A roast dinner is held dear to the hearts of many Mancunians.
This quintessentially British meal marks a time to gather your nearest and dearest around the table to enjoy one of the heartiest meals you’ll probably have all week, yet with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic having once again forced all hospitality businesses to close their doors to diners since January, aside from takeout and delivery services, it’s been a while since we’ve let someone else chef the roast up for us.
In no particular order, here’s eight more places to choose from.
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Elnecot
Ancoats
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Ancoats’ industrial-themed neighbourhood bar and kitchen should always been on your list of places to hit up if you’re after a Sunday roast, as this two-course feast means you choose from a choice of starters, before tucking in to either beef, poussin, pork belly, roast of the week, or the vegetarian / vegan nut roast.
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All roasts come with a rich range of sides and accompaniments to top it all off.
You can find Sunday menus, more information about COVID-safe guidelines and book your table ahead of reopening via the Elnecot website here.
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The Refuge
Oxford Street
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“Those dreams of sharing a Roast Platter once more are just weeks away”.
The Refuge is known throughout the city for its slap-up Sunday roasts, with the highlight undoubtedly being the ‘Roast Platter’, which lets you combine a choice of meats on offer with a rich range of sides and accompaniments to top it all off.
A vegetarian / vegan roast option is also available, alongside extensive drinks and dessert menus.
You can find Sunday menus, more information about COVID-safe guidelines and book your table ahead of reopening via The Refuge website here.
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Volta
West Didsbury
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Ask Didsbury folk about the Sunday roasts served up at Volta, and you’ll only hear good things.
Catering for all tastes, you can choose from either grass-fed rump of Yorkshire roast beef, roasted poussin with lemon and thyme, or the vegetarian / vegan wild mushroom wellington, all complete with a rich range of sides and accompaniments to top it all off, as well as a selection of mouth-watering puddings.
You can find Sunday menus, more information about COVID-safe guidelines and book your table ahead of reopening via the Volta website here.
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The Jane Eyre
Ancoats
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The Sunday roasts at popular Ancoats hangout, The Jane Eyre, are no doubt some of the finest the city has to offer, with everything from roast beef, roast pork fillet, the special roast of the day and the vegan nut roast all making up the menu, served alongside a rich range of sides and accompaniments, as well as a selection of small plates on offer.
Don’t forget to try out the extensive drinks and desserts offering too to top it all off.
You can find Sunday menus, more information about COVID-safe guidelines and book your table ahead of reopening via The Jane Eyre website here.
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Hawksmoor
Deansgate
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If it’s fine dining your after for your first Sunday roast in the city once restrictions lift, then you really need look no further than Hawksmoor Manchester, where a slow-roast rump or prime rib for up to three people comes complete with beef dripping roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, carrots, greens, roasted shallots and lashings of bone marrow and onion gravy.
There’s also a range of puddings to finish off with as well.
You can find Sunday menus, more information about COVID-safe guidelines and book your table ahead of reopening via the Hawksmoor Manchester website here.
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The Bay Horse Tavern
Northern Quarter
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Offering up a modern take on the Victorian pub atmosphere, and with roasts of either chicken, beef sirloin or a mushroom wellington, accompanied by “all the trimmings”, served all day every Sunday, it’s not hard to see why The Bay Horse Tavern is a much-loved Northern Quarter hangout.
A wide range of starters, desserts and drinks are also available alongside your choice of roast.
You can find Sunday menus, more information about COVID-safe guidelines and book your table ahead of reopening via The Bay Horse Tavern website here.
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TNQ Restaurant & Bar
Northern Quarter
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Sundays are pretty special at TNQ as it prides itself on providing “top notch proper award winning roasts” and was even named runner up for the ‘Best Sunday Lunch’ in the Observer Food Monthly Awards both in 2018 and 2019.
The sought-after roasts include a rump of beef, pork belly, a leg of lamb and the vegetarian kale, chestnut and mushroom wellington, alongside a range of sides served separately.
A selection of mouthwatering starters and desserts are also on offer.
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You can find Sunday menus, more information about COVID-safe guidelines and book your table ahead of reopening via the TNQ Restaurant & Bar website here.
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Hispi
Didsbury
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Elite Bistros are renowned for their Sunday offerings, and the popular Didsbury hangout, Hispi, is certainly no exception, with a everything from roast beef, pork belly, smoked haddock, sea bream and the vegetarian miso glazed squash all making up the main menu, alongside a selection of sides, as well as a wide range of starters, desserts and drinks.
You can find Sunday menus, more information about COVID-safe guidelines and book your table ahead of reopening via Hispi website here.
Food & Drink
Irish Festival Village returns to Manchester with live music, fry-up pizzas and loads of Guinness
Daisy Jackson
A huge Irish Festival Village has returned to Manchester city centre today to kick off the St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Over the coming 10 days, there’ll be live Irish music, street food, retail stalls and – of course – plenty of Guinness flowing.
The main event is now open at St Ann’s Square, where a gigantic marquee festooned in green, white and orange has been installed.
Inside here, the bar is being run by the O’Shea’s team, and the stage will host loads of live music and great craic.
Outside you’ll find Birchwood Pizza, who have got a menu of pizzas inspired by the Emerald Isle.
Pizzas include the What’s the Craic (a fry-up pizza with white pudding and Dubliner sausage) to The Black Stuff (black pudding, rosemary potato and streaky pudding).
The Irish Festival Village has opened as part of the wider Manchester Irish Festival celebrations across Greater Manchester.
The Irish Festival Village is back in ManchesterIrish pizzas at the Festival Village on St Ann’s SquareYou can shop Irish treats outside
There’ll also be a Saint Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday 16 March, which will weave its way from the Irish World Heritage Centre all the way onto Deansgate.
The parade will showcase and champion local groups and organisations such as GAA clubs, Irish dance classes, marching bands, and pipe bands, along with a strong representation of the 32 counties in Ireland.
And it handily winds up around King Street, just beside the Irish Festival Village.
The gathering spot will be open from Friday 7 March all the way through to St Patrick’s Day itself – find out more HERE.
A big US fast food chain said to be ‘much better’ than McDonald’s is coming to the UK
Danny Jones
Fast food fans, feel free to get excited and potentially add another name to your rankings because a big US burger-driven brand hailed by many as ‘better’ than McDonald’s is coming to the UK. The rumours are true: Greater Manchester could very soon get a Carl’s Jr.
Carl’s Jr. is an American chain best known for chicken sandwiches and its trademark ‘charbroiled’ beef patties such as menu favourites like the ‘Famous Star’. You can even get star-shaped chicken nuggets.
First opening back in 1941, it’s very nearly as old as Maccies itself and although its profile is much smaller than that of the iconic golden arches, there are many who still firmly believe that it serves a superior product than the global conglomerate.
Well, hopefully soon you’ll be able to decide for yourselves as Carl’s Jr. is set to face off with McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Popeyes and all the other franchises that have made their way across the Atlantic over the last half a century or so – and it’s coming to Wales first.
In an announcement made via Restaurant Online, Carl’s Jr.’s country manager under parent company BRG (Boparan Restaurant Group), David Moffat said: “We’re looking at a steady rollout with a target of 100 restaurants plus in four years.
“We’ll open a number of corporate stores that we’ll retain as we go along and we’ll also be going into the sub-franchise market, which we hope to begin actioning towards the end of the year. We’ve had a lot of interest from big group franchisees already.”
Named after founder Carl N. Karcher, who set up the very first iteration of Carl’s Jr. after moving from his hometown of Ohio to California and purchasing a hot dog cart for $326, the brand then opened as a drive-in BBQ in January 1945 before opening its first real restaurants in 1956.
Although both he and his wife Margaret have long since passed away, there is a huge family lineage that has carried on the name and it’s only gotten bigger with each decade that’s passed.
So what separates it from its biggest and most dominant competition? Well, not only do lots of American diners swear by their charbroiled burger recipes over McDonald’s big a part of the Carl’s Jr.s over Maccies campaign front is said to come down to the chips – especially as they also do waffle fries.
The star nuggets are where it's at
— Silent🪶𓃥 STORY ARTIST (@SilentArtist137) May 10, 2024
i have never tried fat burger. my fave is carl's jr. it's overpriced the same as shake shack but i think it tastes better 😋😋💖 mcdonald's burgers are good but too small for me. not enough 😂 pic.twitter.com/yBSeEsMmEe
Put simply by one user on X just last month, he believes “Carl’s Jr is the best fast food burger”. Current day Carl’s in the States now boasts everything from the classic burger and chicken to sandwiches, milkshakes, sides and desserts to a sizeable breakfast menu.
However, Moffat clarified that “the UK will probably have the smallest menu outside the US, which will be focused on the core products: burgers, chicken and fries. You’ve got to look at it culturally and in a way that ensures the brand has a broad, diverse appeal.”
For context, as well as five sites in Europe, there are locations in: Australia, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Russia, Singapore and Vietnam.
Judging by the endless expansion, Carl’s Jr. was always going to come to the UK, it was just a matter of when. This move was actually confirmed back in May 2024, when they reached a master license agreement with BRG to bring the brand to Britain, as well as the Republic and Northern Ireland.
They have 1,600 restaurants in 25+ countries around the world to Maccies’ 41,800. Choose your fighter… (Credit: Carl’s Jr./McDonald’s)
The first UK Carl’s Jr. restaurant in Cardiff is set to open in the St David’s shopping centre in April and a second site is due to launch somewhere in the south – you would presume London but who knows? – in time for the summer.
With that in mind, and given Manchester is the second city after London as well all know (sorry, Birmingham, we’ll die on this hill), you can expect at least one of the 100+ Carl’s Jr. locations to pop up somewhere in 0161.
However, before we get ahead of ourselves, we want to know if any of you have tried the chain before and do you agree that it’s ‘better’ than Maccies?
Emily Sergeant -
17th March 2021 
