Food & Drink

Mancs with January birthdays only have to ‘pay the year you were born’ at this local restaurant

The Botanist is offering Capricorns and Aquarians the chance to ease the January blues with an unmissable 'Birthday Bonus' offer.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 12th January 2022

Once the hustle and bustle of the festive season dies down, January can often be a much quieter month with not a lot to look forward to.

Those carefree summer nights are still in the distant future, and your friends may have resolved to drinking less, spending less, and sleeping more. The long and short of it? The party’s over, basically, which is the last thing you want to hear when your birthday falls in January. 

People with January birthdays have drawn the short straw when it comes to celebrations.

But luckily, one of Greater Manchester’s most-popular restaurants is offering Capricorns and Aquarians the chance to ease the January blues with a ‘Birthday Bonus’ offer.

The Botanist – which has a number of local branches on Deansgate in the city centre, MediaCityUK, Didsbury, Alderley Edge, Warrington, and Chester – is giving those who choose to celebrate their January birthday at one of its restaurants the chance to “pay for the year you were born”.

The offer means that those with the January birthday and everyone in their booking will only pay for the amount that corresponds to the year you were born when dining from the restaurant’s group set menu.

Need an example? Let’s say, if you were born in 1993, then you’ll only pay £19.93 each, instead of the usual cost of £30 per person. 

The Botanist is giving people with January birthdays the chance to “pay for the year you were born” / Credit: The Botanist

The older you are, the cheaper your meal is.

That means you’ll make a saving of about a third per person, so if you do have a January birthday, your friends will have no excuse but to celebrate with you over one of The Botanist’s signature dishes.

The menu offer applies to lunch and dinner sittings and includes three courses plus a glass of wine, bottle of beer, or non-alcoholic mocktail.

Some of the dishes on offer include favourites such as Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings, Rump Steak, and the mouthwatering Oreo Cookie Dough, as well as vegan options including the Plant Based Burger, Cauliflower Wings, and Raspberry and Almond Frangipane Tart, and for an extra special touch, you can also pre-order a birthday dessert or cocktail, complete with an edible ‘Happy Birthday’ message. 

Booking is essential to redeem the ‘Birthday Bonus’ offer, so you can view the menu and book at your nearest restaurant on The Botanist website here.

Featured Image – The Botanist

Food & Drink

Beloved bowling bar to close after 12 years ahead of major transformation

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Dog Bowl is closing in Manchester to become Wynward Lanes. Credit: The-Vain - Carl Sukonik - @thevainphotos

Dog Bowl, a bowling bar that’s been part of Manchester’s bar scene for 12 years, will be closing for good next month ahead of a major rebrand.

The beloved bowling alley will be shutting down on 16 August to make way for Wynwood Lanes, a new downtown Miami-themed venue.

It’s promising ‘pool-side party vibes’ inspired by Miami’s vibrant Wynwood district, famed for its bold geometric murals, neon lit streets and 24/7 energy – but bowling lanes will remain as part of the venue.

The bar will offer five upgraded bowling lanes, east coast playlists, celebratory smoke machines and upgraded lighting effects that bring every strike to life.

That’s alongside new pool tables, basketball hoops and a coconut shy.

Taking over the kitchens at the Whitworth Street venue will be Kong’s NQ, who’ll be serving up fresh Cuban sandwiches, meat-filled arepas and fried chicken tacos.

Wynwood Lanes will also feature a bottomless brunch menu every Saturday and Sunday from 30 August, with Miami brunch plates and bottomless drinks for 90 minutes and bowling packages available too.

The drinks menu will star cocktails inspired by Miami – think frozen margs, fruity daiquiris, and coladas.

By day, you can expect poolside cocktails, low-fi tunes, and a laid-back atmosphere – with children welcome until 7pm, Sunday to Wednesday.

But then by night, Wynwood Lanes will be all about drinks offers, late night snacks and a late night playlist.

Dog Bowl has been part of Manchester’s nightlife scene since 2013, and was acquired by gaming bar NQ64 in 2018.

Now it’s ready for its next era as Wynwood Lanes.

Dog Bowl is closing in Manchester to become Wynward Lanes. Credit: The-Vain - Carl Sukonik - @thevainphotos
Credit: The-Vain – Carl Sukonik – @thevainphotos
Dog Bowl is closing in Manchester to become Wynward Lanes. Credit: The-Vain - Carl Sukonik - @thevainphotos
Credit: The-Vain – Carl Sukonik – @thevainphotos
Dog Bowl is closing in Manchester to become Wynward Lanes

Matt Robson, Co-founder of Wynwood Lanes, said: “We went and sat in Dog Bowl recently and just realised we weren’t proud of it anymore – (especially the name, we no longer want to compete with pet shops on Google).

“Wynwood Lanes will bring something new to Whitworth Street and we’re buzzing to crack on with it!

“We have a hit list of passions from a trip to Wynwood in Miami and built a space that brings together the things we love – drinking rum and tequila, smashing avo on toast with Cuban coffee for brunch, tacos and fried chicken at night, playing and watching basketball, sharking people at pool and partying late into the night…”

Bowling prices will start at £9 with food and drink add-ons while you bowl available.

Wynwood Lanes will open at 4pm on Friday 22 August.

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Featured image: The-Vain – Carl Sukonik – @thevainphotos

Food & Drink

The old fire station in Salford that’s now home to a bakery, brewery and bar

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson The 'Salford Bagel' with smoked salmon

A former fire station in Salford has been turned into a bustling base for some of the North West’s finest baking and brewing talents.

The Old Fire Station, right beside the University of Salford, is now operating as a bakery, brewery, bar, cafe and restaurant.

That means pastries, bread, pizzas and even beers are made within a few feet of where you’ll be eating and drinking them.

The space is beautiful, still boasting those gigantic red fire station doors and the traditional ceramic tiles that would have been here when the space was still home to fire engines instead of bread mixers.

Around half of the pastries coming out of the bakery, headed up by Erick Molero Delgado (his CV includes top bakeries across the USA and Europe), are completely vegan – not that you can tell from looking at their glossy, laminated layers and extravagant fillings.

We’re talking perfectly cubed laminated brioche with sweet maple flavours, mini pizzettes with olives and tomatoes dotted inside a pastry wall, and striped pain suisse stuffed with nuts and chocolate.

Then there are the not-very-vegan-at-all pastries, like a spandaeur, which is like a croissant and pastel de nata hybrid, and thick slices of Basque cheesecake.

There are new signature ‘Salford bagels’ too developed by assistant head baker Scott Shannon, which are a fusion of North American, German and Jewish styles, fermented for up to 48 hours with a crisp outer shell and a chewy centre.

A spandaeur pastry and a pain suisse
A spandaeur pastry and a pain suisse
Heirloom tomato bruschetta on sourdough
Heirloom tomato bruschetta on sourdough
The bakery line-up
The bakery line-up
The 'Salford Bagel' with smoked salmon
The ‘Salford Bagel’ with smoked salmon

We had ours stuffed with smoked salmon, cream cheese and capers and raved about it all the way home.

Erick says: “Our new menu is a true labour of love by the whole team – from early ideas and experiments right through to the final bake.

“If someone has an idea, we run with it. That creative freedom is priceless. It keeps the work exciting, and it means our customers have the opportunity to get something fresh every time they visit.”

As for the beers, they’re all made on site too – on the opposite side of The Old Fire Station is Lark Hill Brewery, headed up by Jack Dixon, who’s able to experiment and explore new flavours in this top-spec microbrewery.

Jack Dixon in the Lark Hill Brewery
Jack Dixon in the Lark Hill Brewery
Laminated brioche
Laminated brioche
The Old Fire Station bakers at work
The Old Fire Station bakers at work

There are experimental beers, sometimes made in collaboration with researchers at the University, as well as true-to-style classics like a New England Pale Ale and the Lark Helles, a fresh take on a classic German lager.

Jack said: “Having the autonomy to design and brew what I want, without limits, is rare and exciting,.

“It means every beer we pour here has a story and a personality. We’re proud to bring something new to Salford’s craft scene.”

This summer, they’re launching New York-style pizzas, made on slow-fermented, hand-stretched pizza dough.

And very little goes to waste here – the trimmed-off croissant pastry is now being turned into their own croissant loaf, which they’re whipping into French toast for the brunch menu.

Everything at The Old Fire Station is crafted with talent and love, and you can really taste it.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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