Food & Drink

Nell’s Pizza is finally reopening for takeaway at Common this week

The "NYC-inspired, MCR made" pizza parlour is bringing its substantial slices back to the Northern Quarter.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 23rd March 2021

Hugely popular NYC-inspired pizza parlour Nell’s Pizza is finally bringing its “substantial pizza slices” back to the Northern Quarter this week.

The “NYC-inspired, MCR made” eatery – famous for its 22″ pizza slices – has become a firm favourite of city centre foodies since arriving at Common last year, but has unfortunately been temporarily closed for the past few months.

The owners of Common and Nell’s Pizza made the difficult decision to close following the announcement of England’s third national lockdown back at the start of January.

This decision was taken primarily due to declining footfall in the city centre.

ADVERTISEMENT
https://www.facebook.com/themancuk/videos/952325395274252

Explaining the choice to shut up shop in a post to social media, Common said: “Our hand has been forced by the new government grants that are contingent on sites closing [and] sadly it now makes more sense for us to furlough staff and close, [rather] than stay open and plod on in a ghost town city centre.

“After 16 years in the game on Edge Street, this will be our longest closure and it is highly gutting [but] lots of other businesses are in the same boat as us so please support where you can if any of your local neighbourhood pivot experts are staying open / operating online / delivering etc”.

While the doors to Common may have been closed, Nell’s Pizza has remained open for takeaway services at The Beagle in Chorlton throughout the duration of the current lockdown.

ADVERTISEMENT

But is now set to return to its original Northern Quarter hub from this Thursday.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMwddmMl0L7/

Both Common and Nell’s Pizza will be coming “back in style” as a takeaway service this Thursday, and will be open every Thursday – Saturday, from 4pm – 9pm for the next two weeks, before reopening for outdoor hospitality from 12th April, at the earliest.

Orders can be placed for Click and Collect on the Common & Co app here, or via Deliveroo.

ADVERTISEMENT

Advanced bookings from 12th April onwards are currently not being accepted, as Common will instead be operating on a first-come-first-served / walk-in basis.

You can find menus and more information here.

Food & Drink

Siam Smiles, the authentic Thai cafe on a Manchester backstreet

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

When Siam Smiles was still a little cafe in a Chinatown supermarket it received serious rave reviews. Since moving up to Deansgate Mews, however, it seems to have been forgotten about a little.

Most famously described as “the most exciting thing to happen since the days of the Hacienda” by Marina O’Loughlin in a 2014 review for The Guardian, owner May also made headlines for teaching herself to cook on Youtube after her chef left the business one month after opening.

National critics, like O’Loughin and others, were seemingly drawn in by the cafe’s novelty – not one review missed the opportunity to mention the supermarket, or tell you how the ingredients in the dishes were often the same as the ones on the shelves.

But since it has moved over to The Mews, an oft-forgotten back street within the Great Northern Warehouse complex, the reviews have gone suspiciously quiet – so we thought we’d pop in to see if it’s all still up to scratch.

Spoiler alert, it definitely is.

Stir fried chicken Pad Ka Paow with jasmine rice and a fried egg. / Image: The Manc Eats
Inside SIam Smiles on Deansgate Mews. / Image: The Manc Eats

Two years after that rave review from O’Loughlin, rising bills forced the cafe to close – but with a little help, May reopened in 2016 at the Great Northern Warehouse. It’s here that you’ll still find her cooking up a storm today.

With bills firmly on the rise once again, we thought we’d pop in to shine a light on this longstanding Mancunian gem and are happy to report her food hasn’t faltered one iota.

We went for stir fried chicken Pad Ka Paow with jasmine rice and a fried egg, and a steaming bowl of KuiiTiwe Moo Nam Tok with fresh egg noodles and roasted duck breast, with two glasses of Singha on the side.

Read more: The swanky new Manchester cocktail bar housed in an old bank vault

A hearty portion of green papaya salad with dried shrimps. / Image: The Manc Eats
A steaming bowl of KuiiTiwe Moo Nam Tok with fresh egg noodles and roasted duck breast. / Image: The Manc Eats

We also couldn’t help but opt for a hearty portion of green papaya salad with dried shrimps, a dish that’s hard to find but something of a speciality here, as well as a second glass noodle salad with plump prawns and minced pork.

The dressings, always made by May herself, completely hit the spot with their balance of hot, sour, salty and sweet. 

Read more: ‘We are facing extreme economical pain’ – District suggests it could be closing

We strongly recommend you pop in and show Siam Smiles some love. It’s not all just about the shiny new restaurants, after all. We need to treasure the veterans too – and this is one we need to protect at all costs. 

Find the cafe on Deansgate Mews Unit G Upper Level ,Great Northern, 253, Deansgate, Manchester M3 4EN.

Feature image – The Manc Eats

Food & Drink

There’s a huge burger food fair happening in Manchester next weekend

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Burger lovers in Manchester should probably get themselves down to the city’s largest street food hub next weekend for a feast like no other.

That’s because GRUB is hosting its very-own burger food fair.

Perhaps it’s not the first city you’d think of when it comes to burgers, but Manchester is absolutely chocked full of an endless list of eateries and food traders serving up some of the most impressive patties you’ll quite possibly ever see in your life.

Whether you’re a meat lover, chicken fanatic, veggie or vegan/plant-based, there truly is something for everyone to tuck into in our city.

And a handful of those finest food traders are coming together all under one roof for the GRUB Burger Food Fair – which is taking over Manchester’s biggest street food venue and events space next weekend from Friday 30 September – Sunday 2 October, and is promising to bring “wall to wall burgers” to the hungry masses.

The Cheetham Hill-based venues’s annual celebration of all things burgers returns for 2022, with traders bringing a special menu inspired by their own take on the humble burger, as well as a whole range of different sides, snacks, and all-American desserts to go along with it.

BON Street Food, Spicy Baby, Thief Street Grill & Waffle, Charlie Mac’s, and The Cookie Smith are some of the traders you can expect on Friday and Saturday.

And then, as is the tradition at GRUB, everything that is served up on the Sunday of the three-day event will be completely “plant-powered”.

GRUB Burger Food Fair is taking over from Friday 30 September – Sunday 2 October / Credit: Thief Street Grill & Waffle | BON Street Food

Vegan vendors Boneless Brigade, and Dohlightful just some of the names lined-up to take part.

Read more:

GRUB Burger Food Fair is free to attend, and will kick-off from 4pm each day of the three-day event, with no need to book any tickets in advance.

It has to be said though, that GRUB’s themed food fairs are always very well attended, so for that reason, the venue recommends that any large groups planning on heading down next weekend should book a table here.

Featured Image – GRUB MCR

More Food & Drink

City Centre

‘We are facing extreme economical pain’ – District suggests it could be closing

Eats

The ultimate guide to Wingfest in Manchester – how to get tickets

City Centre

Albert’s Schloss has introduced a new breakfast menu – and it’s absolutely wunderbar

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches