Food & Drink

Inside Salford Rum’s new distillery, bar and rum school

From the markets to their own bar in just three years, Salford Rum is on the rise.

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 16th June 2022

This week the Salford Rum Company has opened its very first distillery, bar and rum school just off Chapel Street in Salford.

Aptly named The Dirty Old Town Distillery after The Pogues hit track from their 1985 album Rum Sodomy & the Lash, it’s located in an appropriately industrial setting – a former railway arch on Viaduct Street.

Inside, a bar and seating area put the focus on the rum that started it all – serving a range of simple (but delicious) rum cocktails and spirit mixers, alongside regularly changing beers from local breweries like Shindigger.

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

The brand’s iconic bottles, covered in hand-drawn historic maps of industrial Salford by local artist Dave Draws, line shelves behind the bar and on the walls as you enter, with a magnificent column still in pride of place on a stage at the back of the bar.

The walls are covered in more hand-drawn artwork from Dave Draws, this time depicting Salford in 2022 – with landmarks like Peel Park, Salford Cinema, the Ship Canal and Salford Lad’s Club all proudly nodding towards the area’s local history.

Elsewhere, chunky wooden tables and black and white photographs pulled from Salford’s historical archives line the walls.

Image: The Manc Eats

Here, for the first time since the brand launched in 2018, locals have a place to sit down and enjoy the sweet spirit – be that on its own, as a sipping rum, or in simple but elegant mixers like rum and coke ice cream floats, or a classic rum and ginger beer, elevated by the addition of clementine puree and fresh ginger.

It’s a big step up for the brand, which has come a long way from its early days on the Manchester Maker’s markets.

Created three years ago by two rugby-league-playing high school friends, James Harrison and Tommy Gaughan, Salford Rum has created two core expressions since its launch in 2018; a golden Salford Spiced Rum and Salford Dark Spice.

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

The pair learned about premium rum making on top of their day jobs, and with a small self-funded start up investment of just £8,000, created their first premium golden spiced spirit as a passionate celebration of the history, heritage and people of the Salford Docks

Inspired by an era whereby the city’s Salford Docks grew to be the third-largest port in the UK, Salford Rum takes its flavour inspiration from the rums, fruits and spices from the Caribbean which were landing on British shores for the first time in that bygone time

Today, inside the brand new distillery and bar, the pair plan to innovate and experiment with new expressions to complement their core range – as well as host rum school experiences where guests can enjoy guided tastings and experiment with making their own rums too.

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

Speaking on the new opening Tommy Gaughan, one half of the duo responsible for launching Salford Rum, said: “The support we’ve had locally for Salford Rum is nothing short of incredible. When looking for somewhere to take the brand to the next level, it was always going to be in Salford, and always going to be a place whereby our supporters can come and feel like they’re part of the Salford family.”

Salford Rum co-founder James Harrison added: “It’s been quite a ride and our first step into hospitality feels surreal. It’s time for us to grow in Greater Manchester’s vibrant drinks scene and for the brand to have somewhere to develop and – of course – serve awesome drinks.

Read more: A live show devoted to reviewing crisps is coming to Manchester

“We’re grounded in Salford and are wholly dedicated to bringing to life what the city has to offer – be it local talent, drinks and team members.

“We trialled a lot of offering over Christmas and have some brilliant ideas in the pipeline to truly bring to life how special Salford’s place on the Greater Manchester map is. The city has so much to offer, and where we can we’ll be championing it

Feature image – The Manc Eats

Food & Drink

The UK’s best kebab is coming to Manchester as legendary shawarma bar announces Deansgate site

Clementine Hall Clementine Hall

A brand-new shawarma bar is set to open its doors in Manchester this summer.

If you’re ever across the Pennines over in sunny Leeds, then you will have most likely heard of SQEW – a modern Lebanese-inspired eatery that has established itself as a cult-favourite amongst locals.

And it’s not just those Yorkshire folk who think it’s great, SQEW has recently been scooping up the accolades including most recently, Deliveroo’s Best Kebab of 2025.

The rumour mill has been turning for quite some time now but luckily for us they are in fact true, SQEW will be bringing its bold, elevated take on the kebab to 75 Deansgate, taking over the former Rola Wala site.

Owner of SQEW standing outside of his eatery in Leeds.
Images: The Manc Group

From humble beginnings to national recognition, SQEW was founded in 2015 by passionate chef and founder Mitch Renshaw, who wanted to give the often-overlooked kebab the love it truly deserves.

What began as a single idea serving slow-cooked meats and house-made sauces quickly boomed into a local sensation, eventually landing a permanent home in 2021 on Leeds’ Boar Lane.

Customers can expect a menu rooted in Lebanese flavours with a modern twist, all served with good old fashioned northern hospitality.

SQEW's new site on Deansgate.
Image: The Manc Group

Speaking about the expansion, Mitch Renshaw, Owner and Founder of SQEW, said: “Were absolutely thrilled to announce our move over the pennies. We’ve been searching for the perfect site since 2023, and when we came across 75 Deansgate we jumped at it. We have a few surprises up our sleeves for Manchester and can’t wait to reveal more. 

Having spent the last few weeks in Manchester, I’m brimming ear to ear, the people, the culture, the operators, we just can’t wait to be part of it.” 

The new site will feature an all-day shawarma bar concept with seating, takeaway, and delivery options – so you can get your SQEW fix however way you want it.

We’ll keep you updated with more details in the coming weeks, but you keep an eye on SQEW’s socials for more sneak peeks.

Read more: Bundobust and Madre announce bold new Indo-Mexican collaboration

Featured image – The Manc Group

Food & Drink

Bundobust and Madre announce bold new Indo-Mexican collaboration

Clementine Hall Clementine Hall Madre and Bundobust are teaming up

Two of Manchester’s best-loved casual dining spots are joining forces for a limited-edition collaboration.

Bundobust and Madre will be teaming up this summer to create a menu inspired by two world-famous street food cultures – India, and Mexico.

The Indo-Mexican menu will feature dishes like ‘Naanchos’, and plenty of other Desi-flavoured Mexican dishes.

It’ll be mashing up iconic ingredients, techniques, and flavours, with a menu of brand new spice-packed dishes and cocktails combining Desi and Mexican influence.

So, what can we expect?

Mexican street food classics chimichanga and quesadillas get the Desi treatment, while Bundobust’s Indian street food favourites like chaat get a little Latino heat.

All paired with spicy summer-time cocktails, as a homage to Mexican drinking culture, plus the return of Bundobust Brewery’s new golden Cerveza, SANJA Mexican Lager.

We can’t think of a better place to spend our summer evenings to be quite honest.

On the menu there are crunchy Indo-Mexican ‘naanchos’, topped with salsa verde, crema, tamarind, onion, coriander, and a punchy pickle masala.

Madre and Bundobust are teaming up
Madre and Bundobust are teaming up
Naanchos, from the Bundobust x Madre menu
Naanchos, from the Bundobust x Madre menu

There’ll also be a ‘Tikkadilla’ – a corn tortilla packed with oyster mushrooms, red tikka sauce and Oaxaca cheese, with a side of desi birria sauce for dipping.

That’s alongside masala chimichanga, birria-ani, and corn chaat.

Then you can wash that down with a cashew colada, an avocado lassi, spicy mango margs and loads more.

The Indo-Mexican menu will be available at all Bundobust and Madre locations from Monday 14 July until Sunday 17 August 2025.

Read more

Featured image: The Manc Group

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