A superfan of the iconic Manchester band The Smiths has decided to pay homage to them in one of the most genius ways there is.
By giving a nod to them in the name of his new business venture.
Madchester music fanatic Max Paley has opened up a curry house celebrating his favourite band – named This Charming Naan – with dishes also named after some of their most famous songs, including Girlfriend In A Korma and How Saag Is Now?
The 25-year-old Smiths superfan – who is originally from Oxford – sells 20 dishes with lyric-inspired names from a kitchen he rents inside the Retro Bar music venue on Sackville Street in the heart of Manchester city centre, and the food is even endorsed by band members too, with former The Smiths drummer Mike Joyce naming a dish on the menu – Last Night I Dreamt That Some Bhaji Loved Me.
In what will surely be music to the ears of the meat-free among us – Morrissey included – the new restaurant is completely plant based.
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The restaurant opened for takeaway in December of last year, and Max has plans for customers to eventually be able to sit-in and eat among Smiths’ memorabilia with their tunes playing in the background when the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown restrictions are finally lifted.
Max – who previously ran a music venue – had just six months’ experience working in a kitchen before starting the business venture.
He opened March and hoped to run it as a restaurant and a festival van, but both plans were halted due to lockdown, and so as a plan B, he opened as a pop-up stall at the street food hub Hatch in Manchester city centre through the summer, going on to earn rave reviews from customers and deciding to open up again before Christmas.
The two-man operation – Max and his pal Joe, who do all the cooking and take all the orders – has seen orders flood in from music fans in the city.
Max added: “I have been going to music festivals since I was 12 and I’d always had a dream of taking a food truck to festivals. I was thinking of ideas with a friend a few years ago and I had the idea of This Charming Naan and wanted to get a food truck together of that name.
“We opened as a restaurant last March and two days later, lockdown hit so we had to stop.
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“I fully intend to go around the festivals in This Charming Van as soon as we can and as soon as festivals can start up again.
“We opened again as a takeaway on December 1 and business has been good, but the reaction has really blown me away.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ6tJ6UAfp0/
He continued: I grow the menu organically whenever I want to update it,”
“I’ve taught myself to cook using the internet and videos.
“I’m a vegan, but I don’t push the vegan aspect of the restaurant to the forefront, it just is what it is. I’d rather people judge the food for what it is.
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“We started off with just a few dishes like Girlfriend In A Korma and Madras is Murder.
“As I expanded the menu, I tried to keep it to just Smiths songs, but it’s too hard thinking of them all to fit, but most of them are named after songs from Manchester bands.
“I had to go with a Jimi Hendrix song for a dish called Vindaloo Child.
“Supergrass is included on the menu as a little ode to Oxford, they are one of my favourite bands and they are from my hometown.
“My favourite dish to cook is Heaven Knows I’m Masala Now or Vindaloo Child, because I’m a spice man [and]I like making spicy dishes.”
This Charming Naan is currently delivering across Manchester via Deliveroo and Just Eat, and you can read the full menu via the restaurant’s website here.
You can also keep up to date with the restaurant as it grows on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Eats
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.
Mexican chain Wahaca might be returning to Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Mexican chain might be returning to Manchester, six years after its closure.
The much-loved restaurant group is eyeing up new locations in our city, as well as sites in Cambridge, Glasgow, and Birmingham.
Retail and leisure agency P-Three has been tasked with sourcing new sites across the UK for Wahaca, which had to permanently close 10 locations in the midst of the pandemic.
Wahaca restaurants that closed included its popular location in the Corn Exchange in Manchester.
Wahaca was founded in London almost 20 years ago, by MasterChef winner Thomasina Miers and Mark Selby.
Its menu showcases food from across Mexico, with restaurants that are inspired by the modern bustling culture seen in contemporary Oaxaca.
It’s also the UK’s first carbon-neutral restaurant group and multiple-time winner of the UK’s most sustainable restaurant group.
P-Three is looking for large restaurant units (2,500-4,500 sq ft) which Wahaca can move back into as it brings its vibrant food back across the UK once again.
Wahaca might be returning to Manchester. Credit: Wahaca
Thomas Rose, co-founder at P-Three, commented: “Wahaca has firmly established itself as one of the UK’s most authentic and lively restaurant groups, offering diners a bold, fresh and modern take on Mexican street food.
“A longstanding client of P-Three, we are excited to be supporting Wahaca with this next phase of growth and look forward to helping them bring their concept to new cities and locations across the UK.”
Mark Selby, Co-founder & Chairman at Wahaca, added: “After the huge success of our Paddington opening in 2024 and the incredible feedback on Wahaca Reimagined across our 14 individually designed restaurants, we are excited to be once again looking to bring Wahaca’s unique restaurant experience to different areas of the UK.
“We want to find buildings that lend themselves to our distinctive look and feel and know that P-Three will do an excellent job bringing that vision to life.”
Emily Sergeant -
18th January 2021 
