One of Manchester’s most popular street food stalls has won a huge accolade in the Deliveroo Restaurant Awards, scooping the prize for Best Newcomer.
Salt & Pepper serves a Chinese-inspired menu from a stall inside the Arndale food market, as well as from the kitchens at Black Dog in the Northern Quarter.
The local business has centred its menu around the ever-popular Chinese dish of salt and pepper, with variations including chicken wings, surf and turf, and battered king prawns.
They also serve up sticky Canton-glazed meals, all loaded onto salt and pepper crinkle fries or rice.
Salt & Pepper operates from the Arndale food market and Black Dog in the Northern Quarter. Credit: Supplied
Owner Chloe Tao said: “We’re absolutely delighted to win the award for best newcomer and wanna thank everyone that voted for us.
“Quite honestly, we’ve not had a lot of good news this year and this award has really cheered us all up and kept us validated.
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“We’re really grateful that we’re still able to serve good food to good people and I’m so proud of my incredible team who continue to make this their priority.”
Wingstop won the very top prize – and opens in Manchester this week. Credit: Supplied
Several larger restaurant groups with presences here in Manchester did scoop an award though, including Dishoom, which was crowned best Indian restaurant, and Gaucho, for fine dining.
Wingstop, which is about to open its first Manchester location just off Piccadilly Gardens, was named the Restaurant of the Year.
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The chicken wing restaurant beat out the likes of Proove Pizza and Fat Hippo to claim the top prize.
Read more: Kampus’s restaurant-on-stilts to become bakery, florist and bagel shop
The Deliveroo Restaurant Awards were first launched in 2019 to celebrate the best restaurants and grocers on the platform, with winners across 21 categories chosen by public vote.
The Restaurant of the Year was chosen by a panel of expert judges, made up of food critic Grace Dent, presenter and TV chef Big Zuu, Junior Bake-Off judge Ravneet Gill, and Deliveroo CEO Will Shu.
Will Shu said: “Well done to all of our winners and finalists in every category, the food we’re delivering to customers has never been better and that’s thanks to the incredible restaurants and grocers on our platform.”
Featured Image – Salt & Pepper Manchester
Eats
The Sicilian street food spot tucked away on the rooftop of a beloved Manchester boozer
Danny Jones
You’ve probably heard the term ‘hidden gem’ thrown around a hundred times in Manchester this year alone – it’s used far too often, we know that – but there’s nothing really secret about this Sicilian food spot in Manchester, we’re just helping spread the word.
Because it really is unbelievable and they deserve to be shouted about.
If you’ve ever been to a concert at one of the Manchester Academy venues on Oxford Road, you’ll likely have seen plenty of fellow gig-goers heading next door to a bar called Big Hands, both before and after the show. Many of you have probably enjoyed a pint or two there yourselves and, if not, fix that.
However, what we’re here to talk about is the fact that on top of being a long-standing student favourite along the busy university strip, it now boasts some of the very best Italian food we’ve tried anywhere in the city on its gorgeous, plant-laden rooftop terrace.
After spending the best of a decade as T’arricrii, Manchester’s arancini experts rebranded as Rizzo’s (their family name, not some random homage to Grease) earlier this year and with that has come an evolution of their Sicilian street food concept.
While they were previously known for those delicious deep-fried balls of risotto, cheese and other fillings, often being the quickest to sell out of all the traders in Hatch, we’d argue they’re now serving up an even bigger showstopper: ‘sfincione’.
But we’ll come to that later…
The first thing to say is that one of Big Hands‘ biggest appeals, besides the obvious prime pre and post-gig location, the affordable prices, the fantastic playlist and the all-around flawless atmosphere, is their rooftop area. A haven for all seasons.
It’s not just a pretty setting with extra seating for the punters: complete with a mini-garden, twinkly lighting and now this lovely little hatch serving unreal Sicilian food, it’s established itself as one of our favourite hideaways in all of Manchester, be it a summer suntrap or festive-feeling corner to cosy up in.
Pretty as a picture. (Credit: The Manc Group)
Now, onto the food. You’ll be forgiven for not having heard the word sfincione before, as sibling duo Riccardo and Romeo are pretty much the first ones to bring it to Manchester’s pizza-loving masses – at least authentically, anyway.
Put simply, it’s proper, Sicilian, tray-bake pizza; the base is more like a focaccia than it is any traditional, Neapolitan you’ve ever had and without it, we never would have been introduced to the increasingly popular Detroit-style pizza you’ll find at the likes of Ramona in Ancoats or Corner Slice in Failsworth.
Even further up Oxford Road you’ll find the recently opened Detroit Slims, which does exactly what it says on the tin, but it never would have been without families like the Rizzos perfecting the pizza-making back in Palermo for generations.
Family is what this place is all about. These pizzas have often been referred to as ‘grandpa/grandma slices’, both by Italian natives and their descendants in America for centuries, and that’s because the recipes have been passed down from grandparents to mums and dads, as well as the kids after them.
For instance, Riccardo and Romeo let us in on their super hush-hush ingredient for the oh-so-special sauce that goes on the bottom of their various options, which levels up even their ‘plainest’, barebones slice to some of the most flavourful pizza we’ve ever tasted. No hyperbole here, just straight-up facts.
You can get aubergine, cured meats, ‘nduja and more as toppings, but even their most simple Margherita equivalent is a flavour bomb.
We won’t be telling you that secret ingredient, of course, as that would just ruin the magic but we can tell you it’s deceptively simple and it really does work wonders. Let’s just say there’s some serious umami going on and we’ll now be using it in all of our homemade pasta sauces from now until forever.
As you can see, their trademark arancini still has pride of place on their quaint and adorable counter but now it shares the spotlight with their sensational sfincione, and rightly so. There’s also traditional cannoli with possibly the freshest ricotta and a supreme crunch to them – the perfect sweet after the carbs.
Serving up all this from 5pm till late from Tuesday-Saturday (we’re talking midnight on weekends), Rizzo’s at Big Hands has just cemented itself as comfortably one of the best places to fuel up before a night of music or reward yourself after the jumping up and down is all said and done.
Celebrating their 10th anniversary year, we’re so happy the Rizzo brothers are now wearing their names (and tiny little arancini logos) proudly on their shirts: they’ve come to love it here in Manchester but no way near as much as we’re head over heels with them.
They’re always experimenting when it comes to combos and seasonal specials; we truly believe they’ve hit their stride with this food. With a delivery service in the works too, Big Hands is about to even busier than ever, so please pay them a visit while you stand a chance of beating the queues. Whether you’ve got a gig on or not, you won’t regret it.
Cosy pubs near the Manchester Christmas Markets where you can avoid the madness
Daisy Jackson
The Manchester Christmas Markets are in full flow for another year, and they are BUSY.
Once again, thousands of people are pouring into the city centre every weekend and evening to browse the massive range of food, drink and gifts being sold from the village of wooden huts that have appeared in town.
And there’s no denying that the markets do bring plenty of festive cheer to town, with Nutcracker mugs in every hand and people munching on sausages as they walk.
But when the hustle and bustle and the cold all gets a bit much – and if you’re anything like us, one or two drinks at the Christmas Markets is plenty – you’ll be looking for respite.
And by respite, we mean a pub.
So here are the best pubs that are very near the Manchester Christmas Markets without actually being in the thick of it.
North Westward Ho, Chapel Walks
Beers at North Westward Ho. Credit: The Manc GroupNorth Westward Ho’s traditional interior. This pub is near the Market Street and King Street Christmas Markets
This stunning pub has been created by Pomona Island, the much-loved local craft brewery, and it’s handily located within staggering distance of the Market Street, Piccadilly Gardens and King Street Christmas markets hubs.
Pomona Island has taken on a chunk of the former Chaophraya restaurant, turning the grand arch-windowed red-brick building serving their own craft beers – from the easy-drinking Factotum, to the excellent Phaedra pale ale.
And boy is it cosy – North Westward Ho feels like a proper Manchester pub that has been styled with dark wooden details, ornate tiling, wall sconces, oil paintings, dark green ceramic brick times, and loads of cosy corners.
It’s opened in a former bin store at Victoria StationThe Victoria Tap is one of the cosiest pubs near the Cathedral Gardens Christmas Markets
The Victoria Tap is a beer bar that’s completely transformed a corner of the station that was previously home to a bin store, and it’s a perfect place to pause between the Cathedral Gardens Christmas Markets and your train home.
You won’t miss your train either – on the wall inside the pub is a departures board that advises how many pints you can fit in before your train leaves.
Northern breweries on the taps at Victoria Tap include Brew York, Blackjack and Runaway, plus a good selection of European beers from the likes of kostritzer, Bitburger and Schremser.
Inside there are traditional parquet floors underfoot and a dark green bar running almost the whole length of the micropub.
This bar is at complete odds with its location – the sight of its cosy, calm interior at great odds to the madness of Market Street it sits behind.
Like an oasis in the dessert, Cafe Beermoth is one of those pubs that provides serious Christmas Markets salvation when you need it most.
The Belgian-style beer cafe champions drinks from across the UK as well as further afield into Europe and America, though it has a strong bond with Manchester’s own Runaway Brewery.
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It’s one of those places you can visit solo or with a massive group and still be welcomed with the same open arms.
You wouldn’t think that the place to escape the madness of the Manchester Christmas Markets would be the Manchester Arndale, aka the biggest shopping mall in town and one that is RAMMED with shoppers in December.
But wedged into a corner of the Arndale Market is Micro Bar, a teeny tiny pub with a good selection of German and Belgian beers on keg plus hundreds of bottles and cans in the fridges.
If you’re quick and lucky, you can get a seat overlooking High Street and feel extra smug that you’re on the quiet side of the glass.
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Arndale Food Market, M4 3AH
The Sadler’s Cat, NOMA
Sadler’s Cat is a craft beer pub near the Manchester Christmas Markets
Formerly known as The Pilcrow, this shed-like pub on Sadler’s Yard is now in the very trustworthy hands of Cloudwater Brewery.
The space itself was built by local people through a series of workshops, with members of the public creating everything from the tabletops to the lampshades.
There is, of course, Cloudwater beers, but also plenty of others to choose from, a menu of natural wines, and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails.
The pub is also stumbling distance from Cathedral Gardens – you can practically skate here from the Christmas Markets ice rink.
Disappear from St Ann’s Square – where you can barely move for gluhwein and tinsel – and down into the cave-like wine bar that is Corbieres.
Something of a Manchester institution, this brilliant bar has a jukebox loaded with great music, and a decent range of wines and beers.
It also does free pizza with any drink purchased, Tuesday to Friday 4.30pm to 7.30pm.
AND, as they’re advertising themselves as an escape from the markets, they’re even happy for you to bring the food you buy at the markets into the bar.
Any of the Chop Houses are guaranteed to be maximum cosy, with their Victorian interiors still largely in tact and menus full of massive stodgy food.
There are two that are both right near the King Street batch of Christmas Markets – Sam’s is beneath the previously mentioned North Westward Ho, while Albert’s is within that iconic tall skinny building on Cross Street.
At this time of year they’re extra festive thanks to soft white fairy lights and candles.
Daisy Jackson -
16th November 2021 
