The best food and drink stalls at Manchester Christmas Markets 2022
Beautiful steamed dumplings and chimney cakes, plus Korean hotdogs, giant parmos, deep-fried Camembert bagels, carvery roast boxes from the Yorkshire wrap legends at Porky Pig and more
Gluhwein, Bavarian beer and big fat German bratwursts in numerous flavours have returned to Manchester today as the Christmas Markets officially open in the city centre.
Running from Thursday 10 November until Thursday 22 December, central Manchester is now a maze of charming wooden huts selling everything from classic wintry drinks, to cheese-filled and curried sausages, alongside some new additions that celebrate the best of the local street food scene.
From the likes of mulled wine and hot, boozy cider, to steaming mugs of Italian Vin Boule, Nordic Glocc and French Vin Chaud, cheeky hot Vimto (Rumto or Ginto), Manchester blob and more, as ever there’s plenty to get excited about.
Pork dumplings on rice with ginger at Oi Dumpling. / Image: The Manc Eats
Parmo butties at Parmogeddon. / Image: The Manc Eats
Some of the city’s restauranteurs are getting involved this year too, with the likes of Simon Shaw’s Habas setting up a Moroccan-inspired stall on King Street and Northern Quarter favourite Yard & Coop slinging out chicken trays on St Ann’s Square.
Elsewhere, you’ll find
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Keep reading to discover all of the best food and drink stalls at Manchester’s Christmas markets this year.
Piccadilly Gardens – Winter Gardens
Christmas parmos on chips and parmo butties from Parmogeddon. / Image: The Manc Eats
Crispy chocolate dumplings from Oi Dumpling. / Image: The Manc Eats
Bigger and better than ever this year, Piccadilly Gardens has once again been transformed into the market’s main festive hub for the season.
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Featuring a new giant Nordic-style double tipi and eye-catching WIndmilll bar, as well as three separate areas full of different food and drink stalls, highlights include new stalls from local favourites Parmageddon and Oi Dumplings.
Winter Gardens also sees the return of 2021 hit trader Panc Foods, who wowed vegans and meat eaters alike last year with their plant-based bratwursts and burgers, as well as the popular Korean hot dog stall and bagels from Prestwich favourites Triple B (including a fried camembert version with red onion chutney and stilton mayo).
With more stalls serving up pancakes, churros, and an array of winter tipples, you’ll find two huge bars serving continental and foreign ales, as well as a host of different mixers, cocktails, and all the beers, gluhwein and hot chocolates your heart desires.
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Fried Camembert burger from Triple B. / Image: The Manc Eats
Strawberry crumb and Biscoff chimney cake from Yum Yum. / Image: The Manc Eats
There’s also a huge Manchester Winter Ale House selling cask ales from local breweries like JW Lees, alongside hot drinks like boozy Vimto (made with gin or rum), and ‘Manchester’s legendary Hot Blobs’, which we’re told are a mix of sweet white wine, sugar, lemon, and hot water.
Old favourites the Pig and Barrel also make a welcome return to the Winter Gardens offering up their delicious pork barms and cosy seating area, whilst elsewhere you’ll find a new ‘dirty chicken’ stall, pancake house, ‘Rogue’ pizza bar, Japanese apres ski bar and a little Polish bakery selling cheesecake and apple pie.
St Ann’s Square and Exchange Street
Pies to enjoy at home from Great North Pie Co. / Image: The Manc Eats
A cheese stall selling ‘chip shop curry’ and ‘red wine port’ flavours. / Image: The Manc Eats
St Ann’s Square- the original site for Manchester’s Christmas markets- returns with its large undercover bar providing German beers and warm cherry Gluhwein to keep Christmas revellers warm and merry throughout the winter season.
Also playing host to some of Manchester’s best local traders this year, you’ll find Northern Quarter foodie favourites Yard and Coop serving up their salt and pepper chicken trays alongside award-winning local favourites Great North Pie, and Manc and Proud serving up Mancunian-themed everything.
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Elsewhere, you’ll find fresh authentic paella and tapas, square pizzas, continental chocolates and a range of English cheeses priced at just £3 each in flavours including the magnificent ‘chip shop curry’.
There are also Biscoff cookie pies, cookie and cream fudge puds disguised as Christmas puddings, chocolate orange slabs and giant marshmallow Christmas trees to discover.
Market Street
There’s not much to report here food-wise, with the majority of stalls focusing on selling gifts and other crafty trinkets.
We did spy a massive stall selling pick and mix, though, for those who haven’t yet got over the closure of Woolworth’s, as well as a spiced rum stall and a few gift sets of cheese truckles.
King Street
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Home to some of the best food stall in Manchester, the Christmas deli stalls on King Street takes foodies on a world tour of some of the best-loved dishes on the planet.
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The amazing Italian cheese and meat stall returns, piled high with giant wheels of parmigiano, gorgonzola, goat cheese, pecorino and taleggio, plus a huge variety of salami and smoked bacon pancetta, with giant hams hanging above ready to be sliced to order on a custom machine.
As for ready-to-eat street food, you’ll find everything from squid ink arancini balls and gorgeous Sicilian cannoli, to Greek gyros and halloumi fries, French garlic mushrooms and mustard chicken, baklava, olives, marinated garlic cloves and local rum made right across the river in Salford.
A bar at the end of King Street selling some of Manchester Christmas markets cheapest mulled wine and beer. / Image: The Manc Eats
Arancini balls on sale at a dedicated stall on King Street. / Image: The Manc Eats
Elsewhere, restaurant Habas, part of the El Gato Negro group, has a full outdoor set up serving dishes from its Moroccan-inspired menu including the likes of chicken and vegetable tagine with spiced rice and mini pittas, chargrilled lamb merguez burger.
There’s also a gin and mulled wine bar selling a huge variety of G&Ts with premium bottles like Gin Mare on offer, and a second beer and mulled wine bar at the Deansgate end with everything you need to get merry.
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New Cathedral Street
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
On New Cathedral Street, the longstanding home of the big sausage, find stalls selling old-fashioned liquorice and handmade cocktails to drink at home, alongside hot street food stalls offering everything from vegan 5 bean chilli to New York Bagels.
Elsewhere, you’ll find Bar 3’s famous Instagram-worthy smoking cocktails, mulled wine and craft beers, and traditional steins and mouth-watering currywurst at The Witchouse.
Exchange Square
Over on Exchange Square, you can warm up at the instantly recognisable Mill Exchange bar, with their special Mancunian mulled wine made on-site and its legends of Manchester artwork adorning its walls.
2022 also sees the return of the famous Porky Pig’s Yorkshire Pudding Wrap, alongside stalls selling hot curries, mini pancakes, fresh fudge, hand-carved olivewood decorations, German kebabs, and gourmet Italian pizza.
The Corn Exchange
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Set between Manchester’s historic Corn Exchange building and Shambles Square, visitors can expect to find a pie stall from The Crusty Pie Company selling every filling variation you can think of – from pork and black pudding to Hunstmans pies, chicken and leek, wild boar and mushroom, turkey and cranberry, and chicken and chestnut stuffing pies. You can also find bags of traditional pork scratchings from £2.
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Elsewhere, Jammy Dodger-loaded cupcakes, Nutella-topped confections, and more covered with pick and mix sweeties, chocolate Oreos, and golden pretzels can be found at Zara’s Cupcakes market stall, and there’s another English cheese stall selling flavours like ‘chip shop curry’, ‘stuffing’ and ‘fiery dragon’ from £3 each.
Cathedral Gardens
Opening Saturday 22 October in time for half term and Halloween, the much-loved undercover ice rink Skate MCR is back with entertainment each Thursday to Sunday all the way through to New Year’s Eve.
Next to the ice rink, hot food, warm drinks, pancakes and tipples will be on offer from nearby market stalls to help warm up cold hands and feet after a skate on the ice.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
Food & Drink
Inside Tyga, as a Manchester favourite changes its stripes for a new era
Danny Jones
We recently had the pleasure of visiting Tyga, Manchester city centre’s latest Indian restaurant, which has taken the place of former local favourite, Asha’s.
The Peter Street spot had always been a great place for a curry and progressive takes on the nation’s staples, often pulling inspiration from the Rajasthan region, but now the unit is the start of a new chapter.
In truth, the food was always pretty damn good here – often truly great, even – as we found out the last time we reviewed it; however, it’s clear that there’s been a greater honing of the concept.
Put simply, Tyga is trying to elevate what the team already did so well, whilst adding an extra layer of fine-dining refinement.
@the.manc Peter Streets Indian spot Tyga, has had a serious glow-up, bringing a more refined, fine-dining take on Indian cuisine while keeping all the bold flavours at the heart of it. The 24-hour slow-simmered lamb shank is an absolute must, as is the butter chicken which just melts in your mouth. 😍 It’s not just about the food here though, with an extensive cocktail list that brings theatre to the table, they’re the perfect accompaniment to your table full of scran. It’s the perfect spot for date night, celebrations, or when you just want to seriously impress someone over dinner. 🍸 Get it booked. 📍 47 Peter Street, M2 3NG #themanc#tygamanchester#manchesterfoodie#manchestercurry#wheretoeatinmanchester♬ original sound – The Manc
You hear sentences like a ‘contemporary twist on cuisine’ and ‘modern approaches to classics’ recycled quite a lot, and we get it: it can be a great way to get across that you’re trying to push culinary tradition(s) forward, but it often feels a bit of a throwaway term that’s used far too much.
That being said, while there’s definitely a feeling of familiarity to this recently refreshed foodie lineup, this is one of the times and places where it actually seems like that phrase means something.
While the building and stunning venue itself might have stayed largely the same, bar some knick-knacks being swapped for a few different tiger-based decorations, the authentic clay-pot lamb, ‘Tyga’ prawns, salmon tikka, and Vepudu spiced stir fry show some real innovation.
A lot of these might be rooted in a kind of food we know very well here in Britain, but these latest iterations in recipes and experimentation with their components result in some very cool creations.
The ember wings were smoky and moorish in a way that we’ve not had in a restaurant like this before, and the lamb chops alone were worth ordering by the wheelbarrow full.
Small plates have also been thrown into the mix more seamlessly this time around, too, as have some of the Indo-Chinese options that feel less like a footnote now and, instead, like a continuation of the tweaking and trying out new things seen throughout the rest of the offerings.
Even the vegetarian/vegan section of the menu has been lifted in certain aspects, too, with previously popular dishes being brought back better and more beautifully presented than ever.
Before we forget, a special shout-out goes to those beetroot dill patties.
Speaking of presentation, although they might have simplified some stuff (such as the okra fries that simply need to be dumped on the table and be devoured in seconds by gannets like us), as mentioned, plenty of other bits have been levelled up.
It comes as no surprise, therefore, that they’ve just been voted alongside some fellow standout spots by the Asian Catering Federation.
They’ve never shied away from a bit of pageantry, and nothing has changed in that respect.
Everything from the plating to even giving you a rotating water jug that revolves on a single point and never spills has a bit of flair, without being too much or straying into gimmicky territory.
Most importantly of all, whether you want a classy room for your next date night, somewhere intimate the next time you go out for tea with your partner, or still fancy a more banquet-style feast for you and your mates in the form of the updated ‘Maharaja’s Grand Platter’, Tyga can turn its paw to any occasion.
Brewch is getting bigger: Cereal milk stars open new café in Chorlton
Danny Jones
Anyone who lives in or around Gatley will undoubtedly have heard of Brewch Coffee, but now this cult favourite café has just opened up a new location in central Manchester.
Making their way over from the suburban edges of Stockport, Brewch’s second site has just launched in the centre of Chorlton.
So, what’s different about this one? Well, a few things…
For starters, the menu has expanded ever further, and they’re already becoming one of the busiest spots on Manchester Road.
@the.manc You can now get iced coffee AND matcha topped with Frosties-flavoured cereal milk and my god it’s good. It’s all thanks to the wizards @Brewch 🧙 Choose between coffee or matcha as your base, a huge pour of that delectable milk, all topped off with a handful of crispy Frosties straight from the box. This sweet treat is only available at their Chorlton site – go, go, go. 📍 97 Manchester Road, Chorlton, M21 9GA #themanc#cerealmilkcoffee#chorlton#viralcoffee#chorltoncafe♬ original sound – The Manc
The well-known stretch of the leafy Manc neighbourhood isn’t short of brunch spots and coffee shops, of course, but we will say that this latest one also arrives with a great reputation built over a few years.
Most notably, this most recent addition is more of a grab-and-go style concept compared to the original digs and some others in the area.
For example, as well as some proper good brews, they’ve also got a strong selection of hot sandwiches freshly toasted with everything from classic toasties to the steakhouse melt and siracha tuna.
Then we turn our attention to a pretty insane bakery counter, where you’ll find the GOATed hot honey toast, white chocolate rainbow sprinkle cookies and their increasingly popular trademark and well worth the hype cookie/croissant hybrids.
Call them what you want, all we know is they’re bloody delicious.
As for the hot drinks themselves, it’s not just the usual selection you’ll see on most menus these days; they’ve got creative – including with one of their signature ingredients.
One of their specialities is their Spanish lattes, but just this week, they’ve now introduced new cereal milk lattes and iced matchas. Served over ice, using milk steeped with Frosties and decorated with a final sprinkling of cereal, these aren’t like anything else on the market in Greater Manchester right now, really.
They soak the sugary goodness overnight, and if you’ve ever heard of Christina Tosi’s famous Milk Bar flavoured drinks and desserts like the legendary ‘crack pie’ (just Google it), then you’ll know how tasty these can be.
Already laying plans to hopefully open a third venue here in Manchester city centre sooner rather than later, we’re fully locked into Brewch’s expansion. They’ll have some stuff competition, of course, but we reckon they’re well-equipped to go toe-to-toe with even the biggest names.
Georgina Pellant -
11th November 2022 
