The new restaurants and bars opening in Manchester this month | December 2022
From fine Japanese dining to smashed burgers, acai bowls and a new rooftop restaurant with stunning views of the city, there's lots to look forward to this month.
It’s nearly the end of the year, and what a year it’s been. We’ve seen Manchester’s bar owners and restauranteursbattle against the odds, not just to stay open but to bring new concepts to the city too.
As we enter the final month of the year, it’s safe to say we’ve got some exciting new openings to look forward to over the Christmas period – from smashed burgers and naughty fries, to new dessert houses selling the likes of Smores donut sandwiches and ice cream sundaes.
Elsewhere, you’ll find healthier options, too. Acai and The Tribe, formerly housed at the Arndale Market, has moved over to Deansgate Mews with wholesome fruit-laden superfood bowls and gluten-free everything, whilst on Bridge Street new opening MUSU is bringing fine Japanese dining to the city in a whole new way.
As we say, lots to get excited about. Keep reading to find out where to put on your list this December.
Acai and The Tribe, Deansgate Mews
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Selling beautiful acai bowls, brunch plates and more, this little gem used to be at the Arndale Market but has just moved – taking over the old Butcher’s Quarter site on Deansgate Mews.
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Found within the Great Northern Warehouse complex, everything here is gluten free and suitable for veggies or vegans, with owner Alisha even making her own granola in house to ensure it suits everyone’s dietaries (and keep the cost of her bowls down).
MUSU, Bridge Street
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
This high-end Japanese restaurant is bringing a theatrical ‘multi-sensory’ dining experience with exquisite service, sashimi, sushi wine and more.
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Dine from specially created 7 and 11 course tasting menus with wine pairings, or opt for a traditional ‘chef’s choice’ experience at its six-seat Omakase counter.
Masa Bakery, Prestwich
Image: MASA Bakery
Image: MASA Bakery
Opened by baker Rick Marlow, MASA is a soon-to-be neighbourhood cafe and bakery in Prestwich.
First launched in 2020, he began baking out of his mum’s garage in Macclesfield to keep busy on furlough. Offering local home deliveries and a little market stall, MASA soon built up a solid wholesale customer base – supplying the likes of Yas Bean, Dokes Prestwich, The Nags Head Haughton and more.
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Specialising in sourdough and foccaccia, Rick’s now preparing to launch a new bakery in his hometown before Christmas with the cafe set to open in February next year.
Now That’s A Burger, Ducie Street Warehouse
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Super Happy, who operate the counter at Ducie Street Warehouse, have just launched their own burger line this month and it is elite.
The sandwich dealers bake all their own bread daily, now they’ve ventured into the smashed burger world.
Available for collection and delivery only via Deliveroo, we’re talking sexy house baked potato rolls, housemade pickles, the best burger ‘Super sauce’ and fried buttermilk chicken dipped in Szechuan chilli oil.
Creams Cafe, Manchester Arndale
Image: Creams
Image: Creams
Popular UK dessert chain Creams has taken over a massive new 2,325 sq ft store in the centre’s Halle Place, joining the likes of burger restaurant Archie’s and fellow newcomer Pizza Luxe.
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Here, sweet tooths can get their fix on a range of flamboyant and indulgent desserts. From takeaway ice cream cones to boxes of Biscoff and icing-laden donuts and slices of cake, the cafe will sit in an ideal place for shoppers looking for a mid-afternoon sugar lift.
Gooey Cafe, Trafford Centre
Image: Gooey Co
Image: Gooey Co
Manchester’s lockdown sugar dealers Gooey have opened a Christmas-themed cafe at the Trafford Centre offering festive afternoon teas and breakfast with Santa, as well as exclusive festive bakes.
Housed inside Selfridges, the 30-seat Christmas cafe menu features seasonal treats like a smores cookie pie, a Snowman choux, a layered chocolate orange cake and Gooey’s beloved millionaire’s shortbread with a Christmas twist.
Climat, Blackfriars House
Climat. Credit: The Manc GroupClimat. Credit: The Manc Group
This stunning new rooftop restaurant in Manchester city centre boasts more than 250 different wines on the menu, a Michelin-recommended pedigree (from the team’s other site, Covino, in Chester), and beehives on the roof.
From its eighth floor position in Blackfriars House, diners will be able to take in the sights of Manchester, including the (currently scaffolded) Town Hall, the ornate rooftop of Barton Arcade, and the spire of St Ann’s Church.
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The 100-cover restaurant has crafted a menu of modern British feasting-size dishes – ‘food you want to eat’ – geared towards groups of three or more to share. Think whole turbot, slow-cooked lamb shoulder, and ex-dairy cuts on the bone.
North Brewing Taproom, Circle Square
Image: North Brewing Co
Image: North Brewing Co
Independent Leeds-based brewery North is opening a taproom at Circle Square, bringing its beer to Manchester’s Oxford Road.
Tipped to open this month, North Taproom will see popular beers from its core poured alongside an ever-changing line-up of beers, wines, cocktails, ciders, and spirits.
The bar will feature 24 draught lines, including eighteen lines of keg beer and one cask, all pouring North’s ever-evolving range of classic beers, specials and collabs, alongside food from Leeds-based eatery Little Bao Boy.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
Manchester
A local Manchester run club is holding two special running routes to see the total eclipse
Danny Jones
With the highly anticipated total eclipse fast approaching, people not just here in Greater Manchester but all over the UK, Europe and the rest of the world are gearing up to try and watch it – but this native running club are doing it a bit differently.
Eclipses occur once every 12-18 months, but this is set to be the biggest since 1999.
The moon is set to cover approximately 96-98% of the sun this coming Wednesday, 12 August, 2026, and rather than try to watch it from a window at home or drive to somewhere with supposedly ‘the best view’, local sports club Manchester Road Runners are turning it into their latest one-off event.
Sharing details online, the free-to-join local organisation, which boasts thousands of members on Facebook and various other platforms, will be timing things to make sure they catch the phenomenon.
Writing in the accompanying caption, the Road Runners say: “We’ve pulled some strings and have a very special event taking place on August 12th, a solar eclipse! Come run with us under a darkened sun next Wednesday from The Wharf at 18:30, with peak moon coverage expected at around 19:10.”
Better still, they’re also teaming up with their trail running spin-off club for an even more scenic twist on the evening excursion.
“If you prefer to experience your solar phenomena under the wide open skies”, they go on to write, “our friends over at Trail Division will be holding a hike/run off road, meet at Piccadilly Station at 18:00 to get shady in the great outdoors.”
Fortunately, they have issued an important disclaimer, going on to remind runners that “while beautiful and majestic, the sun should NEVER be directly looked at in the face unprotected”, signing off by adding, “Respect the sun, respect your peepers, stay ocularly safe out there.”
If you’ve never come across MRR before, they’re probably the biggest run club in the entire Greater Manchester region and their social-first jogs, intervals, track sessions and more revolve around meeting back up with your mates for a wholesome pint and a chat.
For many, it’s the biggest and the best in the city.
As for the eclipse run, it’s set to be a very magical variation on their usual Wednesday evening meets.
Quite rightly, they also point out in the post that you can actually buy certain glasses to view eclipses on these rare occasions, with search traffic often ramping up in and around these events.
Meanwhile, the Trail Division branch is yet to confirm the route for their run/hike, but it will most likely remain in the nearby North West vicinity; keep your eyes peeled on their social media pages (linked above) for more information and other upcoming trail events.
Speaking of trail runs, there’s a pretty beautiful albeit challenging one coming up next month…
Stunning vistas, walkers welcome, and multiple distances available.🏃♂️🥾
And the best part? It's less than 90 minutes away from Manchester. 🏞️
Peter Kay at AO Arena, Manchester – tickets, times and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
Bolton-born comedian and entertainer Peter Kay is performing the final leg of his current UK arena tour with a series of charity shows.
Throughout his career, Kay has written and starred in various TV shows including Phoenix Nights, Max And Paddy’s Road To Nowhere and Peter Kay’s Car Share.
Alongside this, the Greater Manchester comedian has played a variety of arena shows across the UK, including at Manchester’s very own AO Arena with the likes of ‘Mum Wants a Bungalow Tour’ and the first raft of ‘Better Late Than Never’.
The latter came after the whole Co-op Live delays, if you can remember that.
And who can forget his successful venture as a recording artist collaborating with Tony Christie on ‘(Is This The Way To) Amarillo’ or alter-ego Geraldine’s string of singles ‘The Winner’s Song’ and ‘Once Upon A Christmas Song’? But let’s be honest, he’s back doing his garlic* bread and butter.
Gig guide | Peter Kay at AO Arena, Manchester
Credit: Press shots (supplied)/This Morning (screenshot via YouTube)
Peter Kay UK tour dates
Fri 24 July – Leeds, UK – First Direct Arena
Sat 25 July – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
Fri 7 August – London, UK – The O2
Sat 8 August – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
And then, of course, we also have his slate of other charity shows set to be played back in his hometown at the famous Albert Halls – for which he recently added even more dates.
Are there any tickets left for Peter Kay at AO Arena?
Peter Kay is coming to Manchester city centre on Saturday 8 August, and luckily there’s a handful of tickets still up for grabs, although we expect this event to sell out. Tickets are available HERE.
And, the money from the tickets you purchase will be split between the 12 charities that the British comedy hero has chosen, such as Children With Cancer UK, Teenage Cancer Trust, Breast Cancer UK and more.
What are the stage times for Peter Kay in Manchester?
Anyone heading to the ‘Better Late Than Never; The Final Show’ can expect doors to open from 6pm with Peter Kay set to take to stage at 8pm.
Kicking off the night prompt and early, there’s no warm-up act; instead, the 53-year-old gives fans a usual interval between the first and second half of the show.
Simple as that.
AO Arena has a strict curfew of 11pm, meaning you can laugh your socks off and still get tucked up under the covers before the clock hits midnight.
Getting to AO Arena
Tram
For those of you heading to AO Arena, luckily, it’s connected to Manchester Victoria Station, and it has an integrated Metrolink stop to make your life even easier.
Head along the pink, light blue or yellow lines directly to the Victoria stop, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Train
Considering this live entertainment venue is situated right in the middle of one of Manchester’s most frequented stations, concertgoers should find no problem getting to the arena, wherever they are.
Bus
A variety of buses cover AO Arena andVictoria Station on their route, such as the 2 bus, which stops just a one-minute walk away from the venue.
A full list of buses and their routes can be found HERE.
The Arena has its own official CitiPark, with 958 car parking spaces, including 40 Blue Badge parking bays, which can be booked in advance.
Alternatively, anyone attending a gig can park at their nearest train station and jump on a train service or the various Metrolink park and ride facilities.
Walk/cycle
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Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes through the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app.
The Last ̶D̶a̶n̶c̶e̶ Laugh*
It’s been well publicised that these will be the local comedy legend’s final ever live stand-up comedy shows, and while it still feels hard to believe, the time has now come upon us and we’re starting to accept that this really might be goodbye.
So, with that being said, if this is farewell, all we can say is thanks for the memories, the giggles, iconic quotes, and for all the smiles you put on faces up and down the country over the past few decades.
Georgina Pellant -
1st December 2022 
