Another month, another set of new openings to shout about – and boy are there some crackers coming to Manchester this July.
From a spanking new late-night music venue, late-night bar and restaurant over on Oxford Road, to a teeny-tiny Japanese street food stall, there’s loads to look forward to this month.
Keep reading to discover our top picks to try out this July.
Rise Pizza
Image: The Manc Eats
After years spent cooking in high-end Michelin kitchens, chef Sam Astley-Dean has switched his chef whites for jeans and a tshirt, applying his skills to new one-man pizza pop-up Rise.
Pizza here celebrates quality ingredients, made with the likes of organic tomatoes and mozzarella, planet saving flour, imported italian basil and parmigiano reggiano di solo bruna.
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Sam can often be found popping up all over Greater Manchester, but for the month of July you can be sure to find his brilliant pizzas at Track’s taproom every Friday and Saturday between the hours of 3 and 9pm.
1 July, Track brewery taproom
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Read more:The Michelin-trained chef running a one-man pizza pop-up in a Manchester taproom
Primo Bagel
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Founded by three friends who have all previously worked together at esteemed Manchester bakery Pollen, Primo has spent the past few months popping up at the Cloudwater brewery taproom on Picadilly Industrial Trading Estate.
As of this month, though, the trio officially has a new home inside the Seesaw co-working space on Princess Street previously occupied by Batard.
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Find them serving up a host of generously-stuffed bagels alongside sweet bakes, hummus and chips, fermented cabbage, and bialy – a Polish treat made using leftover bagel dough, baked with half a red onion inside – with a selection of eight different bagels in flavours like salt, marbled malt, sesame, everything, pumpernickel, plain and poppy.
As for fillings, think salt beef with Swiss cheese and Russian dressing; spicy, pickled jalapeno schmear with bacon from Littlewood’s butchers; smoked salmon and ‘everything’ cream cheese with lemon, dill, seeds, onion and garlic; and a whipped Marmite cream cheese bagel with spring onions.
There are sweet cookies too, and a new ‘off/secret menu(ish) type of thing’ for those in the know combining a toasted bagel with plain cream cheese and apricot jam.
Liverpool favourite Maray will open its doors this month in the Bruntwood Works’ Union building on Brazennose Street next to ‘The Hidden Gem’ church.
In a central location that’s slightly off the beaten path, it will form part of the transformation taking place around the Town Hall and Lincoln Square.
Founded in 2014 by James Bates, Tom White and Dom Jones, the concept was originally inspired by the owners’ experiences in the Le Marais district of Paris – a vibrant area of the city famed as a culinary melting pot of Middle Eastern flavours and stand out cocktail bars.
In a nod to this, the menu at Maray features a selection of mezze, and small plates like falafel, lamb shawarma and baked halloumi.
It also boasts an extensive vegan and vegetarian offering – think wild mushrooms with cannellini beans, sweet potato with tahini and date molasses, and spiced lentil and rice mejadara.
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16 July, Lincoln Square
The Flat Baker
The Flat Baker is opening its first little shop in Ancoats this month, serving specialist treats and classic pastries with a Brazilian-inspired twist from a window hatch on Radium Street.
Opening on Saturdays only, here pastry and bread lovers will find a multitude of croissants and cruffins, pastel de natas, cinnamon swirls and faviours breads, including focaccia, cornbread, Pão de Queijo (cheese bread) and boozy brioche.
Elsewhere, there’ll be more specialist Brazilian treats for sale too, like carrot cake topped and filled with creamy chocolate truffle (brigadeiro), guava polenta cake, tonka bean brownies, and passion fruit and lime meringue tarts.
Frankie’s Toasties will open a new toasted sandwich stall at Manchester’s Arndale Market this month, selling retro Breville delights stuffed with everything from supernoodles to all the ingredients of a Full English breakfast.
Adding to its existing site on Portland Street, the new Little Frankie’s branch will offer daily grab-and-go toasties throughout the day until the market closes at 6pm.
The new food stall will offer all the same goodies as its existing site — albeit in a slightly smaller package – with Full English breakfast toasties, chilli con carne toasties, a toastie stuffed with four-cheese macaroni, chocolate and loads more all set to be on the menu.
Another new addition to Manchester Arndale, this time in the council-run market on the High Street side of the centre bordering the Northern Quarter.
Christmas market favourites Panc are taking over the former Salt and Pepper unit this month, bringing all their savoury favourites with them – as well as a range of sweet desserts under the new banner Yum Yum
Splitting the stall into two, Panc and Yum Yum will each be housed in their own individual sections – one serving up tasty vegan ‘junk’ food like kebabs, burgers, loaded fries, hot dogs and ‘chick’n’, the other focusing exclusively on milkshakes and desserts.
Yum Yum will boast a brand new chimney cake offering alongside vegan soft serve, bringing plant-based ice cream to the Arndale market for the very first time alongside Panc’s popular churros, loaded PANCakes and Belgian waffles.
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8 July, Arndale Market
The Ancoats Lad
Image: Google
Tiny Oldham Street boozer The Ancoats Lad is being given a new lease of life five months after its owners’ bit farewell via a heartbreaking letter plastered to its shutters.
Long known as a place that ‘encouraged awkwardness’ with ‘old-school’ customers, the miniscule pub, sandwiched between Gullivers and Chakalaka, will reopen as The Mancunian next month – with a hyper-local offering to reflect its new moniker.
Drinks will come from the likes of Salford Rum, Manchester Union Lager, Manchester Gin, Shindigger, Seven Brothers and more. “Pretty much everyone you could think of”, Perry and Josh tell us, adding they want to keeping everything as traditional and Manchester-based as possible.
Manchester’s first-ever dedicated sake bar, Monkey Trio will open at the Circle Square development on Oxford Road this month.
It will offer drinkers a range of different Japanese sake styles, as well as various Japanese-made whiskies and craft matcha beers.
TBC, Circle Square
Takoyaki Master
Image: The Manc Eats
New Japanese street food stall Takoyaki Master specialises in little fried balls stuffed with diced octopus, bonito and sweetcorn.
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Run by Violet and Pong Ho, it is pretty much a brand new arrival at the market. The pair have only been in Manchester a few months – having moved over here from Hong Kong, where they tell us they ran a very successful Takoyaki stall for “many years”.
There are two styles of takoyaki on offer – one topped with scallions, and one without. Both come filled with diced octopus, sweetcorn and bonito soup, then topped with bonito and seaweed flakes, Japanese mayo and Okonomi sauce.
If you don’t like octopus, though, they’ll happily switch it out for chicken, cheese or beef.
Open now, Arndale Market
Tsjuiri
Image: Tsujiri
Popular matcha dessert tea house Tsujiri is also tipped to open inside Circle Square this month.
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It is the second Manchester site for the brand, which already has an existing cafe in Chinatown.
Here, you’ll be able to pick up everything from mochi balls to matcha basque cheesecakes, black sesame chocolate tarts and tubs of matcha and roasted soy bean ice cream. Elsewhere, the menu will feature a range of bubble teas and lattes.
TBC, Circle Square
Cherry’s Boba Shop
Image: Supplied
From the cocktail wizarding team that brought Stockport Cherry Jam comes a new bubble tea shop, the first of its kind in the neighbourhood.
Cherry’s Boba Shop sees cocktail bartender Neil Garner turn his hand to wild and wacky and wonderful boba tea creations in flavours like strawberry shortcake, banana split, mango cheesecake and PB&J.
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In his own words: “If Willy Wonka made boba tea, this shop would sell them all.”
Opening opposite Red Rock Cinema at the start of July, there are also some cocktail-inspired (but alcohol-free) serves like Cherry’s Mojito and the Popstar Marteani (passion fruit and vanilla fruit tea with passion fruit popping boba).
1 July, Stockport
Canvas
Image: Supplied
A new music, entertainment and wellness venue, Canvas will open its doors this month at Oxford Road’s Circle Square development.
With live music, club nights, a members’ lounge with a programme of events, a late-night bar and restaurant, and a digital platform, it’s set to bring a whole new late-night offering to the busy student side of town.
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An official opening date is yet to be announced, but Canvas is expected to open in the second week of July.
TBC, Circle Square
Feature image – The Flat Baker / The Man Group / The Manc Eats
Manchester
Outbreak Festival announces hard-hitting lineup for 15th anniversary in Manchester
Danny Jones
Outbreak Fest is celebrating 15 years in 2026, and they’re toasting the milestone with a hefty lineup full of trash, metal, punk, hardcore and more.
The cult favourite alternative and annual music festival that takes place at the Bowlers Exhibition Centre, a.k.a. BEC Arena, every year has only gotten bigger over the past few years, and their landmark 15th anniversary is set to be another rager.
Approaching a decade and a half of delighting alt-kids and Manc rocks next summer, the Outbreak lineup down in London was always going to be impressive, but we just weren’t quite expecting so many big hitters in just the first wave alone up here.
Here’s the Outbreak Fest Manchester lineup for 2026 so far:
Promising plenty more to come and soon, the festival organisers have already confirmed that there will be a standalone Friday show to kick off the carnage come June 2026.
As explained in the social media post, which has been met with an incredible reaction from fans, “you will be able to upgrade your weekend ticket to include this show once the line-up is announced, if you would like.” Bang for your buck.
They went on to write: “This festival is nothing without the community of people around it. It doesn’t exist without your support, and we are grateful to still be doing this all these years later.”
This devil-horned, weekend-long celebration has always given off a great style and aesthetic, too; we particularly enjoyed their cinematic preview released on Halloween.
Put together by Charles Fitzgerald, a digital content creator who has worked with the likes of Bring Me The Horizon and their frontman Oli Sykes’ Drop Dead clothing range, these are the kinds of teasers we want to see more of…
With names like the resurgent Alexisonfire (set to play their seminal third album Crisis in its entirety), Ipswich rockers Basement, as well as post-hardcore heroes, Touché Amoré, topping the bill, we cannot wait to see what comes next.
Safe to say you should keep your eyes peeled on their social media for more announcements and information on Outbreak 2026.
Following up to the reaction online, they added: “Two-day passes on sale now. That was a crazy reaction to the first announcement and we are grateful.
“Truthfully, we were 60% sold before we announced yesterday! This is us giving you a heads up. If you can, and you f*** with this lineup – get your ticket soon! Thank you.”
General admission went live on their official website on Monday morning, and you really don’t want to wait around with this one; grab your tickets HERE.
Five’s Manchester arena shows – tickets, times, setlist and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
English boyband Five are heading to Manchester not once but twice for two pure-pop performances and perfectly-mastered choreography.
Manchester, “get up!” Because Five are about to make you get down when they bring their epic reunion tour to the music capital of the North this November.
Scott, Ritchie, Sean, J and Abz have chosen to play out in both the mighty 21,000 capacity AO Arena AND impressive 23,5000 Co-op Live for their 90s and 00s pop party celebration.
This boyband has sold over 20 million records worldwide and swooned a fair few of our hearts over the years with hits like ‘Everybody Get Up’, ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘Got The Feelin”.
Five – Manchester gig guide
Now, after 25 years apart, these cheeky chaps are heading back on the road for their ‘Keep On Movin” tour, where we’re sure they’ll play all your favourite hits.
Five are coming to AO Arena on 7 November and Co-op Live on 18 November in Manchester. (Credit: Supplied)
Five UK tour dates – winter 2025
Wed 29 October – Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena
Fri 31 October – Brighton, UK – Brighton Centre
Sat 1 November – Bournemouth, UK – Bournemouth International Centre
Sun 2 November – Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena
Tue 4 November – Nottingham, UK – Motorpoint Arena
The official songs might not have been announced yet, but we expect it won’t differ much from this setlist taken from their Aussie ‘Greatest Hits Tour 2024’ below:
Let’s Dance
We Will Rock You
Kick That Wall Down
Got the Feelin’
My Song
Until the Time Is Through
When the Lights Go Out
Keep On Movin’
Written in the Sun
It’s the Things You Do
Slam Dunk (Da Funk)
Reset
Human
Lay All Your Lovin’ on Me
If Ya Gettin’ Down
Everybody Get Up
Keep on Movin’ (21 Remix)
What are the stage times for Five’s Manchester arena shows?
If you’re worried that ‘When the Lights Go Out’ you won’t be getting home til the early hours of the morning, then fear no more as both AO Arena and Co-op Live have a curfew of 11pm.
Support comes in the form of chart-topping DJ, Naughty Boy, whose behind some of the biggest tracks of the 2010’s including ‘La La La’, ‘Runnin” and ‘Wonder’; you do not want to miss his set.
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.
Getting there by car and parking
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
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.
You can see our interview with Five after their recent AO Arena residency down below.
How to get to Co-op Live
Tram
For those of you heading to Co-op Live, you’ll be glad to know it’s right next door to a rather famous big blue stadium and its integrated Metrolink stop.
Head along the light blue or orange lines directly to the Etihad Campus or Ashton-under-Lyne, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Trams run frequently on the Ashton-Eccles line to the Etihad stop, with services leaving every six minutes from the city centre until 1:00am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Bus
You can find the full list of bus routes HERE, with the one in closest proximity to the venue being the 53 bus, which runs from Cheetham Hill through to Higher Crumpsall, Old Trafford and Pendleton, leaving just a two-minute walk to Co-op Live. You also get free Bee Network travel with any valid event ticket.
Car and parking info
If you’re driving, there is limited parking available at the venue, but this must be pre-booked ahead of time, and there are designated drop-off areas.
The postcode is M11 3DU, and you can follow the signs towards the wider Etihad Campus as you get closer; directions to the adjacent drop-off points will also be signposted.
Keep in mind that congestion on the roads close to the stadium is expected to gather around two hours prior to any event, so if you are travelling on the road, these are the suggested times they provide come event day, though estimates will obviously vary:
Alan Turing Way (both directions): plan an additional 20 minutes into any journey by road.
Hyde Road (eastbound): expect an additional 15 minutes to be added to your journey.
Mancunian Way (westbound): plan for an extra 10 minutes of travel time.
There are also three park-and-ride facilities near Co-op Live, but be advised that the Velopark and Holt Town stops will be closed post-event to help safely manage crowds:
Ashton West (Ashton line) – 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces
Ladywell (Ashton-Eccles line) – 332 spaces and 22 disabled spaces
Five are doing a clean sweep of Manchester arenas. (Credit: Audio North)
Walk/cycle
Lastly, Co-op Live is only a half-hour stroll from Manchester Piccadilly, and you could even walk along the canal all the way to the front door if you fancy taking the scenic route.
Once again, the Beryl app is available for those looking to bike over to the venue; there are hire points just near the south-west corner of the Etihad Stadium on Ashton New Road.
For more information on all travel options, you can check out the enhanced journey planner.
Georgina Pellant -
1st July 2022 
