An Italian Christmas market with tipis and a fire pit is opening in Manchester
Italian restaurant Salvi's is launching a Christmas Market at Deansgate Square in November. The market will feature two tipis, four festive huts, and loads of food and drink.
An Italian take on a Christmas Market is heading to Deansgate Square in Manchester city centre.
With two tipis and four festive huts, plus a fire pit, workshops, and live entertainment, the new winter hub comes from beloved Italian restaurant Salvi’s.
The Italian Christmas Market will take shape at the foot of Manchester city centre’s giant skyscraper neighbourhood from November 27.
Salvi’s will be opening a new permanent site at Deansgate Square in the new year, but in the meantime, visitors to the market will be able to feast on authentic Italian food and drink, like sweet and savoury takes on soffietti (fried doughballs).
Salvi’s owner Maurizio Cecco has created the Italian Christmas Market. Credit: Supplied.
Italian drinks legends Aperol, Campari and Peroni will all run their own bars on site, whipping up warming tipi tipples.
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Expect hot mulled negronis (£8, made with Campari, red wine, sweet vermouth, gin, cinnamon, nutmeg and orange), Aperol Spritzes (£8), and Italian mulled wine (£6).
There will also be other twists on the classic negroni cocktail, like a fig negroni (£8), a hazelnut negroni (£8), and a negroni sbagliato (£8) which is topped with prosecco.
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A ‘Vin Brule’ – the Italian version of a mulled wine. Credit: Supplied.
The Italian Winter Market will also include traditional Italian soft drinks like Crodino, Chinotto and Cedrata, plus house wines, prosecco, and – of course – limoncello.
The other tipi bar will be manned by Peroni, serving their lager on draft (£4.50) and their alcohol-free Peroni Libre.
During the market’s run, the tipi will host occasional Peroni and Pizza parties.
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You’ll be able to pick up gift hampers from the festive huts at the market. Credit: Supplied.
As well as that, visitors will be able to get stuck in with tiramisu or panettone-making workshops.
One of the four festive huts will be a grotto of Salvi’s produce, where you can pick up top-quality Italian produce like pasta sauces, cheese, oils and meats, plus gifts like aprons and hampers.
The whole thing will be soundtracked by a programme of DJs (every Friday and Sunday), live music (every Thursday and Sunday) and live entertainment.
Salvi’s will put on some entertainment and events for children too, and people can borrow blankets to sit around the fire pit.
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Salvi’s owner Maurizio Cecco said: “We are so excited to be involved in the Christmas market at Deansgate Square; with our new venue opening there in early 2022 we want to create an authentic Italian festive wonderland for customers old and new.
“Come along for food, drinks, dancing, or just a chat if you’re passing… the Salvi’s door is always open.”
The Salvi’s Italian Christmas Market will be open in Manchester from November 27 to December 22. Head over here to discover all things Christmas in Manchester this year.
Feature image: Supplied / Wikimedia Commons
Food & Drink
A festival dedicated to cheese is coming to Manchester next week
Daisy Jackson
A cheese festival will be launching in Manchester next week, where you can samples cheese, eat cheesy specials from food vendors, and drink some great beers too.
The newly-announced Cheese Fest, which plans to be an annual festival, will bring together eight different cheesemakers, top local food traders, and a beloved Manchester brewery.
And what would cheese be without pickles? Holly Pickles, who runs Pickle Fest and Track’s Pickle Club, will be on hand with the perfect accompaniments.
Cheese Fest has been set up by The Crafty Cheeseman, and all for a very good cause, raising money to support the vital work of The Christie.
Jonathan Pearcey, aka The Crafty Cheeseman himself, was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of cancer back in 2024, and has been receiving treatment at The Christie.
It’s not the first time he’s set up a fundraiser for the charity, but he’s hoping that Cheese Fest will grow bigger and bigger every year, with vendors all donating a portion of their takings to The Christie Charity.
As well as having the chance to sample, buy, and learn about different cheeses from eight producers, you can feast on cheese toasties from Fred’s, and pizzas from Slice Culture.
The event will be taking place next weekend at Track Brewery’s home near Manchester Piccadilly – so you’ll also have some of the city’s best beers on hand to pair with your cheese.
Jonathan said: “Okay, so, huge news. We are launching, in collaboration with the beautiful Track Brewery, a cheese festival in Manchester.
Slice Culture will have pizza specials for the Cheese FestivalTrack Brewery will host Cheese Fest
“Now as far as I’m aware there’s not been one before, or not for a long time, it’s something that I’ve been desperate to do, Track Brewery are the most wonderful people to be doing it with.
“We are doing it on the 22nd November, it’ll be 12 til 5, there’ll be cheese producers there to talk to you about the cheese, you’ll be able to taste their cheese, and more importantly, buy their cheese.
“There’ll be food vendors there doing awesome cheese specials, we will also have obviously all the extra bits you need with cheese – there’ll be someone doing pickles, there’ll be bread. You know, this is about celebrating the wonderful thing that is cheese.”
He added: “The biggest part of this for me is that we are doing it in collaboration with The Christie Charity. As a lot of you know, the journey I’m going through it’s The Christie who treats me, I’ve done previous things to raise money for charity and Track have been amazing getting behind me with this.
“I think it’s super important to try and support places like The Christie as much as we can, which is why all the vendors will be donating a portion of what we take to The Christie.”
Announcing the event online, The Crafty Cheeseman posted: “Please come down and support this cheesy event as where else can you eat and buy cheese whilst donating to charity.”
Cheese Fest will take place at Track Brewery on Sunday 22 November, from 12pm until 5pm.
Inside Chinatown’s enormous new three-storey restaurant, with futuristic karaoke booths
Daisy Jackson
A gigantic three-storey restaurant and karaoke bar has just opened its doors in Chinatown in Manchester.
Sovereign Clouds is the newest addition to one of the city’s most beloved and ever-evolving neighbourhoods, taking over a sizeable building on Faulkner Street that’s been vacant for 10 years.
Inside the 1,000 sq metre space, you’ll find a glittering restaurant adorned with marble and gold, where you can tuck into a massive menu of dim sum and traditional dishes.
One floor up and you’ll find yourself surrounded by live lobster tanks and the massive kitchen, alongside several flexible private dining spaces.
And up on the top floor are the most futuristic karaoke rooms in town, where you can customise lights, LED ceilings, and even sing through an autotune microphone.
Three roast meats from Sovereign CloudsDelicious dim sumAuthentic Chinese cooking from Sovereign CloudsBlack Gold Lava Buns with salted custard fillingThe massive Sovereign Clouds restaurant
On the menu you’ll find tonnes of steamed dim sum, stir fries, traditional claypot stews, roast meats, and loads more.
There’s seafood like stir-fried lobster with salted egg yolk, and traditional Cantonese steamed grouper; a whole section for abalone (advance orders only) including braised goose feet and fish maw; and a good selection of spicy Sichuan dishes.
The chefs here also have an impressive array of Chinese roast meats, like Peking crispy duck, pork belly, and char siu, as well as three roast meats with rice.
Futuristic karaoke roomsThe main restaurant at Sovereign CloudsFuturistic karaoke rooms
And that’s alongside ingredients you don’t find on a lot of menus in Manchester, like jellyfish, tripe, and century eggs.
It’s all led by Terry Ni, who has been behind the popular Dynasty Chinese and Thai takeaway in Timperley for more than a decade, and has spent years transforming this empty old building into one of Chinatown’s most glittering restaurants.
Come for dinner, stay for a turn on the karaoke upstairs, and tell everyone – Sovereign Clouds is a fantastic addition to Manchester.
Daisy Jackson -
19th November 2021 
