Today, “freedom” is technically upon us. But for Manchester’s bars and restaurants, things feel less “free” than ever – with the industry caught up in the midst of what’s being referred to as a ‘pingdemic’.
With many hospitality staff forced to isolate even with negative tests and no symptoms, questions are being asked if there’s a better way to run things – especially as other guidance is being dropped and new test programmes are piloted as an alternative to isolation.
This week, pub giant Greene King has had to close thirteen sites due to staff shortages.
But amid the chaos, there is a silver lining, at least. From today, you’ll be able to go to the bar with no need to sign in at venues or order via an app. And there’s some good news close to home, too.
Gary Usher’s Kala is finally reopening its doors after a prolonged period of closure – and we’ve tipped the restaurant as one of our places to go this week for that very reason. They’ve recently launched a fab new bar menu, but haven’t really been able to serve it much yet.
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Keep reading to find out more about what they’ve got going on, plus our other top picks for this week.
Movement Bar is a new addition to Tib Street where you can grab a top craft beer and the latest 12″ / Image: Movement Bar
A Northern Quarter record store that moonlights as a bar
A new craft beer and wine bar in the Northern Quarter that also sells records? Or a record store selling booze? Either way, we’re here for it.
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Recently opened by the duo behind Manchester record label Small Moves Records (including Jez Kerr, of A Certain Ratio fame), the drinks selection here is actually pretty extensive with European breweries like Paulaner, Siren and House Party on draught, plus some rarified craft bottles and a decent wine and Japanese whiskey collection.
Find Movement Bar at 84 Tib St, Manchester M4 1LG, open Wednesday to Saturday.
Kala recently launched a new bar menu that includes this gorgeous peppered feather blade steak sandwich / Image: Kala
King Street favourite Kala emerges from isolation
Gary Usher’s Kala has been beset with track and trace problems of late, having to close repeatedly – or so it feels.
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As of this Wednesday, the team is back with all the usual menu favourites – plus a new bar snack menu that includes some mouthwatering additions, like £10 peppered feather blade steak sandwiches served inside a sesame roll.
If you visit, make sure to get the pistachio and raspberry Bakewell tart too. It’s a revelation.
Find Kala at 55 King St, Manchester M2 4LQ. from midday on Wednesday 21 July
The Mews is a new opening from the team behind Alvarium in the Northern Quarter / Image: The Mews
Black forest gateaux martinis and sexy charcuterie from the Alvarium team
Brand new opening The Mews comes from the team behind the popular NQ spot Alvarium. They are collaborating with The Crafty Cheese Man, aka Jonathan Pearcey, to produce some super sexy charcuterie and cheese boards – creating a new killer food and drink combo in this often forgotten section of town.
Think nibbly treats like whipped goats cheese and mascarpone with chilli jam, served alongside top-quality seasonal cocktails like black forest gateaux martinis and a Japanese ‘forest bathing’ inspired Old Fashioned with Nikka and fennel syrup, plus a banging wine list and beer selection.
Tucked away on Deansgate Mews (on the elevated walkway between Deansgate and the GNW), if you’re looking for a chilled spot to enjoy a few quality drinks in the sun you can’t go wrong here.
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Find The Mews at The Mews Bar and Charcuterie, Deansgate, Manchester M3 4EN.
The Higher Ground team will bring a natural wine pop-up to Pollen later this month before opening their own site / Image: Flawd
A natural wine pop-up from the team behind Higher Ground
Flawd Wine is a new concept from the team behind Higher Ground. Serving low-intervention wines and small plates of British cheese as well as charcuterie and ferments from the award-winning Curing Rebels based in Brighton, it is set to open a new home in New Islington this September.
Ahead of that, though, the team – which includes Joseph Otway, formerly Head Chef of Where The Light Gets In – is running a series of pop-up events at Pollen throughout July and August to give the neighbourhood a taste of what’s to come.
Find Flawd popping up at Pollen every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 23 July until 15 August, before they open their own space in September.
Man With Fish is influenced by America’s southern saloons and is being opened inside what was formerly Walrus / Image: Man With Fish
A new Tex Mex bar in the former Walrus site
Named by the owner’s daughter, Man With Fish is influenced by America’s southern saloons and is being opened inside what was formerly Walrus.
Brought to Manchester by the same team that brought us Quarter House on Stevenson Square, think Tex Mex-style food with a big BBQ pull courtesy of charcoal grill nerd Jason Latham, plus a whopping 17 different beers on tap.
Find Man With Fish at 78-88 High St, Manchester M4 1ES from July 19 at 5pm.
Food & Drink
Where to find the very best pies in Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
Ok, ok, we all know that Wigan is roundly considered the birthplace of the best pies in Greater Manchester, but other boroughs need good pies too, and we’re here to give them what they want.
As northerners, we appreciate a pie any time of the year (or day, for that matter), so we thought we’d do you all a solid and point you in the direction of some of the best pastry-encased treats in and around Greater Manchester.
From buttery puff pastry to dense shortcrust boys, flaky filo, suet crusts and more, here’s where you can find some of the best pies in Manchester city centre and beyond.
Don’t ask us to put them in order; it’s too hard.
Where are the best pie places in Greater Manchester?
Yes, we know we promised pies from other boroughs, but we’re still starting with a few Wigan gems. It had to be done.
First founded in 1971 by Ronald and Patricia Galloway, Galloways Bakery is something of a local pie institution. With pie choices spanning butter and onion, chicken and mushroom, chunky steak, hot pot and minced steak, and prices from just £2.30, it’s as cheap as it is delicious.
A solid favourite of The Manc team, we’ll quite happily drive over to Wigan to visit Galloways for a meat and potato pie with gravy. To be honest, most of the time, it won’t even get home – we’ll just eat it lukewarm/cold in the car.
Not an insult, that’s actually the name, we promise. Having recently shut up its Wigan shopfront, multi-award-winning pie shop Baldy’s is going through something of a change as it ventures into dark kitchen life. The pies, however, thankfully remain as epic as ever.
Favourites include ‘The Big Jim’ — a combination of 14-hour braised beef shin, bone marrow, confit onions and smashed pistachio crumb (My. Word.) — and ‘Triple Truffled Cheese’, packed with cave-aged cheddar, double Gloucester, parmesan, caramelised onions, truffle, black and white sesame crumb.
Baldy’s also serves up some pretty famous ‘Wigan kebabs‘, or at least their version of the regional delicacy. We’re talking bacon fat brioche with marrow fat mushy peas, buttered mash, crispy shallots and chives, plus Baldy’s signature gravy. Naughty.
Moving swiftly from Wigan to Cheshire, the brilliantly named Lord of the Pies is up there with some of the region’s best – even if they are only delivery/catering nowadays.
Order fresh to your door or hot and ready for events, these award-winning pies come with helpings of mash and gravy, peas and plenty more. They might not strictly be in Greater Manchester anymore (RIP those lovely Chorlton and SK spots), but they still ship plenty around here from their HQ in Macc.
Choices include the likes of beef and stout, pork and black pudding, classic meat and potato; pulled chicken balti (this thing absolutely flies off the shelves), cheese and onion, chicken and mushroom and a very good vegan pie.
V. Goode by name, v good by nature. The lovechild of Winsome and local chefs Shaun Moffat and Sam Grainger, as well as being named after co-founder Tom Fastiggi’s grandmother, Valerie – a former dinner lady and certified ‘pie aficionado’ – they’ve not been in Manchester long, but they’re off to a great start.
Swapping the gourmet trapping for no-nonsense pies, mash and more in tin takeaways trays or plated up right then and there in the small Oxford Street shop, they feel well portioned, have a lovely lacquered finish and are pretty reasonably priced too.
Starting at around £6 for the perfectly filled pastry cases, their beef and Guinness pie collab with local Irish bar O’Connell’s was a ‘V’ popular item, but you’ve got all the staples on their full-time menu, too. However, special mention has to go to their breakfast pies, a.k.a. one of the best ways to start the day.
Nicknamed ‘Horsemoor’ when it reopened thanks to the new interior’s striking resemblance to the Deansgate steakhouse, classic British pub grub is the order of the day at The Bay Horse – pies included.
On the main menu here, you’ll find all the classics: steak and ale, cheese and onion, mushroom and leek, as well as a chicken, bacon and spring cabbage concoction that sounds delicious. All of these come served with a choice of mash or chips and lashings of gravy.
Did we mention on Mondays they do a pie and a pint deal for a tenner, or 50% off your total bill? We can’t think of many better ways to start the week.
Ex-scaffolder Steve Patel worked in construction for 18 years before venturing into the food world with Vaso Kitchen. Quite the sea change.
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Then, in the midst of the pandemic, he decided to launch his own pie brand, combining traditional northern pie techniques with flavouring tips and tricks learnt from his Indian dad. The results are pretty incredible.
You can find Patel’s Pies at multiple sites across Greater Manchester, including A Taste of Honey and the Makers Market in West Didsbury, as well as The Butcher’s Quarter in the Northern Quarter.
Pies might typically be the domain of bakers, but let’s not forget the contribution of butchers, too.
A long-standing Bolton favourite, this family-run butcher has won big at the British Pie Awards as well, taking home silver medals for a traditional pork pie as well as their unbelievable pork, turkey and stuffing pie called ‘The Huntsman’.
They also won a bronze award for their meat and potato pie, which sits on the menu alongside many others, such as the cheesy chicken and leek, ploughman’s, and the classic chicken and mushroom.
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8. Pieminister
On the shelves in your supermarkets and available as a sit-down scran in various spots around Manchester, Pieminister is, as the name suggests, all about proper pies.
Pies here come in every shape and form, including the healthier option of having one of their delicious filo options. There’s even a pie bottomless brunch, a.k.a. our idea of heaven.
Simply walk in, order the pie of your choice, and have it piled high with mash, Yorkie puds, carrot and swede mash, baby garlic and kale roasties, pigs in blankets, pork scratchings, heaps of gravy and more. Just perfect.
Winners and now judges at the Great British Pie Awards, multi-award-winning pie favourites Great North Pie Co specialise in classic flavours like Lancashire cheese and onion, roast chicken and mushroom, and 14-hour braised beef.
With a recently opened cafe at KAMPUS in Manchester city centre, head down for your fill of butter pies, suet puddings and what genuinely might end up being one of the best pie experiences you’ll ever have.
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In case you’re not fully convinced of just how much our office loves this place and must imbibe wherever they stumble across one of their venues, you can always read our review HERE.
For some people, the best pie in Manchester is a sweet one, and if it’s a pastry-encrusted dessert you’re after, Idle Hands is up there with the absolute best in town. As you can see, there’s always a hearty selection on – with plenty of choices for vegans as well as veggies.
Think passionfruit cheesecake pie, rhubarb and blood orange pie, butterscotch meringue pie, malted milk brownie pie, key lime (we make silly noises whenever we eat this one), cookie dough, Earl Grey, Bakewell, and everyone’s favourite, the classic cherry pie.
Sit in and enjoy a slice at the NQ cafe or order a whole pie to your house. No judgement here, honest.
11. The Black Friar – Salford
Credit: The Manc Eats
As part of its recently relaunched pub grub menu, The Black Friar in Salford has a rotating menu of pie specials, and they’re all utterly decadent.
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This revamped old-school boozer boasts cosy settings and a selection of tall, hand-built, homemade pies, making it a must for Greater Manchester pie fans. Get ready for this: spinach and wild mushroom, duck and orange, lamb tagine pies and even a BONE-IN lamb shank pie.
Just ask your server for the daily special and know you’re not prepared for this level of deliciousness. Oh, and make sure to keep your eyes peeled for their annual pie festival, as it really is one of our favourite dates on the calendar.
Now, if we’re applauding Black Friar‘s pies, then we must also do the same with those being served at their other spiritual site over in Chorlton: the rejuvenated Horse and Jockey, which has been given a new lease of life by both Neil Burke and Ben Chaplin.
With a little help from regional brewery J.W. Lees as well, the already once-loved suburban pub has been given the TLC it needed to become a new thriving neighbourhood spot once again. The building is still gorgeous, and the food is better than ever – especially the pies.
Besides appearances on the specials board, their two main pies are the chicken, leek and pancetta one with greens and their super moorish ‘chicken liquor’, as well as their very impressive vegan offering: the sweet potato and butter bean pithivier (basically a lighter, posh French pie) with fire roast pepper sauce.
Last but not least is H.M. Pasties, set up by former prisoner Lee Wakeham in 2018, which offers a lifeline to those in need of work experience after leaving prison. Using ingredients from local prison farms wherever possible, the bakery makes delicious Cornish pasties and pies.
H.M. scooped up four gongs at 2022’s British Pie Awards, winning the vegan category overall with their chickpea curry pasty and taking home a silver award for their legendary cheese and onion pie.
The bakery also scored two bronzes for their traditional Cornish pasty, as well as a creamy vegan leek and mushroom pie that is to die for. The story behind this place, which now serves people all across the region, alone makes it one of our favourites.
14. The Wharf – Castlefield
Our penultimate pick is another one just outside of the city centre, sitting pretty waterside along Manchester’s Bridgewater Canal, and serving some of the best pub grub in town, full stop – so it’s no surprise their pie game has always been very strong.
As well as having one of the best beer gardens in town, The Wharf does lots of things well: Sunday roasts, cocktails from their little hut outside come the summer, but above all else, pies. The first time we ever tried a chicken chorizo pie was right here, and we’ve never looked back.
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Best of all, since they’re renovations over Christmas 2025, they’ve come up with more flavours than ever; we’re just gutted it’s unlikely you’ll get to see all of them on the menu at the same time outside of British Pie Week.
Last but not least, we couldn’t wrap this pastry-packed list up tight and carefully crimp it closed without shouting out the one and only Carrs Pasties Ltd. Is there a case for splitting hairs between a pie and a pasty? Sure… Do we care? Not one bit.
The legendary Bolton-born brand has locations all over the borough, Greater Manchester, the North West and beyond (there’s even some in Yorkshire and the likes of Leicester), and this legendary native name’s reputation really does speak for itself.
You can find their name on shelves, available to order online, or in person at one of their MANY Carrs Pasties Shop sites. We’re not going to run you through everything they do, because they quite literally do it all – including plenty of pies – so if you haven’t initiated yourself by now, right that big Manc wrong.
Popular ramen spot and karaoke bar House of Fu quietly closes in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
One of Manchester’s coolest ramen spots has quietly closed its doors last weekend, saying the site just ‘doesn’t click’.
House of Fu opened just two and a half years ago on Portland Street, following major success across in Leeds.
Their Manchester restaurant was kitted out with details like a neon piece of art in the shape of multi-storey noodles, and a bright orange, blue and white colour scheme against classic exposed brick.
On the menu, it was a comprehensive list of ramen bowls, rice bowls, and small plates, plus great cocktails.
But despite such a solid offering, House of Fu has shared its heartbreaking closure, with its final service last Saturday.
They wrote: “Manchester PSA! We’re heartbroken to announce that we’ll be closing House of Fu on Portland Street this Saturday, 28th February and this will be our last weekend serving the good people of Manchester.
“It’s been a wild two and a half years. To say the economic landscape has been challenging would be a bit of an understatement, but sometimes a site just doesn’t click. You live and hopefully learn.
“We want to say a massive thank you to all our staff. They’ve worked incredibly hard to make sure our customers have had amazing experiences since day one and closing is absolutely no reflection on them. We also want to say thanks to you, our patrons, for choosing to spend your time and money with us.
“We’d also like to thank our landlords, Bruntwood, who’ve been incredibly helpful since we opened, 10/10, would rent again.
“Hopefully we’ll see some of you again soon and please remember to support your local independent hospitality businesses. From the House of Fu Team.”
Georgina Pellant -
20th July 2021 
