The Kampus neighbourhood in Manchester city centre is set to welcome a new bakery, florist and bagel shop hybrid as Bread Flower take charge of the Bungalow.
The business, founded by baker Maya Black and florist Scarlett Jamieson, will occupy the landmark building – formerly a security cabin and built on stilts – in the run-up to Christmas and beyond.
Visitors will be able to grab open bagel sandwiches to eat in or take away from the Kampus bakery, with menu items including salt beef and a bagel French toast.
Bags of Bread Flower’s handmade sourdough bagels will be on sale by the dozen or half-dozen.
The Bungalow at Kampus, which used to be a security cabin / Credit: Kampus
On the floristry side of things, Scarlett will be creating bouquets, wreaths and table centre-pieces to order, as well as selling smaller bunches in store.
The Bread Flower bundles – featuring freshly-baked bagels, schmears (flavoured cream cheese), Manchester Smokehouse salmon (or a vegan carrot alternative) and hand-tied flowers – will make a return too.
New Christmas morning hampers will include added festive extras, like sparkling wine from Le Social, Blossom Coffee, and sticky buns. These can be pre-ordered and collected on either December 23 or 24.
Open topped bagel sandwiches will be on offer in the Bread Flower bakery and cafe / Credit: Bread Flower
There’ll be an Indie Winter Market too, offering trading pitches to local businesses like Beaches & Cream, Shy Seagull and Prestwich Gin.
Maya said: “We’re really looking forward to opening the Bread Flower cafe in the Bungalow.
You can order table centre-pieces and wreaths – or learn to make your own in a workshop / Credit: Bread Flower
“Kampus has been a home for us for a few months now, hosting various events like our supper clubs and yoga brunch, and of course delivering our bundles, but this four-week residency will be bigger and better than anything we’ve done before.
“We’ve got lots of lovely festive events lined up, like our Hanukkah supper club, Indie Winter Markets with wonderful local traders and weekly floral workshops too; offering what we hope is a genuine independent alternative for shoppers with delicious produce and unique gifts.”
The Bread Flower cafe at The Bungalow will be open from Friday 26 November until the end of January.
Its opening hours will be 8am to 2pm on Thursdays and Fridays, and 10am to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Featured Image – Bread Flower
Food & Drink
Manchester restaurant to give out FREE katsu curries to people called ‘Kat’ or ‘Sue’
Emily Sergeant
In what is a small stroke of genius, a restaurant chain has decided to give out free katsu curries to anyone called ‘Kat’ or ‘Sue’.
Throughout September, award-winning restaurant chain Banana Tree – which has a Greater Manchester site down at Salford Quays – is shining the spotlight on its popular katsu creations, and as a clever way of celebrating National Katsu Day on 27 September has announced a pretty unique giveaway.
That’s right – the restaurant will be serving up katsu dishes to people called Kat, Sue, and every delicious variation of the names in between.
Anyone named Kat, Katie, Katherine, Sue, Suzy, Susan, Suzanne – or close enough to qualify, the list goes on – can head to their local Banana Tree restaurant, and all they’ll need to do is show proof of name and they can enjoy a free katsu dish of their choice, worth up to £16.75.
The chain’s kastu lineup includes three star dishes.
First there’s the much-loved Katsu Curry, as well as the all-new Katsu Burger, which is made from either a crispy chicken or veggie fillet, spicy mayo, puffed noodle crunch, and a drizzle of Katsu sauce tucked into a soft Shokupan bun with a side of salt n pepper chilli chips.
Then there’s also the intriguing newcomer, the Katsu Carbonara – which is described as being a daring East-meets-West mash-up and ‘unapologetically’ Banana Tree.
Banana Tree is giving away free katsu curries to people called ‘Kat’ or ‘Sue’ / Credit: Banana Tree
With each of these dishes usually priced around the £16 mark, the giveaway isn’t just a way of marking National Katsu Day, but it’s also a way to sample the some of the restaurant’s biggest crowd-pleasers entirely free of charge.
To avoid any confusion on who makes the cut, Banana Tree will reveal the full qualifying list of name variations on Instagram soon, so keep your eyes peeled.
“Our Katsu range is one of our proudest creations, so National Katsu Day felt like the perfect moment to have some fun with our fans,” a Banana Tree spokesperson said ahead of the giveaway.
The free katsu offer is available for four days only from Monday 22 to Thursday 25 September, and you just need to head to the Banana Tree website to sign up to the Big Flavour Club here.
Featured Image – Banana Tree
Food & Drink
Bar Shrimp announces opening date as Higher Ground team gear up for new project
Daisy Jackson
Bar Shrimp, a new seafood and cocktail bar in Manchester from the team behind Higher Ground, has officially got itself an opening date.
The hotly-anticipated newcomer will be serving cocktails, beers, and British seafood and snacks from its spot on New York Street.
As well as confirming an October launch date, the team have also shared a glimpse of the menu Mancs can expect from next month.
Bar Shrimp will be offering an Oyster Happy Hour every weekday, as well as caviar with house-cut crisps, devilled eggs, and Sussex smokie fritters.
Expect shellfish over ice, Cornish crab cocktail, bar snack classics and even beef burgers.
It comes from the same team behind Higher Ground and Flawd, headed up again by hospitality dream team Joseph Otway, Daniel Craig Martin and Richard Cossins.
And they’ve partnered with Stockport-based MasterSounds, to install a state-of-the-art custom-designed sound system with music director Lukas Stankunas curating the music programming on a weekly basis.
They say the venue will be a ‘dynamic space where the music and energy evolves throughout the evening’.
The team behind award-winning Higher Ground are opening a new seafood bar, Bar Shrimp, in Manchester
Inside, it’ll be decorated with plush-red banquettes, floor-to-ceiling drapes, and table service throughout.
Matt Pazos, Bruntwood SciTech Retail Commercial Manager, said of the announcement: “Bar Shrimp promises to be another big success for the team and we can’t wait to welcome them to Faulkner House.
“This exciting new concept, bringing together the team’s exceptional knowledge and experience of food and hospitality combined with their passion for music, will further complement the thriving community in this part of Manchester city centre.”
Walk-ins will be welcomed for drinks but reservations are encouraged for dining.
Reservations for Bar Shrimp have gone live today ahead of its official launch on Wednesday 22 October – sign up HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
16th November 2021 
