Manchester

‘Exceptional’ Manchester food hall Mackie Mayor named the best in the UK

It is one of three Greater Manchester food halls to make the top 10.

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 16th March 2023

One of Manchester’s favourite food halls has just been named the best in the whole of the UK, beating competition from the likes of London, Bristol and Sheffield.

Praised for its ‘exceptional’ food, Mackie Mayor – housed in an 1858 Grade II-listed building that was once a part of the bustling Smithfield Market area – was name-checked by global travel site, Big 7 Travel, and hospitality specialists Enjoy Travel.

Originally used as a meat market, the building ran into disrepair during the 1970s before reopening as a food hall in 2017.

Today, it is home to some heavenly food traders including Mexican foodies Pico’s, New Wave Ramen, Honest Crust sourdough pizza, Tender Cow, Chilli B Thai and Mumma’s Fried Chicken.

Tommy Fury recently popped into Tender Cow at Picturedrome (owned and run by the same team as Mackie Mayor) for a celebratory burger post-fight. / Image: Tender Cow
Eagle St Coffee is the newest trader at Mackie Mayor, taking over from Lancashire-based Atkinson’s Coffee who moved out in January 2023. / Image: Eagle St Coffee

On top of that, it also houses the Reserve wine shop, BlackJack Brewtap’s award-winning beer and cider shop Jack in the Box, and Eagle Street Coffee – the latter a relatively new addition after Mackie’s longstanding coffee trader Atkinsons Coffee closed its cafe in January.

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Also appearing on the list in top 10 positions are Manchester food halls Altrincham Market House (no surprise really considering it is run by the same team as Mackie Mayor) and Society in fourth and eighth place. Eataly in London, meanwhile, scooped second place.

Liverpool’s Baltic Market ranked at number 5, with Sheffield’s Cutlery Works coming in at third place.

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Image: Society
Image: Society

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In order to create the ranking, venues were rated on a number of factors including their range of cuisines, selection of vendors, unique and special events, and overall atmosphere.

Mackie Mayor is described as “one of Mancheester’s most popular spots”, “crammed full of top-notch food and drink vendors […] with space for at least 500 people”.

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However, the list also name-checks former food traders Fin fish bar and Baohouse. neither of which feature at Mackie Mayor any longer.

Feature image – The Manc Eats

Manchester

We rediscovered an old Boddingtons advert and now we’re gasping for ‘the cream of Manchester’

Danny Jones Danny Jones Old Boddingtons ad cream of Manchester canal

If you’re from Greater Manchester, the name Boddingtons likely needs no introduction, but if you’re new to the area or part of the generation that’s young enough to have never clocked the legendary logo before, the ‘Cream of Manchester’ was known for making a good advert or two.

Answers on a postcard? Yes, we of course are referring to the classic ice cream van ad that featured a young Melanie Sykes serving an ice-cold pint of Boddingtons to a thirsty athlete, played by former EastEnders actor Ken George.

In fact, the recognisable TV presenter and British household name went on to feature in a few of them, including a contemporary recreation back in 2017, but it isn’t any of her appearances that recently re-captured our attention.

The old ‘Boddies’ ad that we stumbled across in 2025, more than 30 years on from when it originally aired, is the Gondola/’Just One Cornetto’ spoof filmed right here in the city centre along Manchester’s famous canal network.

Circa 1993. Recognise where it is?

Just as beautiful as Venice, if you ask us – and that’s just the pint…

As you can see, not only did the once beloved Boddingtons advert capture a glimpse of the River Irwell near the old Granada Studios and how Manchester’s waterways used to look back in the day, but it was also a pretty modern, ironic take for the time.

Inspired by arguably one of the most famous ads of all time, the Boddies marketing team and director Jeff Stark didn’t just imitate or poke fun at Wall’s Cornetto ice cream: they played on the genuine nickname and imagery drummed up by locals who drank it week in, week out.

The famous frothy white head and the ‘do you want a Flake with that?’ is the kind of joke you still hear to this day when someone overdoes it with a Guinness, but turning the glass into a golden ice cream was a bit of genius.

In fact, the old Boddies ad even helped launch the career of stingy ‘Gladys Althorpe’ herself, Anna Chancellor, who went on to appear in What A Girl Wants, Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and many more.

She and Sykes weren’t the only ones either; another admittedly sexually-charged campaign released roughly a year later featured another familiar face in Sarah Parish (Doctor Who, Trollied, The Wedding Date) – again, always ending with a stereotypically Manc, if not at least Northern, punchline.

It was smash hits like these that saw Boddingtons dubbed not only Manchester’s most famous beverage but ‘the Cream of Marketing‘ for a time as well.

The beer may not be as prominent as it once was, but its legacy as part of classic UK telly is up there with R Whites Lemonade, Dairy Milk, Compare The Meerkat, and so many more.

You can see a super-cut compilation of some of their retro ads HERE.

Oh yeah, and if watching all this has made you get a thirst on like it did us, you’ll be glad to hear that while it may be difficult to locate these days, there are still a few places you can find a pint of Boddies in and around the area.

The lost art of Boddingtons, and which pubs still serve The Cream of Manchester
By ‘eck, it’s still gorgeous.

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Featured Images — advertarchive (screenshot via YouTube)

Manchester

Gig review | Lionel Richie leaves Manchester dancing on the ceiling after Co-op Live debut

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

American multi-hyphenate Lionel Richie paid Manchester a visit last night and gave the 23,500 fans in the crowd all of his ‘Endless Love’.

Richie needs no explanation, being a household name, this artist had the crowd in the palm of his hands as soon as he stepped foot onto the stage, just like he has been doing since he burst onto the music scene over 50 years ago. 

When you’re about to watch a legend strut his stuff in various tailcoats ‘All Night Long (All Night)’, you know you’re in for a mini workout.

We tried out Co-op Live’s Backstage Club before the show to fuel up with a pizza and grab a drink to ensure that we could dance ‘All Night Long (All Night) as much as the main man himself. 

Drinks at the Co-op Live Backstage Club, Manchester.
‘Breezy like a Sunday Morning’.
Co-op Live Backstage Club, offers the perfect pre-gig experience.
Soaking up the fun at Co-op Live’s Backstage Club.
Co-op Live Backstage Club, offers the perfect pre-gig experience.
You really do get the VIP treatment.
Credit: Audio North

As well as boasting an intimate area with music history covering all four walls, this location had a photobooth, pool table, its own merchandise vendor and a live band.

For tonight’s show, it was only right that the band soundtracking Co-op Live’s Backstage Club were aptly named The Pennies and the signature drinks were equally fitting, ‘Say You, Say G&T’ and a cocktail offering labelled, ‘Breezy like a Sunday Morning’. 

Glasgow solo star Brooke Combe – a favourite of ours from past Neighbourhood Festivals – gave the crowd our first taste of music for the night, playing highlights of her debut album ‘Dancing at the Edge of the World’, which only dropped back in January.

Her songs ooze soul, from the infectious ‘Shaken by the Wind’ to the instantly catchy ‘The Last Time’ and fan favourite, ‘Are You With Me?’. Combe’s stage presence was nothing short of contagious.

It’s no surprise, really, considering she’s already practised and perfected her craft at Glastonbury back in 2022 among countless other massive slots. Make sure you catch her the next time she’s in Manchester.

The legendary performer knew he had to kick things off in true Lionel Richie style, it’s only obligatory that he opened the show with his greeting-titled hit ‘Hello’.

Lionel Richie at Co-op Live Manchester, left us dancing on the ceiling
Lionel welcoming fans with ‘Hello’ and being greeted with equally impressive roars from the crowd.
Lionel Richie at Co-op Live Manchester, left us dancing on the ceiling
Richie slowing it down for a moment, performing Commodores classic, ‘Easy’.
Credit: The Manc Group

As the chorus approached, the American superstar hailed “Hello” and the audience immediately exclaimed in synch, “Is it me you’re looking for?”.  

Social media might’ve been non-existent when the performer first reached our ears, but this didn’t stop Lionel Richie from inadvertently turning last night into a mini ‘Throwback Thursday’ playing his 1977 Commodores swooner ‘Easy’.

If you had told me that Lionel Richie would directly address me and my brother mid-performance, I would’ve laughed in your face, but last night the star adopted the both of us. Life complete.

The American singer came up the catwalk, soaking up all the cheers and love from the Co-op Live crowd, and then pointed directly at me and my brother and gave us a little shoutout.

Before playing the anthem that is ‘We are the World’, Mr. Richie expressed, “Alright, I’ll just tell ‘em” before admitting to the whole arena, “These are my cousins right here”.

I guess when we sang “Hello, is it me you’re looking for?” earlier in the show, it really was me (and my brother) he was looking for.

Just like his opening track, the final slot also has its fixed placement in Richie’s setlist; of course, that song is none other than the essential party number, ‘All Night Long (All Night)’.

Richie recites the line, “We’re going to party, Karamu, fiesta, forever”, and the crowd understood the assignment as by the time he sang, “Come on and sing along / All night long”, everyone was up.

This tune is nothing less than cathartic, and for the five minutes it played, everyone was side-stepping, swaying, singing, dancing, not a single inhibition in sight. 

Lionel Richie might know his way around writing smash hits and commanding a crowd, but it’s the audience’s joy for the music that made this concert such a special night.

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Lionel Richie at Co-op Live Manchester, left us dancing on the ceiling
Did we tell you? Lionel Richie called us his cousins.
Lionel Richie at Co-op Live Manchester, left us dancing on the ceiling
Richie amidst a flurry of flashlights from the Manc crowd.
Credit: The Manc

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Featured Images – The Manc Group  

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