It’s made a name for itself with its handmade pasta dishes, including (my personal favourite) the nduja vodka pasta sharer.
Onda also went quite ridiculously viral last September when they shared a video of their tiramisu drawer – yep, a whole drawer, full of tiramisu, which they generously scoop out and plop onto plates to order.
It’s had more than 57 million views across Instagram and TikTok, with subsequent behind-the-scenes posts also hitting millions of views apiece.
The pudding drawer even caught the eye of Hollywood a-lister Florence Pugh. Which didn’t help with the demand to get a table.
So now Onda is branching out, with its very own restaurant space in Manchester set to open mid-May.
They’ve today shared a photo of their brand new location, down at Circle Square on Oxford Road.
Onda’s handmade pasta dishesOnda is opening a new Manchester restaurantThe VERY viral tiramisuOnda has moved out of The New Cross and revealed plans for a new pasta restaurant in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
It’s a brilliant new addition to the area, which is already home to Federal (another place prone to a big queue) and North Taproom – but which recently lost gig venue Canvas, and New Zealand brunch spot Tahi.
Onda has said that their new restaurant will have around 48 covers in the main dining space, with about 26 more in the bar area.
Those who had tables booked at The New Cross will be given priority access to tables for the new restaurant, with Onda apologising for ‘letting those down’ who have been waiting as long as October to dine with them.
They wrote: “This was a really tough decision to make, first and foremost because we had to let down those who have booked with us but also financially as a popup it’s a huge hit for us to lose a month of revenue.
“A lot of these bookings were made in October/November and we hadn’t foreseen this demand for Onda in a million years, in August/September we were touch and go each week and a month later we had bookings being made 6 months in advance.”
Speaking of leaving The New Cross for their new ‘perfect’ site, Onda said: “A massive thank you to everyone who’s visited us since we moved to @thenewcross in August, and to Chris + Rach, the owners of the bar and their team here for all their help and support. I’m not sure either us or them ever anticipated it to go quite like it did. It went mad.
“At times trying to run a restaurant from someone’s else’s bar was chaos to say the least but the feedback has made it all worth it and we’re really excited to properly open our own space in May.”
Onda Pasta Bar will open at Circle Square on Oxford Road in mid-March.
First look at Zaap Thai as popular Thai street food restaurant opens in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
A Thai street food restaurant with sites all over the North has finally announced plans to come to Manchester for the first time.
Zaap Thai is famed for its authentic and affordable street food-inspired menu, served up in restaurants designed to mimic the bustling street food markets of Bangkok.
Expect colourful fairy lights, illuminated signs, graffiti art, enamel crockery and even seating booths built into tuk tuks.
Zaap Thai already has locations in cities including Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham and Durham, but hasn’t made it into the North West before now.
It’s now set to open on Lincoln Square – where you’ll already find Maray – this June.
This new Zaap Thai location is set to be one its biggest venues to date, with 160 covers.
The expansive menu features 80 dishes from across Thailand, from street food small plates to big bowls of noodles and fiery curries.
Their menu highlights include chicken satay, crispy pork belly, stir-fries like Pad Ga Prao, and sweet dishes such as mango sticky rice and pandan custard pancakes.
That’s alongside Thai-inspired cocktails and mocktails, plus Thai lagers like Singha.
Ban Kaewkraikhot, founder and executive chef at Zaap said: “We’re thrilled to be bringing Zaap Thai to Manchester.
Inside Zaap Thai Manchester
The Moo Deng muralInside the new Zaap ThaiInside the new Zaap Thai
“This is a city with a rich and diverse hospitality scene, and we’re delighted to be joining that fantastic community.
“Our mission is to share our authentic flavours of native Thailand with the city – we want to transport guests to sunny South East Asia by providing an amazing and affordable menu where you can try something new each time.
“Our restaurant is inspired by the places we love back home and everyone is welcome. We can’t wait to bring the Zaap experience to Manchester!”
Zaap Thai Manchester will open on Lincoln Square in on Thursday 26 June, with free pad thais or curries to the first 100 people in the queue from midday.
Daisy Jackson -
25th March 2024 
