It’s been one heck of a long year, but December is finally here.
As England’s second national lockdown has now come to an end, and the country has returned to the three tiered regional system – with Greater Manchester under Tier 3 restrictions – there’s never been a more worthy time to treat yourself to a takeaway.
And what better way to do so than with a festive-themed feast too?
With everything from chippys and pizza parlours, to Indians, burger joints and health food kitchens, there’s plenty of beloved independent and Manchester-based eateries across the region that are #StillServingMCR on Deliveroo and embracing everything the festive season has to offer with some limited edition Christmas specials.
We’ve rounded up a few of the best to get stuck into this weekend.
BIRD is London’s original fried chicken and waffles joint.
Founded in Shoreditch in 2014, after having perfected the art of frying, BIRD has now brought its rave reviews and knock-out house recipes right here to Manchester.
As well as helping yourself to the main menu, if you’re after a Christmas treat, The Christmas Burger is a BIRD-style turkey escalope on a bed of roquette and mayonnaise, stacked with sage and onion stuffing, pigs in blankets and topped with cranberry sauce.
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If a festive burger feast sounds like it’s right up your street this weekend, BIRD is #StillServingMCR across Greater Manchester.
You can view menus and place your order via Deliveroo here.
Manchester’s cult-favourite “part time pizza parlour” Crazy Pedro’s truly is embracing the festive season with everything it’s got this year, having introduced the Lockdown 2.0: Nightmare Before Christmas pizza earlier last month, which features none other than pigs in blankets, pepperoni, fresh chillies and burrata.
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Need we say more?
If you fancy feasting on festive pizza this Christmas, Crazy Pedro’s is #StillServingMCR at a number of locations across Manchester.
You can view menus and place your order via Deliveroo here.
Fosters Fish and Chips – based at Anchors in West Didsbury – aims to “reclaim the nation’s favourite dish” and bring it into the 21st century, with an unmissable batter made from entirely-natural ingredients (and a very-secret something too).
There’s an impressive six ‘Christmas Specials’ to tuck into this month.
With everything from Battered Pigs in Blankets and Stuffing Balls, to the Battered Turkey Burger with Cranberry Gravy, Breaded Camembert and Deep Fried Christmas Pudding, you really can’t go wrong if you’re looking for a festive feast.
If you like the sounds of your classic chippy tea with a festive twist this weekend, Fosters Fish and Chips is #StillServingMCR at a number of locations in Greater Manchester.
You can view menus and place your order via Deliveroo here.
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KBK
Ancoats
KBK / Deliveroo
Renowned health food kitchen KBK has the perfect balance of keeping healthy and still tasting bloody great at the same time, and you can tuck into everything from wraps, kebabs and tacos, to salads and a selection of jam-packed box meals.
There’s also two Christmas specials on the menu – Pigs in Blankets, and the KBK Christmas Wrap.
So, if you fancy your food a little on the healthier side but no less festive this Christmas, then KBK is #StillServingMCR at a number of locations across Manchester.
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You can view menus and place your order via Deliveroo here.
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Rudy’s
Ancoats & Peter Street
Rudy’s / Deliveroo
How does a festive take on award-winning Neapolitan pizza sound?
Believing Neapolitan pizza to be the best in the world, Rudy’s dough is made fresh daily using Caputo 00 flour – which has been left to ferment for at least 24 hours – alongside the best quality ingredients imported twice a week from Naples, including San Marzano tomatoes grown on fields next to Mount Vesuvius, and Fior di Latte mozzarella.
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It’s the best of the best.
And there’s a Rudy’s Christmas Special too – a pumpkin cream base pizza, topped with bufala mozzarella, rosemary roasted potatoes, sage roasted brussel sprouts and diced pancetta – so, if your taste buds fancy a festive trip to Napoli this weekend, Rudy’s is #StillServingMCR at a number of locations across Manchester.
You can view menus and place your order via Deliveroo here.
Bundobust is well-known for its wide array of authentically-flavoured Indian street food.
As fresh and vibrant as on the streets that created them, Bundobust’s dishes are designed to be shared, and it’s recommend that you tuck into two/three per person.
The festive specials this year include Sprout Bhajis, the traditional Festive Curry making a return, and a new sweet addition to the menu in the form of the Mince Pie Paratha – a flaky flatbread filled with spiced dried fruit, citrus, and coconut.
Christmas Combo Meals are also available.
Has the traditional taste of India got your tongue tingling? Bundobust is #StillServingMCR across Manchester this Christmas.
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You can view menus and place your order via Deliveroo here.
The Chippy On Burton Road is a traditional chippy with a modern Manchester twist.
Not only is its cod and haddock MSC certified, but the sausages are made by award-winning butchers Axon of Didsbury, the pies are produced by award-winning Bowen of Chorley, and the eatery fries all its food using sunflower oil instead of palm oil – which is far lower in saturates and ethically sourced – and uses either compostable or recyclable packaging where possible.
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The menu is chocked full with festive specials too, featuring everything from turkey goujons and stuffing balls, to brie & cranberry parcels and a ‘Pig in a Duvet’.
It also stocks a wide range of soft drinks and alcohol that is made in Manchester.
Chippy tea with a splash of festive flavour sound like the one? The Chippy on Burton Road is #StillServingMCR at a number of locations across Greater Manchester.
You can view menus and place your order via Deliveroo here.
Wholesome Junkies is no doubt a beloved hotspot for foodies here in Manchester, and is known around the country for its 100% vegan junk food.
Yes, you heard that right – everything on the wide-ranging menu is plant based.
The festive offerings this year include the Festive Burger – a chargrilled 1/4 pounder with cheese, bacon rashers, crispy stuffing patty, charred sprouts, cranberry sauce, festive mayo and onion gravy in a toasted brioche bun – and the extra-special sides of Festive Fries and Festive Tots come loaded with festive salt, onion gravy, charred sprouts, festive mayo, cranberry chutney, crispy shallots and bacon bits too.
If it’s a plant based party you’re after this weekend, Wholesome Junkies is #StillServingMCR at a number of locations across Greater Manchester.
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You can view menus and place your order via Deliveroo here.
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Don Giovanni
Oxford Street
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is Manchester’s oldest independently-owned Italian restaurant and it has been proudly serving the city for over 36 years.
The classic, all-year-round menu sure is a thing of beauty in itself, but the festive offerings this year include Suprema di Pollo, Crostata di Salmone, and a range of other mouth-watering treats, with the standout by far being the Tacchino Arrosto – an Italian take on a roast turkey dinner, with potatoes, carrots and pigs in blankets, served with gravy and cranberry jam.
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If it’s an Italian take on Christmas you’re in the mood for this weekend, Don Giovanni is #StillServingMCR at a number of locations across Manchester.
You can view menus and place your order via Deliveroo here.
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That’s not all either.
If we’re going to give a shoutout to all the places with festive feasts on the menu this month, then we may as well save you some pennies too while we’re at it, so we’ve organised a £10 off Deliveroo discount code for our audience of loyal Mancunians.
New Deliveroo customers can get £10 off their first order – using the code “MANC10” – when spending over £15 at restaurants in Manchester.
The offer is valid from now until 6th December 2020.
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The Manc Group has partnered with Deliveroo to help local restaurants deliver during lockdown as part of our #StillServingMCR campaign.
Working alongside Deliveroo, The Manc will ensure all restaurants on the service will get the amplification they need across our social platforms. We’ll update our one million-strong audience on your latest updates and deals and we’ll create conversations with the masses about our favourite scran from your menus.
Basically, we will champion you, and we will go above and beyond to do it.
Mulligans are making butties with the team behind some of the best sandwiches in Manchester
Danny Jones
We feel like we say this almost every time they set up one of these crossovers, but Bada Bing might have just hit it out of the park with their latest collaboration, as they’re teaming up with beloved Irish bar Mulligans to create what could be the sandwich of the century.
In case you’re wondering where we’ll be when this butty becomes available, we’ll be in the legendary Manchester pub, clutching at least three of these while asking the live band to play The Sopranos theme tune in full Celtic reel fashion.
Yes, two of our very favourite places in the city centre are teaming up not just for a one-off special, the Deansgate boozer – widely considered one of the best Irish bars (if not THE best) in Manchester – is actually going to be supplying the crucial ingredient in their limited-time menu item.
Teasing the collab earlier this week, the Bada Bing boys roped in Mulligans owner, Pádraig Brady, to play his role in the announcement that quickly went viral.
Now, in case you weren’t already salivating at the mere thought of it, wait until you hear what concoction they have come up with.
Simply titled ‘Split the B’ (nice), the Bada Bing x Mulligans special edition sandwich features Mulligans’ Guinness-braised short rib, crispy spuds, greens, pickled cabbage and crispy onions. Oh. My. Word…
With punters’ favourite ‘Mullies’ pouring in more than 13,000 pints of the black stuff every single week, it won’t surprise you to learn that those lines have to be cleaned and maintained almost constantly.
It also goes without saying that wasting even a single drop of that liquid gold is a tragedy, so they had the ingenious of using that surplus stout to create a limited supply of slow-roasted, Guinness-flavoured beef fit to grace any authentic Irish stew.
Slap that meat between bread, and what do you get? Perhaps one of the greatest culinary creations we Manchester foodies have ever seen.
Speaking on the collab, Pádraig said: “At Mulligans, we take pride in every pint of Guinness we pour, so when the chance came up to team up with Bada Bing and create something special for Mancs to enjoy beyond the pub, it just made sense. Quality recognises quality.”
“We’ve always admired Mulligans for how they do things – with no shortcuts”, says Sam Gormally, co-founder of Bada Bing.”
He went on to add: “This collab celebrates everything we both love about Manchester hospitality – craft, quality and a bit of heart. It’s a proper Manc sandwich, made with a proper pint.”
In case it wasn’t already blatantly obvious, we cannot wait to try this thing, and since it’s only being served for a few days, we intend to eat as many as possible.
The ‘Split the B’ Mulligans x Bada Bing Guinness Sandwich will be available exclusively at Bada Bing, 125 Oldham St in the Northern Quarter from Thursday, 6 November – and once they’re gone, they’re GONE.
Manchester Food and Drink Festival announces nominees for 2025 MFDF Awards
Daisy Jackson
The Manchester Food and Drink Festival has announced the shortlists of nominees for this year’s MFDF Awards, championing the best hospitality talent across Greater Manchester.
The annual awards will return to New Century in January, promising to celebrate the businesses and individuals doing incredible work across the industry.
There are 16 categories in this year’s MFDF 2025 Awards, including new categories to reflect the region’s growing wine scene, coffee shop rise, and turn towards low- or no-alcohol drinking.
This year, the Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards will welcome Therme as a headline sponsor, ahead of the hotly-anticipated launch of the Therme urban wellbeing resort in TraffordCity.
The shortlist announced today features 128 nominees, from cosy pubs to Michelin star restaurants to bakers.
The shortlist has been compiled by the MFDF Judging Panel, which is made up of the region’s leading food and drink critics, writers and experts.
As well as the public vote, a mystery shopping period will now commence where judges will anonymously visit nominated venues and will compile scores based on their experiences.
Alexa Stratton-Powell, Awards Director of Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards, commented: “We’re delighted to announce Therme Manchester as the headline sponsor for this year’s MFDF awards. The Awards have always reflected the ongoing excellence and innovation here in Greater Manchester.
Manchester Food and Drink Festival announces nominees for 2025 MFDF Awards. Credit: The Vain Photography Carl Sukonik
“As we welcome Therme Manchester as a partner it’s an opportunity to celebrate the next chapter for our world-class city region and champion the talent and communities that make it extra special.
“This year’s list of nominees is a phenomenal example of this innovation with talent from all quarters of Greater Manchester to celebrate -from takeaways in Trafford to Michelin star meals in Ancoats.
“The list should serve as a journey of discovery for food lovers around this great region. Please support all your hospitality heroes and vote for them on the awards website.”
Ben Dutson and Charlotte Harbour, joint Heads of Therme RPC, the food and wellbeing function of Therme Manchester commented: “We’re incredibly proud to partner with the Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards — one of the North West’s most significant celebrations of culinary talent.
“Supporting an event that champions creativity, community, and excellence in food and drink perfectly reflects Therme Manchester’s commitment to wellbeing and shared experiences. We’re looking forward to celebrating the people and places that make Manchester’s dining scene truly exceptional.”
The Manchester Food and Drink Festival (MFDF) Awards will take place at New Century on 26 January 2026.
Emily Sergeant -
4th December 2020 
