with ‘Gabagool’, pistachio mortadella, salami, provolone, tomato, lettuce, red onion, giardiniera and mayo); whilst the Paulie Walnuts is named after one of The Sopranos’ fearless Mafia captains (this one is packed with mushroom shawarma, artichokes, balsamic caramelised onions, walnuts rocket, vegan truffle mayo and gouda).
Other options include the The Meatball Sub with fennel sausage meatballs, red sauce, mozzarella, rocket, pecorino and basil salsa verde; and a rotating list of specials including a Chicago-style hot beef sandwich.
There’s also plans for a Bánh mì sandwich – which the pair have been wanting to recreate since trying one in Melbourne.
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“We’ll keep changing the menu as often as possible, maybe the meats will change from time to time, too,” Sam tells us.
“We just want to keep it interesting, I’d hate for the menu to get stale.”
“We’re also hoping to hire someone soon to help with the workload.
“It’s a lot of hard work just the two of us, but it’s been really fun. We’ve worked in bars for years and we’ve decided to throw ourselves in the deep end.
“Touch wood it’s been pretty successful so far.”
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Bada Bing Sandwich Deli
So much of The Sopranos is set against backdrops of food – whether it’s a cafe, pork store, restaurant, dinner table, or the wake of a fallen mobster.
By the final season, one boss’ daughter even reaches breaking point, exasperatedly turning to her father – who is clad in an orange prison jumpsuit – and asking: “Jesus, can’t we ever about anything else in the family besides food?!”
It was a snatch of dialogue that can be seen as a cheeky, knowing nod to the show’s obsession with cooking. And maybe it was the masterful cinematography, but the grub always looked so good.
Bada Bing is a welcome addition to the neighbourhood for this reason alone. But it’s probably about time New Jersey and Manchester got better acquainted, anyway.
After all, the two cities already share several similarities – including slate-grey winter skies, residents bursting with intense civic pride, and international status for making groundbreaking achievements in media.
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Perhaps NJ’s most famous televisual export, The Sopranos ran for nine years in total, but it picked up a cult following mere months after it first launched.
Bada Bing Sandwich Deli has been much the same.
What this means, of course, is that Piccadilly’s freshest deli is as busy as the real ‘Bing’ on a Friday night.
“We’ve been selling out every week!” Sam chuckles.
“It’s really popular because there’s a gap in the market for this in Manchester.”
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Bada Bing Sandwich Deli
Because they’re only a crew of two at Bada Bing right now, customers are urged to get their orders in early.
You can arrange collection on the same day or the next – but you’ll need to act fast to get your hands on (and you will need both hands) a weekend hoagie.
If you wait around too long, fuh-get about it.
Bada Bing Sandwich Deli is located on Back Piccadilly in Manchester city centre.
Opening times are Friday to Sunday, midday until 3pm. Order for collection next day.
10 major restaurants and bars that have closed in Manchester already this year
Daisy Jackson
We are barely a quarter of the way through the year, and already it feels like Manchester is having a brutal year of restaurant and bar closures.
Already this year we’ve bid farewell to restaurants that should, in any other economic climate, stood the test of time.
We’re talking long-standing neighbourhood favourites, restaurants that have caught the eye of the prestigious Michelin Guide, local institutions, and award-winning bars.
But, with the hospitality industry battling ever-increasing costs and a stark lack of support from the Government, we might be seeing a lot more of this to come, industry insiders have warned.
We’ve rounded up 10 restaurant and bar closures that have shocked Manchester already this year.
Climat
Climat has laid their finances bare in their closing statementMichelin-recommended rooftop restaurant Climat has closed its doors with immediate effect
A real wake-up call for everyone about the dire circumstances facing hospitality landed last month, when Climat closed its doors for good. Despite a Michelin Guide recommendation, rave reviews across the board, and an enviable location with views across Manchester, the finances for the restaurant just didn’t stack up. And they were brutally honest about those finances in their closing statement. Climat’s founder listed an annual energy bill of £112k a year, a 33% increase in staff wages, and a jump in business rates from £12,000 a year to £38,000 a year among the reasons for its closure.
One of the Northern Quarter’s longest-standing restaurants announced it would be closing its doors for good back in February. In a brutally honest statement TNQ said that it had become ‘no longer viable’ to run the restaurant, listing costs like an £8k a month energy bill. This independent business said it was focused on paying the staff ‘every penny they’re owed’ and finding them all new jobs in the industry.
KAJI
Glitzy Manchester restaurant KAJI has quietly shut downKAJI
KAJI opened on Bridge Street back in 2022, a big glitzy, futuristic restaurant space with a modern Japanese menu, which quickly drew in all sorts of glamorous customers (like when Ilkay Gundogan’s wife – who had famously described Manchester’s restaurant scene as ‘horrible’ – actually liked the food here).
But despite a rebrand from MUSU to KAJI and pulling in some impressive chefs, it appears that this glamorous spot has closed for good last month, with repossession notices now in the windows.
The restaurant remained silent on its closure, but it’s no longer possible to book a table here.
Restaurant Orme
Restaurant Orme in Urmston has announced its shock closure. Credit: Instagram, @littlemcrhouse
This is a bit of a weird one because it hasn’t actually closed yet – but Restaurant Orme in Urmston has notified followers that with ‘great sadness’ they are intending to sell the business.
In a statement, the Michelin-recommended restaurant acknowledged the ‘significant economic pressures’ facing the restaurant industry, writing: “We find an increasing disparity between perceived value and the true cost of operations, rendering long-term sustainability unfeasible.”
But they also detailed that a break in their lease has allowed them to ‘thoughtfully consider’ their circumstances and make the ‘right choice for our growing families’.
You’ve still got time to visit, but I wouldn’t delay.
Topkapi
Just this month, we’ve had to bid goodbye to a bit of a local institution.
Topkapi Palace has closed its doors on Deansgate after almost five decades in the city, making it the longest-running Turkish restaurant in Manchester.
This one triggered a wave of discussion, with one local operator warning: “If we keep letting places like this go, we lose more than food, we lose culture, history, identity.”
Peaky Blinders
Peaky Blinders bar in Manchester has closed with immediate effect
This one maybe stuck around for a bit longer than anyone expected, if we’re being honest, but the enormous Peaky Blinders-inspired bar on Peter Street shut down back in March.
Peaky Blinders opened back in 2018 in the former Sakana site, with plenty of nods to the popular Netflix series – including oil paintings of the main characters on the wall.
Peaky Blinders said in a statement: “It is with an extremely heavy heart that we unfortunately have to announce the closure of Peaky Blinders Manchester with immediate effect. We are devastated it has had to end this way, but grateful for the journey.”
It was known and loved for its epic happy hour deals and its bottomless brunches, but glitzy Spinningfields bar Banyan shut down right at the start of this year.
It’s part of the Arc Inspirations group that also operates Manahatta and Box, and still operates another Banyan across town at the Corn Exchange.
Their sign in the door read: “Thank you so much for your custom over the years, we’ve loved being part of this wonderful city and have made so many friends.
“Don’t be a stranger, we’d love to continue to welcome you to our Banyan bar in the Corn Exchange. Team Banyan.”
House of Fu
One of Manchester’s coolest ramen spots quietly closed its doors in March, saying the site just ‘doesn’t click’.
House of Fu opened just two and a half years ago on Portland Street, following major success across in Leeds.
They wrote: “It’s been a wild two and a half years. To say the economic landscape has been challenging would be a bit of an understatement, but sometimes a site just doesn’t click. You live and hopefully learn.”
Project Halcyon
Project Halcyon also made the Top 50 Cocktail Bars list. Credit: The Manc GroupProject Halcyon also made the Top 50 Cocktail Bars list. Credit: The Manc Group
Project Halcyon was formerly named one of the best cocktail bars in the UK, famed for its speakeasy-style setting that drew inspiration from Prohibition-era Chicago.
But it closed for good back in February, writing: “Project Halcyon has poured its last cocktail.
“It was with sincere regret that due to unexpected challenges at the ownership level we must close our doors for the foreseeable. Though we say goodbye, the memories live on.
“Thank you to everyone who shared in our craft, our community, and our story.”
Simmons
London-born bar brand Simmons closed their Manchester site just over a year after opening their first Northern location, right in the heart of one of town’s busiest nightlife strips.
An otherwise well-established and popular chain down south, Simmons had a total of 15 different bars in central London, but things clearly didn’t quite take off as planned here in Manchester.
They wrote: “It’s never easy to say goodbye. We’re incredibly proud of what the team built here and so grateful to them, as well as everyone who joined us over the past year.
“We’ve had some unforgettable nights. We love Manchester, and we hope to be back under the right conditions.”
Kahiki Soundhouse – the new Mint Lounge site is living up to the old name and its live music legacy
Danny Jones
If you went out in town back in the day (pretty much any time from the late 90s to the 2010s), or indeed have sampled a Funkdemia over the past couple of decades, chances are you tried or at least heard of Mint Lounge – but did you know it’s been replaced by a new kid on the block, Kahiki?
Kahiki Soundhouse, to give it its full name, is the new live music venue bar that has opened up the old basement space on Oldham Street in the Northern Quarter.
In truth, it’s now more of a classic lounge than ever before.
The large open-plan floor, which used to be filled with people standing/two-stepping inside a fairly barebones club room with no air conditioning, has now been traded up for a stylish space lined with plush padded seats, classy low-lit tables perfect to share a glass or two over, and lots of new features.
Perhaps the biggest change is that the old soundbooth/stage area that used to be way at the back has now been swapped for a central 360° podium that changes up each night.
It really is the star of the all-week-round Kahiki show, if you ask us.
This also means that no matter where you are in the main venue (there are other rooms, but we’ll get to that), be it tucked in a booth to the side, at the bar, or even ‘behind’ whoever’s playing, you’ll have a virtually unobstructed view of what’s happening from noon until night.
Seriously, thanks to their already jam-packed schedule, the reviews aren’t just off to a great start only a few days in, but people have been turning up in the early evening and staying well into the early hours of the next day.
They’ve got duelling pianos, live bandaoke, acoustic nights and straightforward DJ sets for those who still fancy a taste of the previous vibe.
Kahiki’s maiden Manchester city centre venue definitely harks back to the good times had in the Mint Lounge days, but the team, who possess decades of experience between them, have combined a retro feel almost more akin to 1960s speakeasies, cocktails and evening venues.
It’s no secret that clubbing and the UK nightlife scene have changed quite a bit since the pandemic, but these guys look to have found that perfect blend of more relaxed seating, along with plenty of room to get up and boogie; there’s even a raised mini-stage/dance cage for your main character moments.
Better still, if you do want something a little bit away from the crowds of punters that are continuing to make this one of the liveliest new additions to NQ, they also have adjustable karaoke rooms where bi-folding doors can make room for up to 50 of you and your lot to party in privacy.
Let’s just say the spirit of the Lounge is alive and well in the Soundhouse.
Just one corner of KahikiYour podium awaitsOne of the smaller karaoke rooms
The Manc -
19th March 2021 
