Food & Drink

Manchester’s new dive bar Salt Dog Slims is opening its doors tomorrow

Who's ready for some "steins, brines, and good times"?

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 19th October 2021

Salt Dog Slims will welcome its first customers through the doors tomorrow.

It’s one of Liverpool’s most infamous dive bars – and now it’s bringing its “steins, brines and good times” right here to Manchester, with a new venue on Bow Lane in the heart of the city centre.

Known for its late night parties, emporium of world beers, bespoke cocktails, and American-style chilli dogs, Salt Dog Slims is the perfect day to night spot for everything from post-work drinks to weekend celebrations.

Fancy hitting the dance floor?

Well, you’ll be met with what can only be described as the most varied of beasts – the bartender’s choice playlist, which famously features just about everything from indie anthems, to absolute pop bangers.

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Salt Dog Slims is bringing its “steins, brines and good times” / Credit: Salt Dog Slims

The bartenders are likely to be propping up the bar post shift, joined by those who don’t want the party to stop and taking advantage of the bar’s late-night closing time.

Queueing at the bar is set to be a thing of the past too, and that’s because Salt Dog Slims has its own beer vending machine to take advantage of, and there’s also no need to worry about the moments you might forget, as there’s the legendary graffiti wall free for party-goers to leave their mark.

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The Bow Lane venue in the city centre will be opening tomorrow / Credit: Salt Dog Slims

With plenty of booths and bookable spaces, the venue is perfect for group parties too.

Salt Dog Slims will open this Wednesday 20 October, and you can book a table ahead of the grand opening on the venue’s website here.

Featured Image – Salt Dog Slims

Food & Drink

The Manchester restaurant serving up the ‘world’s hottest curry’ for just a few days

Danny Jones Danny Jones Zouk chilli challenge world's hottest curry

City centre favourite Zouk is serving up ‘the world’s hottest curry’ again to celebrate National Chilli Day next week.

The popular tea bar and grill located on Chester Street just off Oxford Road is slap bang in the middle of student central and has hordes of patrons lining up day in, day out, to taste their incredible Indian and Pakistani cuisine.

Now, to celebrate every spicy-food lover’s favourite day, Zouk is putting on special, limited-time-only menu to cater to all you heat freaks and speaking collectively on The Manc‘s behalf (several of us having tried it), it’s no joke.

The World’s Hottest Curry will be available for five days from Monday 24 to Friday 28 February, with a challenge on Thursday 27 February with prizes to anyone who can finish the fiery karahi.

The dishes

When it came to coming up with the world’s hottest curry, Zouk didn’t have to look far for inspiration, they simply picked the world’s hottest chilli: the Carolina Reaper Chilli.

Combining the 1,569,000 Scoville scorcher of a chilli with their much-loved and already spicy chicken karahi and vegetable karahi recipes, they knew they were on a winner. You might have to sign a waiver to eat it but that’s all part of the fun, right?

Typically prepared in a wok and cooked over hot flames with tomatoes, ginger, garlic, peppercorns and cumin to create the sauce base, the karahi originates from the Northwest region of Pakistan and has a great flavour. Depending on how brave you’re feeling, you can have it as a kebab or a full curry.

Credit: Supplied

That being said, this version does contain dried Carolina Reapers so you might not taste much beyond the heat of the sun after a few seconds. While the chilli is deemed suitable for human consumption, even Zouk’s chefs have admitted to struggling with the dish. Gulp. So, what can you win?

The challenge and prizes

Us Brits love a good curry and we already know that plenty of you won’t be able to resist the urge to take on the Reaper Challenge simply out of pride, so we might as well just tell you what you’ll have to eat in order to win the prizes.

Here’s what’s up for grabs:

Finish the full Carolina Reaper Curry (either chicken or veg) in one sitting (max eating time 30 minutes and no helping from companions), Zouk will give you the meal for free.

PLUS, a £50 Zouk Gift Card so you can come back at a later date to try their full menu (including some less omg-spicy options).

You’ll also get a Zouk Ice Cream Sunday to help cool off afterwards. Trust us, you’ll need it.

Issuing a statement for National Chilli Day and the Reaper Challenge, owner Tayub Amjad said: “Our food is usually more about flavour than heat but it’s National Chilli Day, and we know our customers love this challenge.

“For those who complete the challenge, you still have chance to come back and dine on us at a future date, so you will still get to experience the real Zouk too.”

What you thinking, Manchester? Are you up for taking on the world’s hottest curry?

Find out more and make a booking HERE.

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Featured Image — ZOUK/The Manc Group

Food & Drink

Prestwich pizzeria Dokes announces closure as neighbourhood goes through big changes

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Dokes in Prestwich has announced its closure. Credit: The Manc Group

One of Prestwich’s best-loved independent restaurants has announced the end of its current chapter, saying that it’s become too difficult to operate with tighter and tighter margins.

Dokes, a pizzeria that also served arguably the town’s best roast dinner, has said that it’s going to ‘have to call it a day’ after three years in the proudly independent neighbourhood.

The news comes just months after Rudy’s opened its first Prestwich restaurant just across the road from Dokes, though that of course may just be a coincidence…

The restaurant comes from the same team behind Elnecot in Ancoats, and opened in 2022, promising delicious pizzas made with (wherever possible) British ingredients.

In a statement issued today, chef and owner Michael Clay said that ‘it’s just not been possible for us to make the money required for the size of team needed to run as a pizza restaurant’.

He wrote: “We are a small restaurant and the margins that were there pre-Covid are not achievable anymore at this scale and only getting tighter month on month.”

He then teased that they would be keeping the Bury New Road site on, with plans to reopen as a new concept.

Prestwich has been growing in popularity in recent years, with a blossoming food and drink scene and healthily increasing house prices.

It’s on the precipice of a £100m overhaul too, which will see the Longfield Centre transformed and new facilities built near the tram stop, including a community hub, a new village square, a market hall, flexible retail and leisure spaces, landscaped outdoor and green spaces, a new travel hub off Fairfax Road and around 200 homes.

It’s always been a village packed with local small businesses until this year, when both Rudy’s and Gail’s opened up – prompting this heartfelt statement from another local indie.

Dokes’ full statement reads: “After nearly 3 years of trying our hardest, unfortunately we’re going to have to call it a day.

“Having originally taken on the premises in between the two lockdowns (remember them?!), we’ve been extremely proud of what we have achieved under sometimes unbelievably difficult circumstances. Our staff have been the cornerstone of this and we would like to thank them for all of their hard work. The feedback we have received over the past couple of years on their food, service and hospitality has been absolutely incredible and we are extremely grateful for the hard work they have put in and the commitment they have shown.

“We feel like we have created a product that you have absolutely loved and a space that you have enjoyed coming to and we now really feel like a part of the Prestwich community – and for that we can’t thank you enough! You came for the pizzas and stayed for the roasts and it’s been a lot of fun.

“Try as we might though, it’s just not been possible for us to make the money required for the size of team needed to run as a pizza restaurant. We are a small restaurant and the margins that were there pre-Covid are not achievable anymore at this scale and only getting tighter month on month.

“So it is with a heavy heart that we are closing the door on this chapter BUT…we aren’t going to be leaving you completely…

“We have plans for the place which we will be updating you about very soon so please watch this space for more details. We hope you’re going to love it.

“As Dokes, Sunday 9th March will be our final service so please come down over the next couple of weeks, grab a pizza or a roast and say hello. It would be lovely to see you all. Bookings are open and the cellar is stocked so lets fill the little place up and go out with a bang!

“Big love P-town. Michael, Wes and the team x”

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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