Everyone knows where they stand with a McDonald’s drive-thru.
Fries that are either cold and droopy or so hot they singe chip-shaped lines into the roof of your mouth. Burgers with inexplicably sweet buns and a single gherkin lurking off-centre. Milkshakes so thick the veins pop out on your head when you try to suck them through the straw.
It’s a classic, but in recent years other brands have started to join the drive-thru brigade and blown your ‘I’m-hungry-but-I-don’t-want-to-leave-my-car’ options wide open.
The latest to join the fray is Chaiiwala, serving Indian-inspired fast food from a former petrol station forecourt.
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First founded on the streets of New Delhi in the 1920s, Chaiwala first began life as a small tea stall (hence the name) but today has 50 sites in the UK and even more abroad.
At its new drive-thru in Bolton, there are burgers, chips, wraps and sundaes, just like a Maccies, but these ones all feature an Indian twist.
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The Chaiiwala drive-thru. Credit: The Manc GroupInside Chaiiwala’s samosa burger. Credit: The Manc Group
The prices are comparable, too – you’re not looking at paying more than £3.25 for a burger here, whereas those golden arches are charging £4.59 for a Big Mac these days.
So it’s hard not to lose your head when you pull up to the familiar drive-thru system (which we did in a Tesla, because a posh drive-thru deserves a posh car).
We ordered a decent selection of Chaiiwala’s ‘first-of-its-kind’ drive-thru menu, including a portion of Gunpowder Masala Chips (£3.25), served wrapped in a newspaper-style paper cone, slathered with a tangy and sweet sauce and spring onions.
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Chaiiwala cheese naan. Credit: The Manc GroupAt Chaiiwala’s drive-thru in Bolton. Credit: The Manc GroupLotus Biscoff wrap. Credit: The Manc Group
Chaiiwala’s crispy Punjabi samosas come stuffed with potato and chickpea, and then those samosas come stuffed into a bread bun and loaded with slaw, onions, tomato, and tamarind sauce. I can’t imagine ever choosing a McChicken Sandwich again after this samosa burger (£3.25).
We also grabbed a cheese naan (£2.50), that gives one of the most satisfying cheese pulls you’ll ever see when you tear it open to stuff your chips inside, and a Lotus Biscoff roti wrap (£2.75).
There’s plenty more to come back for, like a butter chicken roll, and a cheese and jalapeno pasty, and pani puri, and samosa chat, and a chaii frappe.
You can eat it parked up outside Chaiiwala’s drive-thru, where your view is of… a McDonald’s.
And what a smug feeling it is to tuck into your freshly-made, reasonably-priced samosa burger, looking at the queue across the road of disgruntled soggy-chips eaters.
Family behind Salvi’s launch new concept, weeks after iconic restaurant closure
Daisy Jackson
Just weeks after the closure of its iconic, 16-year-old Italian restaurant in the Corn Exchange, the family behind Salvi’s have revealed a brand-new concept.
And this time, the reins are being handed over to the next generation.
Salvi’s founder Maurizio Cecco has helped to shape Amò, but it’s all the brainchild of his daughter, Sienna.
Sienna will run the business out of a unit up on Deansgate Mews, serving fresh pasta dishes, pizza sandwiches, tubs of tiramisu, and two-for-£10 spritzes.
The deli aspect of the original Salvi’s has been carried over to Amò too – you’ll find shelves almost to the ceiling filled with Italian pasta, wine, olive oils, pistachio spreads, and more.
Sienna has grown up in restaurants, with her parents launching Salvi’s when she was just two years old.
She said she wants the space to be a livelier, fresher version of the Italian restaurant that has been so loved by Mancs for so many years.
Sienna outside AmòFresh pasta dishesInside Amò by Salvi’sTheir viral frozen crema di caffeLemon granitaInside Amò by Salvi’sTiramisu pots
Amò, which is Neapolitan slang for ‘my love’, will have loads of fresh Italian dishes, including arancini, gnocchi, and hearty pasta plates.
At lunchtimes, guests can order from a £10 lunch menu, with dishes changing daily depending on the best produce the kitchen can get – it could be a pizza sandwich with proscuitto and tomato, a spicy pasta, or a gnocchi bake, always served with your choice of soft drink.
With its position on Deansgate Mews, Amò basks in the sunshine at lunchtimes.
And while it’s definitely a different concept to the original Salvi’s, Amò looks set to carry the family’s Italian food legacy into its next generation.
Award-winning Didsbury bakery La Chouquette reveals incredible new site
Daisy Jackson
La Chouquette is one of Greater Manchester’s top bakeries – an award-winner, with queues down the street every weekend for its authentic French pastries and loaves.
And now they’re ready for a new chapter, revealing a major expansion today.
Owners Catrina and Flo have painstakingly expanded the bakery into the unit next door, creating what feels like a true French bakery.
And in the midst of this huge renovation project, they’ve welcomed a tiny new baby boy – quite the summer for the couple.
Catrina and Flo launched La Chouquette in lockdown, and in a time where people could only get their hospitality fix from takeaways, immediately became one of the most popular spots in the region.
Their success has been so great, you’ll still consistently find queues down the street every weekend, for their top sellers like their authentic almond croissants.
Then in October 2024, they grew the business and launched Piqniq, a new deli in Didsbury village, serving freshly-baked baguette sandwiches, breakfast butties, toasties, tiramisu pots and their legendary pastries.
The new-look La Chouquette features beautiful details like mosaic floors, rich blue walls, wooden shelves, and brass light fixtures.
La Chouquette’s best-selling almond croissantsInside the stunning new La Chouquette in DidbsuryNew savoury bakesThe chausson aux pommesThe counter stuffed with artisan French bakesChocolate chip cookies and cinnamon buns
The huge new counter displays more pastries and breads than ever before, like a hearty chausson aux pommes filled with apples that will be perfect for autumn, plus seasonal treats like a rhubarb creme brulee pastry, and homemade quiche.
Speaking at the grand relaunch today, Catrina said: “The layout has changed, it looks so much more chic, it looks like a traditional French bakery. We’re really excited about it.”
As for what’s on the counter, Flo reassured fans that their beloved almond and pistachio croissants remain, but with some new savoury editions, like a truffle croque monsieur made with croissant dough.
La Choquette has reopened today, and will be open seven days a week from 7am until 5pm.
Daisy Jackson -
6th May 2023 
