Manchester’s massive street food venue Hatch has been given a dose of 80s nostalgia in time for Christmas, with traders launching a whole raft of festive specials.
The huge Oxford Road hub of street food and independent retail has been kitted out with fluorescent lights and disco baubles for the festive season.
Hatch has said it wants to ‘transport customers back to a different era when iPhones and ‘furlough’ were yet to enter our mainstream vocabulary’, which sounds good to us.
As well as retro events, there’ll be festive food and drink from its many traders to dig into too.
Pigs in blanket parmos from Parmogeddon at Hatch. Credit: Jody Hartley
Seasonal specials will include a pigs in blanket parmo from Parmogeddon, topping a classic chicken parmo with pigs in blankets and deep-fried stuffing.
ADVERTISEMENT
The duo will also put their spin on the Christmas sandwich, with bacon, melted brie and cranberry sauce loaded onto a parmo and served in a toasted brioche bun.
Vegan street food legends Herbivorous have created plant-based festive alternatives like a sage and onion seitan roast served in brioche bun with braised cabbage and red onion gravy, and a ‘turkey’ and stuffing burger.
ADVERTISEMENT
Grandad’s Sausages will be on hand with their take on traditional German bratwursts, while Biscuit and Brew have created festive cookie dough pies with spiced ice creams.
Festive desserts from Biscuit & Brew. Credit: Jody Hartley
Then Sicilian street food experts T’arricrii have created a menu of specialty arancinos with fillings like bolognese sauce and ham and cheese.
There are – naturally – plenty of winter tipples to work your way through at Hatch too, like Kir Royales (made with O’Donnell’s berry moonshine and prosecco), Christmas Manhattans, and Clementine Cosmopolitans.
ADVERTISEMENT
Hatch bar Miami Ice have created festive espresso martinis – expect flavours like Black Forest, gingerbread, Terry’s Chocolate Orange and Biscoff.
A Biscoff espresso martini. Credit: Jody Hartley
Hatch has also opened its own hot drinks bar, which will serve mulled wines, hot cider and hot buttered rums, which can be grabbed from the Oxford Road entrance for takeaway too.
Craft beer bar ÖL, one of Hatch’s very first traders, will be supplying a number of Christmas themed beers.
The festive specials are all available now right through until the end of the year.
Events over the festive season will include Christmas Carols, 80s discos, and live music.
Manchester’s first banana pudding bar has opened in the city centre
Clementine Hall
Make sure to save room for pudding…because one of the city’s most-talked about dessert brands has found a new home.
Buttercup launched last summer, creating little pots of the hit US dessert made famous by the iconic Magnolia Bakery.
Each dessert features vanilla custard whipped with cream, soft sponge, and fresh banana, which you can then customise with rotating flavours and toppings.
And after a brief disappearance from the Manchester foodie scene, Buttercup is back with a bang with their beautiful new home on Deansgate.
Images: The Manc Group
And when we say beautiful, we really mean it.
Glossy burgundy tiles, butter yellow walls and sleek chrome furniture make up the space beneath the huge arched window, and there’s even a few seats for you to enjoy your pud and watch the world go by.
Open daily from 10am til 10pm, the menu includes three puddings on rotation ready to scoop.
Images: The Manc Group
Choose from the classic banana, indulgent tiramisu and an ever-changing seasonal special, alongside a wall of toppings for you to customise your own pud.
Each recipe has been perfected in-house and the proof really is in the banana pudding…because it tastes just as good as it looks.
Since launching, Buttercup has served around 50,000 puddings, hosted sell-out pop-ups across the city, collaborated with some huge brands, and built a loyal following around its signature build-your-own pudding bar.
Image: The Manc Group
With this new standalone space, you’ll of course be able to indulge in its signature banana pudding, as well as breakfast yoghurt bowls, coffee and matcha.
Officially opening tomorrow Saturday 26 September, the first 50 customers will get a free topping and sauce with the purchase of any pudding, plus a free lip gloss from Manchester-born beauty brand REFY.
‘Remember to support genuine independents’ – Manchester’s rotisserie chicken bistro Tartuffe announces closure
Emily Sergeant
Rotisserie chicken bistro Tartuffe has called final orders on its time at popular city centre hangout, Side Street.
Serving some of the best rotisserie chicken in Manchester – ‘sexy chicken’, if you will – Tartuffe first landed at Side Street inside the ABC Building back in the later summer of 2024, and quickly became known and loved by critics and customers alike for not just their rotisserie options, but also their stylish bar snacks and standout sides.
But despite being a roaring success these past two years, Tartuffe took to social media this week to announce the end of the ‘longest pop-up ever’, with its final service being tomorrow (25 September).
Tartuffe will be leaving Side Street this Friday / Credit: The Manc Group
Announcing its closure on Instagram, Tartuffe wrote: “That’s right, our time at Side Street has come to an end and our final service here is this Friday.
“It’s been an incredible two and a half years cooking for the wonderful people of Manchester and we’re hugely thankful to everyone who’s been to see us whilst we’ve been here.
“Another big thanks to the staff at Side Street who we’ve loved working with. We’ve made some great friends and worked with some absolutely brilliant people.
Daisy Jackson -
23rd November 2021 
