Turtle Bay is gearing up to open its huge new waterside restaurant in Salford Quays this month, and to celebrate its arrival the team has revealed they will be giving away free drinks and food.
A week ahead of its opening date of 19 August, residents and workers will be treated to a big Caribbean BBQ at the MediaCity plaza with free drinks and food aplenty.
From Red Stripe beers to jerk chicken and Turtle Bay’s famous house rum punch, there’ll be plenty of freebies up for grabs between the hours of 12-2pm and 4.30-6.30pm on !2 August.
The new 180-cover restaurant will overlook The Lowry arts centre from its quayside location with a beautiful waterside terrace area perfect for catching the last of the summer rays.
This is the first Salford location for the restaurant group, which also has two sites in Manchester city centre.
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Image: Turtle Bay
Image: Turtle Bay
Once open, Turtle Bay Salford Quays will boast a brand new cocktail menu that has been. created especially for the site.
This new cocktail range will be exclusively available at the Salford Quays branch in September before landing in any other restaurants around the country, giving locals the chance to sample the new drinks first.
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The brand new restaurant is set to open this August, bringing its trademark beach shack style to the Costa Del Salford just in time to see out the end of the Manchester summer.
At the new site, diners can expect a soundtrack of reggae beats as they did into Turtle Bay’s crowd-pleasing, Caribbean-inspired menu.
From island-inspired breakfast dishes like aromatic curried chickpeas and rich Curry Goat Hash, to a jerk pit barbecue, buddha bowls and small plates, Turtle Bay’s all-day food menu boasts a wide selection of Caribbean soul food and grazing options.
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Image: Turtle Bay
Image: Turtle Bay
With vegan and vegetarian options as well as vegan cocktails, there’s something for all tastes and occasions.
Elsewhere, the restaurant will also be serving up its TikTok-famous bottomless brunch – a two-hour-long experience with endless tropical cocktails, mocktails, Red Stripe beers and prosecco.
Salford Quays customers will also be able to enjoy Turtle Bay’s delicious rum-based cocktails as 2-4-1 every single day.
Happy Hour will run from 10am to 7pm every day, with a late happy hour also kicking off from 9.30pm between Sunday and Thursday, and from 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
Feature image – Turtle Bay
Food & Drink
Aether – Manchester Airport’s new private terminal that treats passengers like royalty
Thomas Melia
An all new private terminal experience is launching at Manchester Airport giving you the chance to travel like the rich and famous.
With a £1.5 billion refurbed Terminal 2 steadily opening various eateries and boutiques paired with this new private terminal experience, Manchester Airport might just take the biscuit for one of the bougiest airports in the UK (don’t bring Terminal 3 into this…).
Aether is a brand new airport experience exclusive to Manchester Airport, which looks after passengers to such a degree that it even has a group of chauffeurs to take you to or from your journey to the aircraft in a fleet of BMWs.
Guests are greeted with nothing but relaxation, with Aether on hand to bring refreshments, including an exclusive menu curated by Adam Reid, of The French fame.
And just because it’s a private terminal doesn’t mean you need a private jet to board – the Aether experience is accessible to all those travelling to and from Manchester Airport, regardless of ticket class.
The private terminal’s minimalistic and modern interior is a beautiful space to relax before you jet off on your holiday or business trip.
Aether may guarantee a private and relaxing time in their sanctuary but they certainly don’t hold back on all the offers and goodies passengers are treated to.
This private terminal supplies its jet-setters with three separate packages to choose from depending on how engulfed guests would like to be in this world of luxury.
An ‘Express’ service will cost you £90 and includes select benefits such as a chauffeur and general access to the private terminal.
A taster of the menu from Adam Reid. Credit: Toby Mitchell The lounge in Manchester Airport’s new private terminal. Credit: Toby Mitchell
Guests who would like a little more pampering and a sample of the delicacies taken from the exquisite menu can do so for £150 and £170 under the ‘Inclusive’ package which has two branches depending on whether your party has cabin bags or checked luggage.
Instead of just transport and leisure covered, the ‘Inclusive’ deal provides complimentary alcoholic and soft drinks, an exclusive dining menu curated by Adam Reid and access to terminal private security.
If you’re considering this ‘elevated airport experience’ travellers can arrive up to three hours before departure and must get to this relaxing space at least one hour before your flight.
The private terminal will be opening every day from 4am meaning holidaymakers get to put their feet up and properly rest before they fly through the sky.
You can even visit the private terminal just to taste the delicacies of The Midland Hotel Chef as starting from £40 non-flyers can also taste the high life.
If you want to book your first private terminal experience at Aether in Manchester Airport already, more information can be found on the company’s website here.
The new hidden Manchester cocktail bar that’s actually trying to stay secret
Daisy Jackson
There was a time a couple of years ago where ‘secret’ bars were all the rage – except they threw big launch parties and had queues outside and weren’t very secret at all.
But one new cocktail bar in Manchester has done such a good job of flying under the radar that even we, who live and breathe local food and drink, have only just discovered it.
And it’s been open for months.
This particular hidden cocktail bar has brought a little taste of Tokyo’s underground bar scene to Manchester, in both the decor and the drinks menu.
It’s a bar that’s flooded with red lighting and synth music, with a carefully thought-out drinks menu showing off Japanese whiskeys and other spirits from the continent.
Kodo has done a good job of avoiding too much attention, even though it’s not gone for the usual ‘secret bar’ tactics that most venues use.
It’s not hiding behind a launderette like The Washhouse, or a pawn shop like Dusk Til Pawn, or a completely blank door like Behind Closed Doors.
Instead, it’s hiding behind a huge, bright red door painted with a mysterious, anime-style eye, with black wisps of hair across it. Oftentimes, there’s dry ice pouring out from underneath the door.
So once you track it down there’s no mistaking that you’ve found it.
Kodo might be a ‘secret bar’ but once you work out the location, the big door makes it pretty obvious. Credit: The Manc GroupInside secret bar Kodo it’s an ode to underground Japan in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
On arrival, you have to ring the bell beside the door, ready for a letterbox to fling open and a pair of eyes to peer out at you.
Then you need to show an image on your phone to the mystery figure behind the door (the image changes every week) before you’re granted access to this clandestine cocktail bar.
Kodo is worth the effort though.
Inside it’s smoky and sultry, with modern red light installations overhead, a blue-lit bar, and brick walls painted with more anime-style art.
A delicious Pomelo Paloma at Kodo Manchester. Credit: The Manc GroupInside secret Manchester bar Kodo. Credit: The Manc Group
Kodo is serving some of the city’s most exciting drinks, from old fashioneds infused with shiitake mushrooms to martinis made with marmalade and yuzu sake.
It’s been open for about four months and has been busy the whole time, with word-of-mouth helping to pull in a steady stream of curious punters.
It’s working so well because all those customers who have visited have bought into the secret element – as far as we can see, no one has actually slapped the location online anywhere. That’s a bit of a miracle in this day and age.
We’ve been sworn to secrecy on the location – but check out @kodomanchester on Instagram for clues.
Georgina Pellant -
8th August 2022 
