While an industrial estate is not usually the first place you’d go when hunting for a new place to eat, trust us when we say that if you venture down to Piccadilly, you’re in for a very pleasant surprise indeed.
Bucking the trend for most trading estates, the archways and pre-fabs behind Manchester’s main railway station are surprisingly full of brewery taprooms.
Over the years, this part of town has become something of a favourite haunt for the city beer lovers, who regularly head down to get their hands on some of the freshest pints in the city.
But as well as hiding away all that beer, it’s also home to another well-kept Mancunian secret: Primo Bagels.
Faye Brown, one-third of the Primo Bagel team, holding her ‘babies’. / Image: The Manc Eats
Housed inside Cloudwater’s taproom, up the stairs of what looks, at first disconcertingly, like an office building, you’ll find this brilliant bagel and cookie pop-up run by three friends is getting pretty much everything right.
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Faye Brown, Niall Harley and Scott Shannon all used to work at Pollen bakery together, but during the lockdown they decided to branch out and launch their own delivery project together.
Primo has been going for a while but for the past three months, the team has expanded to the taproom every Friday and Saturday.
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Here, you’ll 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.
The main draw is, arguably, a selection of eight different bagels, baked to perfection in flavours like salt, marbled malt, sesame, everything, pumpernickel, plain and poppy.
The main draw is a choice of eight different bagels, baked to perfection in flavours like salt, marbled malt, sesame, everything, pumpernickel, plain and poppy. / Image: The Manc Eats The main draw is a choice of eight different bagels, baked to perfection in flavours like salt, marbled malt, sesame, everything, pumpernickel, plain and poppy. / Image: The Manc Eats
Bagel baker Scott leans on tricks learnt during his time in the Pollen kitchen to make these chewy, traditionally Jewish delights, marbling malt through some and simply baking others with crystals of rock salt.
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The way it works is you pick your bagel, then your filling, and can opt to have hummus, chips and pink sauerkraut alongside for an extra £4.
Filling choices range from simple (think homemade hummus or house whipped cream cheese) to indulgent, with a salt beef, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing option bursting from its bready confines.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Elsewhere, you’ll find a 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.
As for sweets, think brown butter and sea salt cookies with Primo proudly emblazoned across the front. It’s a wholesome affair.
Find Primo Bagel at Cloudwater’s Unit 9 taproom on Piccadilly Trading estate every Friday and Saturday from 12 – 6pm.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
Eats
Tiny Manchester restaurant with just 12 seats added to the Michelin Guide
Daisy Jackson
Sampa, a tiny restaurant in the Northern Quarter with just a dozen seats, has been added to the Michelin Guide.
The Brazilian chef’s table concept comes from the acclaimed chef and former MasterChef star Caroline Martins, who has been refining the concept across the city for years.
She’s gone from a residency in an Ancoats wine bar to supper clubs and pop-ups across Manchester – and now has a place in the Michelin Guide.
Sampa, which is almost fully booked all the way through to August, is the first Brazilian restaurant in the UK to be included in the prestigious guide, which Caroline has described as ‘a small step for me as a chef patron, but a massive moment for the Brazilian community’.
Not only is the restaurant small, but it’s exclusive – Sampa is almost fully booked all the way through to August, and keeps its location under wraps until just 24 hours before your reservation.
The food showcases both traditional Brazilian techniques and ingredients, but with a modern take which has earned it rave reviews – including its signature Dormouse dessert, in the shape of a glossy red mushroom.
The Michelin Guide wrote: “In Manchester’s artsy Northern Quarter, Sampa is quite literally hidden away, with the exact address of this 12-seater chef’s counter only provided to guests 24 hours prior to dining, and a sign hung outside the door just 20 minutes before service.
“This sense of intrigue is fitting for an immersive experience where Chef Caroline Martins hosts her guests in a gregarious manner and treats them to a surprise menu of Brazilian cuisine.
“From the traditional ‘pão de queijo’ cheese bread to the showstopping ‘Dormouse’ dessert, these are fun, flavourful dishes packed with personality.”
And speaking of the honour, Caroline wrote: “SAMPA is now officially the first ever restaurant in the UK under the category “Brazilian” in the @michelinguide — and one of five across Europe! A small step for me as a chef patron, but a massive moment for the Brazilian community.
“This year has already gone beyond anything I could have imagined — and it just keeps getting better. We’re so proud of what we do at SAMPA every single day.
“Since January 2025, we’ve continued to grow and push forward, and it truly feels like we’re stronger than ever.
“A huge thank you to the Michelin Guide for the recognition, and to our amazing guests for being part of this journey and supporting us every step of the way. OBRIGADA!”
A sports bar dedicated to women’s sports is opening in Stockport
Daisy Jackson
A brand-new women’s-led sports bar is opening in Stockport, marking a first for the North.
Rita Ray’s will be joining the line-up at Weir Mill, the new neighbourhood from Capital & Centric on the banks of the River Mersey.
While women’s sport has grown in popularity in recent years, Rita Ray’s founder says that ‘the spaces to watch it haven’t caught up’.
And so, this new sports bar concept has been born, with all the buzz of a classic sports bar but with women’s sport on the big screens.
The venue will be family-friendly by day, before shifting into a lively social hangout with great drinks, music, and post-matchday energy by night.
It plans to become a community cornerstone too, hosting things like run clubs, classes, quiz nights, book clubs, pop-ups, and community meet-ups.
Founder of Rita Ray’s, Becky Brown, has named the bar after her grandparents Rita and Ray, who loved life, games, golf, and good company.
She says there’s ‘nothing like this in the North at the moment’.
Rita Ray’s sports bar is the second independent venture announced for Weir Mill this month alone – Italian restaurant The Social Trattoria is also heading to Stockport this year.
Becky said: “Women’s sport has grown massively, but the spaces to watch it haven’t caught up.
“There’s nothing like this in the North at the moment, and Stockport and the Weir Mill neighbourhood felt like the perfect spot – creative, independent, and full of character. Rita Ray’s is about sport, community, and inclusion.”
Tom Wilmot, joint managing director at Capital&Centric, said: “Rita Ray’s is exactly the kind of bold, indie concept we love bringing into our neighbourhoods. It’s a brilliant addition to Weir Mill and a great example of the independent operators helping shape this new part of Stockport.”
Cllr Micheala Meikle, Cabinet Member for regeneration, skills and economy, said: “Seeing the North’s first independent bar dedicated to women’s sport choose Weir Mill is a fantastic vote of confidence in Stockport.
“This kind of bold, community‑minded business will add to the growing sense of place we’re creating here – an inclusive space where everyone can come together to enjoy sport, meet friends, and feel part of something special.
“This is exactly what regeneration should deliver: new jobs, strong independents and more reasons for people to spend time in our town centre, while keeping the character that makes Stockport what it is.
“Investment of this quality shows the direction we’re heading and the momentum we’re building, ensuring Stockport remains a vibrant, welcoming and thriving place for residents, visitors and businesses alike.”
Rita Ray’s is all set to open this summer at Weir Mill in Stockport, just in time to roar on the Three Lions.
Georgina Pellant -
10th May 2022 
